Guest Reviews

Excellent trip and service - would highly recommend. Hotels and food options were first class and guides and drivers very helpful and reliable.

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 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. Active India made sure we balanced history, food, culture, nature, spirituality, and fun fun fun. Our photos clearly show this. We cannot thank Ravi 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.

We used Active India to plan and manage a week in Rajasthan-the first leg of our holiday We planned the itinerary with Ravi the MD. He had good suggestions but was equally happy to accommodate activities and plans that we suggested which meant we felt we had good ownership of where we were going. From start to finish all the staff we were involved with were courteous, flexible and helpful. Our various guides were all knowledgeable locals who brought the place to life. Our driver was excellent and kept great time. Schedules were adapted quickly when we arrived 24 hrs late. Overall we would recommend Active India to put together and manage an active holiday- thank you!

Words cannot express how fantastic our week to India has been. Active India has been on top of things from beginning to end . This trip included wanting to be at the Taj Mahal for our 47th wedding anniversary and something special for my Birthday. Oh my goodness! We were spoiled beyond compare! Flowers, gifts, cakes, bed decorations- fabulous dinners. Future celebrations will be hard to beat this one. Our guides were excellent, the hotels great and Girish was the very best driver one could have. The communication was constant and immediate.There is no better company to go with, Oh, we return for a full day in a month, and Active India will pick us up for a tour of Old Delhi and then return us to airport. Hospitality is A+++++. Thank you for a magical first trip to India.

We had an amazing experience in India! It is such an incredible country. We went to Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Kolkata, Cochin, Alleppey, and Mumbai. All the details were taken care of, the guides were amazing, drivers were great - just 5 stars all around. Our guide, Sanjay Safaya, is just the best. He listens to what is important to you and customizes the experience to your interests. We couldn’t be happier with our experience with him.

My wife and I had a wonderful time during the 8-day Northern India itinerary Ravi and the Active India team put together. We spent two days each in Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, and Varanasi. Our guides in each city (Singh, Surya, Roncit, and Mohan) were all excellent, very informative about the history and culture of the area, and our driver, Mr. Arvid, was always prompt and a pleasure to be with every day. The hotels were all very good to excellent, particularly liked the restaurants, especially Molecule restaurant in Agra, which was recommended by our guide. Each day was a new and exciting experience of unforgettable sights and sounds of temples, palaces, forts, religious ceremonies, etc., accompanied by the incredible crowds and traffic.

ActiveIndia tailored an awesome trip for two couples from California looking to visit the famed Golden Triangle and Varanasi. They wove together a wonderful experience... excellent.hotels; awesome and knowledgable guides; and incredible drivers (the traffic!?!). Everything flowed seamlessly,.with great food, transfwrs, a fun Bollywood movie, shopping excursions, all the incredible history.. and the Taj Mahal!. The personable guides made it fun and easy. ****Highly recommend**** for a personalized experience that was surprisingly affordable!

My husband and I just returned from a spectacular 15-day trip to Southern India organized by Active India. We usually travel independently, but I knew that we would need help in navigating this beautiful, fascinating, and chaotic country in the relatively short time we had for the trip. I found Active India via the Rough Guide's website and was immediately impressed by Ravi's responsiveness and advice on itinerary and experiences. We started in Chennai and ended in Kochi, taking in many temples, cities, natural attractions of Tamil Nadu and Kerala along the way. Warning -- our route required a lot of driving, but our fabulous driver, Mr. Manivannan (aka "Mani") handled the crazy traffic and sometimes scary terrain with skill. He was completely delightful and we enjoyed spending time with him in the car and taking tea, nature, and photo breaks he recommended along the way. We already miss him! Highlights included the monuments at Mamallapuram, our walking/rickshaw tours of Pondicherry, the utopian community of Auroville, temple parades and ceremonies in Madurai, trekking in tea plantations and the hills above Munnar, our houseboat cruise in the Kerala backwaters, and the multi-cultural history tour of Kochi, including the Great Pardes synagogue and Mattancherry Palace. In retrospect, we could have skipped the spice farm and Periyar tiger reserve in Thekkady, which were just OK (and required a lot of extra driving). We were, however, were fortunate to see a herd of elephants during the afternoon boat trip in the reserve and we enjoyed the martial arts exhibition we went to in Thekkady one evening. All of our accommodations were lovely, and we especially enjoyed the Windemere Estate in Munnar. It is a small 18-room property of cottages up in the hills on a tea and cardamom plantation. They held a special bonfire for the guests one night, a tea tasting another night, and offered birding and cardamom plantation nature walks. We enjoyed meeting other travelers there. The guides Active India supplied at each of our major stops were knowledgeable and friendly except for one (unfortunately, at Mamallapuram, where we could have used someone more knowledgeable), and Active India speedily dealt with his unprofessional behavior. (A few were a little hard to understand given their heavily accented English, but that is par for the course.) Some suggested places to shop, but none pressed when we demurred. (We did shop for fabrics, clothes, art, jewelry, and other items, but mainly at places we selected.) As other reviewers have noted, Active India sets up a What's App Group chat to enable communications during the trip, and we found that Mandeep from the company was extremely responsive. He facilitated some on-the-go changes to our itinerary graciously. Active India built some free time into the itinerary so we could do some exploring (especially in Pondicherry and Kochi) on our own, which we enjoyed. (I think they might have expected us to rest, but we were more interested in additional touring. That said, we did take advantage of the pools and spa services at some of the hotels.) We were also glad that, apart from the houseboat and one night in Kochi where we attended a private cooking class at dinnertime, the Active India package did not include meals other than breakfast giving us flexibility about when and where to eat lunch and dinner. Our drive made some recommendations, which were good, and we also selected some restaurants on our own. Looking at some earlier reviews, I want to emphasize that our houseboat tour was a wonderful experience. (I don't know if Active India changed suppliers. Ours was run by Xandari River Experiences, which also owns resorts in India, including a lovely place we stayed in for a night at Marari beach.) The boat was beautifully furnished, clean and comfortable (we even had our own shower), the food was delicious, and the crew helpful. Based on our experience, I highly recommend Active India to other travelers.

Très bonne organisation. Agence très sérieuse, guide avec de grandes connaissances, très humain, très consciencieux, toujours à l’heure très propre, aucun souci, très bon choix d’hôtel, nous recommandons cette agence