Kimkim Trip Reviews for India

A very pleasant trip, made all the more pleasant by all of the attention given to us by our local, Ravi Tickoo and Active India.

Was met in Dehli, on time, well spoken meet agent and friendly driver Lall.
Our Guide for Delhi was Samar, very pleasant and well spoken gentlemen, we saw all the sites we wanted to see and some hidden gems. Samar was very knowledgeable about the the Indian history and all the monuments. We really enjoyed our time with him. Samar also assisted us with what foods to eat and how to eat them👍🏽.

We then had a new guide for Agra. Ajay was also very accommodating and got us some real bargains at the market, our time was short in Agra so it did feel a bit rushed but no fault of the guide.

Overall we where very pleased with the Claridges hotel in Dehli. We had a poor night at the Crystal Savor as kids were running in the corridor until 1am and had the television on full blast the entire night. We did contact hotel management which did not solve the situation.

Trip organize Ravi and trip liason Ajay were top notch! They made our trip extremely memorable and perfect in every way. Can’t recommend KimKim and Active India enough.

Our trip to India in the Golden Triangle (Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur) was amazing. Leading up to and throughout the trip, our local specialist Ravi Tickoo was attentive and friendly. He answered right away whenever we had a question and helped us plan a trip perfectly catered to our group. Our tour guide, Ajay Gupta, was the best! He was knowledgeable, flexible to our needs and wants throughout the trip, and all around fun to be around. I would recommend kimkim to anyone and can't wait to plan my next trip through them.

Hotel Reviews

Royal Heritage Haveli

Khatipura, Jaipur, Rajasthan

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Taj Hotel & Convention Centre, Agra

Agra

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Oberoi Delhi

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Jaipur - Delhi - Departure

New Delhi International Airport (DEL)

Three of us left earlier than the rest of our group, and the travel from Jaipur to Delhi for our flight was a little weird. Our driver stopped at one point at a rest stop, but then did not return to the car for half an hour. We had no way to contact him or find him which was off-putting. He eventually came back to the car and the rest of the drive was smooth.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jaipur Sightseeing Tour + Village jeep ride

Jaipur

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Agra - Jaipur

Jaipur

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Old Delhi Sightseeing - Agra

Agra

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arrival - Delhi

Delhi

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Overall FANTASTIC trip!

Jay and the Bespoke Team exceeded our expectations from the moment we landed in India. Simply magical from start to finish and one of the best/if not the best trip we have ever been on!
I am of Indian origin and have traveled several times to Southern India. This was our first trip to the North and my husband/daughter's first trip to India. Jay helped us plan a trip to the Golden Triangle (New Delhi, Agra, Jaipur) + Varanasi and Ranthambore. He was very easy to work with and considered all our requests and concerns. We were met at every location by the company representative who helped us check in, reviewed the itinerary plan and start time. Guides were always early and greeted us each morning.

Driver---BEST DRIVER EVER!! Mr. Balbir Singh Rana was an absolute dream of a driver and we could not thank him enough for making this trip perfect. He was always smiling, so peaceful, pleasant and calm while navigating the insanity of Indian driving/traffic/animals and all forms of transportation found on the roads. He kept the car clean and guided up to wonderful rest stops while en route to all the sights. 

New Delhi--saw the Red Fort, Raj Ghat (Gandhi cremation site), Jama Masjid, Chandi Chowk, Humayun's Tomb and Qutub Minar. Our favorite was the rickshaw cycle ride through the streets of Chandi Chowk. Lunch was excellent at Kwality restaurant.

Varanasi--excellent guide Mr. Singh who took us for a boat ride to see the Ganga Aarti and funeral ghat to experience the cremations. Saw the Aarti from rooftop seating which gave us a great vantage point thanks to Mr. Singh. Really enjoyed the morning boat ride to see life on the Ganges, Lord Shiva temple and walk thru the old streets of Varanasi, Bharat Mata temple, Durga temple, Tulsi Manas temple and especially Sarnath temple/museum and the gorgeous Lion Capital of Ashoka located. 

