Reviews

Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers

Here at Exodus we thrive on feedback from our customers. It’s the only way we can ensure our trips continue to be the best they can be. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of the trip you’re interested in, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers.

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111 Reviews

4.8 out of 5

caroline lewis

Reviewed October 2019

A trip of a lifetime!

I had the privilege of trekking up Kilimanjaro (8 day Lemosho route) with the best walking pals and crew in the entire world. I’ve never walked at altitude before, and I was honestly a little nervous, but I am so glad I booked the trip. The views are incredible, you learn a lot about yourself and above all you are surrounded by the most supporting, caring and knowledgeable leaders and crew who seem to permanently have smiles on their faces – ably led by JT (Justin Thomas). What a wonderful way to spend 8 days, I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Most Inspirational Moment

The most inspirational moment and quite frankly the most surprising was a birthday cake our chef had baked for a member of our team, at 4,600metres! Also a very big shout out to our wonderful team leader, JT - every single day he would pick up rubbish my fellow walkers had carelessly thrown away on the trek, its selfless acts like that that inspire you to do your best and not to let anyone down.

Thoughts on Group Leader

JT has a permanent smile on his face. His knowledge and understanding of the mountain is second to none and is an inspirational character. JT, David and Hanse (assistant guides) all became our hero's and we all had a lot of fun during the trip, in particular after we had all scaled the Barranco Wall, what a fabulous afternoon! Its no wonder JT won the Exodus guide of the year in 2016, I have no doubt he will be up in the running for guide of the year again, he absolutely deserves every accolade he gets. I also have to give a special shout-out to our 2 other assistant guides; Hanse and David. Both of whom I have to say were incredible on summit night for so many reasons, and again so incredibly professional, funny - we all felt very safe.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Yes, get the miles in! Trust me, you don't have to be a marathon runner or a triathlete etc, in order to take part in this epic adventure. If you are sensible and start to add in extra park run's or spin classes every week plus wracking up the walking miles every weekend, you shouldn't have any problems. I would also strongly suggest you read up on all the points of view in regards to taking the anti-altitude tablet, diamox. I took it and it worked, but please note it doesn't work for everyone, so listen to all the advice given, listen to your GP and make an educated decision. Finally......take a hot water bottle, trust me, you'll really appreciate it on the very cold nights.

Hansa Jadva-Patel

Reviewed September 2019

Kurudi Afrika (Back to Africa)

I was born in East Africa and having walked through the rift valleys as a child, it was always my desire to climb to the roof of Africa. Although a regular walker myself, the ascent on few occasions became a challenge, especially on the summit night and I would not have succeeded the climb if it wasn’t for the support I was given by John (Tony Seka) and his support team. Their continuous kindness and patience was very much appreciated – and I know that this view is shared by everyone in my group!

Most Inspirational Moment

Several highlights and to name a few, reaching Stella point, golden sunrise on the summit climb, Mount Meru and its continual presence above the clouds and golden sunset over it, climbing Barranco Wall, night sky with full moon and stars, practicing my Swahili again after several decades etc., enjoying the company of some of the fellow walkers and the support team.

Thoughts on Group Leader

I would not have made it to the top without John’s support and his patience. He was always very professional and totally committed to his job and nothing was too onerous for him. He was a very competent leader, supporting a team of assistant leaders, porters, and chefs who looked after our group of 10 very well. John was undoubtedly my hero!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Climbing Kilimanjaro, regardless of what grade it has been ranked, it should not be underestimated. Despite having undertaken numerous regular training walks building up to the trip, some long distance walks, it was physically challenging, so some physical preparation prior to the climb is essential. There is a structured tipping scheme; guidance is included in the trip notes, so useful to have the funds available.

Amanda Crocker

Reviewed September 2019

Lemosho Kilimanjaro

Very well organised and supervised trip
Guides were amazing
All staff very helpful
Amazing trip

Most Inspirational Moment

Getting to the top after 8 cold windy dark hours

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take mittens not gloves for summit night as much warmer Hire warm down coat and mittens from the company especially if you feel the cold

Colin Donovan

Reviewed September 2019

Trip of a lifetime.

