05 Days - Private Luxury Golden Triangle Tour with Ranthambore

A lot of great sightseeing experiences with service and planning shortcomings

We liked the tours we found online but couldn’t find one that perfectly matched our available travel days. So we directly contacted them and asked for an individual itinerary. In general the planning worked well and the trip was always adapted to our wishes and circumstances. Eventually we had a 5 day 4 nights trip from Delhi to Agra, to Ranthambore, to Jaipur and back to Delhi – almost identical to this trip. Since this offer had the best value for money compared to others we booked Perfect Agra Tours' offer. Ranthambore was a recommendations by the organizers. They said that two full days in Jaipur would be too much. Looking back, skipping Ranthambore and spending two days in Jaipur would have been fine as well. One more day in Jaipur would have been a more relaxed trip. By going to Ranthambore, we experienced more of course and had fully planned days every day of the trip. 
Depending on if you prefer to see as much as possible or if you prefer some time to relax this is something to think about. Furthers notes to Ranthambore: We were lucky to see a tiger. However, it’s not guaranteed. So go there with the mindset to enjoy nature and all the other wildlife that lives there. Think about the tiger as a bonus so you won’t be disappointed. 
We did the canter safari (bus) because there were no more jeeps available. The difference between the jeeps and the canter safari wasn’t as big as expected. The jeeps are quicker to get around which is an advantage if a tiger is spotted somewhere else. However, we didn’t see them driving off road which would have been a completely different experience. If possible I would still recommend a jeep because depending on where the tiger is spotted you might have all the people on the bus in front of you. Some notes about some of our tour guides: Malik in Agra was great. In our opinion the best we had during this trip. He showed us the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort as well as places where we were showed how the walls of the Taj Mahal are made and how Persian carpets a handcrafted. Furthermore he helped us with organizing things around our trip. In Jaipur the service was not as good. We almost spend a whole day sightseeing with our tour guide. A lunch break, however, was not part of the plan. It would have been great if that would have been clearly communicated before or if he would have at least asked if we were interested to eat somewhere. So you should either bring something to eat or ask for a lunch break. Maybe even better a day before. Also, once he started going to the next place, he never turned around to make sure if we could follow up with him or if we stopped for a photo. The driver usually picked us up on time. He was a good driver but not the best navigator and not very well prepared. We only booked the hotel in Ranthambore through Perfect Agra tours. And this was the one we had trouble finding. After Agra we had to help him navigate multiple times and keep him on the right track. This is not just his fault. Also his employer could have prevented this. In general it was rather a reacting to things that happened than preparing and taking precautions. We are happy to help if there are technical issues but didn’t expect to have to do so much planning and organizing throughout our trip. That’s not why we booked such a tour. Overall, we experienced as much as we could, but it's only max. 3 out of 5 stars, as the service and organization didn't quite meet our expectations in the end.

Great experience

We had a great experience! The Taj Mahal was amazing and our guide Malik made our experience extremely memorable. Our driver Mr. Raza was exceptional as well and very accommodating!

Great experience, recommended

The tour was well organised and customised to my preference. My assigned driver Mr. Vishan, travelled all days with me and trust me you’re in luck if you get him too. He is very professional, a safe driver, and attentive to your needs (food, water, comfort). He takes pride in his work and always made sure the car was clean and tidy. Mr Vishan has been most helpful and kind. I had various concerns as a solo female traveller but felt very safe with Mr Vishan as the driver. I had different experiences with assigned tour guides for each city. The guide in Delhi was very knowledgable and generous with sharing. Agra guide was adequate, but the Jaipur guide was impatient, seemingly in such a rush and gave very brief descriptions of the sights. Ashish (tour operator) also made sure to check in for my feedback each day, which I appreciate. Overall a good experience, I recommend others to book here too.

Taj mahal and Fort tour experience

Our tour guide Malik was very helpful. Very polite and informative and I would highly recommended. He kindly explained to us the in-depth history of both attractions we went to see.

Amazing experience!!!

The tour is very complete and the explanation is very detailed. The tour guides in most of the stops were very friendly and knowledgeable. Some visits were or felt they were in a rush, but overall great. The stop at the monkey temple should be removed, area is not ready for tourist. The staff, From Ashish who organized everything to Raza, Shalma in Delhi and Agra tour guide were very good! They stood up from all the guides. The 5 star hotels are great. Overall a great complete tour.

Beauty, knowledge and beyond

He enriched this amazing place with knowledge and spirit and took great pictures. Thank you so much for this experience.

Wonderful day tour at agra

Wonderful experience! My guide, Asif, was very knowledgeable and explained to me many interesting facts about Taj Mahal. He also helped me taking many memorable pictures. The tour is highly raccomended.

