Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

For me - pretty much everything! 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Suresh was very kind, patient, knowledgable, funny and very pleasant to talk to. He was an extremely good tour guide.   

Advice for Potential Travellers

Embrace everything! Indian people have a very good sense of humour and love to engage in a conversation with foreigners, so make an effort! :) I went a bit mental, I can't sit still for 5 seconds, so I was getting up earlier than I needed to every morning to go into each the towns we stayed at just to experience more and more!!   

Most Inspirational Moment

The most inspirational moment for me was in the temple of Madurai  

Thoughts on Group Leader

Suresh the group leader was funny and caring and very knowledgeable about his country.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Do not forget your bug spray the mossy was not too bad but other small creatures where plentiful The tour guide is very good at showing you safe places to eat if you decide to go it alone for eating check how your food is prepared eg have they washed things in tap or bottled water.   If you dont like hot food ask for less chilli not less spices as you will loose a lot of the flavour.Long trousers are great for visiting temples but also to protect against leeches :) you will be provided with leech socks put them on for the jungle bit harmless little critters but quite annoying. Your feet will get wet in the jungle but trainers dry fairly quickly in the heat.    Dont change too much money at the air port as its hard to change it back at a decent rate and when changing money ask for 100 rupee notes or less as most places will struggle to give you change apart from the large hotels where you could use 500 notes to pay for your dinner.Sun block up even if its cloudy its gets you when your not expecting Long loose skirts are easier for using the crouching toilets rather than trousers :) but its all good fun you will have buns of steel by the end of the trip If you put on a bikini expect everyone to photograph you the locals go in the sea fully clothed so heaps of flesh on display is not a great idea if you don't want the attention.Haggle haggle and Haggle some more or if your a soft touch like me just give them what they are asking for but seriously you can usually knock 20 % off whatever they start at usually more I worked on the basis of how much effort was needed to make whatever I was buying.Pack light I went out with 9KG and came back with 20 KG I love shopping.I wash by hand but if you like to get things laundered the tour rep will advice the best places.  The massages are very good but are a full front and back if your shy I would give this a miss wait until you get to the last hotel the massages reviewed much better here tha earlier in the trip.  Go with an open mind and have fun

Most Inspirational Moment

The most inspirational moment of the trip was Madurai Temple. Seeing people together in the temple, praying and lighting candles was a lovely sight to see.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Suresh was a very good group leader. He had a lot of knowledge of the areas we visited as well as the recent history of India in general.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you don't take too much money with you. It is hard to try and get it converted back to English pounds on the last days without getting really bad exchange rates.

Most Inspirational Moment

The moments that stood out most were the little extras that the leader threw into the trip, like the Rescue Tuk Tuks that saved us from the rain in the plantations and our last night at the Onam celebrations in Trivandrum - We even made it into their local newspaper with our yellow balloons! The meal at family home was also fantastic. I loved so much of the trip. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Suresh was brilliant. So knowledgable and has a wicked sense of humour. 

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take loads of cheap pens to hand out to the children. You will have never heard the phrase "One pen?" so many times in your life before. Get an easy to apply mosquito cream instead of the greasy sprays as you want to make sure that you apply it diligently daily otherwise you will be eaten. Not a malaria risk, just annoying bites. Boots Repel Citrapel 75 cream worked brilliantly for me. 

Most Inspirational Moment

The temple visit to Madurai is a real highlight, and we were lucky to see part of the Painguri festival (not for the squeamish!)

Thoughts on Group Leader

The leader, Suresh Moni was excellent. Very knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and attentive to the diffferent needs of the group.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The hill walk at Munnar is not difficult, but with the heat was not attempted by all the group - some were fitter than others!

Most Inspirational Moment

There were so many: the two idyllic days on the houseboat; the moving Madurai temple and pilgrims; the exhilarating trek in the Munnar hills; our lovely meal with an Indian family; the tea plantations; the two peaceful days in the Coir village; exciting wildlife walk in Periyar; the elephant santuary; the (optional) train trip to Vekala beach; moving Gandhi museum; surfing and strolling at Kovalam; Trivandrum; bustling and atmospheric markets and villages- and so much more!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Suresh was outstanding: highly knowedgeable, friendly, witty, very caring, attentive to the needs of all, and extremely hard-working. Easily one of the best leaders I have experienced.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Lassi is a nice drink, and cools hot curries. Chai tea grew on me- refreshing. Munnar is cold at night!Some markets and towns are dusty: I found tissues, eye lotion and throat sweets helpful. Antiseptic handwash and wipes are important.  

Most Inspirational Moment

There were so many colourful sights. I enjoyed travelling over the Western Ghats through the tea plantations and spice gardens. The colour and human hubbub in the temples in Madurai was fascinating. I enjoyed relaxing in the houseboats on the Allepey backwaters watching daily life unfold on the banks. Watching the fishermen hauling in the nets in Kovalam was interesting.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Manoj the Tour Leader was excellent. He was very professional, calm and efficient and made sure that the needs of the group were met. The driver and assistant were also very professional and helpful and ensured our safety. Manoj dealt with problems in a manner that was co-operative such as having to leave early in the morning to flee from Thekkady to beat the blockade. He quickly worked out the needs of the group and would make sure they were met. He provided good advice on eating places, places to buy articles and places of interest. He was very knowledgeable and provided sufficient information to make the tour interesting. He also gave good tips on photography, being an expert.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for different climates as the tour goes from warm tropical to chilly mountain climes.Take rehydration powders as there is a possibility of stomach problems.Although we were able to borrow adaptors and eventually managed to buy one, the normal plug adaptors you buy here did not seem to fit Indian plugs. You will be taking a lot of photos!Be prepared for quite a lot of travelling on mixed road surfaces.

Most Inspirational Moment

This trip's major plus point over other trips concentrating on Kerala is the diversion to Madurai.  It was amazing, fascinating and well worth the travel involved.  The huge Hindu temple was definitely the real highlight of the trip.Otherwise, Kerala's amazing natural beauty (particularly the tea plantation and the backwaters) and its stunningly tasty food were things that will live long in the memory.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The day trip to the southern tip of India is well worth making.  After having spent time travelling you might feel like stretching out on the beach at Kovalam, but the trip was a nice chance to do your own thing.  There is a beautiful wooden palace to be seen and the chance to see three oceans meet.

Most Inspirational Moment

We really enjoyed the optional trip down to the very tip of India. I would recommend that that day be part of the itinerary. The wooden palace en route was amazing, and the island off the coast where the three seas meet was just wonderful. The ferry was an experience not to be missed.The houseboat was very well appointed and the food excellent with such an attenetive crew. The views as we cruised the backwaters were a delight = very restful and romantic.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Gopal was lovely. Kind efficient and very thorough. He was very good at making sure we enjoyed all sorts of culinary delights. It was our third trip  to India but he found us different tasty meals that we had not tasted before.

Advice for Potential Travellers

You know leeches are not so bad. Inconvenient but not life threatening!!

Most Inspirational Moment

There were many highlights - climbing Munnar Hill, elephant riding, houseboat trip, seeing the birds (feathered variety :)).

Thoughts on Group Leader

Absolutely wonderful - nice and calm, good sense of humour, checked out the welfare of the group both individually and as a group, organised and able to try and put in an alternative when we couldn't do part of the trip due to a border dispute.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Hiking boots instead of trainers would be better for the hill climb and the Periyar National Park.Need to be relaxed about slow service in restaurants - enjoy the time with your fellow travellers!Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!!