Testimonials

It has been a couple of months since we returned from our private tour in India. It is still on our minds, we had such a wonderful time. I wanted to contact you much sooner to let you know but with illness in our families, the holidays and business the time has passed so quickly. We really wanted to thank you for setting up such a great trip - our driver, Harpal, was excellent. He made the long drives enjoyable and took very good care of us, especially when David got sick for a few days. His care and attention to us let us relax and feel safe, which made the trip even more enjoyable. The guides were really good, the sites amazing, the hotels - especially Agra - We were lucky enough to see a tiger walk right past our jeep. The trip was memorable, exciting and romantic. My husband and I would highly recommend it as everything was taken care of and we had no worries or concerns once we met our driver and guide upon arriving at the Delhi airport. A truly exceptional experience and we are so glad we chose to book with Explore India. Thank you again. Regards,

We had a great week in London going back home to Vancouver this afternoon. Our trip in India was amazing thanks to your taking care of all details, organization and putting it together so well. The tour of Kerala was incredible as well. We enjoyed the lush green plantations, forests and spice gardens. The houseboat was such a treat we could enjoy another night. Cochin has lots of history and sites to explore. We will recommend Explore India to friends it exceeded our expectations. Keep well and all the best,

My daughter and I enjoyed our trip. All went well and feel fortunate to have seen such amazing things. Our tour group was awesome and made friends for life. Thanks for all your help in booking our trip. I wish you had tours like this in other destinations! I have been recommending explore India to many, who have been seeing my photos on Facebook. I even have convinced my sister, Kymn to go (she told me she has you working on her trip, already). Thanks again,

We are back in Canada now, safe and sound! Denise and I would like to thank you both for organizing and managing a wonderful trip. We had high hopes at the start, and they were exceeded! The basic layout of the trip and then the detailed management made this a fabulous and exciting adventure. Thanks to the two drivers Resham and Ranji who were wonderful. Driving in India can be a bit exciting or, at worst very fatiguing, but the always smoothed things out, making the long and short trips comfortable and interesting. Many of the guides were excellent, with deep knowledge, and fascinating insights. In particular, we enjoyed our time with Suresh in Agra who always went the extra mile, Harsh in Udaipur who taught us so many things and then put them together, and even the "Professor" Jha Raji in Varanasi, who gave us an introduction to a whole new world for us. The guides in Dharavi, the tea plantation , and spice plantations were very interesting. We saw many wonderful things and had a great introduction to a fascinating country; Denise even got interested in cricket! Please keep in touch. We'll be thinking about next year. Bahut dhanyavaad

Good afternoon Gentlemen: Maurice and I arrived home safely, tired, a bit jet lagged, but still excited from a very exhilarating trip to India. Our time in India was fun-filled and a very rewarding experience. Nazir, thank you for the way you handled our travel arrangements with such precision. Our flight through Paris on Air France was perfect and uneventful. Dropping in on the group at the Lodi Garden was an added bonus to the evening. Thank you for adding that personal touch to the agenda. Rajeev, your administrative quality is impeccable. I am very pleased with the precision and accuracy with which you handled all the issues and fine-tuned every detail for each member of the group. Mahi, thank you all your help. You went above and beyond the call of duty to make the trip a pleasant experience for everyone. Exchanging cultural stories with you made us feel at home. We thoroughly enjoyed our daily personal chats with you. We admire your pleasant personality and calm spirit. Together as a team you have made our trip something that will be remembered and cherished for a long time. Hope our paths will cross again sometime soon.

