Discover Puglia: Italy's Ancient Heel

Traveler Reviews

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  natasha

  July 16th, 2023
  5.0
  Gabriel, our guide was well organized, funny, very knowledgeable and helpful. The tour itself had an excellent...
  Gabriel, our guide was well organized, funny, very knowledgeable and helpful. The tour itself had an excellent balance of activities and free time. The only negative was that it was 35+ degrees, but even then, there was enough shade and indoor things to see to balance out the heat. My daughter and I really enjoyed the tour and our small group of 20 made it a more intimate tour. Thank you!!Show more
  Traveled in July 2023
  

  Reply from: Exodus Adventure Travels

  Our local team will be thrilled to hear that Gabriel was such a good guide for you! Thank you for taking the time to let us know you had a great adventure on Puglia: Discover the Heel of Italy tour. We always appreciate hearing back from our travellers. Hopefully, we will see you and your daughter again for your next trip! -Exodus Travels

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  Rosina

  June 19th, 2023
  5.0
  Although I have traveled often this was my first experience with an organized/guided tour. The tour was exactly as...
  Although I have traveled often this was my first experience with an organized/guided tour. The tour was exactly as described. Our guide Gabriele was an outstanding host. He ensured we were well informed of all details throughout our journey which made it stress free and fun. He went above and beyond organizing a few group dinners. The one that stands out in my mind was our dinner in Lecce in a piazza under a star and moonlit sky. It was like a dream. Accommodations were characteristic of the town, clean and with friendly staff. Daily breakfast were fresh , abundant with plenty of variety. My personal favourite Apricot Crostata! If you take this trip here a few tips; - wear comfortable shoes with good treads. It would be difficult to navigate Materra and Alberobello in flip flops. - arrive hungry saving room for a gelato or two - be prepared to pay a small city tax to each hotel. It’s minor but in my opinion it would be more convenient for staff and guests if it were included. - take lots of pictures Pulgia…you won’t be disappointed. The tour was busy yet somehow I returned home relaxed. Buon Viaggio!!Show more
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  Traveled in May 2023
  

  Reply from: Exodus Adventure Travels

  We are so happy to hear that you had a great time on our Puglia: Discover the Heel of Italy tour and we really appreciate you sharing your thoughts and providing us with feedback and photos. We are thrilled that you had such a good experience on your first guided tour and we know our local team will be happy to hear that you enjoyed yourself. Thanks so much for taking the time for this review and we can’t wait to have you booked onto another Exodus adventure! -Exodus Travels

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  L

  June 14th, 2023
  5.0
  This was my first organized week long tour, so I had a lot of questions.The website is very easy to use and when we...
  This was my first organized week long tour, so I had a lot of questions.The website is very easy to use and when we called with specific questions we got a very polite and knowledgeable person. She handled our needs and I will use tour radar again for searching and booking a tour and have recommended it to friends I know. Thanks for a great holiday.Show more
  Traveled in May 2023
  

  Reply from: Exodus Adventure Travels

  Thank you so much for letting us know about how great the booking process went! We are so happy you enjoyed Discover the Heel of Italy tour. We hope that you will continue to tell others about your amazing adventure and we hope you will choose Exodus for the next one! -Exodus Travels

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  jaydee

  June 24th, 2022
  1.0
  @ExodusTravels #exodustravels We won't use Exodus again. I booked the wrong holiday and was offered the tiniest...
  @ExodusTravels #exodustravels We won't use Exodus again. I booked the wrong holiday and was offered the tiniest credit to switch. wouldn't even let us use the airport transfer we had paid for! Not valued despite nearly £20k spent . Now enjoying a great trip with Cycle Puglia.Show more
  Traveled in June 2022
  

  Reply from: Exodus Adventure Travels

  We would like to thank you for your feedback, John, although we are very sorry to learn of your disappointment regarding your recent booking experience with Exodus. In circumstances where a client wishes to cancel their existing booking and join a new trip at the last minute, they would incur a 100% cancellation charge in line with our booking conditions as it is usually too late for Exodus to recover costs on flights, transfers, accommodation, and other services to support the running of our holidays. On this occasion, we were fortunately able to recoup some funds from our local operator in Puglia, but we regret if you felt this did not go far enough. We understand that you wished to use the arrival group transfer from your original tour, but this was unfortunately not possible as this transfer was to a different start hotel. We are pleased that you are enjoying your time in Italy, but we are sorry to hear that you will not be travelling with Exodus in the future. We do hope that, in time, you may reconsider your decision as we have greatly appreciated your loyalty over the years.