Agra--excellent guide Mr. Briijesh Joshi. Great trip to the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, "Baby Taj" and fantastic Mughal Heritage Kachhpura Village walk. Lunch was in a beautiful garden with great food per suggestion of Mr. Joshi. Village walk and view of the Taj from a roof top across the river was a highlight!

Ranthambore--beautiful Sawaii Villas was a stunning hotel we loved staying at. Did 2 safari's (am and evening) and saw the male tiger "Rocky" on our evening safari in zone 4. Hotel gave blankets for the morning safari which was so important as it was freezing. Being in the wild and seeing a bengal tiger was a once in a lifetime experience!

Jaipur--fantastic guide Mr. Ajit Singh! BIG thanks to Ajit for taking us to the Hawa Mahal in the morning with less crowds and the sun shining onto the building facade--got great pics! Saw Amer Fort, Panna Meena ka Kund (stepwell), Jaigarh Fort, Jantar Mantar, City Palace and Nahargarh Fort. Highlight was Dera Amer -- spending time with rescued elephants and lovely organic home cooked dinner. 

I've contacted Active India through Kimkim and I must say that I've really enjoyed my experience!

As a start, and to make the communication easy during the trip, I was added to a WhatsApp group with Ravi and the Active India emergency number and I gave consistent feedback and requested to book for optional trips. The response to my queries were really quick.

Active India are really attentive and I felt like they were looking after me during the trip. They've got the details from my emergency contact and of my insurance policy at the very start of the trip.
Also they hotels they booked for me were of really high standard and located close to the main places I wanted to visit.

I've had the chance to meet 5 tour guides during the trip and all of them were experienced and knew very well about the trip location as they were mostly locals and knew where the hidden gems were. My only advice is that if you are not willing to shop anything and you are more into visiting the cities or landmarks, then that you make clear from the very beginning that you don't want to go to any shop and that you would rather invest your time in visiting the city or other places of interest. You could end up stuck in one of these shops for an hour!

Finally, my special mention goes to my driver Umesh. He has been with me during all the trip and took me to all the places I visited (Delhi, Jaipur, Ranthambore and Agra). He has been really punctual and professional and also took good care of me.

If you're planning to book your holidays in India and want to book a guide and someone to book the hotels and transport on your behalf, don't hesitate to contact Active India!

Excellent Trip! Only wish we had more time :)

Hotel Reviews

Fragrant Nature Munnar

Cannot beat the views! Very clean and comfortable. Munnar was the highlight of the trip because we had this hotel to relax in after a day of intensive hiking.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Marari Beach Resort - CGH

Very cool resort, right on the beach! Excellent, food, pool, activities, etc. Great place to wind down after a week of activities. Really greatful to the staff and resort for their hospitality.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel PepperVine

Thekkady, Kumily, Kerala

The sheets, curtains, shower curtain were initially moldy/dirty. We requested a clean change and they did this very quickly. However, the walls still had black mold and the sheets were wet with humidity. The service and food were good but I would likely not recommend for the cleanliness factor.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Humidity control. Better cleaning.

Francis Residence

Mr. Francis and Ruby were very kind and thougtful. Clean rooms, good care, excellent location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Marari - Cochin - Delhi (AI834 - 20:30 hrs)

Cochin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Free Day at Marari Beach

Marari

Could not say enough about how cool this resort is!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Marari - Alleppey: Day Cruise aboard Houseboat

Marari

Did not do this.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jungle Walk in Periyar National Park

India

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Spice Plantation Walk in Periyar

India

Enjoyed this experience, wish I had brought proper hiking shoes for the mud. If I were to go again I would do both the Periyar hike + the raft ride. It was a bit far to travel (8 hrs) for the "plantation" tour (1 hr) and park walk (2 hr). Learned lots about spices and plants! Super fun!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Hike to Sevenmalai Hills - Tea Museum Tour

Munnar

Great experience hiking in and around the seven hills. A real highlight of the trip. We had a bit of a rock scramble and would recommend proper shoes for this and Periyar. We're not athletes by any means and made the treck just fine.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cochin Sightseeing

Cochin

Sebastian, our guide, was great!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My girlfriend and I had a fantastic time on our guided tour in Leh and Ladakh in November 2022. The scenery there was breathtaking (literally - it's very high!), and all the monasteries and temples we saw were very interesting to see and learn about. We had an extremely knowledgeable guide with us the whole time, and a driver who navigated the city of Leh and the surrounding area with impressive ease. The guide knew all about everywhere we went and was really helpful in sharing his own experiences growing up in the region and practicing Buddhism - it all made for what felt like a very personal welcome into the area and culture.

