Incredible India
This title may be a cliché, but we have just returned from back-to-back trips to India with Kensington Tours and Exodus, organized by Shauna Cook, and it really was incredible.
Shauna put together a private tour through Kensington Tour with visits to Delhi, Amritsar, Varanasi, Mumbai, and the Ajunta and Ellora Caves/Temples close to Aurangabad. Kensington provided support at all steps of the way, with guides and drivers to the airport and representatives inside the airport to ease our transport on the many flights we had to take. With Jet Airways flight cancellations, flights were rearranged behind the scenes and our trip was never disrupted. Their guides, all local, were superb: good English and local knowledge. Transport through the cities was in immaculate vehicles.
The second part of our trip was to the National Parks and Tiger Reserves of Central North India organized by Exodus Travel. We had a dedicated local Tour Leader, who was obviously well respected by the National Parks guides and drivers, and who had an amazing knowledge of wildlife himself, especially birds. While the aim was to see Tigers, we were delighted by the variety of wildlife in all the parks. In total we saw 18 tigers as well as a leopard cub in Kanha and Bandhavgarh National Parks.
Everything about this trip was well organized. Accommodation in the cities was in 4 star hotels, and in the National Parks eco-friendly lodges with good food, comfortable rooms and friendly staff.