Taj Express - 8 day tour

I enjoyed the trip but felt the entertainment and meals and hotels were poor. I have been on a trip to Vietnam and China with On The Go and this wasn’t a patch on them. The guide was good and did what he could to make the trip enjoyable. But the hotels, restaurants and entertainment provided was of a poor standard ”

It was truly amazing. Got a real feel for India. Thank you. Could not have asked for a better guide. Yusuf Khan was amazing! ”

Although this was an ‘express’ tour I felt we covered a lot in the time available and with the distances covered. I was surprised by the travel time for each leg of the trip - the trip notes didn't include estimated durations for all travel days. Other companies do this routinely so this is one improvement that On the Go could make so travellers have full information before they book. I note that road and traffic conditions are not the same as the U.K. and there were sufficient toilet and food stops which shows the guides’ consideration for the group.

The hotel on the last day in Delhi was disappointing. The rooms were great however the location wasn’t and as there was no bar or spa at the hotel (unlike the starting point hotel) spending the last night together was not as much fun as it could have been and relaxing after a busy week would have been better with spa, or a gym! The breakfast was also poor with mostly Indian food and only bread and cereal other than this.

Our guide was fantastic. He looked after everyone with great care and consideration, including finding pharmacy’s and phone shops for travellers, offering more frequent stops for those who weren’t well and re-planning portions of the trip where journeys took longer than expected or It was a foggy day. He shared some personal stories to help explain aspects of the Indian culture and provided excellent information on all aspects of history, culture, etc. There were times when Yusuf sat away from the group for meals, which we felt uncomfortable with as we wanted him to be part of the group - by the end of the week he was doing this and I think this made him feel more comfortable sharing stories with us, which was nice for everyone. My one criticism of Yusuf would be that he would often move the group on in quite a quiet manner so we didn’t always know we were supposed to follow - I think this may be down to the quiet nature of the Indian people, whereas lots of loud Brits and Aussies probably need a loud voice to get them to listen!! He was excellent at advising us on how to stay safe and not get taken advantage of by locals and stepped in several times to assist when money was stolen and people approached us. He made the trip very successful.

Having water available on the bus was another added bonus as we didn’t need to find shops to buy it at - another small detail that helped make a difference to the overall quality of the tour.”

Excellent tour excellent guide, very professional , kind and helpful”

I expected the Taj Express to be fast paced and deliver all the highlights in a short space of time and I was not disappointed! Our tour guide, Satendra, assisted with arranging any additional sightseeing I had planned. He is an exceptional tour guide - I had spinal surgery prior to the tour and he went out of his way to assist me in any way possible. ”

Excellent tour guide. India is daunting but with Yussef in control we had the best experience possible.”

He was amazing, very knowledgeable and a credit to your company.”

Yusuf was a very good tour leader who was always helpful and consisderate of individuals on the tour. He was very knowledgeable about his country and explained the history thoroughly. He would rearrange the order of the tour at various times to make the tour flow more easily for the benefit of the participants. He would provide a buffer zone from some of the local vendors for us at times which was very helpful and useful to us.

I can say with certainty that he was one of the best tour leaders we have ever encountered. With our visit to India we have been to 80 countries so we have encountered many tour leaders throughout the years. Even though we were very tired by the end of the tour, it was a wonderful experience to see a small part of India. The heat at this time of the year coupled with our age lead to our being very exhausted at teh completion of the tour. Thanks to Yusuf for our pleasurable trip and great experience of India.”

What a great holiday! This was our third group tour with On The Go and could not recommend them enough. India was fantastic with so many amazing sights to see. After the Taj Mahal being the most enjoyable highlight of the trip, the walk in the streets of Karauli was the second highlight. Getting away from all the big tourist attractions and just being able to walk through the streets was a great experience. Yusuf our guide is truly exceptional at his job.”

Tour was well-organized. Our guide Yusuf was knowledgeable, professional. He handled the group well and was in charge at all times. Hence, we all felt safe and secure. My overall enjoyment of the tour was somewhat dampened by the heat, but that can't go against On the Go and/or Yusuf.

If there is anything -- two comments about the itinerary and one about the accommodation

Taj Mahal: if there is a time when the Taj Mahal has less people, then that would be the time to go. Our itinerary calls for visiting the Taj in the afternoon: I don't know if there are more people in the afternoon or less, the whole place was just crowded. The site itself was not well-organized (Indian government fault, not the tour's). People were shouting in the mausoleum and that just detracts from the whole experience.

Personally, I could have done without the day in Karauli and the village walk. The village walk felt a tad like poverty tourism to me. While some people may like that aspect of it, I didn't like it that much. Would have liked the option of upgraded accommodations, especially in Agra. ”