Kolkata Tours and Trips

This was a great trip taking us from kalkata and the southern mangroves to the hills crossing from Darjeeling to the lovely old kingdom of Sikkin to Buthan and finally in Kathmandu. The contrast between them is striking with mountain tops communities temples ancient fortress and beautiful people. So much history. With countries so close you would expect people and costumes to be similar but this could not be further from the truth. Our tour leader Keran had everything organised to a tee and was great company as well a continuous source of knowledge. Just go, before it all changes forever😂😂

We benefited from an absolutely brilliant tour guide, Kiran, very experienced and knowledgeable but also highly organised and excellent company! Bhutan was of course the tour highlight with another excellent local guide. We only covered a very small part of the country which could be made into a tour in its own right if possible! It would have been useful for dress code to be included in the tour notes ( long trousers and collared sleeve tops) as some of the party had to buy the latter in Bhutan. Enjoyed everywhere else but a long return trip to Sandurbans to see very little, although a welcome bit of relaxation after Calcutta. Darjeeling and train ride another highlight and staying mid town was appreciated, which we missed in Gangtok and Kathmandu, Accommodation generally good but Summit chain in India variable quality and repetitive menu selection, some variation would be preferable. But all in all a most enjoyable and worthwhile trip expertly guided

The rail trip across north India with Explore was undoubtedly a magical and once in a lifetime experience. The itinerary was jam packed and whilst exhausting with early starts and long rail journeys, it ensured we made the most of the 14 days . The accommodation was varied, sometimes underwhelming but on the whole acceptable. For the price we paid, Explore could make improvements, as It’s so cheap in India . Amritsar was my highlight, the golden temple and the border crossing was a glorious end to an incredible adventure. Extend your stay here if possible , we had an extra day and loved wandering around, exploring the winding streets close by the temple.

On the whole a great itinerary. I would drop the Sunderbans though, since the chance of seeing any wildlife while sailing for hours up and down the middle of the river is unlikely, especially since the animals are behind a fence. We had an excellent tour leader, Kiran who is warm, very informed and energetic and who certainly went that extra mile in solving problems and caring for everyone. The local guides who travelled with us were also great, as were the drivers. The hotels in India were the Summit hotels, an Indian chain. They are clean and quite well organised. However since those in Sikkim were out of town we were forced to eat dinner in the hotels which produced the identical menu. It would have been better to have spent the bits of free time we had in Sikkim in the towns themselves.

A fascinating trip with visits to high profile hot spots as you cross India to the Pakistan border and learn about the country’s history. The journeys in between use various classes on the excellent railways, so you see how the locals travel by joining them. Hotels were fine, dining interesting and local motorised transport in Autos (tuctucs) and cars, exhilarating. The trips are long so not for the fainthearted. All this led by an excellent local guide. Make it an excellent experience for hardy travellers.

We enjoyed this varied train journey visiting major sights of India. I particularly enjoyed Kolkata, Bodh Gayá, Shimla and Amritsar since I had never visited these places before. I found Varanasi overcrowded (due to religious festival) and found my visit in 2014 much more enjoyable. Indian train journeys are always exciting and give an insight into how a lot of locals travel. My favourite place was Amritsar beautiful city. Our tour leader Gajendra Singh Rathore was excellent and made our tour run very smoothly.