socialtours

I was invited to Nepal for a work event and only had four days to visit Nepal

With lots of flexibility, considering my interests and time limits, Raj and his team organized a simply amazing four-day trip for me. From the narrow streets of Patan and the cultural nuances of Kathmandu's Hindu and Buddhist communities to a beautiful hike in Nagarkot and the stunning temples of Bakthapur!

Everything was planned to the detail: the tours, the historical and cultural background explanations, the food and the local delights to enjoy. The drivers were extremely professional and, my guide, Bipin, was not only an incredible professional as well, but also one of the nicest and most attentive persons I've ever met!

Cannot highly enough recommend Social Tours! The vision behind the company is also a plus, for they promote local sustainable development and care about all the people they work with. I can´t wait to come again to Nepal to plan a week-long hike with them!!

I had such an amazing experience. It was truly all, if not more, than what I wished for. Raj and his team are so incredible at getting people to love and understand the Nepalese culture. Rabin was an excellent guide out to the Everest Basecamp region of the Himalayas. We had an amazing experience.

Raj and Bipin organized an 11 day trek to Langtang and Gosaikunda for me. Raj was responsive and patient as he worked with my preferences and scheduling constraints and made sure that I was prepared for the trip before I left home. Once I arrived in Kathmandu, Bipin briefed me before the trip as well as debriefed me afterwards. I appreciated their professionalism, responsiveness, and friendliness throughout. Thanks to them, the trek itself was exactly what I wanted: long days of hiking through alpine terrain with enough moments to appreciate the surroundings.

Hotel Review

Hotel Holy Himalaya

Kathmandu

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Free day | Kyanjin Ri Hike

Kyangjin Gompa

Many thanks to KimKim for Raj of Social Tours (Nepal) & Sherab of Bhutan Travel Club & their addressing all of the details of this glorious trip. Leki Tshering, guide (for hiking as well) in Bhutan, was exceptional, full of life, an educator & ambassador. I was immersed in nature, social & religious learning. Our driver, Kim, was always helpful & courteous. In Nepal I hiked from village to village, (all steps) through beautiful farmlands & traveled through different parts of the country, lodging in locally owned home stays, a pleasant experience. Some of the properties for lodging were an oasis…just what is needed after an arduous few days of trekking. & then there was a hiccup in Bhutan which Sherab tended to with care and immediacy. His dedication to providing an over the top travel experience is greatly appreciated. I am so thankful for such a lovely experience.

Raj planned a 11 day trip to Nepal for us. During the planning stages he provided quick and very detailed responses to our questions and also made himself available for a couple of video chats. He has a great team of local guides. Our trekking guide Rabin was exceptional. After we landed in Nepal the itinerary had to be modified a bit but Raj and team took care of it and everything went well without a hitch. His team was very easy to reach during the trip - we always got a response in a timely manner.

Looking forward to a return visit!!!

Hotel Reviews

Buddha Maya Garden

Lumbini

Authenticity & Character

Lovely facility - like a huge old bungalow. Could use a bit of updating but definitely recommend.

Location

Staff

Very helpful staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Temple Tree Resort & Spa

Pokhara

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Ambassador

Kathmandu

Well located, great people, great restaurant

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Drive to Trailhead & Trek to Ghandruk

Pokhara

We changed our trek. But the whole experience was just amazing. Can’t say enough about Rabin - super nice guy and extremely knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Traditional Welcome Dinner

Kathmandu

Lovely dinner in a lovely place. Enjoyed chatting with Bipin and Rabin.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kathmandu Heritage Tour

Kathmandu

The tour was done in about 4 hours, even after we added Patan Durbar square which presumably was not in the plan. Felt rushed. So many things to take in. Could have definitely used more time.

Sunset Walk at Soyambhu

Kathmandu

Could have used more time here - did not last 3 hours.

