Reviews

Lovely adviser Matt

We saw some wonderful sights and enjoyed our adventure. You have to “embrace” India, it is very, very busy and lots of honking of horns!

We would rate the physical aspect of the tour higher than 2, at Jama Masjid in Delhi there were over 20 very steep steps to get into the Mosque, at Varansi the steps at the ghat again are very steep and you have to be able to get on and off a small boat onto mud banks, there is also a lot of walking. In addition you have to be able to get on and off very busy trains with your luggage that only stops at the station for a few minutes. Hemal our guide was brilliant with some less physically able guests and on two occasions sorted out for our luggage to be driven to the next hotel.

It is a non stop tour, lots of very early starts and late back to the hotel in the evening but we booked this tour as we wanted to see a lot of India and it didn’t disappoint.

Fab holiday except for trains number two and three. Dirty and very shabby ..
first and last train on itinerary were clean and comfortable .

This is my third trip to India and have done trains before but this was a different experience .

Toy train in Shimla is tiny and cramped .
Two seater seats suitable for two slim sized people .
Shabby interior .
Myself and four others from my group were put in a carriage with locals . they had luggage piled in every available bit of space . It was cramped , no room to move .
Man opposite me kept scratching his nether regions , I chose to stand !
No room in other carriages .
Other group members had a more enjoyable trip as they weren’t in a crammed carriage .
Train journeys are not romantic if that’s what you’re hoping for .

Taken to train Station at 6am for an 8am train .some stations are dirty with disgusting toilets ., very few seats .
26 people in tour group , far too big , tour guide could t cope .
Lack of porters . Had to cross and walk down railway lines with our luggage .
Not for elderly or unfit .

Horrendous early starts .and late arrival back at hotel in the evening ., 7pm ish .
Only had time to wash hands then go for dinner
. No socialising due to next morning early starts , usually around 6am .

Hotels were all really good with good Indian food . Don’t expect an English Breakfast .

Some wonderful restaurants for lunch , most memorable one in Shimla .

Jam packed itinerary , no free time for anything which was a shame , but what we got to see and do was superb .

Had a fantastic time but it’s full on .

I’d recommend this holiday 100% if the train was ditched .

We had a fantastic experience and saw an incredible number of interesting and historic places. It was very hectic though and is not for the old or immobile.
Hotels and food were amazing but we did not have any downtime to enjoy the facilities.
To get a 5 star review the tour holiday should be a day longer with more downtime in the hotels and perhaps fewer very early starts.
Our group was of 26 people. Three needed assistance or wheelchairs at times. I would suggest a maximum of 20 people and the grade should rise from level 2 to level 3.

Saying all that we really loved the holiday and would recommend it to like minded friends.
Finally our guide Hemal was excellent as were the local representatives.

After having checked information online, I still had some queries so rang. Response to my queries was positive and helpful especially about various options.

Excellent, well informed and concise