Simple stays with essential amenities. Typically guesthouses, hostels or hotels rated below 3 stars — clean, no-frills, and great for value-conscious travelers.
Comfortable and reliable 3-star stays. Expect private rooms, en-suite bathrooms, and solid amenities — a great balance between comfort and cost.
Upscale 4-5 star hotels and lodges. Enjoy high-end service, refined comfort, and premium locations — ideal for travelers seeking extra indulgence.
An excellent 3 weeks with 2 excellent guides. Sri Lanka section was well organised by our guide Nala. he tweaked the itinerary so that we got the very best out of our time and imparted so much information about every aspect of Sri Lanka. He kept us on time fitting extra stops in if we were passing something to see like a banana market and fishermen hauling nets in on the beach. Accommodation was exactly as described and the usual Explore authentic assortment of comfortable and more rustic.
There were lots of English style plug sockets in the hotels, but i would take an adaptor as well just in case.
Highlights were climbing Adams Peak starting at 2am, and passing some very elderly people making the pilgrimage to the temple at the top. A unique experience. Also the train journey over 9 arch bridge. Great fun.
Maldives- again we had a superb guide- Moosa. Extremely knowledgeable about the ocean and also gave us a lot of fascinating history and politics background of the Maldives. Island visits provided an insight into the real country.
The boat was spacious clean and comfortable. Didn't expect the hotel like room services - bed making and towel changing! Food on the boat was amazing. Plentiful and a variety of dishes inc freshly caught fish. Had 2 snorkels a day building up the length and difficulty of them. So many colourful fish, it was like swimming in a tropical fish tank. Also saw turtles, moray eels, sharks and rays including a manta. The tender was always out with us keeping an eye on us whilst snorkelling.
Overall a fabulous itinerary and guides on land and sea
Active and outdoorWildlife
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Walking, wildlife, food and culture: this tour ticked a lot of boxes for me. It is true that the poor visibility at this time of year (March) meant that the Annupurna mountains weren't visible during much of the trek, but the landscape with its flora, fauna and small farms still made the walking interesting and enjoyable. A special highlight was seeing the one-horned rhinoceros at the Chitwan National Park, and the cultural events staged at the Green Chwadi Retreat at Chitwan were an unexpected bonus. There was a wealth of birds to see throughout the tour, and our tour leader, Su, was very knowledgeable in identifying them. As someone who is unable to eat gluten, I had been worried about how I would cope with the food; and I am extremely grateful to Su for helping me to navigate this, as well as ensuring that there were always things available for me to eat.
Active and outdoor
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Kolkata to Amritsar: A fantastic experience. The itinerary is great, taking us to 3 major and contrasting religious centres at Bodh Gaya, Varanasi and Amritsar which were fascinating and moving. As well as experiencing the post-colonial city of Kolkata and smog-ridden Delhi, with the mad traffic that characterises India, there were lesser-known, beautiful or interesting places such as Sarnath and Fatepur Sikri. The chanting monks at Bodh Gaya were extraordinary, the Taj was of course stunning (even a second time around, for me) and Shimla was an oasis of green and stunning views, even without snow and with the roads crammed full of Christmas holiday visitors.
Our guide Raj was highly experienced, entertaining and informative. He's great at dealing with last minute changes (e.g. the President of Sri Lanka suddenly arriving at Bodh Gaya so we had to visit the temple much earlier in the morning, which was a shock after a late arrival the previous night! - But: sunrise and cool temps.). Raj did sometimes stride ahead too fast, so stopping to take a photo risked losing the group, especially in crowds, but otherwise he looked after us extremely well and with great kindness.
The tour is very full-on, with long travel days. I was expecting the trains to've been upgraded since I was last in India 15 years ago, but no... seating was uncomfortable, the toilets horrible and most of us felt we could have done without the overnight train, 'experience' or not. It was a relief when a journey was in a minibus. Our drivers in the various locations were pleasant and efficient.
The hotels were generally comfortable and service always with a smile, though the one in Bodh Gaya was grubby. The disappointing hotel was in Delhi, which was a charmless, Travelodge-style place, clean but with no nice public spaces and no restaurant so we had to go next door to a grotty place for breakfast. They couldn't even do my laundry in 24 hours (in a city of 23million people with every service imaginable... really?). I felt Explore could've found us somewhere much better for very little extra cost.
But these are small things. Overall, it was a wonderful trip and I'd recommend it highly. It really gives a feel for India in all its variety and wonder. Five stars.
Cultural, religious and historic sites
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel, Sleeper Train, Lodge
Age Range
16-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Amritsar, Kolkata, Shimla, Bodh
Amritsar, Kolkata, Shimla, Bodh Gaya, Varanasi, Agra, New Delhi
This was an amazing trip and a lovely way to see India, the drivers and tour guides were fabulous and knew their stuff! They were flexible and took in your needs as well go ensure you saw what you wanted.
I would recommend this trip to anyone how wants to visit the golden triangle.
City sightseeing
Tour Type
Private Tour
Accommodation
Hotel
Age Range
1-90 yrs
Operated in
english, french, spanish
Destinations
New Delhi, Rajasthan, Agra, Rant
New Delhi, Rajasthan, Agra, Ranthambore National Park, Jaipur
Absolutely incredible trip. Our guide Subash was fantastic, he knew his stuff and we felt very well guided and looked after. The views were spectacular and the food was incredible too. Big thanks to the whole team, and I highly recommend this trip.
Trekking and Hiking
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Lodge, Eco Lodge, Hotel, Camping
Age Range
18-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Poonhill trek, Kathmandu, Swanth
Poonhill trek, Kathmandu, Swantha, Poon Hill, Ulleri, Ghibrang, Pokhara, Dhampus, Landruk, Ghandruk, Tadapani, Bhaisi Kharka, Khopra, Khayer Lake
My EBC trip was perfectly planned. First of all, I want to thank Mr. Gokul, my guide Kali, and Amita from operations a million times. The guesthouses I stayed in were warm and clean. My guide Kali was always kind and supportive. I’m very excited for my ABC trip this year—hope to see you again soon!
Trekking and HikingAdventure
Tour Type
Group Tour
Accommodation
Hotel, Guest House
Age Range
10-79 yrs
Operated in
english, nepali
Destinations
Everest Base Camp trek, Kathmand
Everest Base Camp trek, Kathmandu, Everest Base Camp, Kala Patthar, Namche Bazar, Lukla, Phakding, Tengboche, Dingboche, Lobuche
Lahiru was fantastic to work with! He was incredibly responsive and provided us with the trip of a lifetime in Sri Lanka. We enjoyed the extra experiences that were so unique and felt like we truly experienced the best of Sri Lanka, even though we were only there for a week. We always appreciate trips that inspire us to return! Without a doubt, we would gladly choose this tour operator again in the future!
We had a really nice time on our three passes Trek. I would definitely recommend doing the three passes over the normal Everest base camp trip as views are much nicer and you see more of the Everest region.
Just don't rush the trip too much as you really need the time for acclimatization. Making the trip longer is always the better option then shorter and we have seen quite some people who had big issues with altitude sickness because they went up too fast. There are several peaks you can add additional to the three passes if you have enough time what I would recommend as well.
Be careful with the guide you get, at the end it is your trip so he should really adapt to your wishes. Here you have to be strict that the guide is following your wishes and not you his.
