How was your Explore Tour Leader?
Hari was very organised and helpful - and the tour was run efficiently and enjoyably. He arranged for a myriad array of different forms of transport and dealt extremely well when the main bus broke down on one particular journey! He had extensive local knowledge, though at times seemed reluctant to provide it. I can assure him that we were all eager to learn!
What tips would you give to someone else booking this tour?
The tour of Rahjistan is amazing - with interesting insights into genuine village life as well as the occasional snapshot of a more "touristy" India in Jodhpur and Udaipur (and very enjoyable for that contrast). The hotels are predominantly heritage properties and a couple (particularly at Dungapore) are palatial and border line 5 star! I found the last few days in Gujurat less interesting with a lot of additional travel for not significant gain. My suggestion for Explore would be either to rearrange the trip so that it simply rests in Rahjistand (and to consider making it an "In Style" trip) or alternatively simply start in Gujurat and end in Delhi. My tip for potential travellers is simply to go!
Do you have anything else to add?
An amazing trip - which could be even better with some tweaking. My recommendation would be to omit Gujurat and have extra nights in Dungapure and one of the other heritage hotels - or even to include more time in Jaipur (which we simply passed by). That said, some of the trip (including my wife) enjoyed the trip to Buhj and to the local villages around the Rann of Kutch - and it is certainly an area that few tourists get to visit.
