I just wanted to drop you a quick note to say that K and I really loved the South Africa trip you planned for us. It was just right. We had a great time in Cape Town and our time at Beck’s in the Karongwe Game Reserve was amazing. I can’t really compare because obviously Beck’s is the only safari resort that I have ever been to but I would completely recommend it to anyone. It was a fantastic experience.
Cape town and all the driving arrangements were very good. The wine country, peninsula tour and city tour were a great way to explore the area.
If you are looking for any feedback, I would say that the City Tour Day was our least favourite day. Robben Island and Table Mountain were great, but the Castle Tour was not all that good. That is just our opinion but perhaps that is helpful to know.
Otherwise, outstanding. Thanks for all your help to make this a fantastic once in a lifetime trip.
Andrew
What can I say about Cape Town? From the moment we set foot at the Cape Grace Hotel, we knew we were in for a treat! What a fabulous hotel and location. We got along great with our guide, Nur, who gave us a thorough tour of the whole area under perfect blue skies. The good weather followed us in Stellenbosch, and we continued being amazed by the beautiful scenery. Every winery we visited was stunning.
We’re grateful that all the transfers from place to place went without a hitch. The 4 o’clock in the morning departure from Stellenbosch was a bit rough, but we recovered quickly once we got to relax on the Zambezi Queen. What a great experience that was. The staff was so kind and attentive to all our needs, calling us by our first name. We saw lots of wildlife on our boat safaris and our land drive, not to mention the most beautiful sunsets. I was sorry to leave but got over it quickly when we checked in to The Sanctuary Chobe Chilwero Lodge. Oh my goodness! That location and the lodge were spectacular!! We could see the Zambezi Queen in the distance where it docked for the night. We did have a cricket issue the first night (they are loud) in our lodge, but thanks to the drapes over and around the bed, I knew they wouldn’t land on my head in the middle of the night. The problem was resolved quickly when we mentioned it the next morning. The game drives never disappointed. We saw so much wildlife, including two prides of lions, a cheetah, which is very rare, and lots and lots of impalas, kudus, elephants and giraffes.
Victoria Falls was amazing. We walked along the falls and did a helicopter ride which was awesome. We were blessed with blue skies once again. The waters of over the falls were roaring. I have a friend who went last September and there was only a trickle of water. It was the opposite for us. We got soaked even with the ponchos we were wearing. Also, I want to make special mention of the sunset cruise you booked for us on the Signature Deck. What a wonderful experience. I never felt so much like a VIP!
On to Johannesburg, a city of jarring contrast in living standards. Staying at the Fairlawns Boutique Hotel was a little surreal. It resembled a French château. Our room was so grand! The food at the restaurant was also excellent. Tim and I really appreciated the visit at the Apartheid Museum and enjoyed the tour in Soweto.
I could go and on about this trip of a lifetime, but I mainly want to thank you for organizing such a wonderful vacation. We loved every minute of it!
Thank you!
NadineI just wanted to mention that Erato was an excellent contact for us in Athens. She went way above and beyond our expectations for kindness and availability. She even came with a cake and gifts on Todd’s birthday.
Thanks so much for planning such a memorable trip for us.
The four lodges that we stayed in were all charming and met our needs and expectations well. Meals were generally good – some were actually excellent. The chain of Serena lodges was all very similar in many ways. The rooms were spacious and had nice amenities. Kathy had a problem with stairs. All the resorts except the last one had multiple stairs with no railings. Anyone with difficulty walking would have some trouble since the rooms were distant from the dining etc. and the walkways were made of irregular stones.
Our driver/guide, Steven, was excellent – extremely knowledgeable (of location, plants, animals, birds, and anything going), totally competent, patient, helpful and friendly. We would HIGHLY recommend him to anyone. He is one of Simba Tours very best. He stuck with us through check-in, etc. to make sure that every detail was “just so”.
We also appreciated a couple of cultural stops. Maasai village was interesting and amusing. We even visited a school for pre primary kids, and they offered several goats if we let Karin stay. Visit to Oldavi Gorge (known as birthplace of humankind) was included (not clear in their guide) and proved very interesting.
