Asia Art and architecture Trips

Our tour leader Keshav did an extraordinary job managing our tour. He embodied Indian hospitality and treated us like family. He helped us navigate the exotic, chaotic dance that is India!

I loved this fast paced trip, which covers so many amazing experiences. The itinerary was good and varied, the accommodation and food were excellent. Our amazing guide Sanjeev ensured everything went smoothly so we could make the most of our trip and this is a significant achievement. He also enhanced the trip by helping us understand Indian history, culture and religion. I particularly enjoyed the sunrise from the top of Savitri temple, the Hindu ceremony and later on a meal with a local family in Pushkar, the boat safari and stay at Chambal safari lodge and the boat trip at Varanassi. If I was doing the trip again I would consider arriving the day before the start of the the tour rather than an overnight flight in Ecomomy class and straight into a busy day sightseeing in Delhi.

Accomodation: • The standard of accommodation far exceeded my expectations and was excellent throughout the trip. All rooms were clean, reasonably sized for 2 people and had aircon and/ or ceiling fans. Itinarary: • The itinerary was well balanced between the well known sites in Dehli, Agra and Jaipur, as well as including other not-to-be missed activities such as the "home cookery class" in Agra, and the Craft Centre (Block Printing, Rug Making, Textiles etc.) in Jaipur. The visit to a Bollywood cinema was another unique experience ! • Travelling by road in India can take time due to the distances, but it gives visitors the chance to experience life in smaller rural towns and see a wide range of agricultural . The airconditioned minibus was very comfortable. • At most historic sites we had dedicated local guides who were well informed and spoke good english. Leader: • "G" (Gajendra), was an excellent leader and guide who kept us well informed as to the plan for each day, and also for specific local visits. He was very approacheable and easy to talk to. He dealt admirably with the challenges of shepherding the group into central Dehli on the Metro , and keeping us together as we walked through the Chandni Chowk market !

What a superb quick tour around some of India's most iconic sites (of course, including the Taj Mahal). As we have come to expect with Explore tours, our tour leader was excellent - a real advocate for the country. Accomodation was also better than expected with some really amazing 'heritage' hotels. Food, without exception, was fabulous.

Excellent tour, excellent tour leader. My only criticisms are that the tour was 1 or 2 temples too many and that the leader gave too many statistics and tended to repeat himself in his obvious enthusiasm

First, I was extremely pleased by the Local guides. They were upfront and clear about the whole process beginning with travel itinerary, help with the visa process, travel costs and so on. The agents were cordial, and always responded promptly during the pre travel phase of the journey. Once our tour started, I was pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm of the guides to show everything possible at different sites. The guides as well as the driver were very friendly and helpful. The organization of the itinerary and the logistics were very well planned. All hotels, with the exceptionption of one, were very good. The only shortcoming that I can think of, was the food that was local thoroughout the journey. It lacked variety and there was no other option. However, this is not the fault of the travel agency since all restaurants served only local food. Overall, I can summarize that I had a great experience. The trip was very well planned, organized and successfully completed.