Although this was a TS tour it is a shortened version of JY's Spirit of India. Only the Suryaa Hotel in Delhi is the same but I'm sure the others will be of a comparable standard to the ones we stayed in.
Accommodation/Food and Drink.
Really good standard of hotel and lodge but only the Holiday Inn had free Wi-Fi and the lodges had no TV's (Hey who needs them when your on holiday). Food excellent, not too spicy and with plenty of choice for vegetarians. Drinks in the hotels were expensive at £6 for a 330ml bottle but in the lodges and at lunchtime you could get 650ml for about £4.
The Tour.
There was a problem as soon as we began the holiday. Whilst flying overnight the Indian government demonitised the 500R (£6) and 1,000R (£12) notes. So on landing the queue at the travel exchange was horrendous and not moving. Out side the airport in the city it was the same with queues at ATM's and Banks. Hotels could not change sterling either as they had no small denomination notes. We managed with British resolve and by making purchases in sterling and getting change in rupees. Lending/borrowing money to/from other people with no interest charge!! However, our brilliant TM (to the envy of every other TM in India) managed to get 30,000 rupees meaning everyone could have £20's worth. The shortage of small notes continued throughout the holiday.
Sight seeing.
Everything on the tour was more than expected, we have all seen the Taj Mahal and Amber Fort in pictures but there is nothing to compare to seeing them in the flesh. Normally an early morning visit to the Taj to beat the rush but because of the mist (smog?) we went later when it had cleared but was still not too crowded. I'm not going to describe all the sites as they are all well worth seeing and well documented in the brochure and beat all expectations However I must mention the game reserve. We were extremely lucky in that we saw a leopard in both the morning and afternoon drives and watched a tiger for 45 minutes in the afternoon.
Even the trips to the carpet making, marble inlaying and gem stone cutting were interesting with no pressure to buy at the end.
A few tips.
1. Do not sit in the front seat of the coach if you are of a nervous disposition although our Driver and Bus boy were of the highest order.
2. Take a hat for the game drives as the vehicles do not even have a canvas top.
3. Menus (both food and drink) are priced without taxes which can be as much as 31%.
Summary.
This was my first trip to India and if anybody is apprehensive about going don't be. The sights and smells (mostly pleasant) are unbelievable. Only a couple of people suffered with a slight touch of Delhi Belly for 24 hours. The TM (Jonathan Clarke) was excellent as I must say is usual with both TS and JY. As can be expected on a full on tour there were some early morning wake up calls but I think the earliest was 6.00am. A truly great experience.
PS.
It has been mentioned in other reviews that it can be awkward for single travellers with TS but this is my second tour with them and on both occasions couples have been most friendly. There were 3 singles (one male and two females) on this trip and I'm sure I speak for us all in saying there was no problem mixing but if we wanted to be alone we could be.
