Kathmandu Nepal

Dear Nazir and Mandira, Very many thanks for your welcome back message. Denise and I had a fabulous ExploreIndia Trip "Mughals and Maharajas". Everything was very well organised and the quality and choice of the hotels were very good, especially the Hotel Madin in Varanasi, where the food, the service and the staff were exceptional. The transportation and visits to places of interest, including the artisan workshops, were also excellent. Our guide, Arvind Sharma, took very good care of our group and completed the picture with his shared insight and enthusiasm for all things "Indian" with his running commentary on the cities, the country's history, the historical sites, and life in India, and really opened our eyes to the real India. And we must not forget the bus driver and his assistant, who were also very hardworking and polite, and their skills at manoeuvering in the traffic were very impressive. Mandira in Vancouver promptly handled any questions or concerns regarding our booking and upcoming trip in a very calm, helpful and friendly manner. You should be very proud of your team, both here in Canada and of course in India. Everything on this trip was outstanding and far surpassed our expectations and we will certainly be recommending Explore India to others. Please pass on our thanks to everybody for a great trip and introduction to incredible India. Very many thanks again, Sincerely, Anthony and Denise Cooper

Thank you for enquiring how the trip went. It was an excellent adventure, so many wonderful places and monuments to see. India is a dynamic place to visit. For me, the trip to Jaipur was the highlight! The walls and the palace and the history were incredible. But the elephant ride! Such a thrill for a westerner to be that close to an animal that has been in books and stories we have all been exposed to all of our lives. I would have welcomed more time to spend with those animals when they were at rest and not working. A great opportunity. The air-conditioned bus was a god-send with the high temperatures and humidity at the beginning of October. Our guide was excellent, very knowlegable and personable. Overall, it was a memorable trip. This is not Explore India’s fault, but I would expect you would want to correct this little glitch. I would use Explore again to tour magnificent India! Sincerely, Carolyn Feldinger

Thank you for the lovely message welcoming us home! Our tour to India was fantastic! We had a wonderful group of fun, enthusiastic and outgoing traveling companions. Tom and I were happy that we had chosen to arrive a day early as it gave us a chance to rest up before the tour, do some exploring on our own and also meet some of the others on tour. I must say, that we were very impressed with the way that we were greeted and escorted throughout the trip, from the warm welcome we had on our first day with Manzoor and Raj to the last drop off at the airport traveling home. We even took advantage of exchanging Canadian dollars into rupees using the “Karnai Bank”! Every detail was looked after. Our guide for the northern portion of the tour, Ashish, was the perfect host; knowledgeable, accommodating, and entertaining. The experience of seeing the historical sights, sampling the various dishes and immersing ourselves into this colourful culture exceeded our expectations. We can’t say enough about how well the itinerary was planned with enough time to see the sights and enjoy some down time back at the hotel. We found the accommodations to be top notch, comfortable, offering a wide selection of food items and almost all had free wifi available. We were pleased to have had the opportunity to see both the north and south of India. Thank you Nazir for suggesting the additional tour to Kerala. It is a totally different side of India that we would have otherwise missed. We absolutely loved the beautiful mountain vistas of the terraced tea plantations and the time spent on the houseboat touring the backwaters was magical. What a great way to end our stay! The only suggestion that I can offer at this time is to build in some extra time at the beautiful resorts in which we stayed. It would have been wonderful to take advantage of the services they offered, especially at the Spice Village Resort. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you Mandira for helping us organize this excursion and for helping us navigate through the process of acquiring an Indian visa. Thank you also to Nazir and the whole Explore India team both in Canada and abroad. This was truly a most memorable tour and a trip of a lifetime! Thank you! Dhanyavaad!

At last I sending you some feedback re our trip. As I said on the phone we were very pleased with experience. We were very impressed with our 2 drivers, Balvinder and Kool, as well as the 3 men at the houseboats. all were very pleasant, helpful and knowledgeable. My personal feeling is that 1 day long drive in kashmir was enough as the roads do not make for a relaxing experience, however we really enjoyed the day trip to Sonamarg. The vegetable market was wonderful. The guide we had in Varanasi was good with the information he gave us, however, The stop at the Bird Sanctuary was really nice and I wish we had been able to have more time there - I know it was an added stop at our request but I think it was very worthwhile to include it in the tour. All the hotels were very good, the Jaipur Marriott was outstanding. Would certainly recommend your company to others.

Dorothy and I just wanted to let you know what a great time we had with you and our fellow travellers during our recent adventure in India.It was indeed a 'TRIP OF A LIFETIME' and excellent value -- one we will always cherish. Your attention to detail was incredible, the hotels were fantastic, the food was superb and your assistants couldn't do enough for us Please thank them again on our behalf.

Namaste Nazir, We had an incredible vacation in India and want to express our appreciation for the way you and "Explore India" took care of all the details and more for the members in our small group. The hotels were superb; the food was delicious, and the transportation arrangements and tours in each location were top quality! We would like to make special mention of our driver and driver’s assistant. As you know it is no easy task driving and parking in India. They made our group’s special requests for small diversions during the tour magically happen with grace and always a smile and our mini bus was cleaned each evening. Furthermore, experiencing transportation by car, minibus, jeep, small boat, rickshaw, camel cart and elephant in India are "must do’s” in this large and diverse country. There were too many outstanding experiences to mention them all, but we wish to highlight a few. We were in awe at the Taj Mahal. Seeing it at sunset from the opposite river bank and then again before sunrise was spectacular. Ranthambhorne National Forest was a major adrenaline rush with us experiencing our safari in small jeeps and seeing both a large Bengal tiger and a leopard! In Jaipur, we appreciated the opportunity to book an independent experience for the two of us at Elefantastic, elephant sanctuary. We will remember this experience for a lifetime. Our extension to Varanasi was remarkable and so glad to have witnessed life and death on the River Ganges, along with everyday life in this oldest living city in the world! Lastly, our extension to GOA for four nights to rest and relax along the Arabian Sea before heading home and seeing the Portuguese impact on this tiny state was also memorable. Your contacts in GOA were excellent and looked after our every need. We will highly recommend "Explore India" to anyone wishing to see and experience this truly remarkable country.

Hello Nazir! Where do we begin?? Bill and I had a fabulous introduction to India on our tour with Explore India! Upon our early arrival we were met by our local guide Muzzafar Hamid Shah, who was ready to help with information, currency exchange and sightseeing outings! We took him up on those straight away and headed out to see and hear a bit about Delhi. We later had the pleasure of meeting your brother who gave us a bit of history of the company and laid down the concept of being family. And that is how it unfolded for us. We had a wonderful group of 17 diverse Canadians- warm, adventurous, funny, punctual! , generous, curious, - and we soon became a family, led by Shah- who we cannot say enough about! Shah was so caring, informative- so knowledgeable- he really made the history so interesting, also describing life in India today, education, healthcare issues, social issues, differences and similarity of the religions....our days were so full and so fun. He always kept us informed as to what was coming up, saved us from the ‘hawkers’ by providing the ‘on bus shopping’ which we loved! Also giving assistance as required or requested when we shopped the awesome artisan locations. These stops were truly amazing opportunities to see the old world techniques of carpet making, marble inlay, silk weaving, block fabric design, etc. Shah is such a great guide - we hope EXPLORE INDIA knows how lucky you are to have him! He was such a big part of the enjoyment and success of our trip. The itinerary was incredible- one could never arrange all this on your own. In casual conversation we all asked what were the highs and lows...no lows...and it was just too difficult to choose the highs! Of course the sights were magnificent- the Taj Mahal did not disappoint-it truly was beyond belief! As were the many other palaces, forts, temples! Our visit to the Sikh Temple was such a lovely, impressive event. It was like stepping back in time to watch the food prep by so many volunteers and the feeling was something spiritual... I’m sure you’ve probably heard about our super successful tiger safari at Ranthambore!! A tiger family plus a sloth bear!! We felt blessed that day and it was obvious, by our Naturalist, Vijay’s excitement, just how fortunate we were. He could have headed out after our initial tiger sighting as our time was closing in, but he ventured after another sighting, successfully predicting where the tigers were heading! After an incredible time watching them we had to hustle out of the park to meet our deadline. As we understand, putting himself at risk of fine or suspension of licence! The Ganges experience was beyond words and a part of India I will keep with me forever! Indescribable, really. As Bill has said numerous times- our visit to India was not just a vacation- it was an experience.... So many things to mention, but most come down to the people and just seeing everyday life go by..... the visit with the village family was very special, the time spent at the village school so precious.... and just observing life along the roadside was spellbinding. I could go on about many more things- the accommodations were great, the food was fantastic! Our family extended to our driver and helper who we were so happy to see on our return to Delhi! They also, took such great care of us! We have and will not hesitate to highly recommend Explore India to anyone thinking of going and will encourage anyone else to seriously consider India for their next ‘experience’! It was unforgettable! Thank you! Most sincerely, Laurel and Bill Wickett

Dear Nazir, Nazir, Explore India (Nov 17 departure) delivered on all expectations and promises, and then some. The professional competence of your staff, without exception in both Vancouver and India, ensured that the ambitious itinerary was not only delivered but exceeded.  Much of this credit must be given to our very deserving guide Harry. Harry, so knowledgeable, led us each through the kaleidoscope of challenges and chaos that is India... left me wanting more.  It was a privilege to be on his bus.  Also deserving for a job well done is our driver and his helper, Yogi, office support staff in Delhi and your representative in Varanasi.  Judy and I had an airline glitch and he worked hard to solve it and kept us informed, much appreciated.  I am sorry I don't know each of their names.  I have shared my story and pictures with a neighbor, you'll be hearing from them soon.   I had a great time, be proud of your staff and your product. Kindest regards,

Explore India, October 26 – November 8, 2016, Magical India
The trip was wonderful, interesting and educational. Most important we had an amazing Tour Guide in “Arvind Sharma”. We have done many tours while traveling to 108 countries around the world and Arvind is the best we have ever had. He is passionate about his country, religion, beliefs, Indian history and all the different religious groups that live in India. One of the highlights of the trip was the last minute visit to meet his family. Rajeev Sharma did an excellent job on making last minute arrangements for some of our tour members while making sure we are all happy. He does a great job of singing “Jingle Bells”. Hotels: We were pleased with all the hotels. Bus Drivers were excellent. The places we visited were very enlightening with history; the country's infrastructure, roads, and bridges are way behind other countries. Thank you for an amazing trip

My wife and I recently returned from a 24 day trip to India, organized by Nazir Karnai. Nazir spent considerable time consulting with us prior to our trip in order to fine tune travel plans that would suit our preferences. Fortunately we relied heavily on his advice and, as a global statement, our trip was fantastic. We had a car, driver and guide throughout our trip and several internal flights in India. Attention to detail was the hallmark of Nazir’s organization and we quickly came to rely on the reliability, competence and friendliness of all Explore India personnel. From the outset we were pleasantly surprised by the luxury of the hotels organized by Nazir. The hotels were all spectacular, with the Taj Lake Palace Hotel in Udaipur truly world class. We consider ourselves fortunate to have chosen Nazir and Explore India to organize our travel to India and we would give him our highest recommendation. Sincerely