Testimonials

We had the most wonderful trip to Kerala with Insider Tours and would highly recommend them. The hotels, homestays, bed and breakfasts and houseboat we stayed in were all excellent, and we especially loved Dewalokam Spice Plantation as the perfect place to relax, eat delicious food and find out more about Keralan cooking, spices, rubber plantations etc. etc. The tea plantations and landscape in Munnar were stunning, the inland waterways so peaceful and the beach at the end of the trip was a great way to finish up. Everywhere we went the hospitality was so welcoming, warm and friendly. The comfortable minibus which took us from place to place felt really safe and we had an excellent driver. Our guide made sure we got the most out of all the destinations we visited, and was especially knowledgeable on the birdlife. We saw wild elephants in Periyar on Christmas Day, quite a gift! All four of us felt like we’d had an incredibly relaxing yet culturally rich and colourful holiday, the perfect combination for us. Thank you.

Good morning Kumar, hope you are well. We are back from our amazing trip and pretty much back to normal (except for the cold). I wanted to let you know that we had the most memorable time in Kerala. All the places we stayed at were truly brilliant in their own ways. We were both fairly 'gobsmacked' when Geoff was given the flowers and the wine on the houseboat. The two homestays were just perfect. The Wildernest gave us a chance to mingle. We shopped (now we had currency), we ate with the locals and then chilled on our private balcony. We went on an early morning trek through the jungle with an excellent guide and decided that was probably the best time to do it. We both agreed that you saved the best till last. The Dewalokam Spice Plantation was definitely the best. The hosts and the staff were so friendly and helpful, it truly made it an amazing experience. Geoff said he would come back and spend all his time at Dewalokam. One of the major factors to us having such a good holiday was definitely our driver, Sreet Kumar. He had organised things for us off his own back, which if he hadn't done so we would probably not done half as much or seen as much as we did. He was informative, tracked down where we could get currency and generally looked after us. What an asset. Thank you once again for organising all this for us. I will be on TripAdvisor next week rating all the places we visited and of course your goodself.

Bob and I thoroughly enjoyed our tour in Sri Lanka. All the stops had interesting aspects making it hard to pick out a special one but I am a beach lover most so our stop at Turtle Bay near Tingalle was magical - we saw many birds in the reserve, a walk away to a local man's boat to meander the waterway - perfect. Personally, I felt more in touch with the lovely Sri Lankan people and way of life there; perhaps the stay needs marketing with a "not 5* accommodation but 5* experience" tag.

We have had a little time to digest and reflect on our trip to Kerala before sending our evaluation of the tour. The short answer is, it was a fabulous trip! We would like to thank you for your very good and truly efficient organisation which has definitely contributed to the smoothness of this trip. Everything was faultless: a very efficiently planned itinerary. We enjoyed the variety of accommodation in beautiful locations which were each special in their own way. Throughout the whole of our trip we were well looked after and everything happened perfectly without a glitch. Everyone we met went out of their way to ensure we had a great time. The food was superb and we thoroughly enjoyed the cooking demonstrations. We have some wonderful memories that will stay with us forever.

We were very fortunate to have approached Insider-Tours to help us plan our trip via Sri Lanka to Kerala. Our first idea was turned into a definite proposal and our changing requirements were considered, discussed, improved upon and eventually delivered with charm and exactly as we hope. We wanted boats, railway travel, temples, churches, food, tea, dance and an informed guide all rolled up to allow us to get a good taste of that part of India. Insider-Tours exceeded our expectations and our trip was magical, delightfully delivered, informative and wonderful value for money. Thank you Kumar, Thomas, Peter and all who made it such a wonderful trip. Until the next time! Sean, Liz and Hannah (Newbury, UK)

We had a good idea what we wanted from this trip, but no guide book is a substitute for local expertise… What really made it for us was the attention to detail and careful organisation of activities”. “Satyan proved to be a top notch guide and he is held in very high esteem by the birding guides we met… It is clear he is in big demand. We have commissioned him to produce a drawing and a watercolour painting”. “Cathy made up her mind within a week that we will be back. It can't come soon enough.

Every day provided new experiences and encounters: creeping into a prayer hall to see the monks chanting and blowing their horns, eating our first momos in a tiny shop in Kalimpong, the old lady we met at a heritage house in Rinchempong, sitting watching farmworkers in Samthar smooth their threshing floor with cow dung. It is hard to pick out the highlights but for me the stay at Samthar was certainly one of them.

My tour was all I could have hoped for and more. Travelling as a solo female I was wary but didn't want to miss out on what Kerala has to offer by touring with a large group and am so glad I opted for an Insider Tour to ensure that I got the most out of my trip. My tour guide and driver Peter was wonderful and could not have done enough for me, he took great care of me at all times to ensure I had the best time.

Dewalokam was without a doubt one of the best places we have ever stayed. Whilst basic, Jose and Sintha and staff, made us very welcome. The food was outstanding and the setting beautiful

We really enjoyed all the splendid forts, tombs, palaces and markets. India's history is amazing and we never got tired of it. However, the highlight of our trip was our stay at Chambal. It was a wonderfully restful place to be after three hectic days of sight-seeing in Delhi and Agra. The bird-watching opportunities there were fantastic both in the grounds and on the excursions. We loved the boat-trip on the river and saw a lot, though sadly not the dolphins! We also enjoyed the evening visit to the little town of Bateshawar with its temples on the river.