India Wildlife safaris and game drives Trips

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😂😂

As stated in the trip notes, this is a fast paced tour that covers a lot of ground. There are some long drives although there are often stops to visit somewhere of interest. Overall the tour was excellent, there was plenty of variety in the programme. The only disappointments were that Puducherry was oversold and there wasn’t much French heritage to see and the trip on the houseboat in the Kerala backwaters was a cruise on the lake and didn’t venture into the canals. The hotels were very good, the final hotel in Mamallapuram was more basic but this was more than offset by its location in the centre of the town. Replacing the overnight train journey with a daytime express train is a good decision by Explore. The food was delicious throughout. We had an excellent tour guide. This tour would be ideal for someone visiting India for the first time.

Our tour leader Keshav did an extraordinary job managing our tour. He embodied Indian hospitality and treated us like family. He helped us navigate the exotic, chaotic dance that is India!

I loved this fast paced trip, which covers so many amazing experiences. The itinerary was good and varied, the accommodation and food were excellent. Our amazing guide Sanjeev ensured everything went smoothly so we could make the most of our trip and this is a significant achievement. He also enhanced the trip by helping us understand Indian history, culture and religion. I particularly enjoyed the sunrise from the top of Savitri temple, the Hindu ceremony and later on a meal with a local family in Pushkar, the boat safari and stay at Chambal safari lodge and the boat trip at Varanassi. If I was doing the trip again I would consider arriving the day before the start of the the tour rather than an overnight flight in Ecomomy class and straight into a busy day sightseeing in Delhi.

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

Had a great time in Kerala, with a fabulous bunch of fellow Explorers and a very knowledgable guide in Sam. Weather was kind, despite rain being forecast for the whole trip, only one heavy shower which was quite welcome in the very hot and humid conditions which made the cycling a little tougher. Accommodation was of mixed standards, had more cold showers than hot! Often welcome tho. A/C or fans throughout and much needed. Backwaters just as expected, lush and green, teeming with flora and fauna, binoculars useful, also enjoyed blowy coastal rides and the start of the trip in hippie vibe resorts of Kovalam and Varkala, excellent restaurants overlooking beach and lots of shops selling clothing and fabrics. Trip ended in Fort Cochin, iconic fishing nets ‘Cheena Vala’ didn’t disappoint along with architecture left by Dutch and Portuguese, nice feel to the place - an excellent trip with lots of good and cheap food, a few G and Ts too.