Experience South Asia intimately with over 420 small group tours (max 16 travelers). Enjoy personal attention from guides and deeper cultural connections rated by more than 3,500 small group travelers.
Im coming to the end of my Sri Lanka tour and I couldnt recommend it highly enough. The tour is well organised and we got to see so many beautiful places along the journey. Our group leader, Penn, has been absolutely wonderful and so helpful in every aspect. She is highly knowledgeable about Sri Lanka and clearly cares a lot about her job. Everything from accommodation to food to the activities has been brilliant. I would recommend this tour to everyone!
Surfing, kitesurfing etc.
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel, Resort
Age Range
18-55 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Negombo, Mirissa, Dambulla, Sigi
Negombo, Mirissa, Dambulla, Sigiriya, Kandy, Ella, Udawalawe National Park, Tallala
Excellent tour especially for the price. I've never felt so welcome, Sri Lankans are one of the friendliest people! Very good mix of activities too and while it is a shorter tour it packs so much.
City sightseeing
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
I loved this tour. It was definitely full on with some long travel days, but in between we saw some magical sites, the Taj Mahal at sunrise in the soft early morning light was breathtaking. The heritage hotels we stayed in were amazing too, several former palaces and a hunting lodge, beautiful buildings, stunning settings. Our guide was brilliant too, everything ran very smoothly and nothing was too much trouble, with ocassionally members of our group doing separate things which he happilly accomodated.
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, Tent
Age Range
16-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
New Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ajmer
New Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ajmer, Udaipur, Jojawar, Bikaner
This trip was excellent but undoubtedly needs some modifications. The upgraded hotels were good but there was often inadequate time to spend in them and enjoy and relax which was a pity. There should be fewer destinations to reduce travelling time. The visits that should be eliminated are the Beypore boatyard at Calicut (literally a couple of hulks in half construction) and the mosque, the Wildlife safari on arrival at Wayanad was a waste of time as it took an hours travelling in each direction in the afternoon and a one hour trip in a not very comfortable bus to see five elephants in total. The afternoon could have been spent enjoying the lovely hotel at Wayanad. This was an eco hotel based up in the forest and had some activities such as a night safari led by naturalists. Otherwise highlights were undoubtedly included hindu temples, churches, a synagogue, a mosque and the Tibetan monastery. The houseboat cruise and overnight stay in the backwaters of Kerala at Allepey was excellent and memorable. The one hour traditional theatre trip and following meal in Kochi was great. The two train trips were really interesting along with the visits to the tea and coffee plantations. The hotel at Goa was excellent and we had the time to make full use of it and relax. We had booked an extra day. The trip was made all the more memorable by our excellent guide, Shevi, who could not have been more polite, friendly and helpful. The bus we travelled in was air conditioned and very comfortable and the crew extremely pleasant.
Overall I would definitely recommend this trip but hope that Explore may modify it taking into account the comments about travelling times and some of the visits.
City sightseeingBeachCruise
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
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.
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
India was INCREDIBLE! The safari, markets, forts, temples & food were all outstanding (especially the Taj Mahal). Ethan & Yoni were great leaders and looked after us so much the whole way! Our local guide was also outstanding and had so much cultural knowledge for us. 10/10 tour and cannot wait to do another!
YogaCooking classes
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel, Tent
Age Range
18-55 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
New Delhi, Ranthambore National
New Delhi, Ranthambore National Park, Agra, Jodhpur, Thar Desert, Pushkar, Jaipur
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.
City sightseeingWildlifeCruise
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
This was my first trip as a single person and I had a fabulous time. The group of 12 (four couples and four singles) really gelled and were very friendly, supportive and fun. The itinerary was very good, with at least one specific thing to do, see or visit each day. The high points were the tea plantation, the spice farm, the cookery evening, the wonderful scenery and the houseboat . The accommodation was generally very good, but the homestay was too basic to be an enjoyable experience. It didn't feel as though we were guests in someone's home, it felt more like a commercial exercise (eg the host talked of building a hotel next year to accommodate more guests). The food was excellent in most places with some well-chosen restaurants/snack bars, and plenty of choice for vegetarians, but I was a little disappointment at the street food experience, which was just selecting one cold, precooked snack (such as samosa, vada or fritter.) I was anticipating some freshly cooked food (while we looked on) such as rice and dahl or pani puri. Also, I thought that the purpose of visiting the market was to select spices and vegetables to use later in our cookery evening, but there wasn't an obvious link. Our guide, Sree, was flexible, knowledgeable and very accommodating of all our needs.
Overall a really great experience with a great group of people. Will definitely use Explore again for another adventurous trip.
City sightseeingSight
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Fantastic trip. It is very full on....Explore warn you. One hotel was substandard....Explore will not be using it on next trip. Loved the fact we were in non-touristy areas. I had 2 extra nights at a beach hotel in Goa to relax.....worth doing if you can. A few train journeys which I loved (worth considering a rucksack or holder as luggage rather than suitcase). Go with an open mind and you will love it.
Cultural, religious and historic sites
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
We loved this trip. Yes, some of the hotels were pretty average, yes a few didn't have hot water, and yes some had extremely inefficient staff, but that's not what you are going for.
We got to visit the Kamakhya temple in Guwahati which should be on the itinerary. Each place we visited throughout the trip was very much worth the time and effort to get there. Even on the long drive days the stops didn't feel like just fillers that you might get somewhere else.
Kaziranga National Park was a lovely day and we saw a lot of elephant and dozens of rhino. So much more than we thought we might, and at a lot closer quarter too.
The trek down to the root bridges at Cherrapunjee was another highlight. It is a big effort as described in the notes and in other reviews, but worth every step. They are remarkable. We walk a lot, but never previously used walking poles, however, we did on this day and I'd highly using them. The hotel there is lovely with great views over the Sylhet plains into Bangladesh.
Hornbill Festival was incredible and a massive highlight. Our guide, Pema, got us to the festival nice and early and we were able to experience all the tribal groups entering the arena to take their places, all singing, chanting, drumming. Absolutely wonderful and an experience we will remember for a long time. And a second day to fully absorb it. Amazing, loved it!
The Majuli Island stay was another totally different environment. The ferry to and from is a great experience. The temple visits were beautiful and a contrast to the full on craziness of Hornbill Festival. It was also really lovely to be able to walk through small villages and meet local people.
The day at Longwa village was another extraordinary time. Meeting the ex headhunters, a wander through the hilltop border village, a great lunch in a longhouse. So different from anywhere else we've been.
And the last night in a lovely old colonial tea bungalow and time meeting the ladies picking leaves on the plantation was a lovely treat.
Things don't work in this part of the world as you may be accustomed to, but just go with it and this trip will reward you with some extraordinary experiences.
City sightseeing
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel, Bungalow, Guest House, Resort, Villa
Age Range
16-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Kolkata, Assam, Guwahati, Majuli
Kolkata, Assam, Guwahati, Majuli Island, Nagaland, Longwa, Dibrugarh, Umananda, Cherrapunjee, Khasi, Kaziranga National Park, Mokochung