Transport

Every aspect of our trip was fantastically good - it was a trip I had been dreaming about for many, many years and it surpassed every expectation. Delayed by Covid, Raj and his team were endlessly patient in planning and re-planning our trip, and I felt at every point he really listened to and understood what I wanted - and delivered it. Every activity - trekking, rafting, sightseeing and more - were well-organised and truly memorable. Every transfer (there were many!)worked seamlessly. Big shout-out to the legend that is Kumar, who guided us on our Mustang trek and who was generous in sharing his huge knowledge and expertise, meticulous in looking after us and with a great sense of humour too. If he is available, book him. Another big shout out to Bipin who took such great care of us in Nepal and made sure we always had what we needed and was again endlessly generous in sharing his knowledge with us. If you are thinking about traveling to Nepal, you would be in no better hands than this team - just go! We are already thinking about our next trip - as a destination, its highly addictive.

Yogesh has been very good and helpful, he made my whole trip. Everything went exactly as in the itinerary, except for a minor mistake on Temple Tree Hotel check out and pick up time. The hotel staff told me the wrong time which was one and half hour earlier than the arranged. The last day photograph tour was the best, far beyond my exception. The guide was a super kind and knowledgeable gentleman. He was the best during this trip.

Overall, great experience. I will surely consider Social Tour next time in Nepal.

I had a great time and appreciate the professionalism and flexibility with my trip schedule.
Everybody from Social Tours did a great job.
I will highly recommend Social Tour for anybody looking to do trekking in Nepal.

What a fabulous introduction to Kathmandu ! Raj of Socialtours arranged for us the perfect exploration of the city and its surrounding areas. He understood that we were looking for contacts with the locals and this is exact what we did in the few days ( too few) we spent in Kathmandu. From the Aarthi ( sitting in the midst of the Nepali faithful) at Pashupatinath to the exploration of the local markets , and the walk in the Newari villages of Bungamati and Khokana we really felt the connection with the locals . We especially enjoyed the dawn walk of Bhaktapur ( not to be missed !) . In all of our travels , we never had a similar experience : we tasted street food breakfast , witnessed the morning prayers and offerings in the street and in the temples and got the major sightseeing spots all to ourselves. I especially want to commend Raj , Sarita and Bikram our extraordinary guides , not only did they explained to us what was happening but we also shared many laughs and had a lot of fun with them . Bikram in particular knows everyone in Bungamati and Bhaktapur and was able to introduce us to a lot of the locals. Naturally our experience would not have been the same without the kindness and the warm welcome we received from the Nepali people . We will be back !

We were a group of 4 adults and 4 adventurous children (age 7-10) and had a really great introduction to Nepal covering trekking, wildlife in the Chitwan National Park and an immersion to Kathmandu which included a very insightful market visit and a brilliant cooking lesson - supported by Raj and the team.
In the run up to the trip we found the team to respond quickly, answer a host of questions and adapt the itinerary to meet our changing requirements. We took a couple of internal flights to cut down travel time on the road that were delayed several hours - come to the airport prepared for delays, and many of the roads were very bumpy - again be prepared! The t-shirts and water bottles which were gifted to us were appreciated as well as the briefing session on arrival so we could ask any unanswered questions face to face e.g. how much to tip the guides/ porters, how cold it would be up the mountains etc.
My only advice would to be very clear how far you wish to trek each day and how able/ active your party are. We felt we could have gone further and seen plenty more - and having briefed this in we were disappointed that our trekking was over much earlier than we had hoped each day with limited possibility to make changes while en route.

Our contact in Nepal, Anura was wonderful. She was extremely organized & efficient. Her expert planning covered every single detail of our trip.
Our guide, Jangbu was extremely knowledgeable & very attentive to our individual needs.

This trip was amazing!!
Raj and Anura were excellent help prior to trip. Anura very patient with all of my questions!
Jangbu, Anura, Robin, and the entire Social Tour’s team were terrific during the trip. Anura took us to two really delicious restaurants and made us feel very comfortable.
Well organized!
Very good value.
Jangbu Sherpa was excellent guide for trekking. Modified the trip as needed for me. Wise and professional, warm and caring. Exactly the kind of person I need to guide me! Our porter was just terrific as well.
Would definitely recommend Kimkim and Social Tours.

Great guide, great porter, great trip!

This worked out great!

We got to have input into where we went and what we did and it was easy. I worked on line with Anura before the trip to set our schedule and work out what we wanted to see.

When we arrived they meet us at the airport and every thing worked really well. My wife's suitcase as delayed and they helped with getting it sorted and getting us back out to the airport to pick it up.

The best:
1. This was not a group tour. We did not ride a round on a bus and get herded from place to place. This was very individual (my wife and myself).

