India Small Group Trips

We thoroughly enjoyed this trip. The accommodation was all excellent - quite varied but all good. Our tour leader, Viru, was excellent. He kept everything running smoothly and dealt with the inevitable issues and challenges with aplomb. We had game drives in four different parks and all were great - we saw a lot of wildlife and managed a total of 21 tiger sightings including the amazing sight of a couple mating in Banhavgarh.

A wonderful introduction to the beautiful chaos of India. We felt very safe with Explore but our amazing guide, Varun, did not shield us from enjoying the full onslaught on all 5 senses that India provides. The Bollywood optional tour is a must. Some of the local guides were a bit tiresome I would have enjoyed to explore the sites like the Amber fort at my own pace.

A magical two weeks, tracing the old camel caravan routes through Rajasthan. Every day there were highlights, whether that be temples, forts, palaces to look at or stay in, and a wonderful array of colours, ladies in elegant saris, noisy markets, beautiful gardens. I particularly loved Jaipur, Udaipur, Bikaner ( the majestic Gajner Palace, have the massage), getting to travel on an Indian train ( left on time, arrived on time), and friendly locals wherever we went. Our outstanding guide Satish was very knowledgeable on sites, history and culture and good fun to be with, along with a nice group. A big shout out to our driver Ram Naresh and his assistant Sita Ram. Faultless driving and big smiles for us every morning as we got on the bus. Do read the trip notes! When Explore says this trip is full on, they really mean it. We had a couple of very long days, but overall I thought it was well balanced with breaks and some optional activities. With highlights popping up every day, I personally wouldn’t have wanted to miss anything. We also knew in late Jan/early Feb. it would be nice and sunny in the day but cold at night, so come prepared. All in all a special trip, highly recommended!

A brilliant introduction to India, covering the expected sites like Taj Mahal, but also the authentic India with visits to villages, temples and streets. The food and restaurants were always top quality, the transport was comfortable and safe and really enabled us to cover a lot of ground and see so much. The local guides were all very knowledgeable and passionate, as was Neha, our tour leader, who was flexible, warm and welcoming, compassionate and kind. She was the most perfect guide to the most perfect tour.

One of my best ever cycling holidays lead by a brilliant local team (Vini and Arun) headed up by the amazing Safi. It was good to experience the chaos of a city in Mysore with crazy traffic and cows in the road. Fort Kochi, which is a world heritage site, was laid back with lots of interesting things to see on our day off the saddle and lovely boutique shops where there was no hassle from vendors! The night on the converted rice barge was lovely and relaxing and so nice to float past everyday life on the river. Cycling along the coast, it was good to see fishermen hauling in their catch and to paddle in those warm waters. I particularly loved waving at friendly locals as we cycled by (and them waving back) and the school children so excited to see us and practice their English. Apart from the climb up to Ooty which is optional, I felt this holiday should be rated a difficulty level of 3 rather than 4. Once you've finished the Western Ghats, the cycling is very flat. Added to all that, we had a truly lovely group of fellow cyclists on the holiday who all helped make this such a pleasurable trip.

Abhi was an excellent leader with excellent attention to detail and care. Nothing was too much for him. The overall experience was excellent and all the accommodation except at Goa was first rate. In Goa we were in a hotel room above a noisy band for a wedding that went on until 3..00am. After much persuasion we were moved late the following evening to a more suitable room. I would not recommend staying there in future but everything else was excellent especially our tour guide leader.