Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

The Taj Mahal at sunrise - so beautiful. Other highlights were the tigers at Ranthambore, the Seikh temple in Delhi and the cooking demonstration in Jaipur.

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was good on the whole, but not impressed by his serious participation in the Holi Festival celebrations. In the end he was a bit more flexible, we did not want to see another fort when we got to Delhi!

Advice for Potential Travellers

You need stamina. The notes say you do not need to be fit, but the pace is relentless and the hours of travelling took us by surprise.

Suggestions

Major lows of the trip were the overnight train to Veranassi - an absolute nightmare and the visit to the village . It was dreadful gawping at their living conditions and then eating our huge packed lunch in front of them. A very uncomfortable experience,

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the Taj Mahal in all its majesty

Thoughts on Group Leader

Mayank was clearly not new at this role. He was very knowledgeable in many aspects and topics of India , where I was able to learn a lot ( whether I retained the information is a different story) . As he was mentioning the different religions in India, he did mention a bit of personal information where he said he considered himself Jain. This on its own did not bother me. In fact, it helps develop a connection. However when he said they are considered the ‘Jews of India’ and more specifically businessmen mentality, this is where I feel he may have overstepped. The reason I say this is what followed a couple days later. In Varanasi, there was an option in the morning to see a Buddhist temple. Myself and a few others were not interested in joining the group so we asked if it was possible for Mayank to book us a tuktuk. He went ahead and kindly did that for us. From my recollection, we did not clearly tell him what we were doing because we didn’t know what was there. There was mention of maybe going into the old town, but nothing was set. We assumed everything was fine on his end as he booked the tuktuk. We ended up getting a very kind driver who asked us where we wanted to go, we said maybe some shops. We went to a couple warehouse shops where we made purchases and then walked around the Muslim area to see people shopping in preparation for Eid. It was a fantastic morning!!! Mayank ended up finding our about where we went and that we made purchases. He ended up getting upset and short with our driver, on two occasions, the second one which we were witness to. He appeared rude and demeaning to our driver, as our driver told us what he said ( we had the same driver the following day to drive us to the boat tour on the Ganges). Basically Mayank asked why he took us to these places and that he wasn’t supposed to go there. After this, there was a sour taste in my mouth towards Mayank, unfortunately. I felt he was just upset because he lost money as we purchased things at places he didn’t take us to. This is something a businessman would be cognizant of.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This was my first trip to I did so other than reading reviews here I didn’t really know what to expect. I’d say pack light, bring reachable clothes that retail odor (you don’t have much opportunity for washings), bring tummy meds just in case, always carry tissue/toilet paper and sanitizer. The week is jam packed filled with so many great sights and experiences - take advantage of everything!! No regrets! It was so memorable! Am already thinking about returning to India

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing Tiger and 3 cubs in the wild

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent ,very knowledgeable although he often talked for far longer than the group concentrated for

Advice for Potential Travellers

Food is relatively cheap but If you do all the optional trips it will be an extra £200 + This is NOT a leisurely tour,its just not very active .I hadnt realised the journeys would be so long ,many early starts late nights and corresponding lack of sleep

Suggestions

If I went again Id spend longer in Jaipur and Agra ,I wouldnt take 2 boat trips on the Ganges and id try to spend 2 weeks on the trip rather than the 9 days . I still have Orange hair from Holi , so no it doesnt wash out .

Most Inspirational Moment

Getting a close up view of a family of tigers in the Ranthambore nature reserve and seeing a wide variety of birdlife in both towns and countryside.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our tour leader Mayank was excellent - hardworking, patient and knowledgeable. He was always helpful and acted as a very effective advocate for the group when dealing with day to day issues. Given his many years of experience in the business, nothing seemed to take him by surprise and he seemed to know everybody wherever we went. He was also very helpful with my attempts to identify local birdlife.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The 'leisurely' label does not do justice to this tour - there are frequent early starts and long days on buses and trains with the consequence that we skipped quite a few hours of sleep in order to arrive early at some venues. India is a big country of course but a little more time genuinely 'at leisure' would have been appreciated.

