Bespoke India Travel

Excellent driver Sunil arranged through bespoke India travel. Sunil drove us safely around Rajasthan last week as we attended an Indian wedding.

We have just returned from a wonderful 5 week holiday in India travelling from Amritsar in the north to Kerala in the south; it more than exceeded our expectations. Apart from a cancelled internal flight, which was not the agent's fault and for which we received recompense and a fulsome apology, everything went like clockwork. We were very impressed with the efficiency of their ground agents and we did not have to worry about a thing. We are planning to return to India and we will definitely use Bespoke India again. Thanks, Sanjay.

We chose Sanjay at Bespoke India Travel from the few UK companies that offer tours to North - East India because his suggestions seemed the most interesting. We were not disappointed. He was very cooperative and helpful in planning the holiday, creating a bespoke tour that included all the places we particularly wanted to visit within the three weeks we had allowed, with a route that made maximum use of our time. His price was competitive too.

The whole trip went very well. In particular, the Assamese company whom he engaged for the majority of the trip was outstanding. We're not sure how it was arranged, but we ended up with the boss of that company as a guide and he was brilliant. He was good company - friendly with a great sense of humour – and very knowledgeable on the area, and he dealt calmly with the inevitable minor adjustments en route. Possibly because he was the boss, we seemed to end up with the best rooms in every hotel. Certainly, except in two cities where the choice of hotel was very limited, the hotels were far better than we expected, some being positively luxurious. The separate guide we had in Kolkata on our way in and out of India also went out of his way to meet our needs, and he packed a lot into the relatively-short time we had there.

Two comments. First, Sanjay's tour dossier wasn't packed with glossy pictures, and because it was a relatively-new area, in a couple of places the description of sites wasn't wholly accurate. However, that didn't affect the success of the holiday – and remember, you can pay a lot more to get a glossy dossier! Second, we were given the telephone number of the wrong guide in Kolkata, so when we missed a connecting flight in Dubai on the way out, our texts warning the guide we were on a later flight never got through. However, it was all sorted out in the end, and we don't think these small points warrant dropping our rating below 5*.

The North-East states we visited (Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, Assam and Manipur) were all different and very interesting, and we'd recommend them.

We met Sanjay at the destination’s exhibition in Manchester, and expressed our interest in seeing India. We had travelled extensively but not here. Right from that initial discussion we were impressed with Sanjay's knowledge enthusiasm and obvious love for his country. As first timers he advised us to start in Amritsar, rather than face the cultural shock of Delhi. From there he proposed up into the hills to Dharamshala and on to Shimla. Rather than the 6 hours journey on the Toy Train to Kalka he suggested the experience of the first two hours of most impressive scenery then to be met with our driver to return to Shimla for the lesser 3 hour drive the next day. From there he recommended the train to Delhi for a couple of days and then pick up a new driver after another train journey to Agra. Once we had feasted on the splendour of the Taj Mahal onto tiger spotting in Ranthambore, finishing in Jaipur, and eventually back to Delhi.
It all seemed very complicated but the arrangements worked seamlessly. We were met at each new location by the local representative, and then our guide for the duration. In between our drivers looked after us and skilfully negotiated the Indian road system. At stations bags disappeared to be found above the seats in our allocated carriages. Likewise, at the destinations in reverse. The combination of hotels that Sanjay had arranged were truly delightful, and ranged from Heritage, Homestay to Five Star. Through doing this we met some lovely people, both fellow travellers and Indians. We have never stayed in a hotel bedroom with our own minstrel’s gallery as we did at the Dera Mandawa in Jaipur. And who could ever forget the witticism and wisdom of our host Mr Singh.
We came across larger tour parties in Shimla and Ranthambore, but somehow, they were missing the true India that we were seeing with our combination of drivers and guides in our own vehicle. At each stage of our journey we were contacted by Sanjay's man in Delhi who ensured that all flowed as it should. In that way we were even able to adapt arrangements as when Trump decided to visit the Taj Mahal, and Agra suffered the inevitable lock down. With some deft footwork we were able to get clear before he arrived.
When Sanjay outlined his ideas for our 18-day adventure I was concerned that it may be beyond our budget, but it was not. In fact, the same tour (hotels and all) when priced by Audley was double that sought by Sanjay. Others we discussed this with over dinners were paying a lot more than us.
We found India fascinating. Each location we travelled to different from the rest. The guides were courteous, knowledgeable and humorous. The drivers both skilful, and caring. Thank you, Sanjay, for showing us your country in such a professional and organised manner. We shall be back in contact to see more.

We had a marvellous three week trip in January, visiting Amritzar, Pragpur, Shimla, Delhi, Agra, Ranthambore National Park, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur. All the hotels, excursions, guides, local reps and drivers were excellent and very accommodating.
We were lucky enough to spot a tiger and a leopard during our game drives in Ranthambore, and the Golden Temple in Amritzar was as stunning as the Taj Mahal. The forts, palaces and temples were magnificent and every day we learnt so much of this amazing country. I can highly recommend this trip and will be using Bespoke Travel again, when the opportunity arises.

