India City sightseeing Trips

I have rated our Explore tour leader as average as, although he was pleasant, he wasn't very forthcoming with information about the tour or of India. There were also times when he could have been more helpful, such as when having to negotiate rough ground when leaving a railway station in the dark with other passengers pushing and shoving.

The Kolkata to Amritsar tour was a fantastic experience. If this is the first time to India, the traffic is nothing we’ve experienced before, and an initial shock, but it does work, very little accidents (goodness knows how) and you will get use to it. Highlights were, the Golden Temple, Agra Red Fort, the Taj Mahal, city tour of Kolkata (inc Mother Theresa orphanage) We added the Ranthambhore tiger trailing at the end of this holiday which was fantastic and a highlight. Be prepared for long hours on Indian trains, as the distance travelled was extensive. Most journeys are around 5 hours long and the overnight train is 14 hours! The toy train is a bit of a bone shaker and uncomfortable, but an experience (not one I’d want to repeat) Most of the hotels are clean and comfortable. The one in Bodhgaya is not good, but we understand we’re the last to be staying at this hotel on this tour as it is being changed. The one in Varanasi, is ok, but needs to be closer to the Ganges, as it is a 30-40 minute Tuck tuck ride away. Raj our guide was fabulous. He guided us through the very busy areas with his extensive expertises and with professionalism. He helped to book activities during our free time during the tour and between plane journeys. This was extremely helpful and kind of him. He also escorted us on the optional Kolkata city tour in his rest time. Overall India is an experience you won’t forget, so if you are undecided if to go or not, just do it!

What a lovely trip, the itinerary offered a great amount of variation with so many different things to see, do and experience every day. From vibrant towns, tea plantations and peaceful backwaters. I especially enjoyed the hike at Munnar through the tea plantations and learning about the local wildlife. The trip was well balanced Santosh our guide leader was outstanding, knowledgeable, organised, friendly and always making sure everything ran smoothly. The hotels including the home stay and boat experience were all good and the food throughout the trip was consistently delicious. So many different flavours, variety and explanations of the different foods/ spices used I have travelled with Explore many times and this was a really good trip

This trip was exactly as described. It is full on, brekky 7.30am out at 8.30am. A lot of coach travel but with breaks that made it fine. The accommodation was far better than I expected. Our tour leader was always on hand, always checking everyone was present, and was very approachable. This was my first trip with Explore and I was a solo traveller but I always felt included. I will be booking my next trip soon. 🙂

Great trip from beginning to end. Everything was as per the itinerary and superbly led by our tour leader G with a special mention to our driver Shiv who’s driving skills on the crazy Indian roads ensured we reached our destinations safely.

Fast paced, but covered a lot of places. Tour guide was very knowledgeable and obviously proud of his country. India was a bit overwhelming, but the people we met were very friendly