Luxury India, Nepal, Thailand & Indonesia Tour Review: Ganga Aarti, Elephant Sanctuary Visit, Cooking Class

Review by traveler

Meena V.

8.21.2023

General Info

Traveler Review

Which Country (Countries) did you visit on this trip?

India

Nepal

Thailand

Bali / Indonesia

Your overall comments on the trip and the travel company:

The trip was ok overall. The company seems to outsource a lot of the work associated with the trip so our idea of what the trip might be like I think was diluted through all the layers of people. We felt over-scheduled and talked at rather than talked with by our tour guides. Each country tour agency had very variable service quality. The companies used for each country often didn't have our flight information which seemed silly to us since we sent everything to our travel agency in advance.

What were the most enjoyable or memorable parts of your trip?

We really enjoyed seeing the Ganga Aarti, visiting the Elephant Sanctuary and taking a cooking class in Thailand. We had two good guides in Nepal and Thailand who were fun to be around.

If you could take your trip again, what would you do differently?

We would visit less cities but not less countries and had more scheduled free time. We would have requested tour guides who were closer in age to us. We also would have requested a better balance between fact driven tours versus experiences.

Travel Company Comments:

Hello, Meena. It was very disheartening to read your review - the lowest rating in almost 20 years - after the considerable efforts my teams made to curate an enriching experience in South Asia. Your concerns were quite surprising because in the 35+ days you were traveling with us, not once did we receive any negative feedback. As my teams and I touched base every 72 hours, the replies were always favorable. As outlined in the travel documents, we always value constructive feedback but it's important to communicate any unfavorable elements during the trip so we can have a conversation and make adjustments. We did not have this opportunity.
Re: my teams reconfirming your flight details: As you booked certain segments on your own, we did not have access to the reservations. As you may know, there have been significant flight interruptions this summer and we were verifying delays/route changes. It's important for us to assure your flights are on time so there are no service interruptions.
Re: over-scheduling: We spend 4+ months creating multiple itinerary versions. One of the considerations was the amount of activities over the course of 5+ weeks. If you were feeling rushed or over-scheduled, we could have made itinerary adjustments - if we knew about your concerns.
When I communicated your feedback to the teams, they were not only shocked but disappointed that you did not have a better experience. When your outgoing international flight was cancelled and all services had to be shifted expeditiously, they worked around the clock to not only get the trip replanned but without you paying any additional fees. No easy task, but that is the support you receive from our travel company.
After so many months working together, it would have been lovely to see a direct email or phone call to discuss any of these topics. I hope to reconnect and learn more about your experiences so my teams can continue to improve efficiencies that enhance the guest experience.
Allison