Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur Itineraries

Our India travel company got a lot of important things right on my two week tour of northern and central India with my daughter. Their hotel and lodge recommendations were very good....particularly for the wonderful properties in Bandhavgarh and Kanha National Parks. There were many properties to choose from in those two places, but I think those that they recommended have to be among the very best. Outstanding! The hotel choices in Delhi and Agra were very good matches for us. The only property that was a bit below average was the hotel in Varanasi, but it was certainly adequate.

I also appreciated that the company met us at each airport location and drove us promptly to each hotel after tiring travel days.

I also have some negative comments, and I am NOT a picky traveler. I realize that India is a difficult and and at times exhautingly unpredictable destination for travelers, but there were simply too many important errors of commission and omission by our travel agency. One error was their statement that internal Indian airlines had weight restrictions of 20 kilos for checked bags, and 7 for carry ons. That proved to be true for one of the airlines they booked us on but not for two others. Those had restrictions of 15 and 4 kilos, and thought they should be knowledgeable enough to get that right.....we found up paying fines, as we were under the 20 kilo limit, but not the 15.

Far more seriously, they had two different times for a flight to Delhi from Jabalpur....one on our voucher that left at 12:20 pm and one on the itinerary that left at 16:40 pm. When we SPECIFICALLY asked the agency to get this right, they got it WRONG....and caused us to sit around for four needless hours and leave Kanha National Park at a very early, and unnecessarily early hour.  I also found as part of an annoying pattern with this company, that they never owned up to a mistake, but simply tried to pass the blame off on a bad telephone connection or a mistake by a driver or guide. Somehow, every other person who wound up on this flight managed to find out it was at 16:40, not 12:20.  Yes, the agency did comp a meal for us....but they need to be a bit more concerned about the right hand knowing what the left hand is doing with discriminating travelers. I would probably not use them again for this reason alone.

They got other things wrong on our itinerary as well. Our itinerary at Kanha National Park stated that we only got morning safari drives, but that turned out not to be true. Our package included afternoon drives as well, at least according to the folks at Kanha.

As I stated earlier, the company got the lodging right, and all our DRIVERS were kind, considerate, and outstanding at their jobs. I can't say the same for our guides. Our guide in Varanasi was super smart, and very good. Our guide in Delhi was very knowledgeable but talked too much, and made it somewhat difficult to ask questions. The local guide in Agra was an underhanded sleaze who made every effort to blame ME for the fact that he got in trouble for taking us to a marble store, under the guise that we were going to a marble factory demonstration. I don't know who made that decision, but the travel agency blamed the guide, and the guide chastised me for "getting him into trouble". I've traveled a lot....and I've done the big tour scene where tourists are lured into factory stores and somebody is getting paid off. This shouldn't happen at a company like this one, and I refuse to feel guilty for complaining about it. Once again, the agency accepted no responsibility and blamed the local guide. The guide then took my daughter aside, and talked her into writing a note in which she said she did realize we were going to a store. I think she now realizes that paying what she did for a small end table was certainly a mistake! 

One last thing....I realize that India is a poor country relative to the US, and that tourism is a small part of addressing that. However, is it really necessary to have one person greeting us at the airport, and then another person to greet us at the hotel? I was handing out a lot of 100 rupee tips....seemingly for no good reason. I also know how to get in line at the airport, and didn't really need any "help" with that. It got to be annoying.

We just finished a 40 day trip to India (February 2017) visiting Delhi, Bharatpur, Agra, Jaipur, Amritsar, Varanasi and Kolkata along with eight National Parks (Keoladeo, Ranthambore, Pench, Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Panna, Sunderban and Kaziranga) and traveled by either car or rail (we had five separate nights on a train plus one evening train ride). We had spent a couple of months in early 2016 planning this trip with this travel agency and all we can say is that everything worked out perfectly.  There was someone to meet us at the Delhi airport and there was always someone to take us to the train and to meet us when the train arrived.  The drivers and guides always showed up on time as planned/or as agreed.  The drivers were outstanding. They were safe drivers and also polite, courteous and informative. The guides were also outstanding, friendly, polite and very, very knowledgeable.  The hotels chosen for us with the exception of one were excellent although in the National Parks the accommodation may run out of hot water.  We are extremely satisfied with every aspect of this trip and would definitely use this company again.  We were in contact via e-mail as well as phone and I always up to date as to the status of the trip. 

