Wow!
This trip was just incredible.Temples,Buddhas,meeting elephants,travelling on the Death railway ,swimming in the river Kwai and so much more. If you want to learn about the history and culture of this beautiful country then this is the trip for you.
Our guide Wit was absolutely outstanding and he made the trip so special.
This was our first trip with Explore and we will definitely be booking another.
I had an amazing tour, thanks to Mr. Dinesh Kumar who took a good personal care of me since the first message I dropped here to enquire about some details, and he showed a high amount of welcoming, accommodating and flexibility to change some minor details in the program to suit my needs. I was able to see a lot in the 6 days I spent on the tour, this included tourist sights, traditional markets and a wildlife safari. The car was clean and comfortable, the hotels were thoroughly selected, especially those in Agra and Jaipur which I liked the most, and the guides I met in each city were kind and knowledgeable. I can't recommend this tour and company enough, and I wish them all the success in the future.
There were 6 highlights on the trip.
- Guwahati
- living tree bridges
- Hornbill Festival
- Kaziranga NP
- Majuli island
- Longwa head hunters village.
Each were excellent.
The accommodation and food were generally much better than I expected. Most meals were included. All were good except for a couple of 'locally' prepared meals. The choice of restaurants and hotels were as good as could be expected considering where we were.
Our guide Sanjeev was very professional and organised. If there were any issues they were kept behind the scenes.
This is a trip for the experienced traveller. I would suggest that there are other parts of India to visit before putting Assam on the list. The reason I give is because of the distances between each of the highlights. Long days, some of them uncomfortable. Our 2 drivers did an excellent job looking after us given the driving. However the highlights made up for the travelling at least as far as I was concerned. There aren't many trips to this part of India and is very much off the Western tourist trail with no MacDonalds in sight, which, for me, is a huge bonus
Experience luxury at affordable rates and within the guidelines of current travel restrictions, This carefully-crafted itinerary takes you to some iconic and spectacular places as well as some lesser-known spots of Sri Lanka and is comprised of carefully selected boutique accommodation that you are sure to love!
Commence your tour from the heritage city, Sigiriya where you will explore a few of the main ancient sites such as Anuradhapura ancient city. Experience a jeep safari at Minneriya National Park as well. Arrive in Kandy after exploring the Sigiriya Rock Fortress and enjoy your stay at the royal city. Afterward, drive to the lesser-known Wellawaya area with few optional activities proposed for you to choose from. Spend a marvelous 3 nights stay at Tangalle. Visit the Udawalawa Elephant Transit Home and explore few other locations suggested optionally as per your preferences.
We look forward to seeing you in beautiful Sri Lanka.
Fabulous walking and touring holiday. Hotels were all decent to very good. Our tour leader, Cham, was excellent - very knowledgeable and always willing to do extra optional things. We were a small group and we wanted to do everything! The tour itinerary was excellent and we felt like we saw nearly everything that a tour only group would see in addition to all the walking in remote locations and seeing beautiful views and remote villages. Highly recommended!!!
A really enjoyable trip led by Abhi our lovely young guide. Kerala is beautiful and we were able to experience the contrast between the mountains and the backwaters. The food provided on the trek by Sheila and her team was amazing.
Our guide, Sudarshan kc, was the best guide I've had on any Explore trip I've done (4, so far). He was really knowledgeable, gentle, warm, funny, & friendly, he looked after our group fantastically. Nothing was too much trouble, his recurrent phrase was 'anything is possible'. The tour itself was brilliant & flowed really well, despite the longer road journeys due to the landslides that had occurred a few wks before. In fact, I'd go as far to say those journeys were actually quite an adventure in themselves! For me, it was a perfect trip, the 4 days trekking were amazing, challenging at times, but worth the effort to see the stunning views of the mountains. The teahouses were simple but really welcoming, & in fab locations for views. Pokhara was a beautiful place for a bit of a rest, the calm lake, great shopping, & places to eat. Chitwan was outstanding, especially with the rhino sightings, & close encounters!
I was lucky to have a great group of people to travel with too, which made the trip a lot of fun.
Kathmandu is exactly what you'd expect, a city full of life, bustling traffic & historic sights. People are very warm & friendly.
I'd recommend this trip wholeheartedly.
I wanted to stay longer, & shed tears when I left. Many thanks.
The itinerary is good, but full-on. Explore and all the other similar companies seem to compete by how many places they can fit into a trip, which is good if you want a taster, but not-so-good if you want to spend a bit of time in your preferred locations. However, the only disappointing part was the houseboat; the backwaters are full of them....not very idyllic. Our guide and driver were amazing; they took care of everything so it was relaxing despite the schedule.
We had a fabulous couple of weeks in Thailand with Explore. The tour visited most of the places we had hoped to go to independently but cut out all the stress of trying to organise it. There was enough unstructured free time to do a few little tours of our own. Our tour guide Super Jeff was fantastic and the whole group were really sad to say goodbye to him at the end. Lots of fun opportunities to travel on or jump into water. Other members of group were interesting and fun. Lots of great food. The two night train trips were surprisingly comfortable and easy. My family loved the Thai boxing morning. Good mix of culture, adventure, beach. The only disappointment was the day boat trip to Ang Thong marine reserve - very busy and touristy, long time on big boat, food not great and the snorkelling was almost non-existent. We wished we'd taken the day off on our own to spend more time on the beach or take a proper snorkelling tour.
Borneo orangutan tour is one of our best-selling travel destinations, and for good reason. Embark on this 3-day magical rainforest adventure to get up close to orangutans and experience the rainforest from a local houseboat! Visit any time of the year, dry or wet season. You will find different natural beauty in all seasons.
Spend 2 nights on board a local houseboat, a traditional wood klotok, which will be the main form of transportation. From the upper deck, you can view the rainforest as it glides by, and perhaps birds, proboscis monkeys, and crocodiles at the riverside. Wake up at dawn to the “morning concert ” of tropical rainforest creatures!
In Tanjung Puting National Park, we’ll visit rehabilitated and rescued orangutans, and explore the diversity of flora and fauna in the rainforest. Look for pheasants, snakes (including the three species of flying snakes), sun bears, and more than 600 species of birds including the magnificent hornbill. Borneo also has lots of exclusive plants that you can not find anywhere else, such as black orchids, carnivorous pitcher plants, 70-meter trees that are known as the hardest wood in the rainforest, and many more.
This tour is more than simply bringing visitors to see orangutans. In addition to experiencing the lush rainforest of central Kalimantan, visitors can also take part in keeping the home of orangutans safe. Orangutans are endangered species, with declining populations due to loss of habitat. Your adventure in Tanjung Puting, safely, helps to raise awareness about the threats these magnificent creatures are facing.
The itinerary is very well thought out with lots to see and do. Everyday had a highlight and the Nepalese are so friendly and inviting. The views of the Himalayas in Nagarkot and Pokhara were stunning. The hotels were in excellent locations throughout. There are walks for those who want to and options for those who don't. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone, regardless of physical ability. Our tour leader, Su, was excellent and worked tirelessly to ensure our safety, enjoyment and general happiness. He is the best leader I have had out of some 27 tours. This is Explore's strong point - they know how to pick and train tour leaders and Su was the best of the best.
