Real Delhi to Kathmandu (from Delhi to Kathmandu)

Customer Reviews

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  Lucy N

  · September 18th, 2019
  The trips are well planned and authentic to the country you’re visiting.
  Trip date: December 2018
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  Lauren D

  · September 18th, 2019
  The tour worked really smoothly, the only time it changed from the itinerary was the travel to Agra and visiting the Taj Mahal. It was all well handled.
  Trip date: December 2018
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  Lauren B

  · September 18th, 2019
  The trip was amazing and arpana was an amazing trip guide- she helped us around each city and also showed us all the amazing sights
  Trip date: December 2018
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  Kimberley T

  · September 18th, 2019
  I had a great intrepid trip with Arpu, highly recommend her as a tour guide. I think there a few things Intrepid as a company / the itinerary could do to improve.
  Trip date: December 2018
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  Astrid C

  · September 18th, 2019
  Great introduction to India and Nepal that also allows for authentic experiences. Good group size and great tour manager.
  Trip date: December 2018
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  Jasmine W

  · September 18th, 2019
  My post tour accommodation was booked at a different hotel from the last hotel we stayed at which was annoying to deal with
  Trip date: December 2018
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  Inge B

  · September 18th, 2019
  Trip leader was very accommodating and very informative on the local Indian culture. She was also very engaging and a great trip leader overall. Accomodation and transportation could’ve been improved.
  Trip date: December 2018
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  Desiree R

  · September 18th, 2019
  - Our trip leader Arpu had a great energy, and endeavoured to give us an authentic flavour of India and Nepal. She was accomodating, and made an effort to ensure that all our wants / needs were attended to (where possible). - My overall trip experience would've been better had the accomodation been consistently adequate. The hotel in Jaipur was a massive let down - it was damp, and cold with no sunlight. The air conditioning did not work (despite the remote turning on). The hot water was not consistent, and during a shower, the tap came off - we had to then call on the receptionist late in the night to fix it. I would also like to note that almost ALL travellers encountered hot water / shower issues and heating issues in the 2 nights that we were there. Our accomodation in Delhi, Lumbini, Chitwan and Agra was adequate. The hotel in Varanasi was great, and very comfortable. - There were many extended travel days throughout the trip, which was understandable however, we were advised that food was not readily available on the way and we should buy snacks to tide us over for the trips. This resulted in the tour group eating a steady diet of chips and biscuits which to me is not an adequate option. Arpu, upon us mentioning this to her, on two of the trips, ordered some food to eat (samosas for lunch on the way to Agra, and packed breakfast from Chitwan) which was helpful and made the long bus ride easier. Intrepid should review their trip itinerary to either: ensure that adequate food is available to buy on the way, or alternatively, charge a LITTLE bit extra to provide a packed meal on trips that extended through meal times. It is imperative for travellers to eat well whilst travelling through countries such as India and when travelling long distances to avoid illness and fatigue. - The morning of us leaving to Agra, we were advised that there was some issue with the itinerary as we were scheduled to visit the Taj Mahal on Fridays but Intrepid had just realised that the Taj Mahal was closed on Fridays. This meant that we ALMOST missed out on seeing the Taj. Given that the itinerary for this trip was (I'm sure) known prior to us starting on the trip, this is a massive oversight on Intrepid's part. Arpu did put in a lot of effort to get us there on time via a private bus but in the future Intrepid should check the itinerary prior to the trip starting especially since the Taj Mahal is a major attraction for travellers travelling to that part of the world. However, I would like to suggest that the trip from Jaipur to Agra in the future should utilise a private bus vs a public bus - I was a lot happier, and more comfortable knowing that we had our own bus, could stop whenever we needed for a toilet stop and our bags and belongings were safe. - Finally, I was unimpressed by the expected tipping - Intrepid included the tip in the trip notes and provided a range which was a sizeable amount. I would rather Intrepid charge a bit more to pay their staff better (if you charge an extra USD6-85 extra for this trip) and travellers should have discretion on how much they want to trip their tour leader, if it is their wish. Happy for guidance to be included in the trip notes for tips, however, I have an issue with tipping being EXPECTED rather than at the discretion of the traveller. Also, a guide of 5-7USD per day is a very sizeable amount. Other tour companies suggest 3-5USD per day, which is more reasonable for travellers who (if they are selecting a Basic tour) probably don't have large amounts of money available to them. - The trip is called 'Real Delhi to Kathmandu' however, this tour does not take you around Delhi and barely takes you around Kathmandu. I was happy to have some time in Kathmandu, as Arpu got us there early, but the tour does not provide any time to explore Delhi. I would've much rather have started the tour a day earlier or even at 1pm that day to have some time around Delhi with our tour leader rather than simply turn up at 6pm at a hotel in Delhi only to be told that we would be leaving the hotel at 5/6am the next morning. Either ensure that travellers have enough time to explore Delhi or alternatively, clarify in the trip itinerary etc that the tour would not be covering Delhi.
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  Trip date: December 2018
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  Callum J

  · September 18th, 2019
  The structure of the tour (means of transport, sights visited, activities etc) had significant room for improvement that make it difficult to recommend Intrepid over other agencies. On a number of occasions the trip could have been dramatically improved for a relatively small increase in cost (for example, using a private bus instead of frequently delayed public trains to allow more time for sight seeing and increase confidence in arrival time). Generally speaking it was also unclear day to day exactly what we would be doing and from the outset how much we would need to spend per day (which varied wildly). The delineation between included activities an nominally 'optional' extras was seemingly completely arbitrary. Including more things (particularly those that everyone is likely to do) and only having a very small number of optional extras would have been a better way to do things. The fact that the trip did not visit a single Hindu temple in India seemed particularly bizarre. 'Factory tours' we're a waste of limited time. Almost no useful information is conveyed about the relevant production processes (woodblock printing, jewelry making, etc) whilst a massive amount of time is dedicated to sitting in the attached shop being pressured to purchase overpriced goods. It gives the impression intrepid is receiving kickbacks from these vendors, and that the visits are done at the expense of travellers rather than for them.
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  Trip date: December 2018
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  Andrew S

  · September 18th, 2019
  - Limited time to visit the Taj Mahal due to disorganisation of the tour manager. No visit to the Hawa Mahal. - Poorly managed travel between cities, particularly Delhi, Tordi, Jaipur and Agra. No lunch stops were planned/scheduled for any long travel days except varanasi/Nepal day. This was very disappointing given the lack of food available for breakfast and communication of this. Chips are not approapriate for a lunch meal. When I have travelled with other operators, they would stop for snacks and have this planned in detail...this was not the case. - Unsafe driving of the bus drivers. - Limited visibility about the costs to be incurred each day, inclusions and daily run sheets. - Alot of recommendations to eat at the hotel or intrepid preferred restaurants. It felt like there was a distinct lack of local knowledge such as restaurants. When a ""preferred"" restaurant was utilised it often had poor food and service (such as the Varanasi lunch location).
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  Trip date: December 2018