Our India holidays take in the best sites & off the beaten track places from the Taj Mahal & Golden Triangle to the beaches of Kerala, trekking the wilds of Ladakh or exploring the deserts of Rajasthan. All our India holidays are provided by operators committed to supporting local people & the environment.


These full and frank independent India holidays reviews are from travellers who have booked directly through responsibletravel.com. They are not edited by us or any of the companies we work with. Find the real story, from real travellers below.

The whole trip was unforgettable - especially loved the rural parts we visited and stayed in and the various transport and accommodation - much fun and very unique! Every day waking up was like Christmas morning, so exciting.
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The most memorable part of the holiday was staying in some fabulous homestays. Arriving at the first one, Nelpura, Moncompu in a canoe felt like royalty.
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Every step of the trip went very smoothly and having English speaking guides and drivers made the whole experience very personal. Often the local guides enriched our experiences as they espoused more than mere information, passionately imparting their knowledge and opinions.
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Will never ever forget this paradise on earth, the people, the staff of CGH group of hotels. Best of of all the absolute jewel of a homestay at Dewalokam Resort...
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Completely fantastic! We loved it! The most huge and beautiful tropical place that I had ever been to, I can't wait to return!
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The area is stunning. Very beautiful. The homestay aspect was great and enjoyed staying in more representative settings than in hotels. All fabulous for different reasons.
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Eyes and ears wide open from sunrise to sunset, India at a relaxed pace, stunning scenery, friendly and easy-going local people, excellent boat crew and fabulous boat, amazing birdlife, superb freshly prepared food...
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The cycling was great, having a bike guide and a backup van worked really well for our style of cycling as it meant we didn't have to worry about each other. Francis and Shibu were great fun and we all enjoyed a beer together after finishing a ride.
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From simply sitting on a sand bank on the side of Ganges watching the birdlife after enjoying a sumptuous meal prepared by a local man with nothing more than the ingredients and utensils that he had on his boat to dressing up and being treated like Kings in the Maharajas palace it was just all fantastic.
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We thoroughly enjoyed our two weeks... The knowledge and hospitality of the tour leaders, Suraj and Ravindra, made this a particularly memorable trip - by the end, we really felt more like we were with friends than on a 'tour'.
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Incredible, awesome. Quite simply the most fantastic holiday of our lives. It was everything and so much more than we had hoped.
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An excellent holiday which combined a taste of the splendour of the Mughals, rural India, a glimpse into the spiritual life of India at Haridwar and Rishikesh as well as the safari and an easy (by Himalayan standards) trek from the camp on the Ganges.
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There were many highlights, but the most vivid memory is of arriving at the Spice Plantation after a tough ride up the mountains through monsoon rain.
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A definite ten out of ten. I could not fault it all. Every second brought a new unusual sight and every day was so amazing.
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There were several highlights. The Golden Temple at Amritsar, Jairpur's Amber Fort & Palace, the backwaters of Kerala and our homestay in the Nilgiri Hills.
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Everything was superb from beginning to end. The guides and drivers used were truly professional...We were impressed by the quality and freshness of all the food that we were given - wonderful flavours. We enjoyed all the activities from sightseeing to birding, cooking demos to kayaking.
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I really enjoyed the whole trip and cannot wait to travel with this operator again - I have no hesitation in recommending them.
(more)We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
For solo travellers or family adventurers, small group holidays are an excellent way to see any country. We sent Jerrine, one of our helpdesk experts, on a group adventure in India to see first hand what a group holiday is all about. "Having always travelled independently on my globe trekking adventures I was curious to see how a small group adventure would compare. India has always been high on my must-do places to visit so I was delighted to take up the challenge. Here´s a little bit about my adventures and what a small group holiday is really like...
Always happy when the flight is over, but usually apprehensive about tackling the language barriers and over-zealous taxi drivers I was more than happy to be greeted with a smile by an Exodus representative. I was soon whisked off to the hotel where I met what was to be my new family for the next 8 days. . Read more about Jerrine's adventure in India in this India article.