This is how we tell it:) After reading an ad in the Globe& Mail, phone calls to Nazir (voice of confidence and charm) what could l say. Although it took some time to do some research and a few emails/calls finally it was a go... From the first morning at 300a.m.in our hotel in Delhi we first met our Leader we were confident we had made a good choice for our first trip to India. As we reflect the first thing that comes to mind is how well every detail was so well organized, the personal touch and the caring way that our Leader Nazir looked out for everyone was absolutely amazing.. Some of the many moments that stick out in my mind:) Never in my wildest dream had l ever thought of spending Valentine day in Old Delhi, the sights, the sounds & the crowds l could never imagine or was l prepared. The Jama Mosque, Bicycle Rickshaw ride(just one of several)memorial site of Mahatma Gandhi, the Unesco sites, more Mosques, more Temples and. amazing Forts...To top off the day like all others to follow was the accommodations & dining experiences all extra-ordinary. We also remember Varnasi, the religious Capital of Hinduism again the Temples & Museum, the Banks of the Ganges to witness the ceremony of the Aarti to the sunrise early next morning to see the bathing Ghats. Also how could we ever forget another early morning to "The Jewel,The Great TAJ" There was so much more,2 memorable elephant rides, one in the early morning another at sunset through the bush ending with a party of entertainment, dancing and FOOD(always food)The most amazing evening Camel ride at a Safari Camp, again a lovely evening under the evening sky on the desert, another banquet with entertainment and dancing. No travel brochure or photo could ever capture any of these settings,They are more than words can explain. Everytime we tell friends or recall an experience we come up with more WOWS Nazir..not only were you our fearless leader but you were always showing your sincere concern that we all have a good time in your beloved country. We loved the trip, we enjoyed our travel companions and now we bask in the memories. Cheers,

I wanted to express our feelings and reactions to the recent trip to India. We thank you for the extraordinary efforts you made to give us a truly memorable experience. I had reservations about an organized group activity, since we have done a fair amount of travel, but usually on our own. My main objections to such a trip were: we would not have time to explore individually, and we would be stuck if we did not enjoy the journey. Let me say that neither situation developed. Our excellent guide for the majority of the trip gave us clear information on the sites of interest and allowed some time for personal exploration. Moreover, the experiences we encountered were so diversified, that even if a person chose not to be included in one aspect, he was presented with a wonderful alternative. What comes to mind here, is especially the evening dinner at a palace , or an evening of cooking instruction in Indian food. Even our flight to India was flexible, allowing for a personal extended week in Germany. The hotels and food were amazing, accommodating all types of needs, even vegan. City visits were exciting with rickshaw transportation, shopping, a visit to the famous slums of Mumbai and to Mother Teresa's Mission. Entertainment varied from watching distinctive dances to elephant and camel rides. And let's not forget the historic world heritage sites, especially the awe-inspiring Taj Mahal. It took my breath away. This was the best-organized, most interesting trip imaginable.

Now that you are back from India I wanted to thank you and Rajeev for the wonderful holiday that that you organized. I had high expectations but I can truly say that our expectations were exceeded throughout the holiday. The choice of hotels was fabulous as was the choice of cities and sites to visit. We will certainly plan another trip in the future as there is still so much to see in India and we will contact you again. Rajeev was very attentive following up with us almost every day and making sure everything went smoothly (which it did). The drivers and guides were great throughout the trip. I only have one small suggestion. Depending on your client's budget and available time, I would book one free day in some of the palace hotels just to enjoy the pools and gardens. The pace of the trip was great but I would have liked one more day at say Lake Palace or Umaid Bhawan Palace to enjoy the hotel itself. I have already recommended you to three other friends. Thanks again

Hello Nazir, a short follow-up to once again say what a wonderful, lifetime memorable experience we had in India. The organization, the guides, the food and the hotels were all super. A special thank you to Rajeev, who kept so well in touch and was so attentive throughout our trip.

Thanks for all your help and organizing the trip to India. I am so glad to have had the opportunity to experience this amazing land and people. This was a good way to visit.

