Golden Triangle India Tour with Pushkar & Mandawa

Customer Reviews

• DC

  Denise

  · April 12th, 2025
  Golden Triangle India Tour with Pushkar & Mandawa April 2025. Our primary purpose for visiting India was to see the Taj Mahal which we did, and it was awesome, so goal accomplished. Here is my feedback about the rest of the tour: This was a private tour with same driver for entire trip but we would meet up with a guide for the day when we get to each town. There is a lot of driving, sometimes for hours, to get you to the next place and the next place. Our driver’s car had a governor on it so it would not go faster than 50 mph so it seems like it took a long time to get everywhere. Day 1 was a bit of an eye opener to see how they drive. Think three lanes of road but 5 lines of traffic and non-stop honking. Our first day guide said that there are three things you need to drive in India: good brakes, a good horn and good luck! At the end of day one the guide asked if we wanted to go see some handicrafts. Note that these ‘other’ activities are not necessarily on your official itinerary and are not uncommon; many tours push these (my guess is because they get some sort of kickback). They may include things like spice gardens, gemstone shops, batik factory, perfume makers, papyrus manufacturers, wood carving and other handicraft shops, to mention a few. They do not always tell you up front that they will be taking you to these places. Since, the tour states “Sightseeing as per the itinerary (however you have the flexibility to explore more)” we told our driver that we did not want to go to any of these places. On Day 2 our driver insisted that we go to the hotel and drop off our luggage and pick up the guide instead of taking us directly to the Taj Mahal as we had requested (where’s the flexibility). And, as it turns out, the president of Chile was in town, so they closed the Taj early so he could have a private visit. They reopened later in the day, but we left after having stood around for a few hours waiting for them to reopen because it was very, very hot (over 90 degrees) and there was a large crowd of people with no spatial awareness and pungent smells. We returned the next morning at about 7am (without a guide). It was not crowded, and we got some really amazing photos. However, had the driver taken us to the Taj first, as we requested, on Day 2 before they closed it, we would not have needed to go on Day 3. Oh, and since we bought the tickets online, we ended up having to purchase them twice. Annoying!!! Day 4 in Jaipur I would not recommend the elephant ride at the Amber Fort for an added expense when the driver can take you in the air-conditioned car for free. Day 5 & 6 to Pushkar and Mandawa are, in my opinion, a complete waste of time. The Pushkar temples are small and unimpressive, and the Lake is very filty and had dead fish floating in it. The guide in Pushkar didn’t want to start until 4pm so we cancelled him because we wanted to start in the morning not afternoon and he was mad and called back a couple of times. And, as the itinerary says, “there is nothing special” in Mandawa. My recommendation is if you can find a 4- or 5-day tour and skip Pushkar and Mandawa for a cheaper price, you should. There were three of us in two rooms. One room with a king/queen sized bed and the other usually had a double bed and a twin bed or two double beds. The rooms with twin beds were, without exception, completely worn out but might have been ok for a child but were unacceptable for an adult. There were a few hotels that told you upfront they prepare the food from scratch, and it takes over an hour to make but are well worth the wait; the food was fantastic. Overall, mostly, good and glad we went.
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  Trip date: April 2025
• 

  Kudzinetsa

  · July 23rd, 2022
  The Golden Triangle India Tour with Pushkar & Mandawa was truly amazing. The tour was well organised, efficient and as a solo female traveler, I felt relaxed and comfortable throughout the tour. The designated driver Mahindra Singh was very professional, amazing and also fun to be around. He kept the car clean always and was generous as well as he kept me hydrated by providing me with bottled water, fruit juice and snacks. If you are travelling on budget, I advise you request an estimate of costs in advance from Karni for the meals, site tickets and tips for the driver, tour guides etc. All in all it was a great tour that covered some of the amazing gems of the incredible India.
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  Trip date: July 2022
• F

  Frida

  · December 13th, 2017
  It was an excellent and entertaining tour.
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  Trip date: December 2017
• CR

  Clive

  · October 3rd, 2017
  The driver Sandeep was very good. The guides at all places we ok. The cost of the entry fees at all of the sights on the list we should have been told about in advance before booking this trip - because you know this - we did not. This was basically a hidden cost (foreigners pay 10 to up to 20 times what locals pay) that put significant strain our budget. An estimate of all the expected guide and driver tips necessary would also have been good to know so I could verify with an Indian friend of mine, and also budget for. All in all. the tour was ok. Though ended up costing more than I had budgeted for. Florence hotel OK. Arga hotel ok. Jaipur hotel below average room, especially for two days and the lack of things to do in Jaipur and the time we wasted sitting in a small room. Pushkar hotel room very good. Mandawa hotel room and breakfast - poor.
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  Trip date: September 2017