Indian Subcontinent Traveller Reviews - On The Go Tours

The overall tour was great - I would have preferred not to spend as much time in the tourist-trap type places where they showed us how they made rugs, textiles, etc. Maybe 1 or 2 visits throughout the week, rather than 1 or 2 each day. The accommodations in New Delhi were not great (smelled a bit like smoke, very small), but the Jaipur and Agra hotels were amazing. I would have loved to do more walking around markets and seeing more cultural sites with dances, music, food, etc. rather than all artisans. The tour guides were all lovely, especially Sanjeev and our driver, Paramjeet was terrific. ”  

The setting of the tour was beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed the additional activities we paid for (small boat & traditional massage). It’s worth pointing out that we were unaware that there would be additional costs associated with the tour prior to departure. While we appreciate that a massage is an optional extra, it should be made explicit that the package is not inclusive of all activities and rather only covers the boat itself. We had not brought sufficient cash to pay for all the additional expenses (not wanting to carry too much cash) and therefore had to go to an ATM during the trip.

The boat used was not an acceptable standard. The furniture was limited and damaged. The bedroom had an unpleasant smell from the primitive bathroom. We were rationed for air-con; we were only allowed it at night, and it was turned off when we were sleeping (very early in the morning). The water from the bathroom taps was brown and the shower ran out of water. There was also no mosquito net over the bed and holes in the sheets! The bathroom door was also challenging to shut as it was partly broken around the latch. Overall, the general feel was shabby and a bit dirty.

The driver who collected us was excellent and the transfer to the boat was good. Communication with us regarding this was also very good.

The food on the boat was very tasty, however we were taken to a fish market and had to buy fresh fish for the boat. This cost 44,000 rupees for two days! I had expected all food to be included in the cost of the tour. I view fresh fish as an integral part of the houseboat experience and was shocked that if I had not bought, it would not have been on the menu.

The first night we stayed in a beautiful, small village, however the second we stayed at a busy port where we felt unsafe as two female travellers. The only reason we could work out as to why we were there was that the captain wanted to spend the night at home; we sailed in the morning of the last day so the choice of location did not seem to be driven by time constraints.

Overall, a beautiful part of the world but a less than beautiful boat. ”  

My tour was split effectively into the basic tour at the beginning and the "wild" more safari type at the end.

I had 2 Guides, the first was quite dour, not unfriendly but not friendly. He was brusque and seemingly did not have time for social niceties. He had a lot of information but was not clear in terms of instructions for scheduling etc. He did provide water bottles and re-filling of these and also wi-fi, I am not sure if these are standard within the On the go tours package, but he emphasised that he had organised them.

Our second guide was great, very informative, patient, friendly and spoke about the culture of the country and etc which made the toud feel much more personal. Obviously this was a group of only 5 people, so it was easier for him to be this connected through the size of the group and the time to dedicate to organising us.

Sadly the main drawback to the tour was created by other members of the group! A very disagreable woman who liked to talk constantly over the guide, telling us all kinds of useless information about her home country and also being rude to other members of the group. I realise there is little to nothing which can be done about other members, the guide in the second group was very patient with her. The first guide lost his temper and brought the group together to tell us all off on our last night - not the best note to leave on!”