Exodus

We used Exodus to book our holiday, a trekking holiday specialist. We found them to be well priced, good for information before, and on the trek we were well fed and we had our own group 'toilet tent'. Only problem was that our bags got lost between Nairobi and Kilimajaro airport, so we had to start the trek in clothes from a 'hire shop' (small hut with old clothes they'd found left on the mountain), which wasn't nice, but wasn't really their fault either. The company on the Tanzanian side, African Walking Company, didn't really seem to understand our apprehension at walk up to 6000m in someone's old stockings and a t-shirt, which was a bit frustrating. We got them in the end though, and even though we must have spent an extra £150 on the hire clothes and porters to bring the bags up, it was worth it to have my own gear (especially my North Face Greenland down-jacket which I love to bits and I think actually saved me from getting hypothermia several times).

The holiday also included a few days in Zanzibar, which was a lovely place to relax after the walk, but I wouldn't go there again. I think you get better value, beaches and service somewhere like Thailand. Can't complain though as I did get proposed to on the beach!!! :-)

I quite like the Exodus website. You can see other travellers' reviews of that exact trip, and if you sign in can access community forums to meet the other people on the trip before you go. the forums are a bit clunky at the moment but the idea is there. They also have videos of the trip, and Google Earth videos to show you the route which is a nice touch and got me really excited before going!

Only problem I had with it, although you can book online, you can't then manage your booking or go back and check the details easily. I would have liked to have seen a screen with my booking details, showing dates when I had to do things by (pay deposit, get visa etc), and dates for when I could expect things from Exodus (final joining instructions, kit bags etc). This could be integrated with the existing 'my exodus' part which currently is really only useful for accessing the forums. I did mention this to one of the guys there (I do like to give feedback!) and hopefully they will implement that soon.