Make Your Next Trip Extraordinary

We especially enjoyed the vintage-car experience, which was arranged as a surprise for our group in Jaipur
John Schroeder | March 9, 2023

We recently returned from a three-country group tour (India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives), for which we were the organizers and leaders. We used three different travel planners from the WOW List, one for each country.

Our trip to India was a great success. All of our group participants were extremely pleased with our experiences, hotels, meals and especially our guide Vikram. In fact, we were accompanied by both a guide, and by Digi, the country manager, possibly because of our group size (six couples). The two guides received rave reviews from our group members.

Victoria was extremely helpful and patient, as Covid interrupted our plans so much that two years passed from first contact to the actual trip. During that time our group size fluctuated, necessitating numerous reviews and re-jiggering.

We especially enjoyed the vintage-car experience, which was arranged as a surprise for our group in Jaipur. Our tiger safari in Ranthambhore National Park was a highlight. The other tour highlight was a block-printing experience in a village near Jaipur.

Based on our experience, I would certainly recommend Victoria and her company.

We had the best place to sit at each Aarti ceremony, we met with the head pandit at every mandir, I had the best guide and a private boat when I went river rafting...
Jennifer Black | February 19, 2023

My trip with Victoria was superb. As you may recall, she created a flawless itinerary for my first trip to India several years ago. This time, it was a solo trip focused on Haridwar, Rishikesh, and Jaipur.

Haridwar was the most “off the grid” I had been thus far. It is one of the most sacred cities in Hinduism and lacks the foreign tourism one finds in Varanasi. I was one of only two international travelers I saw during my time there. My hotel, Haveli Hari Ganga, was located within the bazaar and had its own private bathing ghat. I swam in the Ganga and was able to participate with only two other guests (from Delhi) in a private Aarti ceremony. And I had my own Havan pooja the next morning with the pandit. Extraordinary.

In Rishikesh I had asked to stay within the town, as I wanted to experience the spiritual scene in town amidst the hippie seekers and the yogis. Victoria got me a balcony over the Ganga. It was exactly what I wanted. My guide in Rishikesh, Divya, was superb. She and I spent three days together, exploring everything on my list and adding to it. We had the best place to sit at each Aarti ceremony, we met with the head pandit at every mandir, I had the best guide and a private boat when I went river rafting–and swimming in the Ganga, again.

Post Rishikesh I went to Jaipur and stayed at the Samode Haveli. My first time in Jaipur I had stayed at the Rambagh Palace. My thinking is: Go big or go Samode. That is, stay at the Rambagh because there is NOTHING like it, or stay at the Samode because it is charming and heritage and much, much cheaper than the other palace hotels.

Victoria thought I could benefit from the expertise and guidance of India Beat’s Jaipur manager, Diggi, in the bazaars. She was right. There is no way that I could have seen the things I saw in the bazaars, eaten the street food, or bought the treasures I did without Diggi’s help. He took me everywhere and introduced me to everyone. We spent an entire day, at my request, choosing fabric and having dresses made, shopping, praying, speaking in Hindi, and eating lots of samosas, sweets, and faloodeh. Victoria also arranged lunch at the new Villa Palladio (I LOVE exploring hotels) outside of town. I was met by Barbara, the Italian owner, and toured the property with its manager. Gorgeous. As was lunch on the verandah overlooking the gardens.

And, just like that, two weeks had flown by and I was headed home. I recommend Victoria to your travelers without reservation and with great enthusiasm and I urge them to trust her judgment and instincts. She delivers way more than she promises.

Highlights of our trip included driving rural backroads, going to small cafes and restaurants off the beaten path, a morning trip to the milk market, flower market and vegetable market in Jaipur, watching the sunset over the Taj Mahal and a FABULOUS 70th birthday picnic
Sandra Hodge | February 5, 2020

We spent 10 days in India with the trip planned by Victoria and her team to celebrate Sandy’s 70th birthday. We greatly appreciated her professional manner, her timely responses to our questions and her suggestions for various routes. It was a wonderful trip. This was our second trip in a year to India, albeit a different route this time. We had a cuple of changes in our schedule, such as driving to Rathambore National Park, instead of taking the train (was a great drive!) and some of the things we saw. Flexibility was key and all changes were handled efficiently.

We were met on 2/25 by Vikram and Mr. “Ragu” our guide and driver for the duration. Both turned out to be excellent with respect to their roles. Vikram was a great conversationalist and guide with regard to what we were seeing. He made every attempt to meet our requests and was flexible with our schedule when the need arose. We appreciated his handling tips, logistics and getting things done expeditiously that we are sure we could not have done without him.
OUr driver was the BEST. We always felt safe and his driving was excellent. Driving in India is no small feat!
Highlights of our trip included driving rural backroads, going to small cafes and restaurants off the beaten path, a morning trip to the milk market, flower market and vegetable market in Jaipur, watching the sunset over the Taj Mahal and a FABULOUS 70th birthday picnic on a small lake near Udaipur. What a treat! With Vikram things ran very smoothly and seamlessly.

He made India so exciting that I am eager to go again!
Denise Staal | December 15, 2019

Bertie and Victoria did an excellent job in making our trip to India very special. It was my first trip and my husband wanted it to be very, very nice – he has been to India quite a few times. They exceeded both of our expectations, in the selection of hotels, itinerary (Delhi, Agra for the Taj Mahal, and Jaipur for shopping), and the choice of our guide and driver. Our guide, Virendra Singh Naila was amazing. There was not a question he could not answer about the site we were visiting or the history of India. He made India so exciting that I am eager to go again! Our driver Lakschman was incredible. I cant believe any tourist would ever choose to drive in India. He performed miracles.

Bertie and Victoria chose top of the range hotels (at our request) but my guess is they do an equally great job with moderately priced hotels. We felt pampered the entire trip. We will definitely use their services again for our next trip to India.

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