Buddhist Tour 7 Day

The team at Varanasi Excursion are great to work with and really know how to look after their guests. My tour began with some additional time in Varanasi which they arranged at my request (see separate review for Tour Radar). The seven-day Buddhist Tour that followed was brilliantly organised to include all the major sites in the life of the Buddha, and the guides were all informative, although I struggled to understand some of their English. Special mention must go to T K Roy of Kushinagar, who not only had the clearest English but is a fascinating person who seems to have a high standing in his community, as he was greeted warmly wherever we went. Bablu, the driver for the whole tour, is another great character who navigates the hectic Indian roads with a level of skill that is almost superhuman. Nothing is too much trouble for him and he is great at engaging his guests on a personal level. Again, English communication was a challenge, but we overcame it with the help of translation apps. I didn’t meet Aamir, the tour organiser, in person, but he checked in regularly by phone to ensure that everything was going smoothly and arranged for some of my belongings to be couriered to me when they were accidentally left behind - very helpful. Overall, this was a great tour, and some of the hotels were first-rate, although I was disappointed to spend a few nights without hot water and often struggled to find staff who could converse in English. I was touring in the off-season, but I got the impression that many of the staff were not used to dealing with international guests.

Ballu is very helpful and knows Varanasi very well. He has a lot of local knowledge about the city and showed me some amazing sites. He also knows how to negotiate the best price and what the best time is to visit places. Thank you for all you help and kindness.

The driver that drove us from Patna to Rajgir and Gata, Mr Dukhan ji was nice person, very professional. Hotel in Bodh Gaya was nice, their dining restaurant was awesome, very delicious food!

The tour was amazing!! Our host/driver Babluoo was the best. Not only was he there for us 100% of the time, but he never lost sight of us. He navigated through our whole experience, guiding us as what to order for food, helping us shop, keeping us on time, always making sure we were happy , & keeping the car super clean. Not to mention he has a great sense of humor, sunny disposition, & also knows how to give you personal space. Very respectful & caring, giving us helpful tips all along the way. Also Ashok was a very sweet and caring guide In Bodhgaya. And Arvind was an amazing guide, showing us the best of Varanasi, & adding last minute personal touches for us. The destinations of the tour were also fantastic choices. It was a trip of a lifetime!!!!

Thanks to this tour I have learnt a lot about buddhism, Indian culture and spirituality. The driver was looking after me and never left me alone as it was my first time visiting India. The selection of hotels was really good and specially the guide from Varanasi did a very good job. I would definitely recommend Varanasi Excursions to anyone visiting India for the first time!

We finished our 8-day Buddhist circuit with Varanasi Excursion on Feb. From inquiry to booking and during the tour, Aamir had been on top of any questions I had and he checked with us every day on how things go. During the trip I found that our evisa couldn't enter india via land and had to change plan to go to Kathmandu. It was purely my fault and Aamir insisted on arranging the driver and guide there for me for free. Our driver Raju was way beyond my expectation and I couldn't imagine getting anybody that is better. We wanted to go to Mahabodhi temple early in the morning when it opens and stayed there late in the evening. He was always there waiting for us with a smile. The reason I didn't give a 5 star is because of hotel booking. The hotels we stayed were different than what were listed on booking. And in Bodhi Gaya we were sent to a hotel that I refused to stay and Aamir transferred us to the conference center immediately which is a bit far away from the Mahabodhi temple. And in Lumbini and New Delhi, we experienced similar that hotels are far away. I understand there is budget constraint on hotels and some people might not care spending time on the car but I would rather to have it upfront when we discussed the price instead of changing hotels during the tour. Overall we had a great time and really enjoyed the tour.

I did a 10-day Buddhist circuit with Varanasi Excursions. The driver, Bablu really took care of me. Aamir would check in to make sure everything was ok. I felt safe and well looked after. I didn’t have to worry about anything. Thank you.

Excellent tour, we get to experience through ages, history and spirituality, thank you so much. Have an open mind and heart to see the beauty of life.

The description on the tour was very vague. They did not disclose that it would require traveling by car daily between 4-8 hrs. Traveling that distance by car daily was too much and made the experience a poor one. The hotel in Varanasi was horrible, the other hotels were acceptable as 3 star hotels. The driver on the trip was a wonderful person. Tour operator was approachable and easy to communicate with. We learned a lot about Hindu and Buddhism.

Great tour!! Guides made it a lot of fun. Felt like I got to see the real India not the tourist only one. They went out of their way to make sure that I went to every place I wanted to go and constantly made sure I was doing well...