I unfortunately got sick from some sort of food poisoning, which forced us to miss the trip to Nubra Valley, but I was impressed with the agility of Ravi, my tour guide, and the whole Active India team to adjust the itinerary on the fly while making sure I had the help I needed while I was sick. I would recommend working with this team and our particular tour guide and driver for sure.

Pros: Our driver, Satish, was incredible and one of the best parts of the trip. He was always punctual, helpful, kind, and gave good advice. He was a careful and attentive driver, and I always felt safe though the driving conditions were very unusual for me.

The guides who led the spice tour and the Munnar hike were our favorites from the trip. Both were very friendly and their knowledge level was impressive. Also the spice tour guide did recommend his brother's shop to us and the prices were very reasonable.

Favorite activities were the cooking demonstration, the martial arts demonstration, both the jungle and mountain hikes, and the house boat. The destinations were all beautiful and interesting, and the hotels in Periyar and Marari were both wonderful.

Cons:
Though our tours in Cochin were all very informative and interesting, it was clear that our guide had some arrangement with the shops and tuktuks that he recommended. The interactions were uncomfortable and the prices very high (70 USD/5700 INR for a simply made skirt). After the first store, I was put off from shopping during the rest of the trip.

I felt unprepared with regard to tipping, as it seems a very complicated issue in India. There was no information on what to bring/how to dress, and so we were also unprepared for leeches and the more rugged hikes.

The Thattekad Bird Sanctuary is not worth stopping unless you arrive in the early morning, and the hotel in Munnar was challenging with regard the smell/cleanliness and lack of AC.

Overall it was a wonderful experience, and I plan to return to India in the future.

Hotel Reviews

Abad Turtle Beach Resort

Mararikulam, Alappuzha, Kerala

This resort was amazing. There was a beautiful, private beach and many amenities. While we were there, almost everyone from our group tried the spa and it was fantastic as well. The food was also good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Deshadan Cliff & Beach Resort

Kerala

The hotel was nice and the restaurant had a large menu. The staff here was incredible.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Closer to the beach

Staff

The staff were all very accommodating and helpful. Any and all requests were fulfilled immediately.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Royal Riviera Hotel

The hotel was beautiful but amenities and cleanliness were not on a level with some of the other hotels we visited.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clouds Valley

Munnar, Kerala

This hotel was the dirtiest that we experienced, with a strong sewage smell permeating the room. There was visible mold all over the bathroom ceiling and no AC.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Install AC in some rooms, improve ventilation in the bathrooms, remove the existing mold.

Abad Dutch Bungalow

Kochi, Kerala

This was a nice, clean hotel with a good restaurant.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel PepperVine

Thekkady, Kumily, Kerala

The hotel and grounds are gorgeous, and the restaurant was one of the best we experienced while in India. They also serve beer and wine, which was not usual according to our experience.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Marari to Cochin and Departure Tour Concludes (Departure at 7:55 PM)

Cochin

Again, the driver was one of the best parts of our trip. He was always very punctual and kind, and seemed a very careful and attentive driver.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Free Day at Marari Beach

Marari

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Free Day in Varkala

Varkala

Varkala was nice, but I felt like shopping was limited and would have preferred to have less time here overall.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Drive to Varkala

Varkala

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer to Kumarakom

Kumarakom

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jungle Walk in Periyar National Park

India

We saw many interesting plant and animal species. The guide was knowledgeable and kind.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Munnar to Periyar

Periyar

Scenery along the drive was nice and we were able to stop for some really nice photos.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Hike to Sevenmalai Hills - Tea Museum Tour

Munnar

The hike was incredible, with some of the best views we saw throughout the trip. The tea museum was okay but not as interesting as other tours.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide who did the hike brought along fruit for all of us to try and was very knowledgeable about the local plants and the life of the tea collectors.

Transport

Visit to Thattekad and Drive to Munnar

Munnar

At the time we visited the bird sanctuary, not many birds or other animals were active. It was just a hot hike and we had to pick leeches off of our skin at the end. It didn't seem worth the time spent.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cochin Sightseeing

Cochin

Cochin was amazing and our guide was clearly very knowledgeable about the city. All tours were very informative, and he even pointed out interesting plants, trees, and landmarks as we walked around the city.

Quality of Experience

The tours were very interesting and the guide was very well informed.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

It was clear that our guide had some arrangement with the shops and tuktuks that he recommended. The interactions were uncomfortable and the prices very high ($70 for a simple skirt). After the first store, I was put off from shopping during the rest of the trip.

Transport

Arrival Cochin (Arrival at 9:05 AM)

Cochin

It was very easy to find our driver, and he waited patiently for our friends to arrive and for us to have a cup of coffee. There was no stress involved.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Varkala - Marari

Marari

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lovely trip. Great help in planning the trip by Ravi who was knowledgeable, kind, gracious and really made us feel that he cared for us to have a great trip.

Our guides were very insightful and welcomes d us with grace. Special mention for Giriraj, Harish and Jitendra. Our driver was also incredibly kind (Rahul) and brought a smile to my daughter every day.

My only constructive feedback would be:
-just as restaurants in India ask westerners « how spicy do you want it » this should be asked as well to the guests. We sometimes felt too protected , experiencing an abstract visit taking us by car from one historic site to another and then to a « hygenic » restaurant. The great service that Ravi offered was to pivot and allow us to change plans last second in order to get spend time in markets and just walk around with everyday people.m which was also important to us.

- just a slightly negative note on our hotel in Delhi. After great hotels across all other cities we visited, this was definitely a grade below.

That said, KimKim and using Active India was the best decision. Ravi was truly a marvelous host as were the individual guides who shared the love and knowledge they have of this marvelous country - INDIA.

WE HAD AN AMAZING JOURNEY

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Udman Ferns N Petals

New Delhi, Delhi

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grand Mercure Agra

Agra

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Royal Heritage Haveli

Khatipura, Jaipur, Rajasthan

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Amet Haveli

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Delhi Sightseeing

Delhi

Great guide.

Agra - Delhi (Train - 1745/1930hrs)

Delhi

Part of a visit is trying to blend in and not being accompanied or guided. So we loved this experience.

Quality of Experience

Jaipur - Agra via Abhaneri

Agra

Abhaneri is worth the detour

Jaipur Sightseeing and Spending time with elephants

Jaipur

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Udaipur Sightseeing

Udaipur

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We have had an amazing experience planning our trip to India with Ravi. The itinerary suggested was perfect and met our brief so well. Suggested changes from us were implemented quickly with excellent advice and help from Ravi. Response to messages was alway quick and appropriate. I would thoroughly recommend Ravi and Kimkim for planning your trip.
Thank you Ravi and I hope we can travel to India soon once we have the visa issue sorted.

Jit, my guide in Delhi was excellent as was driver Pushkar. I particularly enjoyed visiting Pushkar.

Hotel Reviews

Pushkar Palace

Bhattiyani Chohatta Udaipur, Rajasthan

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dera Rawatsar

Jaipur

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grand Mercure Agra

Agra

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Udman Ferns N Petals

New Delhi, Delhi

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Trip Concludes in Delhi

New Delhi International Airport (DEL)

It is not an easy airport to navigate including access to the free WiFi so it would be helpful to add some of that practical info to future travelers

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pushkar Drive to Ajmer -Delhi (Train 1545/2240hrs) - departure (Depart by Etihad Airways EY211 on September 21, 2022 at 0445)

New Delhi International Airport (DEL)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jaipur - Pushkar

Pushkar

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jaipur Sightseeing Tour + Village jeep ride

Jaipur

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Taj Mahal at Sunrise and Drive to Jaipur

Jaipur

Sites were beautiful. Guide was good but not very personable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Agra Sightseeing

Agra

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Delhi Full Day Sightseeing

Delhi

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very informative guide

Transport

Arrival Delhi

New Delhi International Airport (DEL)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ravi was quick to respond to our inquiry about booking a trip to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal. Every detail, from our airport pickup in Delhi, the private car to Agra, our hotel in Agra and our guide for our tour of the Taj was perfect. Our guide took us to lunch at "Pinch Of Spice" in Agra which was wonderful! He was very knowledgeable and personable.

This was our first trip to India. We are experienced travelers, but generally have local contacts that help us arrange a trip. For India, we had no idea where to start. We wanted a trip to see plants, orchids, and birds, along with natural settings, but also wanted a few cultural and historical places too.
After much back and forth, we had a trip planned, all tickets bought. Then covid hit. Two years passed and yet we still wanted this trip. This spring we took the leap and am certainly glad we went. We were everywhere welcome and asked bring more foreign tourists. Imagine being at Taj Mahal and being one of a handful of people of northern European descent. Indians are touring their own country now.. and the Taj with all the colorful saris not tourists in kaki was lovely to see.
There did turn out to be a lot of driving, but that was required to get to the various places we wanted to go. we had various guides, and for all but one ( our "guide" at the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary- I would have to give him a negative rating for many reasons) we had good to excellent experiences.
The accommodations arranged were sometimes over the top for we budget travelers but as we did not know the cost it and it was already paid for , we just enjoyed it.
Over all it was nice to just not have to arrange for anything. When we finished with a cultural site or were done with a hike, our car and driver were there, no walking to the car. We seldom carried our bags. Our biggest decisions were what to have for dinner. we have never traveled like this before and I will say it was nice.
We wrote a review of each day on the trip summary for specifics.

KimKim was great to work with to organize this tour. Priya, our local specialist was very helpful. Because of the time difference, it usually took 1 day to respond. My planning of this trip was revised (by me) many times, and Priya managed all of the changes easily. All of our transportation, accommodations, and tours was seamless. The guides were knowledgable and helpful. I most appreciated our driver, Puran. He was with us from the moment we arrived in Delhi, until we departed Delhi. I felt that he was always looking out for us - our experience and our safety. I also learned a lot about India from him. I will definitely be looking to KimKim again whenever I need help planning another trip. They have local specialists in many countries.
Thank you KimKim, Priya, and Puran for a great 4 day, whirlwind tour of the Golden Triangle.

Far beyond my expectations. It really brought me out of my bad mood. Warm welcome, quick response in WhatsApp group and considerate feedback calls en route, no harassment or traps. Thanks to my driver Mr Phrahalad, my guide Mr Verma and of course Mrs Priya, all excellent and professional. Overall, great trip, worth the price.

Great driver, guides were good , wonderful tour of interesting palaces, temples. Tag Mahal. Tiger safari

Priya, was the best agent who went above and beyond to help us with this trip. We had good car, great hotels, good drivers. Only in Goa ,we could not get English speaking driver due to driving company confusion. It was not a big deal because I speak there language. Every thing was on time and coordinated very well. Priya's work was very impressive. I will recommend this travel Co.. to all my friends and i will use the same in future also.. I appreciate them very much. Thanks to Ms Priya and Mr. Ravi Tikkoo

Jay was very knowledgeable and patient. He did everything very well. I recommend him.

Must-do trip in north India to get to know important spots of Indian's history and get amused by the marvellous architectural accomplishments.
At the same time, it is a very touristic tour. One will be pushed to buy stuff by the guides (which for sure is normal and moves the economy but one should be given the option in advance).
Jaipur is a great city, walking around the city is an experience of its own.
Make sure to review (and change if you want) the hotels given by the agency before accepting the tour.
The agency provided a great driver