Reviews

two weeks in India

Trip completed in Jan-Feb 2025. This was my first time in India. The cycling was excellent (one day with 900m elevation riding to Kumbhalgarh but otherwise actually easier in terms of elevation/distance than on other grade 3 trips I’ve been on). Cycling in the cities is somewhat of an adrenaline sport which was great fun! The Taj Majal, Udaipur and Jodhpur Fort were all excellent. The food is exceptionally good. The bus was the most comfortable exodus trip bus I’ve ever been on and made the longer journeys a pleasure. I enjoyed the experience of the overnight train journey.

The Shree Ram hotel, Kumbhalgarh Forest Retreat and Sariska Safari Lodge I found to be very good and enjoyed staying there. The room in Ashok Country Resort was somewhat damp/musty. With the swimming pool closed there isn’t much to do there and, other than the airport, there’s nothing nearby. Food there was good. Bathrooms in the vesta mayura palace and udai villas were dirty. A night club next to the vesta mayua pumps out window shaking music until around midnight. This holiday is really cheap for two weeks – I know I can’t expect too much of a three star hotel in India but I’d rather have paid a bit more and had a nicer cleaner hotel at every stop.

Most Inspirational Moment

Has to be the Taj Mahal.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you're adding extra nights in Delhi don't stay extra nights in the first hotel, stay somewhere else. The weather in Jan-Feb required only full winter cycling gear on one day (Delhi) with the other days just occasionally needing a autumn/winter cycling jersey for an hour or two to start. Wasn't cold in any of the hotels and only needed to use a hotel heater once.

Reply from Exodus

Thank you for sharing your experience of our India cycling trip. We’re delighted to hear that you enjoyed the cycling routes, the incredible sights like the Taj Mahal and Jodhpur Fort, and the exceptional food. It’s also great to know that the bus and overnight train added positively to your journey.

We appreciate your feedback on the accommodation. We’re pleased that several of the hotels met your expectations, but we’re sorry to hear that others fell short—particularly regarding cleanliness and comfort. We understand how important a good night’s rest is on an active trip, and we’re reviewing the properties mentioned to ensure they meet the standards we aim to deliver.

Your point about the value of the trip is well taken, and we’re grateful for your honesty in saying you’d prefer to pay a little more for consistently higher-quality hotels. This is something we’ll consider carefully as we continue to refine our itineraries.

Thank you again for your thoughtful review. We’re glad your first visit to India was memorable, and we hope to welcome you on another adventure soon.

Cycling through Rajasthan

Interesting ,fun, scary, exhausting, dirty, heart warming

Great cycling through the villages and some awe inspiring forts and palaces on the way

We started in Delhi which is a crazy city . First day of cycling cancelled due to fog and the quality of air was very poor . Great days sightseeing of the city then the overnight train to Jodhpur which was an adventure . Not as much cycling as other Exodus cycling trips we have been on but the cycling we did was great . Bikes were good and the support was excellent. We visited a lot of palaces and forts all really enjoyed impressive . Food was brilliant and most of the hotels were usual Exodus standard and fine . It’s a great way of seeing Rajasthan from a different perspective

Amazing experience

A really amazing trip Guides really good and looked after me well I’m not really a cyclist though and would have appreciated clarification of the level. Having walked at level 4/5, I was surprised that level 3 was this hard

An experience like no other

This was my first visit to India and hopefully it’s not my last. Certainly it was a different experience from my trips to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand but not in any way negative and with Manu’s guidance and Sunny’s support the minor challenges were all manageable. Cycling in the larger cities and towns required one to be alert at all times and the constant blowing of horns from motor bikes, tuc tucs, cars and buses took some getting used to. The Indian way clearly!! But as with any change one does adapt and we even managed to have some fun on a few tuc tuc journeys. One was never too far away from the many shallow and ‘without warning’ speed bumps which will keep you on your toes.
We crammed a lot into the 2 weeks but it was all very worthwhile and our time in Agra where we visited the stunning Taj Mahal in the late afternoon, and even though crowded due to the holiday period this was still an amazing experience. Then a visit to the Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was quite impressive. We had also spent a few hours the previous day visiting the beautiful bird sanctuary in the company of a wonderful guide.

