Kilimanjaro: Marangu Route

“Excellent”

“Great for first timer to India - it covers a range of places with different vibes starting from the hustle bustle capital to very small local villages, safaris, and 'touristy' cities (trust me it's actually nice to be able to have a proper coffee and/or go (window) shopping after 10 days of indulging in local culture.) And touristy places in India are far less busy like what you see in other countries.

Our tour guide was very well-organised and very helpful for those who required extra assistance - like losing baggage / passport / remembering wrong flight times / having gold fish memory (yes... this all happened in the trip..). You would't need to worry if you're clumsy or forgetful as Intrepid tour guides will have you covered.

The itinerary is skewed towards a leisure one hence why the average age of our group is 50+ ranging from late 20's to 70's. If you're simply looking for a cultural experience I'd say this is the perfect choice. But if you're a bit more active and adventurous like me then you may feel too protected and bored somtimes.

Lastly some tips for shopping - save your money until you get to Udaipur as there's many more options and prices are a lot better. That way you don't need to lug around extra weight early in the trip too. Remember to bargain at expensive & bigger shops (those are the wealthy ones and they rip you off by a big margin) and not so much at the smaller shops (they aren't as rich!). Tour guides would sometimes hush you into particular shops unfortunately.. but don't feel pressured to make a purchase (easier said than done though) as those shop keepers are good at pitching.”

“I wasn't forewarned about the difficulty of obtaining a Russian VISA in a short timeframe. Obtaining one in a short period of time cost over $1,000.
Additionally, I suggest booking directly with the tour company as communication was not passed from agent company, to tour company, to me the traveler that extra hotel fees were required as the hotel had sold out of single rooms.”