Agra tour

I highly recommend the sunrise to sunset tour. Specifically I recommend doing the tour with Mr. Gulshan and using his driver Mr. Shaid. Our guide Mr. Gulshan was extremely knowledgeable about the history of Taj Mahal and many other places. As a added bonus, Mr. Gulshan was a wonderful photographer. I’m fwct, all of the photos Gulshan took were perfect and the photos I took were sub par. He knew exactly where to stand and where lighting was best. I learned he came from a family of professionals photographers and I could definitely tell! As an American tourist and formal, Mr. Gulshan made me feel very safe and he was very friendly. Mr. Shaid should get an A+++ because of his amazing defensive driving skills. I highly recommend taking the tour with both of these gentlemen as they work very well together and had great communication. We never waited a second for the car to pull up. It was always ready when we needed it.

Taj Mahal and so much more

Asif and Bablu were absolutely excellent today and helped create some unforgettable memories. The day started with a sunrise tour of the Taj Mahal. Asif was an excellent guide throughout. He was able to tell the history of The Taj and quickly found out my fascination with the architecture aspects. Not just of the Taj itself but all the grandeur surrounding it. We spent some good time there and I was absolutely thrilled at the end from my experiences. Asif also knew where the best shots were for photos - thank you! Probably most important to me - my wife was here 15 years ago and had a specific shot of her in front of the Taj. I wanted the same shot - Asif knew exactly where the location was and had me in the same pose as my wife. This was something I was waiting 3+ months to do since I’ve been in India - thank you!!!! We went for breakfast to a nearby restaurant thereafter. Food was tasty and reasonably priced. It was a nice break and allowed some nice time for reflection on my experiences. Asif knew the route well and we continued on the remainder of the way. (More to come in the written review once I get access to my laptop - mobile phone is not doing well with TripAdvisor!). We did stop at a few locations not on the tours- by request of me - as we had some extra time. One stop was a marble shop, another a jewelry shop a third sweets shop. At no point did I feel I was getting pressure sales - thank you - this made the stop at each worthwhile and did not detract from the overall experience. Overall by the end of the day I was thoroughly delighted I had chosen Perfect Agra tours. I want to comment - I train others in customer service for a living. I know genuine from fake customer service and I detest fake. I’ve been on other tours that were that way. Not the case here - far from it. Asif found out my likes and dislikes and treated me with respect and ensured I enjoyed myself.

Amazing day!

I am really happy that I signed up for this tour company. We had a great day and saw all the important sites, Taj Mahal of course being the highlight. Mr. Asif Khan was our tour guide and Bablu was the driver. Having a tour guide makes everything so much easier and more meaningful since they explain the history behind everything. We learned a lot about India history and culture, Mr. Asif is a pleasure to talk to. Would recommend this tour guide to family/friends.

Excellent!!!

I have absolutely loved my tour with Asif Kahn as my guide and my driver Nazir. Asif is lovely and incredibly knowledgeable. about the history and construction of these sites. The tour ran completely smoothly. Highly recommended! Just be aware that during winter months the Taj is not visible at sunrise.

Amazing, a must when visiting Agra

Overnight Agra Tour is absolutely a must when visiting Agra. Mr. Khan speaks English clearly and he is very knowledgeable in the history of the Taj and all the surrounding areas in Agra, which makes the visit of the area more meaningful & interesting. If you're wondering whether or not to book a guide, I recommend this is a must. And for those of you that want the best pictures taken, Mr. Khan is your man as he has perfect timing to capture photos, avoiding thousands of tourists that are at the site daily.

Geweldige rondreis Gouden driehoek India

We hebben van 17 tot en met 21 april deze tour gedaan. Alles was geweldig georganiseerd. Vanaf het ophalen vanaf het vliegveld tot het afzetten bij ons eind hotel. We hadden de vijf sterren optie geboekt en de hotels waar we verbleven waren echt goed. Ook de lokale gidsen die we op de verschillende bestemming kregen waren uitstekend en wisten in goed Engels aanvullende informatie te geven. Prettig is dat de touroperator met je in contact blijft tijdens de gehele trip. Als er iets aan de hand is dan kun je dat direct bespreken (via de app) en worden zaken gelijk geregeld of bijgesteld. Een bijzondere vermelding verdient onze chauffeur, Shekhar, die de gehele tour bij ons bleef. Hij was uitermate vriendelijk en altijd op tijd. Daarbij was hij een uitstekende chauffeur wat in het hectische verkeer in India echt wel nodig is. Wij kunnen deze tour iedereen aanbevelen.

Merveilleuse journée à Agra !

Nous avons passé la journée avec Gulshan, qui est un guide très expérimenté puisqu’il exerce depuis très longtemps dans sa ville. Celui-ci a su nous apprendre plein de choses sur le Taj Mahal, le fort d’Agra, le Baby Taj, dans un bon anglais. Il nous a emmenés voir l’artisanat de pierre, de tapis ou de bijoux qui sont aussi des éléments incontournables de la ville d’Agra (pas de pression à acheter). L’ensemble de la journée était très fluide, notamment avec la voiture et le chauffeur qui nous ont récupérés à notre hôtel dès 6h du matin. Notre journée à Agra a ainsi été une réussite grâce à Gulshan !