Pettitts Travel Traveller Reviews

Rural Rajasthan Our 12th visit to India. Flying into Udaipur from Delhi we travelled north by road staying in characterful homestays and heritage hotels enjoying rural hospitality,local foods and flavours -and stunning sights and scenery. From local markets and colourful Rajasthani dress and turbans to magnificent forts commanding the heights. Magical sights, spices and smells - unforgettable memories.....

Pettitts is primarily a family tour operator able to respond to the travellers' ideas and deliver an imaginative, customised and fulfilling experience. With their own offices in India(2) and China (as opposed to relying on local agents) one can have every confidence in relying on the detailed itineraries. Importantly, they can provide the detailed backup in case of any difficulties or emergencies - as I can affirm from my own experience of a heart attack in India. And that was eight years ago!

Pettitts booked our holiday for just over three weeks travelling from Kochi to Chennai by road and rail and then from Chennai back to Kochi by Car. Everything worked perfectly, we had two excellent drivers, all our guides who met us on the way were first class and the itinerary covered so many interesting places. Our accommodation varied between homestay and high end Taj hotels. We would recommend this trip as a perfect way of exploring southern India. We would always recommend Pettitts as an excellent tour company.

We have used Pettitts before when we toured northern India several years ago, so naturally we used them again for our trip in March 2018. They are very easy and extremely helpful to deal with and their service feels very personal.

This was our first trip to India. It had been long anticipated and didn't fail to disappoint. We flew into Delhi and spent a day touring the old and the new. From there we travelled to Udaipur. A fairy tale city with marble palaces and lakes, surrounded by a ring of hills. Our heritage hotel was fabulous and we were almost reluctant to leave. It was in Udaipur that we met with our driver who was to stay with us for two weeks and take us on our onward journey through Rajasthan and into Uttar Pradesh. He was the consummate professional with heart. Unfailingly kind and generous, he was pleasure to spend our days with, and apart form his skilful driving offered us interesting local information and provided us with a continual supply of cold drinks, fruit and biscuits. Our onward journey took us to Jaipur, the pink city, a labyrinth of fascinating bazaars , palaces and incredible sights. The streets were mad. Motorcycles jostling for places along with cattle, dogs and the occasional camel. We loved it! We travelled on through the Aravalli Hills, the oldest in India, and spent time in the rural areas of Rajasthan. Narlai, Dev Shree, Chatra Sagar and Orcha. Go to all of them if you can. We saw intricately carved temples, villages and farms and palaces. We stayed in magnificent, lakeside tents on the edge of a wildlife sanctuary and we spotted bee eaters, kingfishers and herons amongst other birds. Finally we arrived in Agra to see the famed Taj Mahal and Fort. Go to the Taj early in the morning and beat the crowds, as we did. It was breathtaking and all I had dreamed - perfect proportions and exquisite workmanship - a vision. What could equal this? ...The temples at Khjuraho. A magnificent complex of temples built between the 9th and 10th centuries. Sculptures of goddesses, dancers, beasts and warriors cover the temples and of course the erotic scenes for which they are famous - a celebration of life. It was at Khajuraho that we said good bye to our driver and the very next morning we flew to Varanasi. Varanasi, India's holiest city, situated on the sacred Ganges. Riverside ghats, narrow crowded lanes, bazaars, holy men in saffron robes and sacred cows, sunset and dawn boat rides. The mix was almost overwhelming and totally unforgettable. After two nights we returned to Delhi in order to fly home. So many memories to store and replay.

Pettitt's Travel had been recommended to us and from the moment I walked into Steve Pettitt's office I knew we had struck gold. His knowledge of India is unsurpassed, and, from personal experience. We had known roughly where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see. Steve listened and was able to suggest other places we might like to visit, that I am sure few people will know about. The hotels he booked for us were comfortable and often luxurious to the extreme. Places like the homestead in Dev Shree, off the beaten track, but with such a welcome from the owners. Fabulous food and even an invitation to a wedding taking place there the next day with full Indian dress supplied by the owners when we accepted. The organisation was seamless and we felt secure knowing that every journey we took was monitored and that someone would be waiting for us at the end of each journey be it at airports or train stations. As I mentioned above the Pettitt's driver assigned to us was exceptional and every Pettitt's employee we encountered was friendly, supportive and knowledgeable. All our guides without exception were informative and interesting and gave us insights into India that we could never have read in books. There aren't enough superlatives but I suppose the biggest recommendation I can give, is that we are planning the next one already!

A superbly organised multi-centre holiday with not a single hitch: airline seats, airport pick-ups, hotels, route, guided tours - all fantastic’

This is the second holiday I’ve done with Pettitts & I have nothing but praise. The firm’s suggestions are always good, but if you want to adjust something they are always willing & helpful. Not cheap, but extrey good value for the money you spend - & genius at nosing out the most fabulous & interesting hotels.

