Reviews

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.

Suggestions

It was a very relaxing trip and I felt rejuvenated by the experience. Most of the group suffered from a stomach bug (probably Noro virus) so I hope this did not detract too much from their enjoyment of the trip.I would recommend this trip for it's mix of activities and leisurely pace.

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!!

Suggestions

I did complete a more informed review in September with proper place names etc but it dissappeared and obviously failed to send. After spending ages with ny map getting the place names spelt properly etc I was disinclined to do it again, But I did not want you to think that we did not have a good time because we did. It was a wonderful holiday.

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!!!

Suggestions

India wasn't my first choice and it was one of my travelling companions who suggested it - when I saw this trip on the Exodus website and saw the variety it caught my imagination but still far exceeded my expectations.  The area we went to reminded me very much of my childhood spent in Fiji where there is a large Indian population and I felt very at home from the time we travelled in from the airport in Kochi.  The group we were with were a great bunch and I made some good friends.  So nice to get away from the cold in Scotland to some warmth in winter too.  Cooking and food was fab!  Just loved it all round!

Most Inspirational Moment

The houseboat.  There is something intrinsically peaceful and calming about meandering along the back waters on a fabulous houseboat where the crew conjure up wonderful meals from, seemingly, thin air, oh and banana fritters just in case we were hungry in the afternoon!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Lukose was brilliant.  He anticipated our every question and had an uncanny ability to appear as if from nowhere as soon as anyone even passingly mentionned that there was something they wanted to ask him.  Very knowledgeable about the places we visited and India in general; and very quick to call someone if there was a question he didn't know the answer to.  He was very quick to get to grips with different peoples' wants and needs (beer and ice playing a large part in that!).  The trip ran like clockwork.  What can I say, a good few of us wanted to take Lukose home with us to organise our lives in the UK!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Definitely go on this trip it's a great experience.  Don't expect to be able to go to lots of bars, there isn't the same kind of drinking culture in Kerala as there is at home, but Kingfisher beer is available in most places! The day walk from Mattupetty Dam was a lot harder than many people anticipated.  The walk is really quite steep all of the way up and combined with the humidity / heat does make it quite difficult.  That said it is worth doing, the view from the top is great and it was good to do something more active.   The air con on the house boat was  really cold at night, take layers! I wouldn't recommend the visit to Kanyakumari - we spent a lot of time queuing and there really wasn't anything much to see.  The wooden palace about an hour away was beautiful so perhaps that could be a shorter optional trip.   The German bakery, Waves, at Kovalam is a must visit restaurant - food and cake is fantastic, as is the sister Fusion restaurant.  

Suggestions

A fantastic trip.  There are some long stints on the bus but Lukose made sure we had plenty of stops to feed us and you see loads.  There are plenty of impromptu stops along the way to see fields being worked, sugar produced, bricks being made.  Book it!

Most Inspirational Moment

Difficlut to pick - there were sevaral between sceenry/geography, food, people.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go

Suggestions

Could miss the night at the Coir village - would have liked to have done a train trip.

Most Inspirational Moment

The relaxing houseboat cruise and canoe trip were so enjoyable as we could observe village life, coir spinning, birds, etc. in their beautiful, quiet and exotic surroundings.  Walking through tea plantations in Munnar was also lovely - they are dotted with silver oaks and stetch for miles over rolling hills, with some high mountains in the distance, and the tea pluckers, all women, working in groups, were friendly and interesting to watch. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Avtar was likeable, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and fond of jokes and silly expressions, one of which "easily peasily, lemon squeezily" I couldn't get out of my mind for days after my return...  He took pride in his job and tried to show us lots of things to break up the coach journeys, which he called adding spices.  Although he generally kept an eye on our group when sight-seeing, he let people wander off occasionally and wasn't quite strict enough about setting off on time (himself included); on the other hand, he was patient and resourceful, e.g. he proposed an (easier) alternative walk when he discovered that the steep Munnar trek would be disappointing as the tea plants had been cut down in that area.  Also, as no one wanted to do the optional excusion from Kovalam to Kanyakumari, he took us on a walk to see the Fishermen's Beach, and was willing to accompany us if we had free time or offer advice on what to do. He refunded unused kitty money to us on the last day.