Bespoke travel came through for us in a pinch, when our previous tour was cancelled 2 days before its start date (and while we were already on route to India). In a frantic haze, Sanjay and I spent a 24 hour period emailing back-and-forth while he put together a last minute replacement tour in a pinch. I don't think either of us had ever been in this situation before, but within 24 hours we had landed in Mumbai and were all set. Somehow Sanjay had managed to have us on a nearly identical itinerary, albeit with a few suggested upgrades to accommodation (which were all excellent).

However, as our tour was set to go from March 4-29th 2020 I think we can all imagine it was not able to go as planned. Starting around March 9th, we were in daily communication with both Sanjay and Sachin (based out of Delhi), rearranging and changing our tour to accommodate potential Covid19 issues. While our tour ended up being cut short, and we flew back to Canada March 19th, I was highly impressed with their ability to make quick (and never-ending) changes and get us to Delhi for our last-minute flight home.

We will have to return someday soon, as our experience of India was amazing and far too short, and I will definitely be using Bespoke again.

We had a great 2-week trip to India in early February, thanks to Bespoke India Travel. The itinerary suited us perfectly and all the arrangements worked well. Drivers and guides were great - helpful and informative - and the hotels were everything that we wanted. We’ll definitely book with BIT next time we go to India.

Sanjay and his team at Bespoke India Travel made our family holiday to India an incredible experience, with every detail considered, and always on hand to answer any queries we had. Catering for three children was considered at every stage, and we were given just the right amount of activities versus downtime during our unforgettable trip across Delhi, Agra, Shahpura, Jaipur and Udaipur.

From the time of booking until our departure, Sanjay was able to tweak our booking, and on two occasions changed our itinerary for us, due to flight changes and also the addition of an extra person. Nothing was too much trouble, and the hotels, sightseeing and guides which were selected by Bespoke India Travel were perfect - and of the very highest standard.

Once in India we were put in touch with a local team, led by Deepika who was also fantastic. She met with us in person twice to check details, and even tracked down my son's lost ipad in Delhi! She made changes to restaurant bookings (even managing to get us into the best restaurant in Delhi with our 5 year old!), checked us in ahead of arrival at our hotels and was on hand for every little detail. The individual region specific tour guides, and our driver Vinay, were amazing - knowledgeable, professional and most importantly flexible to our needs.

The whole experience was exceptional. I have no hesitation in recommending Bespoke India Travel, and will definitely be using them again in the future for another trip to India.

This company are experts on India and they made our experience a fantastic one. They exceeded our expectations in every way possible. Do not look past them.

My wife and I have recently returned from such a stunningly great holiday in Kerala that I could spend ages writing about it and explaining why. But I won't. Obviously much of it was about the beauty of the place and the variety of things to do and see there, however, the value of the contribution made by Sanjay of Bespoke India Travel in arranging precisely what we wanted, where we wanted it and in recommending people and places, and in country ground operators, was immense. It's simple, if you want to go to anywhere in India the only company to use is Bespoke India.

Experienced excellent support both during the planning of our trip to Kerala and whilst in India. The hotels, guides, drivers etc were all great. We thoroughly enjoyed our holiday will use Bespoke India again.

We spent 2 weeks travelling through Rajasthan. The entire trip was very well organised and "ticked all the boxes". Hotels were excellent, food was good with Indian and international cuisine available, the climate in February/March was 25-30degC with minimal humidity, the sights were amazing and the people all friendly. It felt safe. All the tour guides were very knowledgable. Never felt rushed and the overall pace of the tour balanced travel/sightseeing/relaxation well. Having the same driver and vehicle throughout was a real bonus; one could leave rucksack in the vehicle when sightseeing. Driver available in the evenings to try restaurants other than hotel (although in fairness, the hotel food and ambience was good other than Delhi where few people seemed to eat in). From the moment we arrived at Delhi airport we were met by the local travel company rep and this was repeated whenever we arrived and departed each of the hotels; whilst we had no problems this was helpful to provide feedback and get any assistance etc should this have been required. I was impressed from the moment Bespoke India provided their offer and very complete itinerary and will definitely go back to other parts of India with this company.

Having met Sanjay at The Birdfair in Rutland last year we would highly recommend Sanjay at Bespoke India Travel. His knowledge, planning, preparations, enthusiasm and attention to detail were all essential to the success of our 4-week birthday trip to India. Stayed in first-class hotels in all places and we especially enjoyed the old-world colonial charm of Glenburn, set in its stunning Himalayan location with charming and friendly staff. Another special place was Khem Villas with its beautiful jungle setting and individual villas. All the travel arrangements and tours went seamlessly with excellent English speaking guides and drivers. Deepika provided very good organisational back-up when needed. It was a superb and thoroughly enjoyable trip and we look forward to talking to Sanjay to go back for more trips.

