Of the Best Cuban Experiences
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3 CONTENTS 4 YOUR ADVENTURE, YOUR WAY: Ways to travel Discover 6 WHAT'S NEW? 97% New trips from Europe to South America 10 ASK THE EXPERTS your world... FAQs, holiday extensions and grading guidance of our travellers would recommend 12 ONCE UPON A TIME us to their friends A journey through ancient towns and ports Have you ever felt unfulfilled at the end of a holiday? Felt short-changed by your 16 FOR THE LOVE OF FOOD precious one or two week’s leave? It can happen even after the most exhaustive Five delicious culinary adventures research. The holidays in this brochure don’t do that. Exodus now has over forty 18 THE CALL OF AFRICA years of experience travelling in hundreds of distant backwaters. Before we sell The sheer spectacle of an African safari any holiday we spend months, even years researching and exploring a destination until we 98% 22 THIS IS MY VIETNAM are satisfied that we have discovered its heart and its soul. Celebrating the best of this beautiful country After almost half a century our clients know they can trust us. They travel with us because 24 CUBA: A DIFFERENT BEAT they know the journey will expand their horizons, often crossing that blurred line between of our travellers think we design and The Caribbean heart and soul tourism and genuine exploration. The adventures on offer here are much more than operate trips to benefit the local just a box-ticker's bucket list. Exodus’s most crucial core value is our commitment to the community and environment 28 INTO THE DEEP countries we take you to. Rather than flying in and flying out, we've spent years developing A look at the world's mightiest mammals relationships with the communities we visit. 30 THE GALAPAGOS We care about you too and welcome you to this, our newly designed edition. Beware though, Islands for all seasons if you are travelling for the first time: this could be the beginning of an addiction for which 4.7 out of 5 average trip rating 32 INDIA: NORTH VS SOUTH there is no known cure. based on the past 100 online The subcontinent's colourful differences Emma Garrick, Discovery Programme Manager customer reviews 36 ACROSS THE BORDER Multi-country adventures taking you further 38 INTO THE WILDERNESS For when you want to get away from it all 42 MAKE IT A DATE Festivals and fiestas around the globe 44 HAVING IT ALL! Fancy a new activity every day? 46 COSTA RICA: PURA VIDA! One of the world’s most biodiverse countries 49 ONE NIGHT IN: AN ECO-LODGE Sleep deep beneath the jungle canopy 50 ASIA: FOUR SEASONS From cherry blossom to volcanoes 51 ROSHAN FERNANDO'S SRI LANKA An interview with our award-winning leader 52 HOLIDAY LISTINGS Find all our discovery and wildlife adventures with essential information from page 52 Cover photograph: Holi Festival in India, AIK p103 Main photograph: Bagan in Myanmar (Burma), AOR & AON p93 4 Your Adventure, Your Way 5 Private Adventures YOUR ADVENTURE, The idea is simple: have your adventure tailored to suit you. We can offer most of our holidays as private adventures, perfect if you’d like to travel with a group of friends or family, or fellow club members. We can YOUR WAY run these trips with a minimum of just two people travelling, but the more people who travel, the less it costs per person. All you need to do is let us know We know how difficult it can be to find your perfect adventure. That’s why we offer a which trip you fancy, how many people are travelling, range of different ways to travel depending on what suits you. We’re flexible on how and when you’d like to go. and when you travel, and even who you travel with – whether that’s with like-minded And, of course, you still have all the same benefits of travellers on a group trip, or friends and family on a private tour… a guided group trip, including the all-important local A Private Audience guide and their invaluable knowledge of your destination. TONY WILSON, EXODUS TRAVELLER “Although it was a little more than the regular tiger safari trip we decided that the The Inside Story extra cost would be worth it – and we were CHRISTINE ROONEY, LEADER not disappointed,” says Exodus Private Why are our guided trips by far the Adventure customer Tony Wilson. most popular of all our holidays? It’s “We were extremely lucky having Krishna as our Exodus Guided Groups simple - with a leader, you get to see guide,” Tony says. “He was very knowledgeable about the sights, and experience the rhythms the area and all of the wildlife. He also seemed to know For those of you that are new to Exodus, guided group and culture of your destination that everyone and managed to arrange for us to switch only comes when you spend time with an expert. routes if he had heard a tiger had been spotted." trips are our most popular type of holiday. Guided “Good footwear, sunscreen and a sense of It’s this freedom to redraw the map, and go ‘off-piste’ to exploration, with a small group of like-minded travellers humour.” For Exodus leader Christine Rooney, the make the most out of your time away that gives our private is how we began, and we’ve been doing it for over 40 years hills and bays of the sublime Amalfi Coast don’t ask adventures the edge. That and the chance to enjoy more now. Our groups are normally between 8-16 people. This for much. It’s why this former language teacher quality time with your travelling companions. means our trips aren’t disruptive to the places we visit, made the ultimate show of solidarity: quitting her “I think my personal highlight was when Krishna heard and having a smaller number of guests creates a good job and relocating here to became one of our most that a tiger had been spotted in a less-busy area of our group dynamic too. You’ll get to know a range of people popular local experts. zone. He and our driver decided to take a look. As we drove “I took an Exodus holiday and was so inspired around a corner, the tiger was lying right in the middle of who come from different backgrounds but have a shared by our leader I decided to become one myself,” the track resting. Then we saw an elephant being washed. interest in travel. It also works out better value for money Christine says. As we weren’t with a large group, the mahout let us get – no enforced premiums for single travellers - as costs of closer to the elephant." the trip are spread across the group. “Our private tour meant that we had a guide all to ourselves, whose main job was to look after just the two of And with a local expert on every adventure, you’ll us instead of the interests of a whole group. If the chance experience the true nature of your chosen destination. arises to do something not previously planned, it is a lot Our passionate and knowledgeable guides are famous easier on a private tour. Before we started, we had decided for going the extra mile to make sure your holiday is that we would be happy to see everything and spotting a the best it can possibly be! tiger would be an added bonus. By the end, we had seen Now leading tours of this stunning southern ten tigers, including a mother and four cubs! We also saw Italian coast, Christine epitomises what we do best: a leopard, a sloth bear, a jungle cat, wild boar and many sharing our enthusiasm of the world around us different birds and butterflies.” with our fellow travellers. “You will never forget your first sighting of the coastline here,” she says. “It takes your breath away and touches your soul.” For the past ten years, Christine has been Flexibility tracing streams through lemon groves, exploring There’s a world of life-changing experiences out Pompeii, stopping for lunch overlooking the there – and our trips are hand-crafted to showcase glistening Gulf of Naples. “But it’s the warmth of the people that gives us the best, wherever you’re headed. But what a real insight into authentic Italian village life.” happens if you want to take a detour? Linger a while longer? An experience you can only get when you’re in Sometimes, going from A to B, via C really is the only way to the safe hands of an Exodus local expert. travel. So why not indulge the explorer within, and tailor-make a tour that fits you perfectly. exodustravels.com/guidedgroups On many group trips you can add flexibility before or after your holiday, but on a private adventure almost every element can be tailored to suit your requirements. Our holidays come with Around half of our customers flexibility built in. We can sort flight and hotel upgrades, extra travel solo, booking onto nights, regional departures, beach extensions, stop overs and more. small group trips with a Adventures come in all shapes and sizes - so speak to one of our mixture of couples, other solo travellers and groups sales experts about flexible travel options and let's make it personal. of friends. It’s a great way to meet To find out more, or to arrange your own private adventure on a like-minded people who share the same date to suit you, please ask your travel agent.