Advice for Potential Travellers

It was very hot and also very humid the further south we went, so perhaps best to go before March.  I would not advise visiting the Periyar Tiger Reserve in March because the wild elephants are irritable during this dry season and have calves and could charge at any moment (NB: tigers have not been seen by tourists for years).  Our local guides were clearly frightened and often told us to run when spotting an elephant that could be aggressive, but had been told we wanted to take photos of elephants and it was difficult to persuade them that we actually wanted to leave!  We could not do the Periyar Lake boat cruise because tickets were sold out when Avtar tried to get some a few days beforehand.  A reservation system has just been re-introduced and includes a significant booking fee but even so there's no guarantee that places will be available.  No one wanted to queue up for 2 hours and risk not going and it would have been particularly bad on the day we were scheduled to go because it was a Sunday, when local Indians go.  Swimming can be dangerous in Kovalam because of currents - the waves are high and surfing is possible, so best to swim in hotel pool.

Suggestions

Funnily enough we weren't bothered much by mosquitoes.  The food was really good and cheap - a lot of vegetarian meals but quite a bit of fresh fish and some meat.  The coach was comfortable and the microphone worked well so we could hear everything that Avtar said.  The driver and assistant were good.  The roads weren't too bad and we stopped frequently as there's always something to see by the roadside, e.g. brick-making, religious processions and colourful markets, which broke up the journeys - Avtar did consult us first to make sure we wouldn't prefer to drive fast and arrive earlier at our destination!  I loved this holiday with its variety of things to see especially the martial art and Kathakali shows which were new to me.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were so many highlights that it's difficult to pick out just one so I'll put down a few. The scenery and wildlife are beautiful as the colours are so vibrant and the contrasts immense. The walk through the tea plantations with the views of the Western Ghats was stunning. The backwaters in Kerala are amazing too - it was a dream of mine to visit there and the experience lived up to expectations. The Meenakshi temple in Madurai is very interesting and the visit provides an insight to some of the spiritual side of India. Other great moments were visiting the local markets and meeting the very warm and friendly people. The food was a great highlight too. We ate in a lot of local restaurants and the food was always fantastic.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Avtar Singh is great! He was a fantastic leader and nothing was ever too much trouble for him to arrange. His humour and good nature helped an instant bonding across the group. The stories he told were always fascinating and I learnt so much about the culture and way of life in India. Always he tried to ensure we got a bit of extra 'spice' and this made the tour very special indeed. It was a real privilege to have him as a leader.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go with the pace of life there (it's much slower than London certainly) and open your eyes to new experiences. I enjoyed the early mornings when we were in the countryside as the wildlife was amazing at this time of day. The food in local restaurants was superb and while sensible precautions were taken most people did not suffer any ill effects. The people are very friendly and it was great to have the opportunity to speak to them in the markets and towns.

Suggestions

I'm a fan of India now, and hope to return soon to enjoy some more of this incredible country!

Most Inspirational Moment

the optional trip to Padmanabhapuram Palace and the tip of India.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Superb. Very attentive, full of knowledge and being local to the area gave an added dimension to the trip.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Check your trip notes - ours were inaccurate.  Make sure they give you at least 2 hours to change planes in Dubai. All our flights left at least an hour late except for the crucial one back to Gatwick which left on time and we had been given only 70 minutes between planes.Don't expect western food. You are in India with its fantastic selection of local food. 

Suggestions

Backwaters are lovely, but you'll only get 4 hours cruising. Too little for a wonderful area packed with interest.

Most Inspirational Moment

Visiting a Hindu temple with our Hindu guide who gave us so much infomation.Watching the sun go down from our houseboat on the backwaters. Beautiful. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was everything one could want from a guide. I liked the fact he was a local man and a Hindu so could give us so much infomation about the way of life there.He was very well organised and went the extra mile.  

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go with Exodus, you will not be disappointed.

Suggestions

A lovely holiday giving a really good overview of what life is like in Southern India. With a few relaxing bits added.