Taj Mahal & Rajasthan with Royal Stay at Castles

Customer Reviews

• AS

  Alice

  · December 9th, 2024
  Overall we had an incredible trip, and were only able to see so much through this tour, it did mean some long drives on several days but this was expected. We loved being able to see both the city and the country side and managed to fit so many activities in. Was also great value for money overall. The pick ups and drops off were on time and the car was always clean and tidy and our driver very friendly. Some hotels in the big cities were a bit far out of the main city/town and we were told not to leave the hotel when we arrived at lunchtime with not much to do so this was a bit frustrating. The itinerary wasn’t always clear and was often moved around which lead to some frustration when we weren’t aware what the plan for the day was. Most hotels we went to also weren’t aware of how many of us there were or what excursions we were booked on, so had to move rooms around which took some time and was frustrating and also having a reduced version of excursions as the guides weren't in that day as there was no booking etc. It felt like this could have been resolved with a few phone calls. The local tour guides were nice but we often felt rushed around the monuments when we would have liked to have spent longer taking in the sights, other than at the Taj Mahal where we had a fantastic guide who was patient and knowledgeable. The visits were often cut short so as we could be taken to what we were told were factories or demonstrations but were in fact just shops and this was an attempt to get us to spend money due to the driver or guide getting a cut of our expenditure. This resulted in a lot of pressure selling and us parting with money when we didn’t really want to buy as we didn’t always have the capacity to spend the money being asked of us and this was not a comfortable experience. We were also not always allowed to choose our own restaurants and were taken to western or tourist spots by the local guides where food was more expensive. When we requested to eat elsewhere the guides would become visibly frustrated with us which was uncomfortable. Whilst we appreciated the care and consideration taken for our safety we often felt infantilised and parented and were asked to not leave our hotel for long periods at a time, and when we did it was reported back to our driver, which meant we felt like we missed out on being able to explore and were stuck with nothing to do for hours on end. Lastly, Our driver was lovely and friendly and as helpful as he could be, but communicating any real issues was challenging due to language constraints so we often felt out of the loop because the trip deviated from the terminator we had been provided and this became really stressful, we acknowledge that this wasn’t within his control and despite this he always did his up most to help us. Overall the trip really was wonderful and we saw and did such incredible things and we would still definitely recommend it but just tweaking this few things really would make it a 5* experience.
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  Trip date: November 2024
• MC

  Mark

  · November 27th, 2024
  We had a fantastic trip with Swastik tours - we upgraded several of the hotels and had a private driver - Ranveer who was absolutely fantastic - kept us safe and great company. Everything worked perfectly from Ranveer being there to pick us up to all the hotels expecting us. We saw some amazing sights and our guides were fantastic. We also managed to see 6 tigers in Ranthambore!
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  Trip date: October 2024
• AO

  Andy

  · November 20th, 2024
  Great tour with excellent itinerary and super knowledgeable guides. Highly recommended.
  Trip date: November 2024
• MS

  Mark

  · November 11th, 2024
  We enjoyed our tour with Swastik Journey. Rajasthan is a beautiful state, with a rich history, majestic palaces and impressive forts. The itinerary suited us well. We were grateful to have an excellent driver in Ranveer. We felt safe and were incredibly impressed with his ability to navigate Indian traffic. That is no easy task! The only recommendation is to look closely at the hotels you are given to ensure you are satisfied with your hotels’ location.
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  Trip date: November 2024
• 

  Penny

  · November 11th, 2024
  The tour was good with fabulous hotels, however my driver Mr Singh hardly spoke any English and the words he did say was telling me where to shop at his friends stores, he was very pushy and I was not comfortable with his attitude. The tour itinerary had places I was suppose to go and see, 70% were covered and they were fantastic, but the driver did not speak to me for multiple hours bi passing what was listed and took me straight to the hotel. He told me not to shop in bazaars, markets, shops, ONLY a place in Ranthambore he was so insistent it was like bullying me. Also when driving he was constantly holding his phone texting his friends, I told him to stop as it was unsafe and he laughed at me, at one stage we nearly crashed into the medium strip.Also when arriving at Ranthambore he said tomorrow your on Safari’s it’s my day of rest and I don’t want to be disturbed. So the driver abandoned me in case I needed transport apart from Safaris, I really thought the driver was so rude and always mentioning to be rewarded, very very tip oriented became upsetting. I would have loved to see all the things mentioned that I was suppose to see, I did send emails to Karni at the tour company, he is very nice and he did organise guides to meet the car so I could go and see things that were noted and not being ignored. The places I went to were incredible, I loved India, however I did miss certain places listed and being placed with a driver with hardly any English was very disappointing. When trying to speak to Karni the tour operator who is very understanding..the driver had the phone on speaker and when I was speaking he was trying to take the phone back! Not at all professional very disappointing. I did love the trip for 14 days in India, Karni was very helpful and polite, but the driver was a bully and cried poor constantly he even wanted me to pay him a reward for Devalli which is a holiday in India. I am the guest not Mr Singhs ATM. Penny
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  Trip date: October 2024
• A

  Anonymous

  · October 29th, 2024
  I am really happy with service
  Trip date: October 2024
• JC

  jackie

  · October 29th, 2024
  a fascinating tour revealing many different aspects of Indian culture throughout Delhi, Rahjastan and Agra
  Trip date: October 2024
• A

  Anonymous

  · October 25th, 2024
  We like everything in this tour , especially the driver (Pradeep) he always make sure we were taking care of.
  Trip date: October 2024
• PD

  Paul

  · October 23rd, 2024
  My driver was excellent.
  Trip date: October 2024
• CB

  CAROLYN

  · October 21st, 2024
  This was a wonderful trip to Rajasthan. We were met by ourefficient driver Hemy who carefully drove thrpugh the amazing Indian traffic. We had very god guides in each city who were extemely knowlegible and spoke good English and had our interest as tourists who want to learn more about India. Our accomodation was excellent with five star castles, heritage hotels and some modern hotels. The hotel at Jaipur was in the middle of renovation and the hotel at Udaipur was a little out of the way for a stroll when we had free time. All were very clean with lovely staff. The hotels were usually in amazing enviroments to explore when we had free time. Our driver organised for us to visit a small school which was a lovely experience (as I am a teacher). We were treated with respect all the time and I would recommend this trip. From the beginning to end, nothing was no trouble.
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  Trip date: October 2024