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.

Susan Williams

HIGHLIGHTS OF NORTHERN INDIA

Written August 2011
A fantastic, cultural experience. Highlights of Northern India is a must if you want a taster of the real India. The tour guide introduced us to beautiful forts and cultural buildings although more time visiting Gabdhi's musuem would have been appreciated. Be prepared to have curry for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
The two nights on the sleeper train was certainly one of the most memorable experiences.
What did you think of your group leader?
Our tour guide, Jitu, was fab. He went out of his way to ensure we all had an enjoyable and fulfilling experience. The tour ran smoothly because he was efficient and professional.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Take probiotic tablets before you travel to India and continue to take whilst there - they will help to keep your stomach settled. Drink plenty of bottled water and Kleenex wipes and hand gel are a must!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
A worthwhile tour. However, a friend and myself extended our holiday for six days which allowed more time for touring Delhi.
Andrew Seale

HIGHLIGHTS OF NORTHERN INDIA

Written May 2011
Had a fantastic holiday with our excellent guide, Gopal. Saw amazing temples, forts and palaces in Jaipur, Delhi, Agra and Varanasi. The local culture including pottery, farms and weaving was worth every minute. All in all an amazing holiday never to forget.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Seeing the Taj Mahal at sun rise was a surreal moment and one I'll never forget as well as the evening prayers at the Ganges river.
What did you think of your group leader?
Gopal was fantastic, helpful, polite and very informative - he knew his stuff!
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Enjoy and make the most of it.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
One of the most enjoyable and fun adventures I have ever had full of action, culture and hip group of people - really easy group to get on with - and our tour leader Gopal was awsome.
Anita Weatherby

HIGHLIGHTS OF NORTHERN INDIA

Written May 2011
It was hot, hot, hot (end of April 2011, over 40 degrees) and incredibly fast-paced to fit such a huge amount in to a short time, but so well planned that we were never too hot or too tired to appreciate the next amazing sight.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Dawn on the Ganges at Varanasi, deserted palace at Fatehpur Sikri, Taj Mahal at dawn, overnight train journeys, silk-making in people's homes - too many to choose.
What did you think of your group leader?
Gopal is fantastic - full of information on history, culture, religion and local life, always ready to answer questions. He was determined that we should all get what we wanted from our holiday, and planned our time thoughtfully to cope with the 40 degree-plus heat. And he has a great sense of humour...though it turns out he wasn't joking about the 5.30 am wake up call...
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Just do it - I'd wanted to visit India for years and this trip lived up to my expectations. It is fast-paced with lots of early starts and is very much a taster - you could spend weeks travelling to cover all this - but the time is incredibly well planned. Lots of facinating extras were included as well as the big sights: silk-making in people's homes in Varanasi, marble carving and inlay in Agra, carpet making and printing in Jaipur, and clay water bottle pot throwing amongst other crafts. There is a lot of travelling to cover the distances, the roads are an entertainment in themselves - but our driver was fabulous - however the journey times given don't include stops etc and don't take account of traffic, pot holes and long stretches with no tarmac. The train journeys were great, I slept really well. No tigers (only pawprints) but so much other wildlife to see.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Fabulous holiday, excellent leader, great bunch of people on the trip - I can't recommend it enough.
Sara Gascoigne

HIGHLIGHTS OF NORTHERN INDIA

Written May 2011
Northern India is a 'Smorgasborg for the senses' - not a moment goes by where your 5 senses are not continuously overwhelmed. Vitality of colours from the ladies sari's to the ochre buildings; the waft of delicately burning incence and the bullet stench of open sewers; the mesmerising sight of the devoted at morning prayer on the Ganges; the burning of your taste buds as you chose the wrong strength massala curry on the first night to the ear bleeding sound of those car horns....
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Varanassi: period. Evening prayers would move even the most devote atheist to tears.
What did you think of your group leader?
Gopal's enthusiastic love of his country was contageous. Boundless energy and extraordinary organisational skills, meant we never waited for any connection at anytime. He is intelligent, diplomatic, and easy going - making time for everyone in the group. You felt safe under his care, and a half an encyclopedia's worth of knowledge smarter about his country when you left.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Top tips.
1. Dont go on this trip if you suffer from back problems. The first 4 days involve 7,6,8 hour journeys by suspensionless coach, over the worst post holed roads I have seen bar Cambodia. Be prepared to get off a 10 hour long haul flight straight onto the coach for 8 hours to Jaipur.
2. Dont sit on the back seat of the coach, unless you love Alton Towers.
3. Ladies with boobs of DD+ - take a sports bra (am not kidding ladies)
4. Be careful, but dont be too anal about cleanliness - if you are going to get Delhi belly, you are going to get it.