All ten of our party summited after a long and sometimes difficult tiring trek. This was down to Johns fantastic leadership skills and constant encouragement and help. He has a first class team of assistant guides and brilliant porters who all had a real positive attitude and couldn’t do more for you.

Most Inspirational Moment

Reaching Uhuru Peak after an 8 hour trek with my fellow walkers and guides. It felt like one big happy and emotional family who had achieved their combined goal together.

Thoughts on Group Leader

John was inspirational. From collecting us at the airport to dropping us off 9 days later. John knows the mountain like the back of his hand and his knowledge and information he passes on every day is truly superb. I don’t think I would have got to the top without John or his excellent assistant guides.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you train hard. Lots of long walks and try to keep the weight off. Listen to the advice given by the guides always. Walk very slowly, drink lots and lots of water and try to be positive at all times. This is a difficult trek especially on summit night but if you listen to the guides you’ll complete it.

Mark Latham

Reviewed August 2019

On the roof of Africa

Review of my Exodus trip to Kilimanjaro in The Herald: https://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/16237809.travel-trek-to-the-summit-of-mount-kilimanjaro/

Most Inspirational Moment

See the above link.

Thoughts on Group Leader

See the above link.

Advice for Potential Travellers

See the above link.

William Pearce

Reviewed August 2019

Summit fever!wonderful

Wonderful feeling on reaching the summit after a midnight start !

Most Inspirational Moment

Reaching the summit! Watching and joining in with the African team final celebrations.

Thoughts on Group Leader

JT(Justin) was great.more cheer leader than group leader. An inspirational guy.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Better to hire a jacket , sleeping bag and ground sheet.our trip was very dry and dusty and gaiters were very useful.

Mohan Paul

Reviewed October 2018

Awesome...!

Absolutely loved every moment of the trip

Most Inspirational Moment

It was getting to the top of clouds... it was breath taking, and I just never got tired of the views. Waking up and seeing some of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets, was so worth it.

Thoughts on Group Leader

JT was probably one of the nicest, most humble people I’ve ever met. He has an amazing talent to be able to encourage, and inspire people when they feel like giving up. He has a great sense of humour and clearly loves interacting with people - both the travellers and also the porters and support staff. He is well respected from what I saw and I can see why.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Definitely take diamox with you. Altitude sickness really does make a fair few people suffer... I had some of the worst headaches/migraines I’ve ever had in my life during the trip. The medication was a blessing... and take plenty of paracetamol too.

Valerie Boissel

Reviewed October 2018

To the unsung sheroes and heroes of Kilimanjaro

I will echo previous reviews which have noted how fantastic this trip is – to me, time spent on Kilimanjaro was just magical… The mountain was as majestic as I expected it to be; the Lemosho route providing a great opportunity to discover the various landscapes it holds at different altitudes. Reaching Uhuru after days living above the clouds was the culmination of a special journey which would not have been possible without the incredible support, kindness, professionalism and all around awesomeness (TO THE MAX! ;)) provided by our dream team, aka JT and his crew – a total of 63 badass Tanzanian men and women, the real heroes and sheroes of this adventure! Their smiles and songs literally propelled me to the top of Kilimanjaro!

Most Inspirational Moment

To name a few besides reaching the summit: watching the full moon overlooking the mountain turned pink-ish by the sun setting; watching Mount Meru 'float' among clouds from Cathedral Point Shira Peak; having a blast climbing Barranco Wall; being the witness and recipient of kindness and solidarity; dancing and singing with my crew in Swahili; being inspired by women and men porters alike for their strength and spirit; enjoying the journey and being present to the moment.