The tour itinerary was very good and about the right length. All the stops offered unique features in terms of landscape and animal viewing. We saw a wide variety of mammals and birds and took lots of photos. We saw the “big five” and many, many other species that were even more important and interesting to us. Hippos and baboons were particularly endearing. The last day on the Serengeti did drag a bit, we probably saw ½ million wildebeest – if I never seen another wildebeest again that would be fine! They even had to be chased from runway for the first short flight.
So, all in all, things couldn’t have gone much better. You and Tourcan and Simba are to be congratulated for excellent coordination.
Dear Edith,
I want to thank you for arranging such a wonderful trip to Victoria Falls and South Africa. The group I was with (there were seven of us) was a pleasure to travel with. Our guides were knowledgeable and helpful. I was particularly impressed by how well organized the guides were for my trip to Victoria Falls, as it was an add-on, and I did it on my own (as a single traveler). All the guides and drivers, at the airport and hotel were prompt and friendly. Never once did I feel at a loss. The same is true of the add-on at the end of the tour which was a visit to Robben Island. All accommodations were first rate.
Thanks again for arranging such a memorable trip for me.
Thanks again for all your help with Paris, flights and private tour of Morocco.
Highlights of Morocco included landing in Morocco where we did add -on tour of the Hassan Mosque (reasonable fee with our driver coordinating front of line service) and I had booked dinner at Rick’s cafe (with our driver taking us and checking in reservation). Plus, our final day in Marrakech with the cooking class at Bennouna Farm with Alain and Marie followed by camel rides was standout!
The hotels in the Chefchaouen and Bin El Ouidane were lovely (with outstanding included dinners) Casablanca ok business hotel, and the Riads (an experience for first time travellers with adequate service and food options but a bit disconcerting walking through dark alleys to get to hotel on foot (they had boys to take our luggage) but different for sure).
The drives were on the longer end, it is what it is to see so much of the country, and driver skill through mountain passes was excellent.
The breakfasts included were good (so much food at some, but that is Moroccan way!), our own lunches and non-included dinners worked well with help of our guide. We were careful to only drink bottled water and had no issues.
The local guides for tour were also fantastic – knowledgeable and friendly. A bit oversell of carpets, leather, etc in Fes but to be expected- in hindsight, we should have spoken up to skip some of the sellers. Our souvenirs are my husband’s amazing photos!
Advice I would share would be to get Dirham at the hotel in Casablanca..
The Moroccan food is amazing; however, we were able to find some French and western options in more touristy areas to change it up.
We enjoyed our Lisbon stay and the day touring Obidos, Fatima etc. was made even more enjoyable by our terrific driver Victor… please let that company know we thought he was exceptional.. he also dropped us off at the airport this morning … so professional and helpful .., really great.
The holiday in Portugal has been wonderful and we really enjoyed Bruges and Amsterdam as well.
So thanks very much for all the help.
Air Canada is of course delayed but we have had a wonderful time. Best.
Wanting to let you know we had a wonderful trip to Dubai and Egypt. The cruise was wonderful our guide Ramy was exceptional on the cruise. If you have other customers that intend to go to Egypt, I would highly recommend the service to pass through the airport it made the process smooth and with no worries especially since most people speak very little English in Egypt.
Wishing you all the best.
Travelling with 16 women in Thailand was an amazing experience. I’m so grateful to Tourcan (Shernaz especially) and the tour guides we had in Thailand. The itinerary that Shernaz arranged for us was over the top. It was fun, exciting, breathtaking, emotional, educational and brimming with culture. The tour guides really enhanced the experience for us, they really went above and beyond to make sure we experienced Thai culture and had fun. All of our hotels were excellent and each excursion went as planned with no hiccups. Thanks Tourcan!
A group of six of us traveled to Vietnam and Cambodia on a long-anticipated adventure. Shernaz and the other staff at Tourcan did an amazing job of organizing the trip down to the smallest detail. The company only permits the highest levels of guides, hotels, and excursions on their tour plans. It is truly refreshing to interact with a company that actually cares about the opinions and preferences of those in their trust. I will definitely call on them again in the future for my travel needs.
Hi Shernaz,
Just wanted to let you know that Nick and I had a lovely time in India with wonderful guides and driver. The Wild Flower Hall in Shimla was the highlight of hotels but the Golden Temple in Amritsar was the star of our tour – at night it is magnificent. Thank you again for your help – most professional and a delight dealing with you.