We both really enjoyed our trip across Southern India that Sanjay planned and provided for us. The guides were very informative and enhanced our visits to places such as the historic temples. Our driver was so helpful too and was able to recommend the best places to experience local cuisine. Such a memorable trip. We are happy to recommend working with Bespoke to plan your next trip even if it’s not for a while, we planned ours over a year in advance.

Excellent holiday spending 4 weeks split between Ladakh and Rajasthan.
Extremely well organised trip from Sanjay at Bespoke India Travel in UK and locally in India. Sanjay put a lot of effort into working with us to ensure our plans and ideas all came together and repeatedly tweaked the itinerary for us. We ended up with a very individualised trip involving a lot of logistical planning and just about everything went to plan - any minor hiccoughs were promptly dealt with by the Indian agent who also contacted us several times to ensure all was OK. There were inevitably long drives in Ladakh but the mountain views were spectacular and made them well worthwhile and very much part of the experience. We were particularly impressed with all our drivers who took really good care of us throughout, ensuring we always had water, stopping whenever we wanted for photographs or refreshments and checking we were happy with our accommodation.
The contrast between the mountains in Ladakh, sightseeing in the cities of Rajasthan and some wildlife spotting made for a very varied and enjoyable trip.
Accommodation generally exceeded our expectations. We particularly enjoyed the camps in Ladakh and the smaller family run hotels and homestays.
Sonaugi homestay and Shapurah Bagh were our favourites, both in beautiful settings with excellent food.
Our one minor criticism was that local city guides that were arranged for us could be a bit pushy in taking us to visit a “cottage industry” centre where they obviously earned commission.

We thoroughly enjoyed the entire trip and would definitely recommend Bespoke India travel who have an in depth knowledge of India.

We're recently back from a fabulous 15 day tour of Kerala. We started planning it with Sanjay's help and suggestions last summer and it couldn't have gone better. Bespoke India and their local partner in Kochi were there for us at every stage but never intrusive. Our driver, Santhosh met us at the airport and stayed available throughout 6 different locations. Private guided tours of a spice farm, agricultural valley and tea plantation were fascinating. All hotels and a homestay were carefully chosen as locally run and benefitting the community. At the same time they had every comfort you could wish for and wonderful staff. Kerala itself is wonderful. Trip of a lifetime.

John & Alan, Newcastle upon Tyne
An excellent customised two week birding trip to Kerala and the Western Ghats. Accommodation was superb whether at sophisticated tea estates or at birding homestays and the penultimate relaxing day on a backwaters river cruise was the icing on the cake. Wide range of food available and excellent cultural and birding guides at each venue. Our driver/guide (Bharath) was exceptional (and has now become a bird watcher). A wonderful experience with over 180 bird species seen (as well as mammals). I would not hesitate to use Bespoke India again and can thoroughly recommend them

I came across Sanjay Oberoi of Bespoke India Travel at the 2019 Destinations Fair. We were impressed with his knowledge of Kerala and that he listened to what we wanted. We planned a holiday for February 2020. We were delayed 12 hours on departure because of Storm Ciara but were able to make up for lost time in Cochin at the end of the holiday. Everything else went exactly to plan. The CGH Hotels were lovely and offer all kinds of facilities. We had a delightful driver who was incredibly reliable. The holiday was definitely a wildlife/nature experience in a variety of settings and we saw various different aspects of Kerala life. The guides on the whole were well informed and very enthusiastic about their area. It was a fabulous holiday.

We have recently returned from a fantastic 23 day holiday in India, brilliantly organised by Bespoke India Travel. Sanjay fitted in all the places we wanted to visit, from Amritsar, Dharamsala and Shimla in the north to a tour of Rajasthan, with a variety of accommodation from luxury hotels to small havelis and a friendly homestay in Agra. The service was superb, with two friendly and helpful drivers so we had great continuity, and with specialist and extremely knowledgeable guides in each of the places we visited. We would particularly recommend visiting Jaisalmer on the edge of the Thar desert, where the Gulaal Hotel was especially friendly and welcoming. We cannot recommend Bespoke India Travel highly enough, and hope to visit India with them again.

We met Sanjay after he was recommended at the Manchester Destination Show. We were immediately impressed by his enthusiasm and knowledge of the areas we wished to visit as well as his familiarity with the best hotels and restaurant recommendations. The entire itinerary was meticulously planned. Flights, reps, guides, drivers and hotels exceeded all expectations. All hotels were 4*/5* with exceptionally helpful staff. We especially enjoyed Coral Tree home stay in Agra, Samode Haveli in Jaipur, Trident Hotel Udaipur, the Spice Boat Cruise and Marari Beach Resort where we relaxed for 5 days after our 2 weeks of excursions.

We will never forget the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Stepwell, Jagdish Temple to name but a few. We must thank Sanjay and his team at Bespoke India Travel for making our holiday such a memorable one