Karnataka and Kerala - a mix of fabulous homestays, a wonderful safari lodge at Nagarhole, 2 nights on a Keralan houseboat and a couple of lovely hotel rooms thrown in. As my husband has difficulty walking a lot of sightseeing is off the menu so the accommodation is a very important aspect of the trip and we experienced some real gems. We met a lot of lovely people along the way, both hosts, staff and fellow travellers. We also had an excellent driver who became part guide, part host as well.

I think this is the sixth trip we have done with Pettitt's and they have all been utterly memorable. They listen to your ideas, tailoring the trip to exact requirements but throwing in suggestions for places you almost certainly would never otherwise have heard of. They know their territory - certainly India - and they are particular in their choice of local tour operators and guides.

Well organised with attentive support at all times from the local representatives of Pettitts. See above for further comments. I fear that the problems over the jeeps all converging on the tigers when a sighting was imminent is part of the price which has to be paid for the establishing and running of the Reserves themselves but if something can be done to limit further the number of jeeps allowed in and if the drivers, guides etc are firmly told to keep totally quiet when tigers are present, that would help a lot. I fear that commercialism is taking over. One American couple to whom I spoke and who shared my misgivings said that they had heard one US visitor telling their guide and naturalist that they wanted to see a male tiger and nothing less would do and if they didn't find one, then they were not being to get a tip! Such people should never be allowed in at of the Reserves but sadly that is the real world.

Very efficient in the run-up to our departure and well served by their local representatives in India.

A terrific 10 day trip to Mysore, Nagarahole, Sultans Battery and Kochi superbly organised by Pettitts.

Great organisation everything went smoothly. Guides were knowledgeable.

From arriving in Delhi to leaving Mumbai 18 days later we had a great holiday. Meet and Greet at all our destinations, excellent dedicated driver from Delhi to Jaipur airport from where we flew to Goa. Guides were informative and flexible to our needs. Didn't even have to check in ourselves at most of the hotels, we just sat back and let it happen. Would definitely use Pettitts again.

From arriving in Delhi to leaving Mumbai 18 days later we had a great holiday. Meet and Greet at all our destinations, excellent dedicated driver from Delhi to Jaipur airport from where we flew to Goa. Guides were informative and flexible to our needs. Didn't even have to check in ourselves at most of the hotels, we just sat back and let it happen. Would definitely use Pettitts again.

It was a special holiday to celebrate my birthday and our fortieth wedding anniversary. We were away for 3 weeks. Our first stop was in Goa where we stayed at the luxurious Taj Exotica hotel where we would recommend the Manuel Arcanjo restaurant. We met up with our lovely driver, Unni in Goa and he was with until Pondicherry. The ancient city of Hampi was amazing and we even survived a coracle ride on the river. It is certainly worth visiting. One of the highlights was the Elephant Stables. Another highlight was Amaryllis Homestay near Sultans Bathery. Victor and Jini Dey are the perfect hosts and our accommodation was superb. Our prearranged bird walk with Sabu was so interesting and informative. Munnar was both beautiful and peaceful. The Tea Museum is well worth a visit. We learned such a lot about the process of tea production. Madurai and Tanjore were memorable for their spectacular temples and palaces. The merchants’ mansion houses near Chettinad were fascinating and Visalam where we stayed was beautiful. Finally after many long road journeys we arrived at our final destination of Pondicherry. So different from other places we visited and great for seafood too. Last but not least on our way to Chennai we visited the temples at Mahabalipuram. This is a must and was absolutely fascinating. What an amazing holiday.

Steven Pettitt and his team at Pettitts arranged our 3 week holiday in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Prior to our trip we discussed our requirements at length and received excellent advice to come up with the perfect trip. We requested driver Unni Krishna who had been with us on a previous trip and once again he proved to be an excellent ambassador for Pettitts. He has an extensive knowledge of the flora and fauna of southern India and is a very safe driver. All of the guides arranged for us at all the various sites were very knowledgable and gave us a good understanding of the culture and history of what we saw. It would not have been the same without them. The selection of hotels proposed by Pettitts were very comfortable and those operated by Cgh Earth were architecturally interesting too. The food provided at all of our hotels was of an extremely high standard and this was probably why we did not suffer any stomach upsets. All the arrangements ran like clockwork meaning we had a totally stress free holiday. This was without doubt due to Pettitts who we would not hesitate to highly recommend as a tour operator. Steven’s knowledge of India is second to none and we shall be travelling with Pettitts to India again next year.

A great mixture of culture and wildlife experiences.

This is the second time I have travelled on a Pettitt’s tailor-made holiday. The itinerary, accommodation and service were all of a very high standard on both occasions. The Company goes to a lot of trouble to organise interesting itineraries and to ensure impeccable service.