 My adult son and I just returned from a 12 day trip to India arranged by this travel agent. 

New Delhi - Agra - Fatehpur Sikiri - Chand Baori - Ranthambore National Park - Jaipur - Jodhpur - Jain Temples at Ranakpur - Udaipur - Mumbai

 I requested the step well, Chand Baori.  It should be on all tours driving the road between Agra and Jaipur.  It's not far off the main road and well worth the short detour.

 We were met by tour reps at every stop, every train station, and every airport.  Someone was always there to either meet us upon arrival or to see us off.  The guides were all very good and the drivers were excellent.   

 This agent planned our trip from start to finish and we had a wonderful time.  I'm returning to India next year and she is now making all the necessary arrangements for what will be a  much longer trip.  There's  so more much I want to see.

Our trip to India was carefully planned and we really had a wonderful time. We found our travel agent on Zicasso and she was enormously helpful in guiding us to our final itinerary. Although the four of us are very seasoned travelers (especially in developing countries), we were somewhat apprehensive about traveling to India. We wanted to see different parts of India and its culture, but did not want the majority of our trip just navigating the challenges of driving on the crowded "roads".  Another key objective was to visit the tiger preserves and hopefully, see the elusive tiger. Our travel agent spent much time talking to us, so that she really understood what we (four individuals) wanted to experience and learn. Her recommendations and advice ranged from general areas to visit and transportation alternatives to specific sights and things to do. Once the challenge of the actual itinerary was finalized, she quickly arranged all the logistics of the trip so that in additon to the luxury train for the first week, the rest of the trip included the other sights that we wanted to see.  

Our 18 day trip to India was wonderful! Our travel agent's advice and recommendations were excellent and everything was so well organized. Our guides, drivers etc were extremely knowledgeable and friendly (and always on time). We had an amazing trip - luxury train through Rajasthan, Khajuraho, Varanasi and Agra, followed by the incredible Ellora and Ajanta Caves, finishing up at two Taj safari lodges (and an incredible tiger sighting)!  We will definitely use the same travel agent again when we go to the countries that she creates trips for.

The trip was superb.  

This travel agency was very professional. Representatives were in contact with us throughout our trip to ensure that we were completely satisfied with the guides, hotels, itinerary and the service.  Our driver was exceptional.  We were very relaxed and comfortable throughout the trip. The guides in each city were very knowledgeable and helpful.  Many of the hotels recommended were very luxurious and our dining experience was very good. 

The itinerary gave us an opportunity to visit and experience many historic sites. The artistry and craftsmanship of the temples, monuments, palaces and forts were truly magnificent. We had intimate walks through villages and local markets, experiencing the day-to-day life in India and Nepal. 

We enjoyed a cycle rickshaw ride in Delhi,  a tonga ride in Agra, an elephant ride to the Amber Fort, a desert camel safari in Jaisalmer, and a Zipline Tour at the Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur. All these activities were recommended by our travel agent as we were planning our trip. 

We were very enthusiastic with this trip, and have recommended Zicasso and this travel company to a number of our friends.

Overall, we were very pleased with our trip.  Our guides were all knowledgeable about history and culture and they ensured we were carefully looked after.  They advocated strongly on our behalf and were flexible with respect to changes in the schedule based on time and activities.  The information we received beforehand adequately prepared us for our activities.  For example, I read some reviews where people were angry they didn’t see tigers or other wildlife at Ranthambhore, but our information made it clear the area is a reserve and not a zoo and had very different topography than in Africa.  We appreciated that being custom travel, we were able to include a stop at Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, which was a wonderful experience to see birds migrating from Russia and China.  The hotels were mostly modern; we loved the historic place of Nahargarh Ranthambhore and the Hotel Fategarh.  We completely adored our driver who was with us from New Delhi until we left Jaipur.  He not only maintained a clean and comfortable vehicle, he made sure we always had sufficient water and he had hand sanitizer, wipes, and candies.  He was very flexible and took us to a Royal Enfield motorcycle showroom at our request.  He worked to help us find a new battery for our camera; he ultimately spoke with a shop owner who arranged to have a battery from another shop delivered to our hotel room.  He also secured an excellent rickshaw driver for us in the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary who used his binoculars and my phone to take excellent pictures of wildlife for me.  We spend many hours with our driver and as we traveled, he educated us about many factors in Indian life.