We, 3 women friends, visited Varanasi in November for Dev Deepawali for which people plan 6 months in advance. Experience Varanasi came highly recommended from a friend. Despite reaching out to Kunal from Experience Varanasi at almost the last minute, Kunal arranged everything for us very quickly. Being tech savvy and excellent with English, it was absolutely easy and hassle free to firm up the itinerary on whatsapp and emails. Right from arranging a taxi to te please visits to arranging a boat for Dev Deepawali, everything was taken care of by Kunal.
We are specifically impressed with the professionalism exhibited by Kunal and team in everything. We got the driver and taxi details well in advance of our flight to Varanasi. The driver was waiting for us and we had a hassle free arrival at Varanasi. The car was very clean and in great condition. Kunal, himself, was with us for the next 4 days. Extremely knowledgable, warm, empathetic and very passionate about giving us the local experience. He knows the ins and outs of the city and he took us (literally dragged us at times) through meandering alleys and gulleys to give us the true taste of the flavours of Varanasi. We also needed a lot of flexibility with the itinerary as we had some of our own arrangements and he was extremely flexibile, accompanied us and was patient with us. He was also sensitive to our requirements, like wanting breaks, arranging for riskshaws when we were tired, bottled water, clean washrooms etc. All the arrangements made by him for us, taxis, temple visits, Sarnath trip, driver, boats etc were all extremely good and of course, we throughly enjoyed Kunal's company. Meticulous and with an eye for detail, he went out of his way to ensure that we had a great experience and that too comfortably. Kept motivating us to explore more than what we would have otherwise done and totally engaging with us. After a point, he felt more like our 4th travel companion than a guide.
A special mention to the taxi driver, Nandakishore, who was extremely polite with a pleasing demenour and personality. Never expressed any displeasure even when he had to accomodate our last minute changes to the itinerary. Traffic in Varanasi is crazy and one would need a calm and good driver to deal with it and Nandakishore did a wonderful job.
In a country where punctuality is very rare, Kunal and his team were always on time, in fact before time waiting for us, be it 5 am or 11 pm and we went through our itinerary like clockwork. This was something that specifically stood out for me and is totally appreciated.
Visiting one of the oldest cities in India, Varanasi , that lives and breathes on its own and has its own energy requires a guide like Kunal who can match that energy without missing a beat.
We came back from Varanasi, soul satisfied with the magical experience . A
huge credit for this goes to Experience Varanasi and specifically Kunal. Having travelled the world, to have experienced such professionalism and world class arrangements in my own country fills me with pride. Very happy to reccomend them to everyone.