Thoughts on Group Leader

JT is not only an outstanding group leader but simply said a pretty awesome human being who surrounds himself with an amazing crew from African Walking Company - I knew from the get go that I was in very safe hands and that I 'only had to' enjoy the ride, which I did, TO THE MAX! :) Special thanks and praise also go to our assistant guides Simon, Angela, Lucia, Happiness, Saïdi, Yohanna, Ionas, and Abdul, who were a joy to walk by and share jokes, stories and songs with.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Regardless of its height, Kilimanjaro, as any other mountain, should not be underestimated - It is important to prepare physically for the challenge, ie build enough endurance to sustain a week of walking (up to 8h or longer for summit day) at high altitude (with a bagpack!), which will in turn help you enjoy the ride and adopt the Tanzanian attitude - one step at a time, hakuna matata! I personally had no issue to report with altitude during the whole trip except around 5400-5500 m when I believe I suffered a mild hypothermia I could not shake (which built up over 7h of climbing in snowy conditions despite wearing 6 top layers and 3 bottom ones) - thanks to JT's quick thinking and my fellow hikers' kindness (big up to Matt and Kieron!!), I was lended 2 additional top layers (hello Michelin woman!) which meant my body was finally able to warm up ( I tend to have high metabolism and I am naturally thin so I am not too surprised this happened) and I could complete the climb to 5895 m. All this to say, think carefully about your layering, your packing, ... and how your own body may specifically react :) (ie do not just take into account general reviews about what to pack for Kilimanjaro.)

Rupert Livingstone

Reviewed September 2018

The trip (and JT) was awesome and to the max

A fantastic trip which was an experience rather than bagging a summit. The camaraderie and bond that developed between us and the crew made the trip special. Can I do it again?

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing my wife get to the summit when I had to turn back. Well done my love.

Thoughts on Group Leader

JT was superb. He was joyous and enthusiastic about Kili, Tanzania, his crew and us. He and his crew welcomed us into their family and we all left, I think, leaving a little part of us with him.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared to be smelly - you cannot really wash until getting back to the hotel - but when you do it is fantastic! Get yourself fit, physically and mentally, it is a hard trip and you will most likely have to go past your comfort zone and what you are used to. Close you eyes at some campsites - they are crowded and there is quite some detritus

Alex Beament

Reviewed June 2018

Poah cacheezy camandeezy danya frigee

The title is Swahili for “Cool as a crazy banana in the fridge”.

This trip was excellent! Well organised and well operated by our leader, JT. He and his team were friendly, knowledgeable, supportive, capable, polite, skilled, very VERY experienced, professional, the list goes on!

I was nervous about coming on this trip as I had never done anything like it before, but everything was so well managed that one by one, my worries disappeared and turned into excitement and even relaxation.

Everyone in the group was like-minded, determined and supportive of each other so we all got along very well. I went on my own so it was a relief to find that every one of my group had similar enough ambitions and were easy to get along with, despite coming from a range of backgrounds. I don’t believe this was just a happy accident – everyone climbing this mountain has more than enough in common to bond over and Exodus nourishes that bond well.

Most Inspirational Moment

Reaching the top! Being above the clouds and wending through the grand rain forests at the start and the very end were all highlights for me as well. Shira cathedral and the Baranco Wall also made good scrambling (climbing) and although I got a bit of a headache at the lava tower, that was something else I had been looking forward to and it did not disappoint.

Thoughts on Group Leader

JT and his team were friendly, knowledgeable, supportive, capable, polite, skilled, very VERY experienced, professional. He's already won the award for best group leader and he fully deserves to win it again.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared, think about what you need. Your kit doesn't have to be perfect, just enough. Anything else is a comfort you're welcome to (but remember, either you or your porter, who WILL become your friend, will be carrying it). Consider what you will want to use when: - Travelling - On the plane - When you arrive - Leave the hotel - Wake up in the tent each morning - When it's warm at the bottom - When it's cold at the top - When it rains - When your camera loses charge - When you go to sleep in the tent - When you wake up in the morning - What information you need and how to store it (what reception is available) Just go through the situations of what the holiday will bring and consider what you need for those situations. Research altitude sickness. You don't need to be an expert and you don't need all the drugs - I personally did not take diamox and was just as well off as everyone else (some people did). Pole pole. Going slow sounds boring, but remember when sitting in your office thinking about the trip, but you're out in the wild by the tallest free standing mountain in the world. Make the most of it, look around, take pictures. You're only going to have to wait around when you get to camp. Even if you're really fit and the fastest walker in the world, you'll still fall short of breath at some point. And unless you can beat the record of under 5.5 hours to summit, I'm not interested in how fast you can do it. I'm more interested in what you get out of it, so just relax and see the sights.

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