Testimonials

Dear Nazir, I wanted to let you know what a great time we had on our visit to India. We really enjoyed seeing your country, and all of the amazing sites it has to offer. We also found almost everyone we encountered to be very kind and friendly. There is so much beauty in India, and we look forward to visiting again. Everything on the tour was very well coordinated and organized. While I know that some of the people on our trip found the schedule to be a bit too busy for them, I did not think so at all. I believe there was enough down time to rest between locations, and I thought the pace was very good. Our bus driver and his assistant (Ravi & Shankar I believe) were great! They were very friendly and super helpful. I have also never seen anyone who could maneuver a bus like he did! It was amazing the places he managed to take that bus! Lastly, I want to let you know what a great tour guide Arvind was! We really enjoyed having him lead us through the sites of India. He is very knowledgeable and engaging, and his love for your country showed as he described the rich history of the things we saw and answered our questions. I especially enjoyed how if you asked him a question outside of the bus, he would often ask us to wait, and he would answer the question for the entire group on the bus. It made some of the long bus trips very interesting and alleviated some of the monotony of sitting on a bus. He was a great tour guide and I highly recommend him! Thank you all for a great trip. Robin and I really enjoyed our visit. Thank You,

Hello Nazir, We have just returned from our trip to India with Explore India and just want to tell you how much we enjoyed it. We had a fabulous time visiting this amazing country. Everybody involved with your organization was very pleasant and professional, from the representatives who met us upon arrivals in different locations, to the guides, to the drivers (particularly "Kulu" and his assistant Amir who were with us for the first two weeks). The hotels were very nice and the tour took us to interesting and beautiful places. We are appreciative of the fact that we were in a very small group. If there was one thing we could have changed, it would have been to fly from Varanasi to Cochin without having to spend another night in Delhi. We will not hesitate to highly recommend "Explore India" to our friends and relatives. Thank you,

Dear Nazir and Rajeev: It is now nearly a month since my return from my memorable trip to India with my friends, Jodi and Susan, organized by your firm. I wanted to be sure to convey my thanks for the good advice, excellent service and superior organization that you and your team provided. I particularly appreciated your attention to detail and responsiveness to our requests and needs as situations arose or conditions changed. I also wanted to more formally recognize some of the people in your team who made a significant difference in our enjoyment of the trip. I must say that generally we have only the highest regard for all of the individual drivers who so graciously and expertly managed the challenges of Indian traffic and our particular needs with some mobility challenges, motion sickness and other occasional maladies picked up along the way. I would say that your choice of Hira Singh to provide our major travel segment from Delhi to Udaipur was brilliant -- befitting the observation that Hira means Diamond in English. Not only is Hira an excellent driver under all conditions but he is also a very special gentleman. He was thoughtful and caring in every regard: always attentive and responsive to our needs with the anticipation of what would be most safe and comfortable for us in terms of rest stops and places to park near the attractions to deal with mobility challenges and waiting, departures, etc.. He went above and beyond all expectations as he took care of us when we were not feeling well by buying us beverages and snacks (and not accepting any reimbursement) and checking in to make sure we were fine. He even worried that we might be hungry and gave us snacks on the longer drives that were necessary to make our ambitious itinerary. Hira is a tremendous asset to your firm and a wonderful ambassador for the beauty of the spirit of India. One of our guides made the joke that we were the "Three Canadian Maharanis" (we loved this observation and felt it summed up how much we were loving our trip and treatment). Hira ensured that we were made to feel like Maharanis throughout our time together. We wish every success for him in the future. I would also like to commend the calibre of local guides who your firm engages with special recognition of a couple of them. Our first days in Delhi had an excellent start with Harry who provided interesting information and insights as well as shepherding us well through the tangles of Delhi's Chandni Chowk streets as well as other sights. I would say that Shelley, our guide during our day in Varanasi, was exceptional in being able to convey information regarding the spiritual significance of the sights we were experiencing both with respect to Hinduism but also Buddhism at Sarnath. His very clear explanations and great depth of knowledge really helped to put meaningful perspective on not only our experiences in Varanasi but also our previous experiences in Bodhgaya. I would be remiss to not mention Pablo in Agra and Giriraj in Jaipur as very good, considerate and adaptable guides. We also really enjoyed the two most atmospheric hotel choices of the Shahpura House in Jaipur and the Shiv Niwas Palace Hotel in Udaipur -- absolutely magical. For the segments on my own, I want to really thank you, Rajeev, for being able to accommodate my spur-of-the-moment request for assistance and assigning Kuldeep Sandhu as my driver for the first weekend -- he was a great problem-solver and thoughtful guide, especially at the Old Fort! In Mumbai, I appreciated both of the women guides who accompanied me on the City tours: Tami and Lena. They were the first women guides for this trip and it was interesting to chat with them about their lives as a woman from Canada, especially since one was from the Parsee community and one was from the Jain community so I could ask questions about the visit to Ranakpur and the broader Parsee community that we know about internationally through the arts. I also want to acknowledge, Nazir, that your advice to include the non-profit led tour to Dharvali with Siddhi as my guide was absolutely correct. It was critically important to gaining an inkling of an understanding of the tremendous dignity of Indian people working so hard to improve their lives and that of their families and communities. I keep talking about this experience as a lasting impression when friends ask me about my trip. I recognize that this is a lengthy email; however, I wanted to highlight the excellent service that you and your team provided to us -- truly making this trip an exceptional and memorable life experience to treasure. I also want to thank each of you for the tremendous effort that you each put into ensuring that everything was well-planned and executed. Rajeev, your willingness to problem-solve and provide assurances and extra services make a huge difference. Thanks again to you and all of your team. I will be pleased to recommend your firm to anyone who is contemplating a trip to India. Sincerely,

