Darjeeling in the Himalayan Foothills

I want to let you know how pleased my sister and I are with the tour we took to northern India in February. All the facilities arranged for us were top rate. The itinerary was varied and thoughtfully put together to highlight many interesting destinations, while allowing sufficient time to visit at leisure. Your quick and effective response to the unforeseen cancellation of our return flight was impressive. Thank you. The success of any guided tour depends in large part on the guide, and that was certainly borne out in this case. Mr Shah is competent, amicable and passionate about his country. He was able to anticipate and avert possible problems, and enlightened us with information and (what we called) mini-lectures on subjects ranging from history archaeology and political structure, to cultural topics such as the caste system and arranged marriages. As a bonus, he is also "unflappable" and has a very good sense of humour. I have already recommended your company to friends, and hope they take the opportunity to discover a little of India as we did. Regards Donna Neve

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.

Hi Nazir, Sorry for the delay in responding...what with getting back on PST and dealing with Christmas it has been pretty hectic. We very much enjoyed the trip.  It was not always easy but it was an adventure and a great education.  India is really an amazing country! I have been trying to come up with some suggestions for your trip but I don't really have any.  I thought the trip was well organized and went pretty smoothly considering all the ground we covered and the challenges of travelling in India.  And of course the currency crisis added to the difficulties. I would definitely recommend the trip to anyone who wants to see India.  If I have any further thoughts I will let you know. Regards

My wife and I and our friends were very satisfied with your arrangements, which were well organized and efficient. I appreciate your assistance in planning this trip to India.  I would also like to comment on “Sandeep Singh” for providing exceptional services and professionalism. He went above and beyond his call of duty to ensure we had the most enjoyable experience in India. He was enthusiastic, informative, engaging, professional, helpful, organized and friendly, not to mention a wealth of knowledge.  I would like to also comment on the tour bus operator and his assistant for providing a safe and efficient service. And last but not least, thank you to Rajeev for coordinating behind the scenes. We will be definitely recommending Explore India to our friends and family. Thank you once again. 

The trip to India was much more than I expected.  Often the expression....Go to India and change your Life....that is what I experienced! From weather, hotels, food, transportation to our guides...top grade!!!! Thanks you for putting this wonderful vacation together for us!!! It holds memories for a Lifetime!!! When I get some photos edited I will send you a link! Great Job!

It was a marvelous tour. Sandeep Singh was a wonderful tour guide, & full of knowledge about the sites we visited. He went above and beyond to ensure we all had a memorable experience, even arranging a camel ride for a few of us on the last day! The driver and assistant were excellent as well. The itinerary was well thought out & interesting; the hotels were excellent & the food amazing. I plan to return someday; what a wonderful country. "A universe inside a universe", as Sandeep was fond of saying. You can be very proud of the experience you're providing at Explore India. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend your company highly to anyone thinking of visiting India.

Dear Mandira and Nazir, We had a really wonderful time. Our guide was very professional, informative and warm which really makes a huge difference when going with a group..and we could not have been luckier group wise- everyone was friendly and engaged. The hotels were all extremely good. We really enjoyed the range of food, the optional cookery session was a real insight into family life- a most delightful family. We really enjoyed the performance in Kerala. It was such a pity the performers did not have a larger audience Thank you all at Explore India for such a professional and friendly service. We will most definitely recommend your company to anyone thinking of going to India. Kind regards Catriona

Hi Nazir: John and I enjoyed the trip very much.  Lots of wonderful memories and some very interesting experiences.   We are aware that you had made several changes to the itinerary with Pat and Mike to accommodate their wishes and those of the Fitzsimmons. Many thanks for this. All in all things ran pretty smoothly.  The money issue was, of course, no one's fault, but it certainly made for some unpleasant moments. All planned tours, guides, and drivers are to be commended. However, our driver was our favorite.  He was friendly, on time, and willing to accommodate us in any way.  He drove very well, provided lots of water and made every km of the trip satisfactory.  It was a pleasure to know that he would be there every day.   Thank you for a very interesting visit to India. Best,

Dear Nazir: Thanks for your email. Yes, it was a fantastic holiday made all the more memorable by having Sundeep as our tour guide. He was so knowledgeable and passionate about his country and we were lucky having him. There did not seem to be anything he did not know and he went out of his way to make sure we were all happy. He also seemed to go above and beyond in helping us with getting our money exchanged into the "new" money which was not easy. In the end that worked out (at least for me) although in the first few days I was worried that I was not going to have enough $ to last me the trip! I did not realize before I left Vancouver that I would not be able to use a bank! I was disappointed that we were not able to visit Kashmir but that was due to circumstances beyond your control. But Darjeeling was lovely and so different from the rest of the trip. The drivers and guide in Darjeeling were great - they looked after us so well as did Singh who took us from Delhi to Delhi. It all went very smoothly in, as you know, chaotic driving conditions compared to Vancouver! As I said earlier, overall it was an amazing trip. Thank you. Sincerely,

Hi Nazir, Just a note on behalf of my wife and I regarding our recent trip to India. First we would like to commend you on running a very good operation in India even though you are based in Canada. Our India experience started out by being greeted by a very professional gentleman who picked us up at the airport. He made us feel very welcome at 1:00 in the morning while having to wait for over 2 hrs for us to get out of the Airport. Later in the morning at the hotel we were greeted by Rajeev who helped make our first day in Delhi very enjoyable by making various arrangements that were not part of the itinerary. Our overall India experience exceeded our expectations mostly because of the people you have on the ground in India. We always felt that we were getting the best treatment from everyone in your organization. We want to commend the people who spent many hours with us because they deserve a big thank you and a pat on the back. We appreciate the enthusiasm of our tour guide Harry who made our India experience unforgettable. He went beyond what we expect of a travel guide and as a result we all benefited tremendously from his knowledge of India as well as his interest in wanting us to have the best travel experience, and not just see India from the bus. This was tremendously appreciated by Leslie and I. We have already been sharing our unique daily “Harry” experiences with family and friends back in Canada. He is truly a GEM. I still do not know how he can look so good every day and have a different coordinated outfit that fits with the theme of the day, or event. Operations Manager, Rajeev seemed to genuinely care about making sure that we were enjoying our time in India and he handled the currency issue willingly to make sure that we had some local currency in spite of the challenges. He showed up often and kept in touch frequently with our group as we travelled through India. He genuinely cared that we were enjoying our time in India. I personally appreciate how he coordinated the tailor from CCCI to meet with me to do a fitting and final delivery at the hotels. This was above and beyond what was expected. Lastly we would like to thank our bus driver Mr. Rakesh and his assistant. These guys truly know how to manoeuver a vehicle with great proficiency. They were also always smiling after long days. Thank you to all of your other staff who had a hand in making our India experience truly memorable. We will be sure to refer Explore India as we tell our stories to our friends and family. P.S The hotels, transportation and arranged meals were all very good as well. Keep well and all the best.