Is there anything else you would like to add?
On the spectrum of travel experiences, its about 1 up from back packing (ie back packing without the hassle), and about 15 down from the nearest 5 star holiday treatment.
Be prepared to: boil (45 degrees in varanassi); scrape the dust and dirt off your body with a cold shower most nights; be suitably appalled and humbled by the poverty; never want to see another Sag Paneer as long as you live; never look down onto the tracks at any railway station at night; and poo at lightening speed!
Be prepared for all of this, but if there is one trip you have to do before you book yourself another fortnight in Majorca - do this one. Its fabulous. Its exhausting. Its fun and it can be life changing.
Natalie Boyce

HIGHLIGHTS OF NORTHERN INDIA

Written May 2011
This was a fantastic trip and a great introduction to India. They were 10 very busy but enjoyable days and we were lucky enough to have a great group leader, with Gopal. I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Without a doubt - Varanasi. It was a magical place that touches all of your senses. The evening prayer is a must and the boat the following morning on the Ganges was amazing.
You also cannot beat seeing sunrise at the Taj Mahal.
What did you think of your group leader?
As I was travelling on my own I hoped that the group and group leader would be good. For my trip I was incredibly lucky with a good great and a great group leader. Gopal made the entire group feel welcome, was helpful, informative and looked after the group for the entire trip. He pointed us in the right direction if people wanted to do their own thing and gave us advice on things we should see and do.
He was excellent at sorting out the overnight trains, something I wouldn't want to do on my own and I feel very lucky to have been on this trip with him as the leader.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
This is a short trip for the amount you get to see and you must be aware of the long journeys each day. There are large distances to cover and 5 hrs a day travelling is not uncommon. Be prepared to come home shattered but having had a great experience. The middle of April is very hot!!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
If you haven't been to India and would like a brief introduction then this is a fantastic trip to do and I have already recommended this to people.
Blanca Fischer

HIGHLIGHTS OF NORTHERN INDIA

Written May 2011
A very hectic holiday spent mostly travelling with early starts.The itinerary could be vastly improved. Ie: after a long flight we had to board a mini-bus to go to Jaipur -no shower, no food, no change of clothes -it would have been preferrable to stay one day in Delhi. Also the sleeper train to Varanasi didn't happen and we had to travel there using the mini-bus which was very unconfortable.After a sleepless night we ended up not doing much in Varanasi as we were very tired and then we found out that the train back to Delhi the following day was delayed and we had to go back on the mini-bus again (16 hours) or pay well over £100 and a night at the hotel to catch a plane back to Delhi
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Visiting the village, Taj Mahal and Delhi
Hindu wedding
What did you think of your group leader?
Local guides were sometimes difficult to understand. Group leader was ok although by the end of the holiday it was clear that he had had enough (in Delhi it was clear he wasn't going to take us on the tour of the city)
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Don't go in April; it's too hot
Clare Brown

HIGHLIGHTS OF NORTHERN INDIA

Written April 2011
An incredible, often overwelming experience. I've been home a week and still miss the sights, the sounds and the people, especially the children. This tour does exactly as it says. You can see a lot of India in a very short space of time. It's sometimes hard going, and you need to grab sleep any time you can, but by the end of the first day we had seen so much and felt like we'd been there a week.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Too many to mention - sunset and sunrise on the Ganges, talking to children whilst watching the sun set over the Taj Mahal. Going to a Bollywood movie and not understanding a word, but loving it! Both the train rides were entertaining in all sorts of ways. G and Ts at the Imperial Hotel in Delhi. (check the price before ordering doubles - we didn't) Rickshaw rides in Varansi and Delhi... and so much more. Oh I forgot... we saw two tigers, one up close!
What did you think of your group leader?
Harish was excellent - a five star tour guide - a realist with a great sense of humour. Nothing was too much trouble. He was helpful when people were ill, helped us organise our own activities such as shopping, meals out (the 'ONLY' restaurant in Agra was great) and cinema trips. He was knowledgeable and informative about all the sights we visited, particularly about the birds and animals at Rantambore, and he even managed to find us gin and tonic for the long train journey. He persuaded other passengers to move their seats on the train so that most members of our group were together when originally some women had been given seats on their own. He played rummy and UNO with us on the train journey to the Ganges and led a fantastic evening excursion in Varanassi which included a hair-raising rickshaw ride at rush hour. We could not have had a better guide.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Listen to the guide. Stay off dairy and overly spicy food for the first few days. Drink plenty of bottled water so you don't get de-hydrated and carry loo roll, Immodium and hand gel everywhere. A few people had minor tummy upsets but it didn't stop them from doing anything. Some of the roads are bumpy and a few people suffered from travel sickness so pills may help. Have small bills (10 and 20 rupees) to hand for the toilets and to give to people if you take their photos. Also, remember what you wear on the plane out to India you will probably be in all next day until you reach the hotel in Jaipur in the evening. There isn't much of an opportunity to change before that.
The hotel at Varanassi offers wonderful massages, very cheaply and also henna tattoos. Try and go to the 1930s cinema in Jaipur for a Bollywood movie and save your pennies for last night drinks at the Imperial in Delhi.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I have wanted to visit India for years and this short trip was a great introduction to this incredible country. If you're prepared for long journeys (and there's so much to see out of the windows) the destinations are well worth it. I would do it all again tomorrow if I wasn't already planning where else in India to go.