Hi Nazir, We just got back from our extended trip this morning. The whole trip was a great success. Our tour guide, Arvind, was well versed in the history and passionate and positive about the future of his country. Once we were on our own, we especially appreciated the organization and routing he provided for the destinations of the itinerary. Our driver Ravi and his assistant, Shanke, were both very personable and we appreciated having them take care of us on the road. The itinerary delivered a good variety of highlights of architectural and historical monuments. I personally appreciated the chance to support the women's arts and crafts store. And, yes, Varanasi was an important add-on tour to round out our experience of India. Of course, the biggest thrill was seeing the tiger up close in Ranthambore National Park. I would definitely recommend you and this itinerary to my friends and family. Regards,

Dear Nazir, We had a wonderful trip and were very pleased with the quality of the tour. The staff was very professional and friendly. We really appreciated the friendliness and great care your clients received. We have already recommended your company to others and hope to return to India again. The highlights for us were the safari and visiting the Taj Mahal. One suggestion I have is to suggest clients bring candies or small gifts (pencils, pins etc.) or a book to give to the children in the villages. We have so many fond memories and new friendships from our voyage. I hope to use your services again soon. Namaste

Hello Nazir. Thank you for the “Welcome Home” greeting! Our tour certainly met and at times even exceeded our expectations! Some key points: -Our Explore India contact Rajeev Sharma was very professional at handling all those questions that are asked at the beginning of the tour. -Our guide Arvind Sharma was very knowledgeable, and always approachable. He was always prompt and was very passionate in describing the many rituals that happen in India. -Our driver (Ravi) and his assistant (Shankur) were always courteous and caring and always greeted us with smiles every time we returned to the bus. -Our hotels were definitely acceptable and there were 3 hotels that in our minds were exceptional: 1. The Leela Ambience. 2. The Tigress Ranthambore and 3. The Pride Plaza Aerocity. In summary, both Alan and I thoroughly enjoyed our tour with Explore India and would have no hesitation at all in recommending this tour to others. Sincerely,

Hello Rajeev, Thank you for meeting us at the Delhi airport, for arranging some sightseeing tours on Day 1 and Day 2 (early arrival in New Delhi) prior to commencement of organized tour, for obtaining foreign exchange for the Canadian $ and for everything else that made our trip so enjoyable. The trip exceeded our expectations and we know that this is due mainly to the excellent service rendered in all fields of the tourist business. We wish you continued success and good luck in your role as Head of Operations at Explore India. Yours sincerely,

Namaste Nazir, We had an incredible vacation in India and want to express our appreciation for the way you and "Explore India" took care of all the details and more for the members in our small group. The hotels were superb; the food was delicious, and the transportation arrangements and tours in each location were top quality! We would like to make special mention of our driver and driver’s assistant. As you know it is no easy task driving and parking in India. They made our group’s special requests for small diversions during the tour magically happen with grace and always a smile and our mini bus was cleaned each evening. Furthermore, experiencing transportation by car, minibus, jeep, small boat, rickshaw, camel cart and elephant in India are "must do’s” in this large and diverse country. There were too many outstanding experiences to mention them all, but we wish to highlight a few. We were in awe at the Taj Mahal. Seeing it at sunset from the opposite river bank and then again before sunrise was spectacular. Ranthambhorne National Forest was a major adrenaline rush with us experiencing our safari in small jeeps and seeing both a large Bengal tiger and a leopard! In Jaipur, we appreciated the opportunity to book an independent experience for the two of us at Elefantastic, elephant sanctuary. We will remember this experience for a lifetime. Our extension to Varanasi was remarkable and so glad to have witnessed life and death on the River Ganges, along with everyday life in this oldest living city in the world! Lastly, our extension to GOA for four nights to rest and relax along the Arabian Sea before heading home and seeing the Portuguese impact on this tiny state was also memorable. Your contacts in GOA were excellent and looked after our every need. We will highly recommend "Explore India" to anyone wishing to see and experience this truly remarkable country.

Hi Nazir, it was such a fabulous experience, we had a fantastic time, can hardly believe it’s over! Not only was the tour amazing, the other 6 (we were really lucky) in the group were excellent. The food and the hotels were top notch, excellent value for our dollar. We loved how `things were taken care of``, we just had to have our bags outside the room, what service !!!! I know we will be seeing Mark and Anita here in Victoria. May even travel with them !!

Hello Nazir, Thank you for following up with us re: our tour in India. Mike said he spoke with your recently. We had a wonderful time in India. Sandeep was a very knowledgeable and respectful tour guide. The bus drivers were amazing. The food was delicious, with plenty of choice. The accommodation was really excellent, with one exception in Varanasi, however that turned out just fine too. We were well taken care of by everyone involved in the tour. India is an amazing country. Your tour was truly incredible and we would recommend it in a heartbeat. Thank you for being so kind in handling all my questions, concerns, etc. before the trip! Have a lovely weekend.

Hello Nazir. We got back from our trip to India on March 1st. Just as you promised, we had a fabulous and amazing trip, and are so glad we went! Thank you so much for making the arrangements for us. I hope your trip there went as well as ours did. I also wanted to let you know what a great job our guide Sundeep Singh did on behalf of Explore India. I cannot understate how much his presence added to the enjoyment of our trip, and that of our fellow travellers. First of all his knowledge of all things India was amazing. He told us all we could possibly want in understandable lay man’s terms about the history of your country, but he also surprised us with his knowledge of even minute details about all the flora and fauna we came across. I’m not surprised he is working towards his PHD in history. In addition, his professionalism and demeanor towards all of his “respected guests” was top notch. He always gave clear and concise directions to our group, and knew how give them to us in a “just in time” fashion rather than bombarding us with information before we needed it. This is not an easy thing to do with as large a group as ours was. He was always able to do this in a professional yet down to earth fashion. Sundeep was also able to make the quick hard decisions when the situation warranted it, so they did not become group debates. He was also always on guard for our safety and security, and he always found good clean restaurants for us that served “yummy” food, and stopped at restrooms that were as clean as possible. Thank you again for such a wonderful experience. It would be appreciated if you could pass on our feedback to Sundeep, and let him how much his services added to the enjoyment of our trip. I have already passed your name and company information on to some of our friends, with a strong recommendation for them to follow us and go Explore India. I wish you and your company well in the future. Sincerely,

Hi Nazir What can I say about our Journey of the Senses Feb 2016 trip to India except that it was exactly what we wanted to experience and more! Nazir took care of every detail to make the trip unforgettable. We were met at the airport on arrival in Delhi and Nazir even had a representative at the Mumbai airport at midnight for our return home flight to make sure our check in went smoothly. How caring is that! We never touched our suitcases. They were collected from us outside our hotel rooms and they magical appeared outside (or inside) our rooms at the next hotel. No lugging them around. They also were loaded and unloaded for our inter India flights. No standing at a carousel waiting for our luggage. How caring is that! We never had to stand in line at our hotels to check in. We arrived at the hotels and our room keys were handed to us. How nice! The hotels we stayed in were opulent and very beautiful. They are at least 5 stars or above! The meals were excellent!!!! Nazir took us to wonderful beautiful places for lunch and dinner. He made sure we experienced the best Indian food. He was very sensitive to people’s needs and wants so a few times he had menus of American food and Chinese food for us in case we were tired of Indian food. How caring is that! Nazir checked each day to see if everyone was happy and to see if there was anything he could do for each and every one of us to make our trip more enjoyable. There always was nothing more he could do!! He had done it all and everything ran like clockwork! We truly experienced the sights, sounds, smells, traffic, noise, constant horn blowing, cows in the streets, dogs and wonderful people of India. Nazir is very proud of his country and so he should be. It is truly an amazing place to visit. The pedicab ride through the streets of Old Delhi was unbelievable and exhilarating with all the chaos. Unforgettable! Varanasi was truly spiritual with the pouring rain on the Ganges as we witnessed the Aarti ceremony. Nazir worked his magic with the Indian gods and the rain stopped as we boarded our boats to see the ceremony!! What can we say about the Taj Mahal except that it truly is spectacular! The special lunch Nazir arranged for us overlooking the Taj Mahal was very special. Not many people get treated so well. A very memorable day! Our elephant ride was wonderful and our camel ride on the sand dunes in the evening was spectacular. Sitting around the campfire with the singing and dancing and a full moon and our delicious meal served there was something we won’t forget. Thank you, Nazir, for such a memorable trip. You were the consummate host! Our memories of our trip will be with us forever.