I recently did an Exploration/Collette group tour of India, and to put it lightly I had a very good time. The size of the exploration tours is exceptional, max 24 people. All aspects of the tour met or exceeded my expectations.
We travelled throughout Rajastan/North India. Beginning in Delhi, an experience in itself, we toured Delhi by coach and the traffic is unbelievable. It requires time to get around.
Then we moved on to Jaipur by coach, travelled by coach, rough trip but amazing sites everywhere. Jaipur had so much to offer. The Amber Fort situated on the top of a hill, we travelled by up by elephant and then down by open-air jeep. The capital city for gem stone finishing and hand made rugs. It was a very pleasant experience and much easier to get around than Delhi.
Next was a long day of coach travel on very rough roads to travel to Ranthambore National Park, home to the Royal Bengal Tiger. The park is 400 square miles and home to 43 tigers. I did 3 open air safaris viewing monkeys, 200 species of birds, samba deer, sloth bears and of course the Royal Bengal Tiger in all its glory.
The we travelled by train between Ranthambore to Agra, 1st class coach with air conditioning. The train station was an experience, many homeless laying about, smells that took your breath away. Though it was a Comfortable trip, taking about 2.5 hours.
The countryside was very open with lots of wheat fields. We arrived about 50 minutes outside of Agra and had a wonderful lunch at a Palace now converted to a hotel. Then we made our way into Agra, a progressive cosmopolitan city. Much easier to get around, we visited Fort Agra and of course the Taj Mahal, at Sunrise and Sunset it was breath taking. Onward to Delhi, 6 hour coach ride, unbelievable traffic and again very bumpy roads before arriving at our hotel. Transfers were provided to the airport by Collette.
Collette did an exceptional job with inclusive activities. There were very few additional charges and all major attractions were included. The tour guide had a Bachelor’s degree in History and was fluent in English (grew up in Delhi), outgoing personality, very well organized. Cold bottle water was provided always on the coach. Access into attractions was always well executed and time was well planned to eliminate line-ups at entrance.
Most meals were included with Collette and a lot of very nicely done buffets at the hotels with option of Indian Cuisine and a couple choices of International Cuisine. I only drank bottled water at the hotels and always there was some provided in the rooms at no charge(necessary to brush teeth).
All of the hotels – Hilton Janakpuri Delhi, Jaipur Trient Hotel, Dev Vilas Ranthambore, and Radisson Hotel Agra – were excellent 4-star hotels with superb service and amenities.
I would recommend this tour to anyone looking for a little exotic adventure in northern India.