I wanted to thank you again for the magnificent 45-day cycling tour that you have organised for us in South India. This has been definitively our best cycling trip so far. We have been cycling in many nice countries over the years (France, Italy, Ireland, Spain, United States, Canada, etc.), but this cycling trip surpasses them all. The roads and the landscape were beautiful. The homestays, resorts and hotels were authentic and typical of India (among the best places that we have ever done). The food was tasty. And the places and cities that we visited were most interesting and instructive (temples, palaces, public markets, tiger reserves, tea, coffee and spice plantations, Auroville, etc.).

But what we will probably remember the most are the smile, the joy and the happiness of the Indian people themselves who were waving bye-bye to us along the way, the nice and colourful dresses of the women and, obviously, the kindness, the amiability, the generosity and the wide knowledge (trees, birds, plantations, villages, history, everything...) of Francis and Das.

As we had the occasion to tell you, we came to India as a guest, but we left the country as a friend.

We feel privileged to have had the opportunity to see such a nice country and to meet such wonderful people.

We are definitively looking forward to cycle again with you in India, most probably in the Northern part of the country.

Please give our best regards to your wifes and children.

A year ago (last December and January), my spouse and I made a 45-day cycling tour of Southern India with Kalypso Adventures. We are used to cycle in Canada, in the United States and in Europe, but this cycling tour was probably our best cycling tour ever.

Not only was the trip interesting because of the beauty of the landscape, the amability of the Indian people and the professionalism of our guide and our chauffeur, but the trip was also interesting because of the respect that Kalypso Adventures had for the people and the nature.

The places we slept - usually historic bungalows in tea, coffee and spice plantations, huts in tiger reserves and traditional farms - were respecting all the criteria for a trip in symbiose with nature.

We always cycled on small and quiet country roads, in order to cycle through small villages, avoiding heavy traffic roads, noise and pollution.

Our guide was quite knowledgeable about everything we saw during our trip: birds, trees, plants, farming, handicraft, industries, etc.

Our guide and chauffeur encouraged us to meet people whenever possible: visit a farm, visit a sugar cane plantation, visit a Hindu Temple, interact with local people, etc.

During the day, at lunch time, we always ate at small and local restaurants, always avoiding fast-food or big chain restaurants.

Our guide and chauffeur were quite conscious of the need to protect the environment; they were recuperating any waste.

For all these reasons, I believe that Kalypso Adventures most certainly figures among the best Responsible Tourism Organization in India.

Thanks again and have a great time. You have a great country, Kalypso Adventures is a great organisation and you are great people.
 

I wanted to thank you for arranging such a wonderful trip for me and my daughter. We had a fabulous time!!

Vineet is an excellent guide. He was consistently prompt, energetic, flexible and made each day fun and interesting. He was always concerned about what we wanted to do and how our experiences were at the homestays. He's extremely knowledgeable about the area so taught us a lot, too. It was enjoyable going through the backwaters and chatting with the people, particularly the children, who were always so excited to see us paddle by. Vineet also followed up by sending pictures of us that he had taken and let us know about the strike coming while we were in Goa so that we could be sure of getting to the airport without a hitch.

That being said, I am interested in coming back to visit Munnar at some point and would definitely request Vineet as our guide for that trip and would highly recommend him to anyone kayaking through the backwaters.
 

To say our Munnar trek was the highlight of our two weeks in India would be an understatement. The trek was everything we wanted it to be – challenging, picturesque, and informative. This is almost entirely due to our guide, Brijesh. He was knowledgeable about the native flora, pointing out Rhododendron trees, goat weed, and lanterna. By the end of the two days, I’d learned the names of many new plants, as well as what they were used for or if they were invasive.

Brijesh also knew the natural features of the land, pointing out Anamudi on the first day as we trekked to Meesapulimala and Anerangel on the second day as we trekked through the Shola. He was pleasant to trek with, making nice conversation in great English. He checked in often to make sure we had water and that we weren’t getting too tired. Best of all, he gave credit to the support guides, Raghu and Raja, when it was due.

I would highly recommend booking treks through Kalypso Adventures – they took care of all the logistics (hotels, transfers, even our taxi back to Kochi). We’re considering a trip to Sri Lanka in the future, and we’d definitely book another Kalypso Adventure if we do.
 

We’d like to thank you for a wonderful experience and perfectly arranged trip. The hotels were great, and we loved the hikes and activities.

Reghu was an amazing guide, and did a great job at adapting some of the treks to our level. My girlfriend got an infection the day before our treks started, so we were both quite slow. But Reghu was very patient with us, which we appreciate a lot. He took us through really beautiful nature, and made stops at local tea shops along the way, recommended us great local food the last day, and made sure our dietary restrictions were taken care of as well. Best guide ever :)

Thanks again for an amazing trip and happy new year to all of you!
 

We have just returned from a wonderful 10 day tour with Kalypso Adventures with our two children aged 14 & 11 years and had a brilliant time, from start to finish! Our tour guide Jeffin and our driver Santosh were super professional, helpful, courteous, kind and ensured we had a great time! Our kids loved them! The tour started in Kochi and we packed in the Indian dance show, but of shopping and lovely meals at our hotel- Casino. We then travelled to Hornbill Camp and had a wonderful couple of days there, kayaking, walking, mountain biking and bird watching in this beautiful area. The food and service was was super and our son loved playing cricket with our tour guides and staff! We travelled to Munnar and stayed at Olive Brook- another brilliant small hotel with excellent standards in service and wonderful food! We felt very spoilt! Loved the walks here around the tea plantations and incredible views. We then travelled to the back waters and had one night on a house boat which was fab- beautiful water front views and home cooked food! The local temple music was pretty lively but fun! Then onto Turtle Beach hotel in Marari for 3 nights which was a perfect ending as we got to relax and enjoy this beautiful Oasis. The butterfly garden was next to our rooms and we were amazed by the wonderful butterflies! The food here was excellent too and we ate so much! The spa treatments were super too and the swimming pool. The beach is a very natural beach- wonderful views and fishermen setting off every morning. Be careful of the beach dogs as they have no owners and are friendly but they did chase me when I went running! Ended our trip having a wonderful lunch in Malabar hotel in Kochi- a beautiful oasis in this bustling city! We we so well looked after and can’t wait to return! 

 Reviewed on Tripadvisor

I represent The Teenager Cancer Trust in the UK We have just completed our trek in the Western Ghats with your company, through Action Challenge I have to commend you on being such a professional and well organised company, the kindness and hospitality shown to us throughout this trip was exceptional, special mention about Francis and his team, all so knowledgeable, our care was their only concern.They made this trip memorable for us.