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  Pamela

  June 4th, 2022
  1.0
  Poor Communication: This review is emailed to me but it is in someone else's name - again! My name was wrong when I...
  Poor Communication: This review is emailed to me but it is in someone else's name - again! My name was wrong when I tried to check in at the first hotel and also on the tour guide's trip manifesto. Too many emails - confusing. Slow to answer pertinent questions. Some info rather late and some non-existent. I need to knwo when and where our tour is meeting so I can make plans for my days travelling prior to the tour. My friend wanted to join the tour. No one ever sent a definitive answer so she made other plans. Turns out there was room for her to share my room.Show more
  Traveled in May 2022
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  David

  April 20th, 2022
  3.0
  The tour provided transportation and accomodations. The content of the tour was was often shallow. One local guide...
  The tour provided transportation and accomodations. The content of the tour was was often shallow. One local guide in Lecce was very good. The guide in Mattera was rushed and drowned out by church bells--he did not pause. The tour guide often gave confusing directions and seldom had good local maps as the afternoon of the day was usually free time. Higlights of the tour was a visit to the olive grove. TRhe wine tasting in Alberello was also good.Show more
  Traveled in April 2022
  

  Reply from: Exodus Adventure Travels

  We would like to thank David for his review, although we regret that he was did not feel that enough information was given at times on his trip. We have received very positive feedback on this itinerary in the past, and we note that the Exodus tour leader, Fabrizio, was rated 4.65 out of a possible 5 stars by clients on this departure. We remain confident in Fabrizio’s excellent ability to lead this tour, however we are sorry that David’s experience with him was less positive. Unfortunately, as the trip notes mention, Italian legislation rules that tour leaders are not allowed to guide groups in some cities, museums, and churches. One of these is Matera, where Exodus must use a local licenced guide, and though we take on board David’s feedback relating to the local guide, we believe that the tour of Matera, a beautifully unique UNESCO heritage site, is still worthwhile, providing visitors with insights into the city’s rich culture and history that might otherwise be lost. When reviewing feedback from future trips, we will bear David’s comments in mind and will, if necessary, make changes. -Exodus Travels

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  Roslyn

  October 27th, 2019
  4.0
  The tour was interesting and worthwhile. Guide Damiano was a really lovely guy with lots of excellent information....
  The tour was interesting and worthwhile. Guide Damiano was a really lovely guy with lots of excellent information. I would have liked a lot more info on local food each night at dinner time and evening meals includedShow more
  Traveled in September 2019
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  Reeta

  May 30th, 2019
  5.0
  The tour was fine. The highlight was staying in a trulla for 2 nights. In fact, that is why I chose this tour....
  The tour was fine. The highlight was staying in a trulla for 2 nights. In fact, that is why I chose this tour. Giuseppe was terrific—good sense of humor, knowledgeable, aware of traveller’s needs. Most breakfasts were delicious, the few dinners were great. The towns were beautiful and as described. Sadly the weather (rain and chilly) kept some of us from fully exploring the town. The description of “gentle walks” was a bit misleading since 3 1/2 miles (each way) required that some of us take a taxi instead. The one suggestion I would make is to take more advantage of the time in the bus to give an education on the area, —history, geography, and any interesting tidbits that could b added. It seems the perfect time to enhance the travelers knowledge of the area.Show more
  Traveled in May 2019
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  Linzi

  May 28th, 2019
  5.0
  overall the tour was very good, our guide Christina could not have been better. I have one complaint which I hope you...
  overall the tour was very good, our guide Christina could not have been better. I have one complaint which I hope you rectify, our first nights accommodation was not what we paid for. We paid for single occupation in the rooms for the hotels, however the first night we had to share, as we had paid I am expecting a refund for that night.Show more
  Traveled in May 2019
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  Marilena

  September 10th, 2018
  2.0
  The tour guide was very knowledgeable . Saw puglia as an introduction but thought it was an expensive tour for what...
  The tour guide was very knowledgeable . Saw puglia as an introduction but thought it was an expensive tour for what you got .. dissatisfied with only breakfast included in the meals for whole week , the accommodation was disgusting and not always in the center of town . Don’t know where my money went ? Won’t do an exodus tour again ..Show more
  Traveled in September 2018
  

  Reply from: Exodus Adventure Travels

  We would like to thank Marilena for her feedback, although we regret that she did not enjoy her tour in Puglia and that it did not meet her expectations. We are sorry that she was disappointed with the accommodation; the hotels used on the trip are all of a good standard and we have not received feedback of this nature in the past, nonetheless, we will keep a close eye on feedback relating to the accommodation in the future. We feel it is worth mentioning that on Exodus’ website, clients have given this tour an average of 4.8 stars out of a possible 5 (on the date of publishing) and we feel this is reassuring, however we are genuinely sorry that Marilena’s experience was not so positive.

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