Tropical Island Wanderer - Family Holiday

Our Clients’ Reviews

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  Mark Murphy

  TROPICAL ISLAND WANDERER - FAMILY HOLIDAY

  

  Written September 2011

  A fantastic introduction to a wonderful country.  Our host, Sujee, couldn't do enough for us.  My daughter and I have returned home recounting so many wonderful experiences to our family and friends. 

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  What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?

  In a trip filled with so many experiences, it seems churlish to pick just one.  So, I'll pick three and even that's difficult: cycling through the villages in the jungle meeting locals, visiting the family who live in the Exodus built house and sunset at Sigiriya rock.

  My daughter's favourite three were: visiting the turtle hatchery, going elephant riding and snorkelling in the Indian Ocean. 

  What did you think of your group leader?

  Our leader was brilliant.  He was very well informed and worked tirelessly to make sure our trip was a success.

  Do you have any advice for potential travellers?

  If the elephant orphange trip is still just an option when you do this trip, take it.

  Is there anything else you would like to add?

  The scope of this holiday means that we have returned home with experiences that will stay with us forever.  Before going on this trip, when reviewing the itinerary, we were looking forward to the activities.  In reality, each and every one was so much better than we'd anticipated.

   
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  Leslie Holmes

  TROPICAL ISLAND WANDERER - FAMILY HOLIDAY

  

  Written August 2011

  An excellent holiday with an amazing variety of activities. Our guide Sampath was brilliant, informative and entertaining. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country and the Exodus trip certainly makes the most of all the best bits. 

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  What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?

  Lots of moments that could compete for this, to name just a few  - lunch next to the river where the elephants came to bathe, trying durian and other exotic fruits from the roadside markets, climbing Sigiriya and cycling round the local villages, playing traditional games, relaxing on the south coast, elephant rides (realised rather too late that elephants don't need bananas peeled for them).

  What did you think of your group leader?

  Sampath was excellent - he looked after all of us, entertained us and gave us a real feel of life in Sri Lanka. Was also brilliant at effortlessly organising us all without us feeling over-organised. Never too busy to answer questions and manage all the behind the scenes running of the trip. It was also reassuring to learn from Sampath how much Exodus have given back to country particularly following the aftermath of the Tsunami. 

  Do you have any advice for potential travellers?

  We arrived a day early and left a day late than the Exodus trip dates - an excellent decision as those booked on the Exodus flight didn't arrive at the first destination until the evening so essentially missed this part of the trip - a lovely beachside hotel. The Exodus flight also left very early on the last day leaving no time to explore Colombo. Sampath gave us ideas of what to do in Colombo for the day and we had a brilliant time.

  Sampath was very open to suggestions from us re things we would like to see and do and accommodated as many as he could eg sampling roadside food, organising tuk tuk ride, tasting toddy etc.

   

  Is there anything else you would like to add?

  The holiday worked very well for both the adults and our children (15 and 11 - would definitely recommend teenage departure dates). Not the most energetic of trips with a fair amount of travelling, but felt we got to see loads with an excellent mix of buddhas, beaches, animals, culture, photo opportunities, good company - loved it.

   

   
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  Tracey Joyce

  TROPICAL ISLAND WANDERER - FAMILY HOLIDAY

  

  Written July 2011

  Something for everyone! This is a great holiday if you want to explore as much of the island as possible. I felt like I got a really good feel for Sri Lanka, as we travelled to so many parts, from the busy cities, to the cool highlands and the beautiful relaxing beaches. There is a really good balance of visits to historic sites and time to explore the local wildlife. The majority of the hotels were excellent with fantastic choice of food, although the buffets were always great. Personally I would have liked to have spent a little longer at each place, but the timing was spot on for children, long enough to enjoy, short enough to not get bored 

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  What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?

  This bit took me ages to write as I kept remembering other highlights! so I'll just have to summarise!

  Most of the best parts are the experiences with wildlife. the elephants, many many monkeys, turtle hatchery(my daughters favourite ) and the leopard at Yala. The beaches were great. all the staff at hotels and sites were super friendly and welcoming.The festival at Candy was great experience. Stopping along the way to sample the local fruits from the many stalls along the roadsides

  What did you think of your group leader?

  Our leader was very knowledgable and did his utmost to please everyone in our quite large group. His main focus was the childlren which meant they were happy, and he changed the itinery to mean our needs well.

  Do you have any advice for potential travellers?

  At hotels go for the buffet meals (around £10) for adults and hungry teenagers, if you have younger chidlren it is cheaper to go "a La Carte" which just means the normal menu. The cost will be halved, but the time taken to prepare will be double, so order these well before you start. I found there was just enough time to order the my daughters meals, for me to have a relaxing beer then go and eat my buffet, that way we all ate together.

  Be prepared for some long drives, as you really see a lot of the island. You do get approached by locals trying to sell you things a lot, so you need to not let this bother you. be wary of people giving you "gifts" then asking for money

  The only other advice is to book it now!

  Is there anything else you would like to add?

  It is a great holiday which I thoroughly recommend, I would definitely love to go back one day, and would even re book this trip, as there is so much to see and do, with plently opportunity to relax along the way.

   
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  Hilary O'Dair

  TROPICAL ISLAND WANDERER - FAMILY HOLIDAY

  

  Written December 2010

  Wonderful trip - an introduction to more exotic shores for our 14 year old daughter which was a great success and encouraged us to book another trip in 2012 with Exodus.  

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  What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?

  Looking out from the top of Sigiraya Rock

  Warm sea swimming!

  curried green porridge for breakfast - it tastes very good 

  What did you think of your group leader?

  Our group leader Sanpath combined a good mix of organisational skill with Sri Lankan hospitality and conviviality. A hit with adults and children alike. 

  Do you have any advice for potential travellers?

  Go!!

  Is there anything else you would like to add?

  Sri Lanka is a wonderful island with a huge and varied amount to offer and I would recommend it to all travellers

   
• 

  Andrew Bernhardt

  elephants, great sights and a sufficiency of cold beers

  

  Written September 2007

  What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?

  Being pushed to go that little bit further each day and every time it paid off

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  What did you think of your group leader?

  The best! He worked very hard, knowledgable and polite even when stressed. Grace under pressure - a rare thing!

  A valuable asste to Exodus - he will be in demand from your rivals. You have been warned!

   

  Do you have any advice for potential travellers?

  Yes -expect a lot of time in the minibus, be patient, don't do more than you can comfortably take on and try to talk to the locals.

  Let the leader sort out the tips from the kitty.

  Is there anything else you would like to add?

  Get rid of the local payment - it's so obvioulsy a scheme to lower the headline price and never goes down well on arrival.

  Try not to fit too much into some of the days. At Polonuwarra we were a litttle overwhelmed with temples!

  Keep Priya our tour leader in work - he's too good to lose.

  Improve the rest day hotel at the end - we all checked out of ours, it was damp and without hot water, and booked into the Fortress at our own expense and had the best hotel of our lives.!