India Travel Agents

My overall experience of the trip, starting with planning it, was wonderful. Rajat, with infinite patience, organised my sentimental journey to India down to the smallest details according to my admittedly demanding expectations ('demanding' in the sense of the number of things that had to be squeezed into the seven-days long time frame, and the distances involved). From the exit to the city at Indira Gandhi Airport on 23.10 to the passing of the boarding gate in the opposite direction on 31.10 guides and drivers were always there together with their spacious, comfortable Toyotas. I saw and tasted everything I had looked for, and more, even though – as I had been warned beforehand – Delhi has changed past recognition: only historical monuments, including Lutyens' New Delhi, are what they were sixty and fifty-five years ago (but not their surroundings: e.g. what they've done to our then favourite spot, the Hauz Khas, is a crime).

My warmest thanks go in the first place to those who escorted me the longest: Narendra, wonderful both as a driver and as a companion, especially during our five-hours long voyage from Agra to Lucknow, and Hemant, an exemplary guide, knowledgeable, helpful and tactfully enduring idiosyncrasies of his know-it-all charge; but so were Piyush in Lucknow and Bhati in Udaipur/Chittorgarh. I was less satisfied with Hemant’s substitute during my second day in Delhi, who apparently did not know all the particulars of my excursion. The trouble with the guide who took over from Hemant during the second day in Agra was of different nature: he was doing his very best, but, though normally I have no problem whatsoever with the Indian pronunciation of English, I understood very little of what he was saying and vice versa, which led to some misunderstandings.

The hotels in Delhi (the first three days) and Lucknow were exactly as I had specified – decent rooms with decent baths, no luxuries – with those in Agra and Udaipur above the specification, especially the former. The only one below was the Taurus Sarovar Portico Hotel in Delhi: poor service, thanks to which I never had my Goodbye India dinner, and musky smell in my room which made sleep all but impossible.

Apart from these slight hiccups the trip was a great experience, a tribute to the professionalism of the KimKim team. I was especially touched by the way you handled my skipping the planned lunch at Karim’s in Old Delhi. I skipped it as a well-known tourist trap to avoid another disappointment after the disastrous culinary experiences in other celebrated places, including my once favourite original Moti Mahal, the day before, and considered the matter closed: it was my conscious decision, even though while making it I was not aware that the meal was to be paid by KimKim, not me (the guide in my opinion was not aware of it either). Lo and behold: on our way to Agra I learn that you decided to stand me another in a place of my choice. The best of it all was that the lunch we had at a place near Fatehpur Sikri, recommended by Hemant, was one of the best meals I had during the whole trip. Thank you!

Sticking to the culinary matters – after all, it was this aspect that first drew my attention to KimKim – apart from the heavenly biryani in Lucknow, I had the tastiest meals off the beaten paths. Apart from that place near Fatehpur Sikri, I think especially of the New Minar restaurant in the Greater Kailash area in Delhi close to my hotel and the vegetarian restaurant in Chittorgarh recommended by Bhati (a great surprise to the staunch carnivore I am).

Wonderfully planned custom trip to Karnataka by Jay and his team.
We had wonderful experiences at the Safari resorts at Serai Bandipur and Evolve Back Kabini, both beautiful and comfortable stay in rural Karnataka, with great wildlife viewing and superior service.
In Mysore, Suresh was an excellent guide and such a friendly, knowledgeable and conversational person.
Car transfer between sites was smooth and timely and final airport transfer went without a hitch.

We can’t say enough good things about Ravi and the whole team from Active India. From the minute we landed until we flew out, we were looked after extremely well. Our driver Satnam was excellent along with each and every guide we had. Being greeted at the airport & also escorted to the airport at the end was a nice touch. Highly recommend!

Hotel Reviews

Samode Haveli

Jaipur

We absolutely loved this hotel. Everything about the hotel was first class. We wished we could’ve stayed longer.

Authenticity & Character

Beautifully and peacefully decorated

Location

Staff

Extremely pleasant and approachable staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Extremely hard-working staff kept hotel spotless

RAAS JODHPUR

Jodhpur

Gorgeous setting for hotel. Jodphur was our favourite place to visit and the hotel accommodations made it even better.

Authenticity & Character

Beautifully decorated

Location

Located at the base of the fort

Staff

Extremely friendly and approach

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spotless

Activity Review

Taj Mahal Sunrise Visit

Agra

Highly recommend completing the early morning tour of the Taj Mahal. Well, worth it to wake up early.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rajat worked very closely with me in planning this trip to India. I was thankful for his dedication and patience. I appreciate the organisation and friendliness that was offered to my family.

Hotel Reviews

Haveli Hauz Khas

Delhi

I was thankful that they took us in at such an early hour. The accommodations were clean and the staff friendly.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Coral Tree Homestay

Agra

Fantastic! The owners are very friendly and can speak English and German. The hotel is cosy with a lovely outdoor area to sit and visit in the evening. Everything was very comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nirwana Hometel

Jaipur

It was difficult to communicate with the staff as their English was quite poor. Every single day they forgot to bring fresh towels for the third person in the room. My room was facing the street, so it was quite loud with music playing until fairly late. The breakfast room was disorganised, a table had not been reserved for a group of five.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Gokulam Park

Kanayannur

A comfortable place to stay with a friendly staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Tall Trees Resorts

Munnar

A beautiful area with a nice view. The pool and game areas were welcome. The staff was friendly and their ginger coffee was delicious.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

I had a little trouble with the hot water.

