Asia Local boat rides Trips

Busy tour, but a great tour. We added a few nights on at the beginning for Hong Kong which I would recommend if you haven't been there before. All the staff at The Panda Hotel in Hong Kong were super friendly, (and the hotel great with shops and restaurants all around), but the hotel itself was quite a way out of the centre, (about a 35 minute metro ride into the centre was only roughly £2). All accomodation better than expected and all other hotels very central, apart from Beijing, but it was close to The Temple of Heaven and Beijing is such an enormous city, (and had to travel anyway to go to The Great Wall etc.). Our guide Ollie from China was excellent, making sure we packed in as much as possible and giving us a real insight into life in China. Generally everyone was much friendly than we expected, and left feeling we had more in common than I was expecting. We could pay for extra tours with Alipay with our guide, and definitely worth downloading the Alipay App before you go, can use the App even to pay for fruit in markets if your bank will allow it to work, but a bit of cash always useful. Colourful, exciting, but safe trip. Felt safe at night markets etc..

A very fast pace holiday seeing all the major sites along the way. Vast distances covered and every form of transport used from planes, bullet trains, local buses, mini coaches, bike cycle , chair lift, vehicular, travelators, escalators, walkways - overground and underground, underground trains , ferry, boat and walking 176k steps over the 10 days! Hotels a high standard and the food great. The service was fantastic with an extremely knowledgeable guide who kept us updated, on the move and to time. This is a ‘highlight’ tour so one only spend a few hours at each major sight but at least you see them all. The people were lovely where ever we went. Security is tight wherever we went and one needs one’s passport with you at all times. Alipay is essential in China but doesn’t work for foreigners in Hong Kong but they will accept all major credit cards or cash. Expect early morning to get to some of the sights before the crowds…well worth it to get photos before others arrive as well as avoiding long queues and saving time. Breath taking scenery along the way with social media shots everywhere. My travelling companions were very friendly and we had a laugh many times on the trip.

It was a great experience . Kerala is a fascinating part of India and the itinerary allowed us to experience all the best bits . Along the way our Guide was able to offer advice and was an excellent host , nothing was too much trouble . I would highly recommend a trip to Kerala with Explore at this time of year , mid to late February .

Shelley (Solo traveller) December 2025 I have wanted to go to India for years and am so glad that I finally did it with Explore, it enabled me to see and do so much in a short time. India is such an incredible country, rich in culture, religion, scenery etc, I was fascinated by all the places we visited and had an absolutely amazing time. The group were really nice, friendly and fun. The trip was quite busy with early starts but very exciting. It was great travelling on the Explore bus as you could watch everyday life and scenery out the window, the journeys didn't seem that long and we stopped for coffee/toilet/lunch etc. We were taken to great places to eat and the food was amazing. (none of the group were ever sick/diarrhoea etc) Indu (Inder) our guide was amazing, such a friendly, helpful, caring, informative guide with a great sense of humour! He often went out of his way to help us and make sure we were happy. I felt really looked after! : ) The bus driver and assistant, Ali and Rakesh were also great. Thank you for the best trip ever, I'll definitely be going on the Explore South India trip in the future and have already booked another Explore trip. Take a winter coat/hat/gloves for the cold early morning starts (no heating on bus). Jumpers are also good for early mornings/evenings. I took pounds with me and the guide arranged someone to come to hotel and exchange which was handy, otherwise he would show/tell us where the ATM's were. One thing that I thought would improve the trip- if the guide wore a brightly coloured top/jacket or hat so that they could be seen easily. It was often difficult to see the guide amongst the crowds, especially when we were moving around quite quickly.

We had an amazing trip to Northen India, with the best guide, Kartike. There were so many highlights from out trip. Visiting the Taj Mahal at sunrise was magical, seeing such an iconic building in real life was a really special moment. The forts and palaces we visited were huge, something you don’t realise until you are in these special places. In Ranthambore National Park we were lucky enough to see a tiger, leopard and sloth bear on our safari and when we were in Chambal Sanctury we saw pink river dolphins , memories of these moments will stay with us forever. Pushcar city had a great market to explore and the lake was beautiful, we felt like we had stepped into traditional Indian life. Varanasi was like stepping back in time and experience we will never forget.

Was great to be with a Guided Tour Group. Made it so easy to get around and worry free. Tour itinerary was wonderful and had enough free time to enjoy relaxing with new friends or by the pool. .