Discover Darjeeling and Bhutan

There were so many parts to this tour, I can't really generalize all my comments. Overall, the local guides were very good and Kiran, the Tour Leader, was excellent. The hotels were all comfortable. The overnight train between Kolkata and Siliguri was abominable. Absolutely the worst overnight train experience of my life! Perhaps, if we had been in 1st class, it would have been tolerable. In our 2nd class cabin, the two of us were joined by a lovely family of ten in beds for six. The children were awake all night, whispering, giggling, talking loudly, being scolded by parents. I tried to escape to the little room by the bathroom, but the conductor was trying to sleep there, and I got eaten alive by mosquitos. The mountains around Darjeeling and Sikkim were incredibly beautiful, but Darjeeling was incredibly crowded with local tourists. The scenery and culture of Bhutan were also beautiful, but I was not prepared for the strict rules and regulations and conformity among the locals, nor for the constant herding of western tourists, so that we were all in the same place, doing the same thing at the same time. Kathmandu was lovely - I wish that I had more time there.

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😂😂

Thoroughly enjoyed the trip: outstanding guide, great group and wonderful combination of countries. The hotels were all at least good with several being brilliant: very comfortable, stunning views and very friendly. We did experience some issues with weather (on the edge of a cyclone!) which meant some of our journeys were longer than expected which meant we didn’t have as much time as we would wish in certain places. Also, though we were outside of the monsoon season we did still face issues with landslides and closed roads. Hence some of the anticipated long journeys were even longer than expected. The 4 stars for the itinerary relates to the trip to the Sunderban area. Whilst we never expected to see a tiger or any other wild cat, I did expect other wildlife, particularly birds. However the area was bereft of animals. We also felt that the visit didn’t fit with the overall direction of the trip; it somewhat jarred. Hence we believe it’s a area that should slot into a different trip, one where this area both fits with the trip and is ‘on the way’ (we travelled from Kolkata for a day to get there, spent one day there and another day returning…..not a good use of time) Additional time could be spent in Nepal. Despite this feedback, we did enjoy the trip a lot. With minor changes to the itinerary this trip could be amazing. Darjeeling and Bhutan are stunning.

I very much enjoyed all aspects of the trip. Kiran was the guide for my trekking trip in Nepal 2019 and once again he was superlative.

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