Upgraded - South India: Kerala to Goa

Great trip made even more enjoyable by our amazing guide Abhi, he made sure that everyone had the best experience. It was Holi during our trip and he arranged for us to celebrate at the hotel we would be staying on that day.

Excellent hotels (except one) and , in two cases outstanding Brilliant tour leader who was very considerate of individual clients needs

I’d highly recommend this trip for those wishing to experience a ‘soft landing’ into India & the wonderfully friendly states of Kerala, Karnataka & Goa. Our expert tour guide, SreeRaj who accompanied us, was informative, punctual , thoughtful & entertaining. We felt very safe in our second home (new comfortable air conditioned, with phone chargers, mini-bus) & careful, helpful driver. We stayed in some very luxurious accommodations, but due to trip pace & travel, didn’t always get the opportunity to make the most of facilities ( e.g. early morning yoga, swimming pool). Highs for us included, Kathakali theatre show and dinner afterwards; Tibetan monastery in Coorg & the exceptional staff and experiences at Wayanad Wild. Lows, few and could easily be amended, the visits to Beypore boatyard ( wooden boat renovations now closed?) and mosque ( outside only) visit. Oh and I haven’t mentioned the delicious foods! The group (8+guide) met for most meals sharing ideas, thoughts & experiences. Tip- pack light and shop whilst there, bargains galore & a shopper’s delight!

This tour has the potential to be very good. Hotels were lovely and Explore had found an alternative to Windflower in Coorg which really spoiled us. We had not expected so many buffet meals, which is probably our mistake. We’d have preferred having less choice and freshly cooked, but appreciate that is to do with preferences. Bus and driver were excellent. Malabar coast train also really good, the other one more typical Indian. Highlights were Wayanard birds and reptiles, houseboat, Tibetan buddist temple on the day they celebrated New Year, coffee plantations in blossom and all interactions with local people. The trip notes are out of date in terms of hotel, timings and activities. The poorly reviewed wildlife drive from Wayanard has been quietly dropped (well, made optional and discouraged). Itinerary seems to be unresolved with the activities not always as good as the hotels. Does anyone try the tour out before the Guinea pig customers? Guide was clearly trying to fill in time before we could check into the next hotel at Allepy and Calicut was a poor tour. However, things did improve as the tour went on. If Explore sort the itinerary out and decide on whether the experiences or the hotels are the star turns then this could be a 5* tour. Travelling companions and guide all pleasant and interesting people so we did enjoy this slower paced tour and the chance to appreciate the hotel facilities.

Our guide Sree was brilliant as was the driver. The highlights of the trip for us were the overnight rice boat, Kathakali performance and the Tibetan monastery. Wayanad Wild hotel was brilliant with lots of guided wildlife tracking day and night. Birds, reptiles, butterfly’s etc and especially the Malabar Giant squirrel - so cute! We did not take the included 1 hour afternoon jeep game drive as it seemed impractical. The park was 1 1/2 hours away and the excellent activities at the hotel would have been missed. The historic boat yard in Kozhikode was disappointing as there is no sign of any recent wooden boat building activity, indeed we witnessed a metal ship being scrapped. Tea and Coffee tours both very interesting. All hotels were very good, and all our journey times were as expected in a comfortable mini bus. Train legs of the journey were comfortable.. Food was excellent throughout apart from the breakfast box at Gokulam hotel to take on the early train. Goa beach hotel has bars and restaurants in walking distance which made a nice change from hotel food and great value. Leos Roar about 500 yards away was our favourite. All in all a great holiday.