Hi Wendi, What a wonderful trip – possibly our best vacation ever!
The country is beautiful and clean and the people were very friendly and helpful. The tour guides were all excellent and our companions were delightful. The small group allowed us to do things that a larger group would find difficult, we are spoiled now. We may do more of these…….. Regards, Brian
Dear Mr. Khanna,
We have returned from our recent trip to Portugal and Spain. We worked with Florence, from Above and Beyond Travel and Dinesh, from Tourcan Vacations to plan a customized adventure. The combined planning efforts of these travel agents provided us a wonderful experience filled with delightful memories. Dinesh established a detailed itinerary complete with contact information for all our hotels, tours, drivers and transportation details. This allowed us to have a wonderful overview of our holiday and easily meet each event filled day with delight-filled anticipation. Dinesh ‘s attention to arranging tours composed of varied experiences from incorporating locals, cooking and food experiences, nature and insight to the culture and history of each country was fabulous! He organized a variety of transportation between cities and countries, and seamless transfers to and from our carefully chosen hotels. Dinesh checked in with us regularly on our trip ensuring that all plans were unfolding on point. We couldn’t be happier with our experience and wish to offer our sincere gratitude to the travel team.
Dear Shernaz and Vivek,
Please see the glowing review below:
Many thanks for helping organize our trip to India. It was truly amazing and wonderful. India is such a study in contrasts – old and new, uber-rich and impoverished, beautiful and sad, huge and tiny, ultra-fast and sultry slow. Mumbai and Kerala are fabulous places to visit. So vibrant and, despite challenges galore, people are hopeful.
And our arrangements were excellent! Thanks so much for putting this together. Thanks too for your help with ensuring a good experience on the day cruise at Periyar. Still not sure if recommend that, but we were pleased with the upper level view and the guides were informative. And we saw elephants, though from a great distance, but very nice.
We were very happy with the Swagatan staff. Our drivers, especially Mohan in Kerala who was with us for a week, were super. And the guides were really great.
John and I were so pleased that you arranged premium economy flights – we were singing your praises on the return flight in particular – we were so comfortable on this very long 15 1/2 hour journey.
Hope you’re well settled in back here in chilly Ottawa. Don’t know about you, but I’m missing the 30 degree temperatures very much!
Thanks again, Jennifer
Roshan,
Our trip to Morocco was Great, the guide Mokhtar and driver Hassan excellent. The entire Holiday was Seamless with every aspect that your Office Planned going perfectly. The Hotels well chosen , gracious and beautiful . Thank you for making the perfect family Holiday a wonderful adventure.
This is my 3rd trip (big trips) with Tourcan, two out of 3 were arranged & organized by Ms Shernaz Writer. I would like to congratulate you with having such a knowledgeable, co-operative, professional & prompt person. Her time, effort & patience is highly appreciated by myself & my friends on our trip.
Hi Vivek,
I can’t thank you enough for this experience. It was truly marvelous and the clients were all amazed and happy with the quality of service we received. I think they got every penny’s worth. You deserve to be commended for your hard work and total professionalism. You dealt with each and every tiny hiccup that came up – and we were blessed not to have any real issues.
On a personal note. Thank you for all my lovely birthday surprises – you sure know how to make a girl feel special. I love my vase and all the cakes etc. You really went overboard.
All the people that you use in India are exemplary. I would not have felt safe going any other way and I think I know have a real wealth of knowledge about India.
We’re back – safe, sound and still jet-lagged. Just a quick note to confirm that everything went off without a hitch. Our sightseeing drivers and guides couldn’t have been better and the vehicles (the same Toyota model in each location) were perfect for two person independent travel. Cars were very clean and bottled water was always available – and much appreciated. Our guide throughout the trip, Lakuma Chebrolu, was excellent. Lakuma is very well organized and very knowledgeable about the history of places we visited as well as the religious significance of the temples. The drivers (Sethu for the first part to Chennai, and Basha for the second part from Bengaluru onward) were very good and got us where we needed to go comfortably and on time. Transfers to and from airports was flawless and our departures were assisted – great service in each case and very helpful. Our hotel accommodations were very good to spectacular with Clarks Inn in Badami a notable exception as a much less attractive property. Clarks Inn is not really a negative in terms of our experience because, as our guide pointed out, it was the best available at that location, and it was required to serve the itinerary that I had chosen. To the other extreme, the Hotel Orange County in Badami, complete with a private pool, was stunning. Overall the tour was exactly what we asked for and everyone in India provided a high level of service that allowed us to enjoy a completely trouble-free experience.