Abad Green Forest

Kumily

A lovely hotel with friendly, helpful staff. Unfortunately, due to religious reasons we could not get a beer with our dinner. The spa ladies were really nice, but spoke very little English. I found it odd that although there was a sign stating that people must wear proper swimming attire that a family was in the pool wearing street clothes and none of the staff approached them. It was fun to watch the monkeys.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lakes And Lagoons Houseboat Cruise

Alappuzha

A wonderful and peaceful trip. It was really fun to sit and watch the backwaters that I would have otherwise not seen. We were able to get off of the boat and explore. The food was delicious, especially the fresh fish. Everything was extremely comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Visit to Agra Fort and 'Baby Taj'

Agra

Although very nice, after seeing the real Taj, it was not very exciting. I had trouble with rating it.

Evening Kathakali Dance Performance

Kochi

I am very pleased to have seen this and recommend it to all. The actors include the crowd, making a great interactive activity.

Evening Kalaripayattu Martial Arts Performance

Thekkady

Extremely impressive. Everyone enjoyed it.

Visit Qutub Minar & Hauz Khas Village

Delhi

Visit to Taj Mahal at Sunrise

Agra

This was really interesting and enjoyable because of the knowledge of my tour guide. I would not have appreciated it without his presence.

Hike to Amber Fort & Palace and Local Sightseeing

Jaipur

The fort was nice, but I expected more. A lot of imagination is needed to envision what it looked like at the time.

Jhalana Leopard Safari Park

Jaipur

It was really fun! We actually saw some leopards and enjoyed the jeep ride.

Visit Hathi Gaon

Jaipur

I loved the elephants! I would have liked to have ridden them to the fort. It was such a good feeling to hug an elephant.

Half Day Jaipur Shopping Experience with Local Guide (Custom)

Jaipur

We enjoyed shopping. The block printing was of huge interest.

Kochi Sightseeing

Kochi

We loved the town. We found it much cleaner than in the north which made it more comfortable for us. Our guide did not seem interested in his job. He explained quite a bit about the plants, but at one point told us to go shopping because he wanted to eat lunch. We disagreed and he took us to a restaurant.

Market Visit, Cooking Class, and Dinner with Local Family

Jaipur

One of the highlights of our trip.

Tribal Art Performance

Thekkady

I really liked this, but not everyone in my family enjoyed it.

Visit to Mehtab Bagh at Sunset

Agra

It was interesting to see and watch a religious ceremony taking place next to river. The weather wasn't great, so there was not beauty in the sunset.

Jeep Safari to GAVI

Thekkady

We had a wonderful safari. Our guide was excellent in the jungle and we were able to trek through rivers and see waterfalls and birds. The boat trip was nice. The jeep itself drove rather quickly and we were all a bit carsick. The jeep driver did slow down to point out some animals: elephant family, cobra, monkeys, birds, buffalo

Visit Spice Plantation

Thekkady

We really enjoyed this and learned a lot. A memorable experience. I wish there had been more spices to see.

Visit Akshardham Temple

Delhi

I really enjoyed this temple. We watched the water show at sunset. I would not have rated this as highly without the show.

Serenity on the Backwaters: A Traditional Kerala Houseboat Cruise

Alappuzha

I recommend it to all groups.

Guided Nature Walk

Thekkady

This was not fun. I love to walk in nature, but I was not prepared for the leeches! They were disgusting! The guide did not care that we were having trouble with them. We all ended up with them on our stomachs, backs and necks. Horrible. Any interesting animals that we saw were not appreciated as they should have been.

Enroute Kochi to Munnar, visit Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary

Munnar

A fun experience that broke up our long trip.

Letchmi Hills Ridge Trek

Munnar

We really enjoyed this. It was a lovely view and we saw animals along the way. We also ate local food that was really tasty. The walking was easy and air was fresh. A lovely day.

My husband and I recently took our first overseas trip since our 1977 honeymoon. We were fortunate to be guided toward working with Kimkim by a well traveled family friend.

Every person we encountered who was connected to Kimkim did an excellent job for us. We are extremely grateful. Rajat helped plan and organize the trip. He was very effective helping us. He gave us good "heads up" around paperwork and expectations. He made sure we were always up to date on everything we needed to know.

Saurahb, our first guide, gave us a wonderful day exploring Old Delhi shops and sights. He was very helpful to us, making local commercial sites, and especially religious sites, accessible and comprehensible to us. Our experiences with him were very moving.

Mr. Hemant, our second guide, was a deeply informed, thoughtful teacher who helped us understand the history and cultures we were engaging. It was also very hot and physically challenging for us, but he found a way for us to pace ourselves and have a joyful, meaningful experience.

All through this, Norindar drove many miles, keeping us safe, in astonishingly complex traffic. He was kind and charming as well.

We are so grateful to the wonderful people at Kimkim whose hard work and expertise gave us such a good experience of Wonderful Wonderful India. We will cherish our memories.

Activity Review

Full Day Jaipur City Tour

Jaipur

Before going to India, I had never thought about Jaipur. It was amazing. First of all, it isn't one place, it is a city-identity that has reinvented itself over and over depending on what needed to happen. As an American, a person who is used to thinking 2 to 3 hundred years old is old, the layers of antiquity are hard to fathom. The trips we made through the different iterations of Jaipur were mind expanding. I took pictures of a part of the city where people had been living for more than 1000 years. There were convenience stores selling things I buy regularly. The experience was such a lesson in enduring daily life. It was very moving.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport