Ravi Tickoo

My wife and I had an unforgettable 8-day stay in India, and we’d like to thank everyone who helped make it so special.
First, a big thank you to Ravi, who did a fantastic job organizing everything from start to finish.

Our journey began on a high note when we arrived at our hotel in New Delhi and were surprised to find traditional outfits waiting for us—ones we would later wear during the Holi festival in Jaipur. Celebrating Holi was an absolute highlight—throwing colored powder, dancing to traditional music, and being surrounded by so much joy and energy was an experience we’ll never forget.

We felt safe and well taken care of the entire time, thanks to our driver Arvind.
We were also fortunate to have knowledgeable and passionate guides in each city—Varun in Delhi, Manish in Agra, and Vinod in Jaipur. Each of them brought the history and culture of these incredible places to life in their own unique way.

Of course, seeing the Taj Mahal was a dream come true, but another deeply memorable moment was visiting Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib, where we had the opportunity to help serve free meals to visitors. It was a humbling and rewarding experience that left a lasting impact on both of us.
India welcomed us with warmth, color, and kindness. We return home with full hearts and unforgettable memories.

We’ve just returned home from our trip to India under the care of Active India Tours (booked via Kim Kim,) and have nothing but positive things to report. My husband and I are usually backpackers who arrange all our own travel, but because we had no idea what to expect of our 1st trip to India, we opted for a more guided experience. Ravi and his team at Active India DELIVERED. From the moment we landed at Delhi airport, we were constantly given guidance and clear expectations of what was to come. Each city guide was kind, capable, and communicative. Misters Singh in Delhi (Ardesh and Dharmendra), Mr. Ronit in Agra, Mr. Sanjay in Jaipur, and our faithful driver Mr. Ajay all took incredible care in hosting us in their cities. The hotels selected for our stays were all spectacular, and were the mix of historical, cultural, and luxury value that I asked of Ravi and kimkim. I wouldn’t hesitate to book a tour to India with Ravi and his team again, and highly recommend it to others, as well.

Activity Reviews

Old Delhi Sightseeing

Delhi

Great walking tour, got to try jalebi for the first time! Was charmed by the spice market in particular.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Taj Mahal Sunrise Visit

Agra

Sunrise is absolutely the best time to see the Taj, no question. Better weather, fewer people, amazing views!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had the most amazing week in Jaipur, Agra and Delhi. Our driver, Girish, was FANTASTIC! He had cold bottled water for us, snacks, was punctual and friendly. All of our guides and escorts were excellent and the itinerary was so complete!
We were celebrating our anniversary and my birthday, and Ravi spoiled us completely. The hotels were beautiful and the attention we received was like non other.
I asked to have our rooms be on the top floor, and we were accommodated with rooms with a breathtaking view of the Taj Mahal.
From start to finish, Ravi was communicative and detailed. We will have one more day in Delhi at the end of our trip in a few weeks. I’m sure that it will be as wonderful as the first seven days. I recommend that everyone definitely use Active India and Ravi as your travel agent!

Hotel Reviews

Ranthambhore Heritage Haveli

Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grand Mercure Agra

Agra, UP

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Novotel New Delhi Aerocity Hotel

New Delhi

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dera Rawatsar

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

I

Cleanliness & Comfort

Furniture was stained

Activity Reviews

Taj Mahal at Sunset

Agra

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morning and Evening game drives at Ranthambore (Sharing Jeep):

Ranthambore

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jaipur Sightseeing Tour

Jaipur

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bathe, Paint and Feed - (Un-forgettable - experience with elephants!)

Jaipur

Quality of Experience

No

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore the marvelous and historic monument : Agra Fort

Agra

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Agra beyond Taj: Leave for a Mughal Heritage walk

Agra

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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New Delhi Sightseeing

Delhi

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We can never put into words how happy we are with our holiday in India. We began planning the trip 2 years in advance, and Ravi and his team worked tirelessly and patiently with us until the itinerary was perfect. The hotels we selected together exceeded our expectations, and thanks to Active India's requests, we received several upgrades.
From the moment we exited the airport, until being dropped back off, we were treated like esteemed VIP guests. We had the "BEST" local experienced guides in every town. And our drivers managed to keep us calm and cool while dodging cows, goats, motorcycles, potholes, and crazy traffic. Driving in India is an experience all unto itself!
Our holiday included a lot of rural time. We were in forests and jungles tracking tigers and leopards. We visited small off the grid villages to meet locals and learn about their customs. And we visited many temples and sites miles away from the hustling cities. This made our trip feel less chaotic, as spending only time in cities will not allow you to chill and recharge.
KIMKIM made sure we balanced history, food, culture, nature, spirituality, and fun fun fun. Our photos clearly show this.
We cannot thank our agent and his wonderful team of professionals enough, they made this a trip of a lifetime. Thank you India for welcoming us with open arms, kindness, and sharing all of your treasures with us. We leave India knowing so much more about you, the West has gotten the messaging all wrong. We look forward to visiting your beautiful country again!
Steven and Stephane.

This was truly a memorable trip. We absolutely loved it. We requested a very busy and fast-paced trip and KimKim delivered! We came home exhausted, but it was so worth it. (This was per our request, of course. There are many very relaxing places to visit in India too.)
Highlights were:
Our guide Ritam Sur in Kolkata. Super accommodating, very personable guide who listens to what you are interested in and changes plans to suit you. He even plyed the guitar for us, introduced us to some of his friends, and much more.
Our cooking class with Diya at Harsolihaveli in Jaipur. She is hilarious, super fun and easy to talk to. We had a fabulous time!
Our guide Peter in Mumbai was also amazing. He also adjusted things to suit us and was very accommodating! He is eternally patient! I had very specific ideas for souvenirs I wanted to purchase for gifts, and he took me all over town to find them. If only my husband was so patient!!! 😂
The number one 5 star review goes to Sanjay Safaya! I am a hobby potter in the U.S. and I really wanted to throw some pottery pieces while in India. Mr Sanjay made it happen for me! He called around until he found a family who would let me use their clay and wheel. They were the sweetest family and it was an all around fabulous experience for me! He really went out of his way to set this up and it made the trip for me. I will forever be grateful.

Hotel Reviews

Ambassador - IHCL SeleQtions

The Grand Imperial

Agra

Absolutely beautiful and we got to watch a wedding from our balcony.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Suba Palace,

Mumbai

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Alsisar Haveli

Jaipur

One of our top 3 experiences in India! Fabulous place, fabulous cooking class, fabulous people.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Elgin Fairlawn

Kolkata

Honestly, this was not the best hotel. This is definitely not the fault of the staff! The service and breakfast were great, but the building is old Kolkata just doesn’t have the same standard overall. I would advise anyone opting for 3-4 star hotels to request a 5 star hotel in Kolkata.

Authenticity & Character

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Abad Dutch Bungalow

Kochi, Kerala

Authenticity & Character

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Houseboat

Not our favorite. Staff was sketchy and not very friendly. Cook wasn’t really a chef. They told us we couldn’t use the air conditioning until evening and it was over 90 degrees outside!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Old Delhi Sightseeing

Delhi

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cooking Class, and Dinner with Local Family

Jaipur

One of our beat experiences in India. Diya did an amazing job teaching us and is super fun! She is very easy to talk to. I wondered if it would be awkward, but it wasn’t at all. 5 stars!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jaipur Sightseeing Tour

Jaipur

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cooking class in Cochin

Cochin

Very detailed and hands on instruction. Our host is a real teacher, and I have a much better understanding of India spices now!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dharavi Tour!

Mumbai

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

India was a culture shock. We were constantly surprised, and had a thrilling time learning. We saw so many world heritage sites, we ate so much great food, we had so many incredible experiences. All of this was possible only because of our team. Or driver in the north Puron was indispensable, he safely navigated streets and traffic that we found intimidating (terrifying at times) without any difficulty, just another day. Add to that his excellent knowledge of the country and his charming demeanor, he was a cornerstone of our trips success. Additionally the office team was incredible, they helped us plan a action packed trip (just the way we like it) and when there was trouble, like our flight being canceled 30 min before it was supposed to board, they were on it, 20 min later we had new flights, they helped us reschedule events on the fly, and made excellent recommendations. The local guides they chose for us were always professional and knowledgeable. They went to great lengths to make sure we had an excellent time, doing things like explaining how to get through long lines, and advocating for us in crowded, and tense situations. We are very happy with this experience. Would use again.

Hotel Reviews

Zone Connect by The Park

Authenticity & Character

It's a modern hotel that was nicely situated downtown

Location

right next to a mall and many food options

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Abad Turtle Beach Resort

Mararikulam, Alappuzha, Kerala

Great spot, nice room, lots of little fun things, like the butterfly garden. Food was excellent

Authenticity & Character

Character for days

Location

Strangest part of our India trip was how empty the beach was here. Almost no one on the beach or in the water. It beautiful sand positioned perfectly to watch the sunset. So strange to have there be no one there. But also very peaceful.

Staff

one time a front desk person chased us for a 1/4 mile to hand us some keys. She could have shouted to get our attention but didn't want to seem rude. They really took good care of us.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grand Mercure Agra

Agra, UP

Comfortable hotel with great staff

Authenticity & Character

saxophone playing Santa really did it for me

Location

easy access to the fort and the tomb

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Narain niwas palace

Jaipur

a beautiful place, but it's historic nature came with some downsides. Power was unreliable, and we were on the top floor without an elevator, this was difficult for some in our party. But great food, great location, excellent staff

Authenticity & Character

more character then I have ever experienced

Location

close to all the sights

Staff

obviously take great pride in their hotel

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean! yes very much so. Comfort was a little more difficult because of the age of the building. But would stay again

Hotel Dev Vilas, Ranthambore

Great experience, lots of little customer service extras, truly lovely

Authenticity & Character

Location

quick drive to safari pick up

Staff

really good, they were very aware of us and our schedules, made sure we got dinner if out late, hot towels to wipe off the dust of safaris when we got back. Lovely holiday celebration,

Cleanliness & Comfort

hot water bags in the bed!!! never knew something could be so cozy

Houseboat

an incredible experience. Lots of comforts for a boat

Authenticity & Character

Location

traveled the back waters and made sure not to have the sun in our face for all parts of the journey

Staff

Great cook, and a captain that left us with no worries. Even though they spoke little English we never had any issues.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Well taken care of. My one note if anyone is reading this is to remember to bring your own alcohol. We were told there wouldn't be any and so were able to plan ahead. I'm from Wisconsin, I'm not getting on a boat without a beer.

Fragrant Nature Kochi

Kochi

great place, great new years party!

Authenticity & Character

beautifully decorated lobby with plants.

Location

close to all the historic attractions, very walkable.

Staff

helpful, curious, friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

it's hot and humid in Cochin, but we were always happy in the hotel. rooftop pool area was particularly lovely

Hotel Pride Plaza Aerocity

Delhi

close to the airport. Easy check in and check out, very clean and comfortable.

Activity Reviews

Explore the marvelous and historic monument : Agra Fort

Agra

Didn't even know this existed, but it's arguably more amazing than the Taj. Loved it, loved learning about it.

Morning and Evening game drives at Ranthambore (Sharing Jeep):

Ranthambore

Reserving early to get a Gypsy would have been better, but I really can't complain, we saw a tiger and a couple leopards and a jackal, and mongoose, and owls and deer and eagles, and it delivered. It was also very uncomfortable but you don't notice when the animals are out

Guides, Drivers and Staff

guides often only knew one or two things about each animal, they were not wildlife experts and were not fluent in English. Probably the guides in Gypsies know more. They were good at pointing animals out

Transport

the Canters were packed, as a 6' guy I was folded into my seat in a vehicle with seemingly no suspension. To be succinct, canters suck.

Bathe, Paint and Feed- A life-time experience with elephants at Elephantastic

Jaipur

Elephants have been rescued and are living a different life now at the enclosure. They were very docile and happy to take food from us (they knew the drill) We loved getting to make eye contact, give them scratches and in general interact with such an intelligent beautiful animal.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

would like to have learned more about the elephant we were with "Lucky"

Apart from the guide in Jaipur, who seemed a bit stressed and rushed us, everyone was amazing!

Ravi was great - he made the planning very easy. He adjusted the itinerary to exactly how we wanted it to be. We loved our trip - it was an amazing mix of adventure and culture. They also helped us fitting in the wedding we had planned. Once in a life time experience.

Hotel Review

Kumarakom Lake Resort

Kumarakom

We loved this hotel. It was like a hidden oasis. We arrived and were handed coconuts to drink and went on a sunset cruise. Also had fun activities to do like pottery making. And we enjoyed the restaurant and spa.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Taj Mahal Sunrise Visit

Agra

Highlight of the trip! Life changing. Loved our tour guide and definitely worth it to go at sunrise.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ravi helped my partner and I plan a very unique trip to India including activities we would have never thought to book ourselves. He really took care of us and made sure we had everything we needed. Our guide in Agra was particularly knowledgeable and we also really liked our driver, Sandeep. Would definitely recommend this tour company to others.

We recently undertook the trip of a lifetime to the Golden Triangle of India and the team from Active India were amazing from pre-planing through to our send off in Delhi - we could not have asked for a better partner. Our driver got us from city to city safely (a miracle in itself!) and all of the local guides were full of local insights and very knowledgeable. We have no hesitation in recommending Active India to you.