Hi Shernaz: I hope you are keeping well. I am writing to thank you for advising our tour guides on our trip to India in January’17 that I needed assistance. They were extremely helpful to me and were always there to help. I appreciated their assistance. The trip was fantastic and Judy and I had a great time. I will remember this trip for a long time to come. Thanks again.
Just returned from our 3 week India holiday in the Golden Triangle and Kerala. We had the most fantastic time! Everything went as planned. The drivers and guides were timely and informative. Special attention was given to my friend with a walking problem. Thanks to Tourcan Vacations and Shernaz for creating our very memorable holiday. I would not hesitate to book through them for another trip.
Thank you for the opportunity to experience the India educational trip. It was a great pleasure to meet you, your team, to learn more about TourCan and India. From the beginning with Shernaz helping with the India eVisa and making sure I had everything I could need, was such a pleasant experience. Then the way you were able to adjust the itinerary to fit when needed. Like adding the henna, extra shopping and changing the dinners around, was great to see how well connected you are. I’ve been telling many people about my trip, both personally and at work. I’m sure there will be bookings to follow as TourCan seems to have very high standards and reliability.
I am amazed at this experience and it was like nothing I had expected. Everything far exceeded my expectations and every moment was a WOW moment. Thanks Vivek for this opportunity and I for sure will suggest and sell India and Tourcan with confidence in the future.
Amazing!! I kept repeating these words throughout the trip and it truly does represent what I felt each day. I was excited about my first FAM trip but this one definitely surpassed any expectations I had of an educational tour as well as India. I have not stopped talking about it since I returned home. Everyone sees it in my eyes and a number are rethinking their views of India as a place to visit.
Many kind thanks for your message, I have been on many fams – really good ones, but this was unquestionably the very best. Thank you and thank you to your team here in Canada and also on the ground in India. You gave us an incredible appreciation, and for me, a new appreciation of India.
Uniglobe Premier Travel, Toronto
India far exceeded my expectations also. The organization of Vivek, Dinesh and Tourcan have proved to me, that Tourcan are the only supplier for India and beyond! Vivek you said you wanted to show me India your way and indeed you did.
I kept putting off going to India; well I’m glad I did, because I was pleasantly surprised. Actually it exceeded my expectations. The architecture, the grounds, the rooms, the staff, the food, the welcome receptions, etc. at these TAJ and Oberoi hotels was amazing! Your country’s historic sites, palaces & temples we visited were impressive, and its colorful people added to the experience.
We had a great holiday and certainly went way above our expectations. You did a great job picking out and matching up our likes for site seeing . There is not one thing I would change and would highly recommend the trip. The hotels were beautiful and everything we saw was so interesting. Thank you so much. Cheers ! Faubert family Thanks again Shernaz as you are an expert and I greatly appreciate your knowledge and assistance with this type of trip.. Kudos to you !!!
I have been organizing a large incentive group for worldwide travel for the past 11 years. In that time I can honestly say that I have never experienced a level of superlative customer service, and focused attention to detail, from the beginning stages of planning through to the return of the group, as I enjoyed when I made the fortunate decision to hire Tourcan Vacations, and specifically Vivek, to help me create the best Vietnam and Cambodia itinerary. If you want to create a memorable group adventure, I highly recommend Vivek Khanna.
My husband and I have just returned from a cruise in South-east Asia with Oceania, which included tours organized with your company through our travelling companion and travel agent, Don Percy of Cruise Ship Centres, Ottawa. We loved the trip and all the tours through your company and affiliates. All of the guides were full of information, courteous, extremely friendly and attentive. From the information provided pre-cruise, to the experiences at each destination point, we couldn’t be happier. We would definitely recommend you to anyone looking for a top notch tour company. Congratulations and thank you.
Your company’s attention to detail and follow up is excellent … And a rarity! You have impressed the clients. Little things do mean a lot.