Amazing and crazy in equal measures

If you want to experience Rajasthan’s famous sights and more peaceful rural life on two wheels this is a great trip.
The distance covered is vast, so expect long days with lengthy transfers on crazy uneven roads
If you are a confident cyclist the cycling is not too hard, however, you do need to concentrate as anything from a tuk tuk to a cow can suddenly appear in your path! Plus a tarmac surface can suddenly become rubble!
Cultural highlights include hill forts, palaces and not forgetting the beautifu lTaj Mahal.
Delhi and Jaipur are noisy and can feel overwhelming with the constant blarring of horns. The colours, sights and sounds will be with us for a very long time

Palaces and Backroads

very good route and good rides through interesting countryside great palaces at Jodhpur, Udaipur and Jaipur Taj Mahal is special

Most Inspirational Moment

Taj Mahal

Thoughts on Group Leader

Manu was very good. Delivered the programme. Told us a lot about India, and very open about his country. All the crew were very good.

Advice for Potential Travellers

India is chaotic and assaults all your senses. On the road you will see people, cows, dogs, buffalo, and lots of rubbish and plastic. It takes about a week to get used to the chaos !

Reply from Exodus

Thank you for your review of your November cycling trip to Rajasthan with us, Adam. We were pleased to read that you enjoyed the rides and were happy with your tour leader, Manu, though we were very sorry that you found two of the hotels used to be of a poor standard, which is not at all the kind of feedback we expect to receive.

We have contacted our local operator to investigate your comments, and would like to assure you that these hotels are not our standard properties used on this trip. The properties you mention were last minute replacements for this departure, after our standard allocated hotels were unable to provide the number of rooms we required for your group due to unforeseen issues. We had believed these replacement properties to be of a similar standard, with the same facilities provided as those of our usual properties, however, it appears that they were not prepared for quite how busy they became immediately after the restart of tourism to the region (particularly domestic tourists). For our departures since, we have used the standard hotels for this itinerary, which receive very positive feedback, and won’t be using the alternative properties you mention again. While we hope that this can provide an honest explanation for the issues you faced in Sariska and Jaipur, we do remain regretful of your disappointment with the accommodation there.

-Sarah Puttnam, Product Manager

Great cycling and site seeing combination

This trip is a great way of seeing a selection of famous sites as well as getting glimpses of the real India from cycling on back roads, waving at friendly locals, looping round cows, avoiding wandering pigs, nipping past sleeping dogs, pausing to allow flocks of sheep and goats to cross, overtaking bullock carts and even camels. The sometimes parched scenery may not be as lush as south India but there are plenty of sights to see along the way and regular snack stops to break up the longer cycling days. The longer rides tend to be pretty flat and there are some stiff but achievable hills too. But there’s always a back up vehicle for anyone who has had enough and plenty of snacks and sweet chai to keep you going.

Good cycling but a shame about the pollution in the cities.

We’ve visited India twice before, the first time 20 years ago and then again 10 years ago, and so as keen cyclists we were excited about the prospect of cycling around the back roads of Rajasthan. The cycling was fantastic, along quiet country roads through small rural villages where everyone waves and shouts hello. Brilliant! But beware – after the cycling you end up in large cities where the levels of pollution are now so bad that it is not only unpleasant to walk around but potentially very bad for your health. I and 3 others ended up with chest infections and 2 of us couldn’t cycle again for the remainder of the trip. Our trip was over Xmas and New Year and the hotels, although perfectly clean and adequate, had no heating and it was very very cold at night – we had to ask for extra blankets just to be able to sleep. Our leader Manu and all the support crew were excellent but the bikes were a little tired. Would I recommend this trip – No! Although the cycling was great the pollution in the cities is horrendous!

Fantastic trip through Moghul India

This was a great trip to be on, saw amazing sights; buildings, landscape, wildlife as well as having a chance to see and interact with local people. We cycled through some varied and interesting landscape as well as some that was dull. The roads were quite a mix, some better than the guides remembered from their last trip, others much worse. The heat was relentless on a few days due to lack of shade and start times being later due to coach transfers, this did cause problems and maybe needs more thought. I have to say that, after a few days cycling, most of us improved but the 34km extenI think the trip will be a five in future but it needs some tweaking of itinerary and trip notes to get there. sion on day eight seemed to be wasted as the countryside was probably the worst we came across, uninspiring. Overall a great trip though with a few adjustments to trip notes and tweaking of itinerary.