India Travel Agents

Jay interacted well with Erika to plan an itinerary that suited our requests. He also offered his advice with regard to what we should include. He was quick to respond to our msgs and emails and acted efficiently. On a separate note, Jay arranged and booked a separate trip for Wayne and I to visit Varanasi - an essential must do for any travelers who are considering visiting India.

The staff from Bestoke Travels who coordinated our visits to each city were outstanding. They assisted with local knowledge and provided personal interpretations when asked. They were punctual, friendly and knowledgable.

Most local guides were knowledgeable and provided an abundance of information. We were lucky to secure two "freelance" guides who I am guessing would be more expensive however they were great. In particular, our guide in Varansi and in Jaipur.

We were booked on two safari tours in Rathambore. The guide on the first tour (a.m.) appeared to be unfamiliar with the environment and lacked a basic understanding of English and appeared to lack experience. This feedback was given to our hotel concierge (as the local guide did not respond to our calls) and the afternoon safari was more "user-friendly". Both the driver and guide were exceptional.

Our driver (for the most part), Moni was amazing. We think he is the safest driver in India. In particular, driving us from Delhi to Agra to Ranthambore to Jaipur to Mumbai. Moni is an asset to your company. Highly recommend.

We chose to end our trip in Goa for some relaxation before returning home. The location of our hotel was south Goa at Candolim Beach. We stumbled across where the action was slightly north at Calangute and Baga Beaches two days after arriving. Sadly, our local guide did not advise us of this (nor the hotel staff).
Whilst the accommodation at Seashells was clean, and provided for our needs, perhaps for future guests you could consider accommodation at Calangute or Baga areas.

Hotel Reviews

The Suryaa

Delhi

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

ITC Mughal

Agra

We chose to eat at the hotel one night and the restaurant was ordinary. The service was lovely but it appeared the restaurant may have been lease out as the staff were not in align with hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Mixed, a facade of the hotel impressed us but the rooms are dated.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Ranthambore Regency

Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan

This hotel is a great location if guests are visiting the national park to view wildlife and tiger.

Authenticity & Character

Great open space and pool however the midgies and mosquitos were next level.

Location

It is the furthest away hotel from the national park but may be the most luxurious - not sure.

Staff

The restaurant staff were so attentive and helpful. In fact, at sometimes we thought the staff were too close as they were hovering around our table.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Alsisar Haveli

Jaipur

This hotel is lovely. Very unique. Initially we were given a twin room even though the booking was for a couple. Luckily, we were able to be moved to a queen bedroom prior to a bus group arriving. Our room was on the 3rd floor which can only be accessed by stairs - no elevators in this hotel so for any guests with mobility issues, you will need to make sure you are accommodated accordingly. Wifi on the third floor is not available. The pool was being refilled as we arrived. The massage therapist provided a lovely relaxing massage.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

The reception staff were complacent - we asked for information re laundry services and restaurant recommendation and they were non committal. Furthermore, we tried to change larger notes to small notes (to support tipping) and smaller notes were not available. You would expect there should be smaller notes available given the tourists using the hotel.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Trident Nariman Point

Mumbai

This was the pick of the venues for the holiday. Given it was 5 star, they derserve the rating.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Seashell Villas and Luxury Suites Candolim Beach Goa

Goa

The mosquitoes/midgies at this hotel were terrible. Maybe because they have an abundance of greenery around the pool spaces but perhaps, they could consider some pest control as it was difficult for any guests to enjoy the surroundings. Each morning, the owner, owner's son and owner's stepson would visit the restaurant and introduce themselves to the guests at breakfast. They were over the top and appeared to big note themselves. This was confronting. Its OK for "them" to introduce themselves but then not reappear the next day and then reappear on the same day adding more information which did not add to our experience. In fact, in some interactions, it could be categorised as inappropriate. In our case, given we had breakfast included for 4 mornings, we all kept our heads down when "they" hovered and in one case one of our parties moved away prior to "him" approaching.

Authenticity & Character

Location

We stumbled across a more active are just north so for future visits you should consider Cangulute.

Staff

Mixed views. The day to day staff were amazing and so attentive but the owner and co were inappropriate.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Sightseeing of New and Old Delhi

New Delhi

Too much in one day. It is difficult to take in and absorb the information given.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Early Morning Taj Mahal Visit

Agra

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Agra Fort and Mughal Heritage walk

Agra

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Yoga session facing Taj Mahal

Agra

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Agra - Ranthambore via Fatehpur Sikri (296 km- 5 to 6 hours by car)

India

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morning Safari in Ranthambore National Park

Ranthambore

The guide appeared apprehensive and unsure. This impacted the driver.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Afternoon Safari at Ranthambore National park

Ranthambore

It makes such a difference when you have an experienced guide who can work as a team with the driver. Our guide used previous experience to guide his direction with us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ranthambore village tour

Ranthambore

The guide has an unwell child at home so seemed aloof.

Quality of Experience

The guide to be more organised of what his intent is for the day.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Driver was great but guide needs assistance.

Transport

From the moment we contacted Jay and discussed what we wanted from the trip we felt comfortable. Would the weather be favourable and what would the cost for different levels of accommodation be? His responses were quick and detailed with the pros and cons.
All of our guides throughout the trip were local to the cities/areas we were visiting, therefore their knowledge was passionate and very informative. Assisting us with ATM's, best angles for photos, correct etiquette in temples and purchasing entry tickets on our behalf.
Choice of accommodation was amazing! We were blown away with the level of service from the moment we arrived, front desk, restaurant and cleaning staff.
Our driver for the majority of our trip was Mr Powan Dixit. He took great care of us. Ensuring we were informed of pickup times, checking we had all our belongings at all times, plenty of water each day and taking us to the local supermarket and laundry pickup on our way home. We had lots of laughs and good fun with Mr Powan Dixit.
Our driver in Varanasi, Mr Nedridge (spelling probably not right), went out of his way to help us with laundry and posting our postcards while we were sight seeing. Again we were taken good care of.
The company representatives in each city/area met us on arrival at the airports and accommodation ensuring a seamless check in and that we were happy with our room. They traveled with us airport departures, guiding us to the correct entrance and helping with entry tickets where necessary at the outside security area.
We would highly recommend KimKim and Bespoke India Holidays.