1 independent reviews for Northern India tour, temples and tigers
Reviews for Northern India tour, temples and tigers
Sarah Barnes review 7 Mar 2026
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Ranthambore National Park and seeing the tigers! Was also a nice restful stop too having some chill time at the accommodation with decent massages and outdoor pool!2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
This trip is a great blend of cultures, cities, countryside and food, so if you like variety in a tour this is a great one. There's a lot of time on the road and not a lot of 'chill' time but that worked out well for me, as meant we could see a lot in a short space of time. There are opportunities to have some chill time on the minibus too (the minibus was the most luxurious bus i have ever travelled on). Be aware of the extra tipping required during the trip - we weren't expecting to tip so much on the tour, it wasn't a lot but it adds up over the duration of the tour. We half expected this to be covered within the cost of our trip and the operator to sort out the tipping.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes, I felt like the hotels used were local run hotels rather than global chains. The tour company also made sure we visited local centers/ villages to learn about the heritage and way of life, for example the village tour in Agra, the inlay techniques workshop in Agra and the weaving workshop in Jaipur.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
I thought this itinerary was fantastic, a really well designed blend of culture, cities, countryside and food. If you enjoy variety in a tour, this one delivers it beautifully. However, we did not have the full?time tour guide we had paid for. Although we had local guides in each city, we felt the lack of a dedicated guide in between destinations. There was also no day?to?day communication from the head office, which would have helped enormously in the absence of a guide. As a result, we were often unsure of the daily plan, and on one occasion we even missed an activity we had paid for. Our driver was excellent and did his best to support us, even stepping in as an informal guide despite limited English, but this wasn’t what we had booked. We had specifically chosen this tour because it advertised a full?time guide for groups of four or more, and our group was four. I had also booked the tour several months in advance, so I was surprised to be told only a few weeks before departure that the train ride was no longer possible due to lack of tickets. It gave the impression that tickets are not secured until much closer to the tour date, which felt misleading. It’s a shame these issues occurred, because the tour itself — the itinerary, the cultural experiences, the accommodation and the food — was genuinely excellent. With clearer communication and delivery of what was advertised, it would have been outstanding.Read the operator's response here:
We are so happy you enjoyed our Temples & Tigers itinerary. As you said, the aim was to offer a group tour covering the a wide balance of interests including the culture of India, its countryside, bustling cities and the culinary experiences available. We are also pleased you enjoyed the transport as this trip does include some long drives.
We are sorry if our update sent prior to the trip wasn’t clear. We had secured your one way train tickets in advance, but an overbooking on the National Railway system had our tickets cancelled – this was unfortunately out of our control and we arranged the road transfer instead, at no additional cost to our travelers.
This tour is based us providing specialist local guides especially when we have lower numbers. We do send another escort guide for larger groups to help co-ordinate things. India is a very large country where local guides specialize in their region’s knowledge and historical facts. So, we feel this benefits our travelers. I’m sorry if this wasn’t clear from our website information, and we are looking at how we can explain this better.
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