2. We felt cared for and looked after. We knew that if we needed help we had a local resource. Travel in Nepal is wonderful but very a different experience. Just knowing that we had someone working for us was wonderful.

3. The value was great. Transportation (including in county flights), hotels and many of the meals, were all included.

4. We really liked the approach of Social Tours. They want to show you the real Nepal and believe they can be socially responsible as well.

Highly recommended.

We spent 6 days hiking around Annapurna with Sabin and it was an absolutely incredible experience! I take home memories and friendships that I expect to last a lifetime.
This was my first trekking experience and I have never had to challenge myself so much. But it was worth every painful step. The area and sights and views are absolutely stunning! My experiences meeting people from all over the world along the way will stay with me forever.
Sabin was an amazing guide!!! I don't think the experience would have been the same without him. His knowledge of the area and people seem unparalleled which made everything go smoothly and made me feel very comfortable visiting a place where I knew nothing of the language and customs. He went above and beyond in making our experience memorable, such as entertaining us with and teaching us card tricks, making lots of jokes, and serenading us with songs on the guitar. He was so much fun to be around and I look forward to our continued friendship! I cannot say enough good things about him and I hope to come back and it trek with him again!

I had a very good time in Nepal thanks to the Social tours team (Anura & Raj), everything went smoothly and they were very flexible with my plans even dealing with changes to fit my preferences once in Nepal. This tour included the key cultural highlights of the Kathmandu valley as well as a trek from Pokhara. All guides provided were very knowledgeable and left me some free time to explore by myself as well. My only suggestion is to make sure you have the direct contact details of your guides to keep them posted on your arrival time outside of working hours, as this has been required during my trip due to my flight to Pokhara being delayed early morning. Luckily we could reschedule the trek to the following day. I could not recommend Social tours enough, thanks again for the amazing experience! :)

It was great to have a personalised tour and the fact they ensured I was able to access it by providing a Nepalese Sign Language Interpreter. I enjoyed my time in Bhaktpur the most.

Anura was amazing!

She's the best!

My friend and I had the BEST experience with booking through kimkim, as well as, working with Raj to plan out our adventure. We had many questions before and after arriving to our destination and Raj and team were so helpful throughout the entire experience. We gave an idea of things we would be interested in doing while in Nepal and Raj, Anura and team planned it out flawlessly. Our only complaint is that we didn't stay longer to experience more of what Nepal has to offer. We had no worries traveling while in the hands of this team. They transported us where we needed to go and we had a guide at each destination. We spent a day visiting the local temples, a couple days trekking through the mountains ending with camping out at a beach resort as we prepared for a white water rafting trip. But our last destination was one of my favorite stops, the city of Bhaktapur. We toured the city from sunup to sundown with our guide. I feel like we had a behind the scenes look at the culture and lifestyle and loved every minute of it. The guide was superb, the places he took us were amazing- I couldn't have asked for a better experience! Thank you Raj and team! This entire trip was definitely a memorable one thank to your team and I am definitely looking forward to visiting again one day!

After a week back in the Netherlands I look back after a huge experience in the Himalayas.
Supported by a special team with Raj and Anura, who provided me with information from the booking of the trip, I was received in Kathamandu with a greeting dinner and an afternoon where I got all the explanation and what my responsibilities are during the 19-day trek . Especially because I am no longer one of the youngest (69 years), Raj has gone into great depths about pulling at high altitudes. The meeting with Indra my guide was very cordial and familiar. This all supported fine for the coming trek. Planned was a 19 days trek over the 3 passes, but after the stage from Namche to Thame I got a headache, necessarily a day waited but from Thame to Lumden happened exactly the same. Switched to drink a lot of water and use Diamox and of course I had to wait another day, I was rid of the headache and I could bridge the first pass Renjo La. Great view my first goal was achieved, but I also realized that I was against my physical limit and in consultation with my guide we changed the program and left Everest BC behind and opted for Ama Dablam base camp and Dingboche attempt to see the Makalu. Unfortunately, it got worse in the last week and was hardly visible.
My advice if you like my age and you want something seen from the Himalaya Asia choose Raj and Anura, everything is negotiable and the team is very correct and when you have Indra as guide your are a happy man.