Suggestions

We were disappointed by the generally poor standard of the hotels we stayed in with the exception of the Surya in Varanasi and the Raj Palace in Ranthambore. There was a distinctly 'budget' feel about most of them with limited and/or very dated facilities, shoddy furniture and fittings, unattractive locations and indifferent customer service.

Most Inspirational Moment

Taj Mahal

Thoughts on Group Leader

Fabulous could not have been better

Advice for Potential Travellers

Expects lots of early morning starts aand a lot of travelling which is all well worth it.

Suggestions

Thank you for a fabulous itinary and an amazing local guide

Most Inspirational Moment

Visiting there Taj Mahal at sunrise

Thoughts on Group Leader

Manoj was exceptional in his organisational skills, knowledge, enthusiasm and sense of humour .

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for the fast pace and culture shock

Suggestions

Good idea to work up Indian experience prior to visiting Varanasi

Most Inspirational Moment

Varanasi. Like nothing I’ve experienced before …not to be missed. Simply amazing.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The best. He found us places to eat and snack and drink and sit …and knew every best view …and made the trip simply outstanding

Advice for Potential Travellers

Follow your guides advice at all times. Take a deep breath …and enjoy

Suggestions

Wonderful. 5*****

Most Inspirational Moment

Taj Mahal at sunrise and visiting Varanasi We did a cooking class which was a highlight and just the people and the buzz of being in India.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent leader giving us options and making sure we saw as much as possible in the 9 days

Advice for Potential Travellers

I flew to Goa at the end of my trip for 5 days to have some chill time, it was great to reflect on such a wonderful exodus trip!

Suggestions

Can’t wait to go on my next trip!

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing a tiger in Ranthambore National Park. This tiger came up so close to our vehicle and walked unperturbed past a long line of jeeps which were on the path with us. We spent a good 20 minutes watching her. The second most inspirational moment was seeing the Taj Mahal reveal itself slowly from the early morning mist.

Thoughts on Group Leader

I cannot praise Naveen Bazaz highly enough. He was so caring and looked after our every need so well. I enjoyed listening to his commentaries on the places we were visiting and he was very attentive. We all loved his sense of humour and the way he socialised with us. We valued his advice at meal times when choosing our food. Naveen gave us many local experiences such as visiting a Delhi family for a cookery demonstration and meal afterwards, taking us to sample street food and a famous "lassi" shop, to name just a few. We were very lucky to have Naveen as our leader.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring warm clothes for Delhi and Ranthambore National Park. The hotel in Ranthambore did provide blankets for the early morning game drives. Take a mask/buff because there's a lot of dust on these game drives. Also take binoculars. A pack of cards for the long train ride.

Suggestions

Don't be put off by the long drives. Observing the passing scenes, the people and their way of life through the minibus window was not to be missed!

Most Inspirational Moment

So many of these. Some of the hotels were so pretty with gorgeous gardens. I really value this on a busy trip so you have a bit of down time in the sunshine. We saw 2 young tigers in Ranthambore and this was a highlight. They were beautiful .Felt a bit alarmed the number of trucks all scrambling to view them, but they seemed ok and not traumatised. The Taj Mahal is very beautiful and Varanasi is beyond belief, especially the evening prayers which are akin to a scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was amazing. Such a lovely friendly man, had us all eating out of his hand I'd say. He has done the trip so many times and knows every inch of it. He joined in with us and shared the fun. He was organised and gave very clear instructions for the itinerary each day. Was sad to say goodbye.

Advice for Potential Travellers

You need to love curry, journeying and you need, as on many adventure holidays, patience and an ability to take things as they come. The e-visa service seemed to cause problems at the airport, but it was a difficult time with Covid19. I had a year visa which meant I got through immigration very quickly. Those with e-visas took forever. Take your Powerbank out of your main luggage. Take some warm clothes for the early starts, it takes a while to warm up. No-one was ill, the facilities were nowhere near as bad as you might think they would be, even on the overnight trains and stations. Didn't open my medicine pack. Due to the time of year, I came back with pink and orange hair from Holi, but I'm getting used to it. All but 2 hotels were really good, but you take the rough with the smooth on these trips.

Suggestions

Go. You'll love it. it was one of my best tours and I can't wait for the world to get going again.