An outstanding cycling trip What a fantastic way to see 3 countries 'on a bike'. Not being a cyclist and having a knee operation in July I was a little sceptical about whether I would be able to complete 2 weeks of cycling but the trip was just the right balance of sight seeing and cycling. The cycling was challenging but very enjoyable with 'amazing views', the terrain was mixed which added to the experience. Our guide for the trip (Roberto Aguilar aka 'Chino') was outstanding couldn't have asked for a better one, his knowledge of all the countries was fantastic and really helped us in understanding the history of each.
I felt the trip was quite expensive for a young couple and I feel if it was cheaper would appeal to more younger people to book.
Chino's support for the 2 weeks was Albarro and Paul who were also great and really helped the weaker cyclists but also challenged the more experienced cyclist too which was good. Even when we lost Albarro at Nicaragua and just had Paul for the remaining trip the standard didn't slip.
Due to the weather in Costa Rica on the Caribbean side our trip had to be changed at short notice whilst this may have been stressful for chino this didn't show and didn't impact on our tour and it all went through smoothly and didn't impact too much on the original itinerary.
What I would suggest for future trips would be for the hotels to offer free laundry whilst the weather was warm it was humid and if hand washing we struggled to dry them and with staying only 1 night in some hotels you travel with damp clothes so didn't really smell fresh when eventually dried and needed washing again.
I would also recommend exodus invest in purchasing kit to cover the maximum size of the group. There was 12 of us within our group and all our luggage was delayed for 1 day which meant we couldn't take part in the first day cycling because there was only 2 spare helmets but if there was spare we could have purchased spare clothing and still took part. Our first day wasn't ruined because chino stepped into action and arranged a trip for us around the local town on horse and cart which was fantastic to see.
A very enjoyable week walking the Picos A very enjoyable trip. The Hotel Torrecerrado is a pleasant hotel just a few minutes walk from Arenas De Cabrales. The rooms were basic but comfortable, there is a well stocked bar with a terrace that offers incredible views of the mountains. The staff are friendly and helpful. The evening meals were of exceptional quality, I really wasn't expecting food to be so good. Lewis our guide was super friendly and took us on some very enjoyable walks. The Picos area is huge, we only scratched the surface of what's on offer. Honestly, I had never even heard of the Picos de Europa before seeing it on the Exodus website, it's an absolute gem that offers huge potential.
A varied and challenging week of mountain waking that was a perfect escape from cold and wet weather in the winter months in a beautiful corner of Spain that couldn't be more different than nearby Benidorm. The accommodation up in the hills was very comfortable and the food was outstanding and plentiful.