The Spirit of Laox trip was excellent, great value for what was included. We especially liked the trip on the Mekong River, it was a lovely restful day inbetween alll the other full on days. We liked the amount of activities and trips provided by Explore and all were interesting and enjoyable . The tour leader, Silk, was great and he had a huge knowledge of the history of Laos and Cambodia which added to the interest The local guides, Tae and Pheng, in Laos were also very knowledgeable and helpful. We generally had a fantastic and are looking forward to our next trip with Explore
Cultural, religious and historic sites
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
It was amazing no better way to spend my birthday, everything was good. Saw and did a lot, wouldn’t have minded a bit more free time to let people decide what they wanted to do.
We could not have been happier with our trek with this local travel specialist. The hike around the Manaslu mountain range was absolutely gorgeous, the scenery was breathtaking and much more diverse than we expected. For days, we walked through all kinds of jungle and rainforests - we even saw some wild monkeys, all while the mountains were towering above us in the distance. We walked beneath massive waterfalls and crossed suspension bridges hundreds of meters above the roaring mountain river that the path follows along.
The acclimatization time for the altitude was perfect on this trek, and when we reached the higher mountains we could really enjoy the breathtaking landscape. Seeing Manaslu tower 5000m above you when you are already at over 3000m elevation makes you feel small in the best way possible. In the high mountains we saw dozens of eagles and hundreds of yaks.
The daily hikes were not too long, but still challenging on some days, the perfect distances to keep it interesting but not too exhausting.
What made this trek extremely pleasant more than anything else was our guide Lok. With his funny and open-minded nature he made even the strenuous passages of the trek feel enjoyable. He not only gave us a lot of insights about the trek and the mountains of Nepal but also brought us closer to Nepal's culture and history. Sharing our experiences with other trekkers we met along the way made us even more aware of how lucky we were to have Lok. Through his years of experience he knew all the tricks and always got us the best rooms, just for example. He also responded to our wishes on a daily basis and we were able to shape the trek individually. When one of us was not feeling well and Lok could not find anything suitable in his large first aid kit, he went above and beyond to scout out the pharmacies in every village until the necessary medicine was found.
After returning from the trek, he gave us recommendations for the shops with the best quality for the best prices, which was also very helpful considering the overwhelming number of mountaineering stores in the city.
We booked a porter for the trip and we were so glad we did. Being able to pack that extra sweater or pair of socks at altitude is more than worth it. Our porter was very pleasant and always there to help in the guesthouses.
We had an amazing time and we will definitely be back to do another trek with Lok and this local travel specialist!
I had a wonderful adventure to the top of the World. At 66 and fit, I would recommend this to everybody. The Exodus team were wonderful and the whole party got to base camp.
Trekking and HikingAdventure
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
We had a really nice time on our three passes Trek. I would definitely recommend doing the three passes over the normal Everest base camp trip as views are much nicer and you see more of the Everest region.
Just don't rush the trip too much as you really need the time for acclimatization. Making the trip longer is always the better option then shorter and we have seen quite some people who had big issues with altitude sickness because they went up too fast. There are several peaks you can add additional to the three passes if you have enough time what I would recommend as well.
Be careful with the guide you get, at the end it is your trip so he should really adapt to your wishes. Here you have to be strict that the guide is following your wishes and not you his.
No words or photos can really do justice to this trip, but, to give you an idea, it went straight into my top 3 trips ever, alongside Zim/Bots/Namibia and Falklands/S Georgia/Antarctica, even though I has a bad case of travellers' tummy.
Cultural, religious and historic sites
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers