Highlights of Northern India Discovery Holiday

Our Clients’ Reviews

Here at Exodus we thrive on feedback from our customers. It's the only way we can ensure our trips continue to be the best they can be. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of the trip you're interested in, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers. Any feedback collected (Good or bad) from Exodus clients is posted straight onto our website - totally unedited. Read more...

Average Review Rating: from 113 reviews.

ann booty

HIGHLIGHTS OF NORTHERN INDIA

Written November 2010
My first experience of India - I couldnt have picked a better tour. So much to see in just over a week. The history, majesty of the buildings, terrain were so different to anything Ive seen before. One moment you were in the modern world and the next transported into almost medieval time in the villages where electricity and a water pump had only recently arrived.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
We arrived at Varanassi in the early morning to walk the narrow streets following a large group of pilgrims - here and there a few butterflies appeared and then many fluttering above our heads. To the steps down to the Ganges and onto a boat. Hardly a sound as we view the dawn and then see life on the ghats as people pray bathe and splash in technicolor. A gang of monkeys appear and run over balconies and across the roof tops. Cows and goats wandering in the crowds. Then to the Taj Mahal - hearing the history before entering the gates. The first view in early morning of the magnificent white dome took my breath away. It was perfection. Wandering through the gardens and up to the Taj - the light bouncing off the marble floor and shining through the arches.

What did you think of your group leader?
We hit the jackpot with our guide Bali (Balvinder). What an ambassador for Exodus and India. He was so knowledgable and with a great sense of humour and obviously loves his job. The train journey was great fun in amongst everyday travellers - Bali managed to seat our group together. He took us on extra excursions to villages and to a beautiful Sikh temple with a community kitchen beside it. What luck to have finished our holiday on Diwali where Bali bought fireworks for us to enjoy before our goodbye meal.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Just go and enjoy it. Everything was organised so you really didnt have to think about much - just read the trip notes before hand. For the ladies - bring a pashmina - for the sun, the cold and the temples. If you get the chance finish the holiday off with a drink at the Imperial Hotel in Dehli - oppulent, colonial and fantastic gin and tonics!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Thanks for a fantastic memorable holiday. I would highly recommend it.
Neil Duncan

HIGHLIGHTS OF NORTHERN INDIA

Written November 2010
This was my first Exodus trip so i was a little nervous. No need whatsoever, a great crowd of people, a lot of laughs and a well structured trip.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
The visit to the Taj Mahal and the visit to the Ganges in the evening follwed by the morning visit
What did you think of your group leader?
Good guy, could not have been more helpful and very knowledgeable
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Go vegitarian as we did amnd had no problem others were not so lucky.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
One improvement I think it would be worth spending a bit more money and taking the fast train to Delhi, it was a VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY long trip back
Susan Gatis

HIGHLIGHTS OF NORTHERN INDIA

Written November 2010
A truly amazing holiday that makes me want to return to India to see more. On the first day standing in Jaipur enjoying the view with an elephant to my left and a snake charmer to my right was an incredible experience. The experiences continued throughout the trip.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
There were many, the Taj Mahal at dawn a little misty but amazing. Fataphur Sikri an incredible town built in the middle of nowhere and then abandoned. The Pink City of Jaipur, The Ganges at dawn . The number of religious shrines,temples visited. Ranthambore National Park although we didnt see any tigers it was beautiful. All of these were good but also the local people. The potter and his family we visited and gave us all clay candle holders for Diwali , the villagers who stopped to talk to us. The rickshaw and Tuk Tuk rides we had that beat any white knuckle rides i have been on. Finally it has to be experiencing Delhi celebrating Diwali.
What did you think of your group leader?
He was very good, he looked after us all and introduced us to India. All arrangements were excellant, the allocation of hotel rooms and arranging of porters , the organised trips and the extra stops to allow us to experience the real India. His explanations of his culture were fascinating.Especially appreciated were the efforts he put into ensuring that we all got on to the overnight train safely with our luggage not an easy task and his organising of the sleeping arrangements once on board. He did all of this with a good humour despite feeling unwell.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
This is a very busy trip, there is very little time to rest and there are many experiences in a short time. If like me you have trouble sleeping on a plane i would advise going a day earlier and having a good nights sleep before the trip starts . I didnt !. The train was much better than i expected but i would suggest that you take a sleeping bag liner for the night. Otherwise i would just advise you to enjoy , you dont need to worry about the accomodation transport or food it is all taken care of. Just take sensible hygeine and safety precautions and you should have a good time. Do expect standards of both of the previous to be very different to home.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
This holiday gave us a snaphot of Northern India we would like to return in the future and explore other parts of the country.
Natalie Bowbrick

HIGHLIGHTS OF NORTHERN INDIA

Written November 2010
For a taster of Northern India this is certainly a great trip but be aware that a lot of time is spent travelling by bus and train. The Taj Mahal is breathtaking and if you are lucky enough to see tigers at Ranthambhore Park, as we were, then it is the icing on the cake.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Everything!!! For me seeing the Taj was the most inspirational moment of my trip. Even in the rain it was just stunning. I have seen many photo's of the Taj but being there was the OMG moment for me. A very very close second was seeing the Tigers and being able to get photo's too.
What did you think of your group leader?
The group leader was extremely helpful and nothing was too much trouble for him. The bus driver and his assistant were also brilliant.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Drink lots of water and stick to vegetarian and chicken dishes. It worked for me - no stomach bugs for the whole trip. Also if you like a drink on your last day - take alcohol with you as the hotel is a dry hotel on the last night. I would also suggest having snacks with you on the bus for the longer journeys, especially if you end up having lunch at 3pm.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Be prepared for some very long bumpy bus journeys, I found many of the road trips were underestimated by a few hours and the train journeys were also very long due to hold ups with fog. I think taking a plane from Varanasi to Dehli would be a better option if this was made available. All in all tho I thoroughly enjoyed this trip, with a great group, and the visit to the Ganges was just amazing too. Although there was a lot of travelling we certainly saw plenty in 10 days and I came back from India with thoughts of planning another trip some time in the future.
Rachel Shears

HIGHLIGHTS OF NORTHERN INDIA

Written October 2010
Excellent trip to Northern India if you want to pack everything into as little time as possible!
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Seeing a tiger kill a deer at Ranthambore National Park
What did you think of your group leader?
It takes a while to get used to the ways of a native group leader- expect to be running on IST (Indian Stretchable Time) and expect information on a need to know basis- it seems to be the Indian way!
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Make sure you are aware of how intense this itinerary is. There were many days when we would travel by bus for anything from 5 to 10 hours, plus there are 2 long overnight train journeys. If you have a few extra days you might want to pick a different trip. If your aim is to see as much as possible in 10 days, then it will be perfect for you.
Take mosquito repellant and a mosquito plug as I got bitten and I don't normally.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I chose this trip for 2 reasons- to see the Taj Mahal and hopefully catch a glimpse of a tiger. I managed to see both so I'm extremely happy! I might need a holiday to get over the holiday now though....
gillian carpenter

HIGHLIGHTS OF NORTHERN INDIA

Written October 2010
A very enjoyable trip with many highlights, but be prepared for alot of early starts and extensive travelling, this trip is not leisurely and should not be graded as such.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Seeing a tiger kill a deer in the wild at Ranthambore, and the general chaos, confusion and colour that is India.
What did you think of your group leader?
The group leader was inexperienced and seemed nervous in handling a large group (we were 16) This resulted in him shouting at members of the team in a train station when they inadvertantly got separated from the main group. He allowed no deviation from plan, even when our overnight train was 10 hours late, he embarked on a sightseeing tour of Delhi, even though the group had not eaten or washed for in excess of 20 hours. This led to a member of the team becoming ill.
To summarise he seemed to consider himself the manager of the group, instead of a facilitator, and by the end of 8 days this approach was wearing very thin.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
There are better tours of northern india out there, that fly the varansi to delhi leg, and reduce the extensive travelling that took up half of the 8 days. If you have travelled to asia before, the group leaders unwillingness to allow any integration with local culture will become annoying and limiting. There are highlights of this tour, the tiger reserve, the taj mahal, and the river trip down the ganges are all stunning, but they seem like small highlights jammed into a week of constant travelling and clock watching.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
This trip should not be rated leisurely/moderate due to the constant travelling and early starts. The trip notes did not give enough detail of the travelling, the ten hour drive to Agra was only mentionned as a 'transfer' As above, the group leader was inexperienced and after flying all night and then driving 10 hours to jaipur he gave us ten minutes free time at the hotel to change and unpack before heading out again. Two people were 5 min late and they got told off, as did the people who got separated at the train station and anybody who asked questions he had already given the answers too. This is my fourth trip with exodus, and although, i therefore know that exodus trips (and guides) are normally of a far higher standard, i had difficulty convincing other members of my group, not sure, they or i will be booking again.
Exodus Response
I sincerely thank Ms Carpenter for her review and am glad she had such an enjoyable trip, seeing a tiger kill in Ranthambore must have been a very special moment indeed.
I take all the feedback given very seriously and have asked our local partner in India for a report on this particular departure. Having now read this report, along with feedback from the other clients on this departure, I would like to address a few of the points that Ms Carpenter makes.
1) The Group Leader: Arvind, the leader for this departure, is one of Exodus' newer leaders in India and I think he was challenged by the diversity of this particular group as well as the fact that the trains, and train stations, were very busy due to the Diwali holiday period. He sincerely apologies if anyone feels that he shouted at them, he has explained that he did raise his voice as he wanted to be heard above the noise of the station and he wanted the group to walk closely together in order to get to the correct train coach. Following this review we have made sure that Arvind has received some further training in order to develop his leadership and group management skills.
2) Overnight trains: I am sorry to learn that one of your overnight trains was severely delayed. Whilst delays are not uncommon in India, they are not usually this long and I would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused. I have considered your suggestion, of replacing one of the sleeper train journeys with a flight, before however this would substantially increase the price of the trip and I believe that many of our passengers enjoy this opportunity to travel on the trains and mingle with local people. I understand, from the report I have received, that the decision to continue with the planned sightseeing, upon your arrival in Delhi, was made by the majority of the group and that Arvind took the group to a nearby restaurant for a toilet stop, he purchased some fruit for you to eat, as well as organising an early dinner. I do however recognise that this made for a very long last day in India.
3) Trip Grading: We endeavour to grade our trips very carefully and are very clear in our brochure about what each grade means. Although this is a busy trip, which we explain in the trip notes, I sincerely believe that this trip falls into a Leisurely/Moderate grade as per the definitions we give.
I do hope that this gives passengers some more information and reassurance as to how seriously feedback is taken and I would like to thank Ms Carpenter again for taking the time to write a review for the website.
Katherine Tory
India Product Executive

- Exodus Staff
Maureen Fleming

HIGHLIGHTS OF NORTHERN INDIA

Written October 2010
No one can compare you for the contrasts of India - from the sights and sounds and mayhem to the happiness, the poverty, and animals and people everywhere and the sheer colourful activity that surrounds you!
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
The rowing boat on the Ganges at Varanasi - seeing the Hindu ceremonies after sunset - totally mesmerising. And then a boat at sunrise and a different feel to it all, the hustle and bustle, the bathers, the priests.....
The stunning beauty of the Taj Mahal at dawn, and all our lovely photographs.
The overnight train! Oh we laughed! What an amazing experience, from the sights on the platforms, to the trains bulging with people to the relative calm and comfort of our sleeping accomodation - fantastic.

What did you think of your group leader?
Our leader - Balvinder Singh - cannot praise him enough. Looked after us as you would look after your own children (did we need that much attention!) He shared stories with us, personal and professional, made us laugh, kept us informed and entertained. His organisation and care was great throughout, we felt slightly lost at the airport when we had to become responsible for ourselves again for our return flight! The guides in each place were excellent, our coach driver and his team were brilliant. My first experience of Exodus certainly won't be my last.....
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Take anti bacterial wipes, gels, lotions, and use them morning noon and night and every hour in between! And a supply of toilet paper is a must too! Our group mostly avoided any tummy upsets - and with the busy schedule you don't have time to get sick! Many of us ate vegetarian which is so easy to do and so delicious and that too may have helped to avoid any bugs. Mozzie sprays for the game drives and the Ganges. Oh - and don't forget your swimwear for the lovely hotel pool in Varanasi - and many of us enjoyed the super value massage & facials on offer there too - a pleasing rest day in a hectic holiday, and of course added yet another dimension! Enjoy!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
If you only do one tour - make it this one! Incredible India!