Explore India Tour September – October 2015-10-27 Pre Tour; your notes and advice before the trip started proved to be very useful – from how to obtain a visa to suggestions of clothing to toiletries and travel insurance. I’d advise any traveler to read these carefully and apply the ones that suit. Flights: after flying such long distances with Cathay Pacific I have to say that I would fly with them again anywhere. Superb service. Also I was expecting less from the Indian regional airlines but Spicejet and Indigo exceeded the performance of any regional airline I have flown with in North America. Air India is not so great! Hotels: again, I was astonished at the quality of the Hotels and the facilities offered. The variety was also beyond expectation. The Greenhouse Hotel in Pushkar is unique – I could have stayed another week and dinner on the roof at the palace hotel in Ranthambore was magical. Food: We were never short of drinking water on the bus – thanks to the kind attention of the driver and the hotels which provided it freely. Sadly I am not one who can eat hot, spicy foods and the foods at most of the dinner buffets were heavily spiced and I had to circumvent many offerings. Western foods are more available at breakfast buffets and I would advise travellers to eat a hearty breakfast. Towards the end of our trip I had to admit that there was little chance of mild spice so gave up trying. I did find that an occasional energy bar went a long way to solving this problem. Daily Tours: in general the topics were very interesting and some excelled. I cannot imagine anything in the world that is as beautiful as the Taj Mahal. It brings tears to the eyes. The boat cruise at Udaipur was reminiscent of Venice and the tour of the palace there quite illuminating. The visit to the Exotic Marigold Hotel near Jaipur was sheer delight. Lunch was hot! I didn’t expect to see too many tigers at the tour of Ranthambore National Park and was not disappointed. It was, however, pleasant to get out into the more untouched countryside. Probably, with some exceptions, my strongest memories and the completely enjoyable part was the getting there. The bus journeys were so full, so complete, so much of the human experience that I was always sorry when we arrived at our destination yet what we found once there was another unique experience. Personnel: I cannot say too much about the people on your team. Obviously there is no such thing as equal so some must stand out. Raheev, your Operations Manager, talked to us individually each day to monitor progress and seek to know if there were any changes he could initiate to make our trip better. Your local manager in each town was on site to greet us and explain the local programme and introduce the guide. The Guides: all tried to make their own particular place especially interesting. I do think that some guides might work harder to improve their language skills. Some start speaking slowly and concisely and, getting excited about the message, speed up and lose some of their precision. I know that they are speaking infinitely better English than I could ever speak Hindi but it’s useful to remember that listening very, very carefully to language other than one’s own can be very tiring. In my own work before retirement I was in similar situations often and know the weariness that language can bring. The Guides could mix up the message so that some modern facts and events are mixed in with the history. If I were doing their job I’d be tempted to also distribute a brief “info highlights” sheet – not to replace the spoken script but to augment it. There were several anecdotal events with Guides, some hilarious, some touching, but never did they allow us to put ourselves at risk. They all were watching over us. Drivers: the client is with the driver for most of the tour. We became fast friends with our driver BaBu who nursed us like a mother hen for twelve days. He checked on us before leaving each morning with a broad grin and “Good morning everybody. Passports, wallets?” He never once exhibited irritation or annoyance with the road or traffic conditions and was patience itself when we caused delays. He could find anything (Strepsils for a viciously sore throat) and weave his way through traffic like a camel through the eye of a needle. He proved to be a gem in Explore India’s crown. Varanasi: when arranging the trip you suggested we add a visit to Varanasi to our itinerary with the words (paraphrased) “some people think you haven’t seen India unless you’ve seen Varanasi”. Sounded like a sales pitch to me but I went along with it and how right you were. It is everything one imagines India to be – everything you’ve seen in National Geographic. The Ganges, the Holy Men, The Cremation Site, the Museum and archaeological site where Buddha gave his first sermon. Even the streets seem different - Spiritual (?) - despite the mess. But even in Varanasi it’s still people who make the difference and you have an excellent local manager but brilliant guide. Jha Rahi, a very spiritual and academic man was a joy to be with and he explained many of the mysteries of the local condition and the seeming religious contradictions. If asked, I would undoubtedly say that the once in a lifetime memories would be of the Taj Mahal and Varanasi – and our driver’s skill in traffic. Others would point to the day we saw a Black Python trying to cross the road in front of us or the death defying traffic in Old Delhi or the three hundred booth carpet exhibition that Jha managed to get us into. Perhaps the thing that everyone could remember would be how the staff of Explore India paid such great care and concern to the safety, well-being and pleasure of their clients. Summary: perhaps, most important is how a client would answer the question “Would you go again and would you go with Explore India”? My response would be a heartfelt “Yes – in a heartbeat”.

A wonderful experience, you made good choices for our itinerary. The hotels were great, the guides were full of knowledge. The greenhouse resort amazing, perhaps an extra night there would be a great addition, the palace in Deoghar could have an extra night too! The marigold hotel was a truly fantastic experience, one I'll never forget. Tell Rajeev it was a memorable trip. He took great care getting us to and from airport, we really appreciated the extra effort.