Our Story - Indian Panorama
The story of Indian Panorama stretches back 25 years when Faith, a New Zealander on a backpacking trip, visited India for the first time and fell irrevocably in love with the place. She made her home in South India, and initially the company she founded was based on escorted group tours.
Shortly afterwards, Pandian became involved, and the roots of the company which we are today began to form in the late 90s and over the early 2000s. We now specialise in assisted, independent travel and our organisation has grown steadily.
It’s hard to imagine now how organising tours was possible in the early years when mobile phones were unknown and internet extremely unstable! From humble beginnings, the company’s reputation for top-level service and setting new standards spread across firstly South India, then the whole country, as well as with our clients in every corner of the globe.
Even though the company is now much bigger, the standards set in those early days, of each client being special, nothing being too much trouble and exhaustive attention to detail, remain at the heart of what we do. The unique Western/Indian blend which underpinned the start of the company means we are still unique in understanding both the allure of India to our overseas visitors, and the on-ground reality of how things really work in this country.
This knowledge now extends through the whole team. Regardless of whether you are in touch with Faith's brother Tim (who joined the company in 2006) or any of our tour planners throughout the country, you will get the same personalised service and attention to detail.
We look forward to welcoming you to this vibrant and enchanting land, with open hearted people and a myriad of sights, sounds and experiences awaiting you.
Planning Your Tour To India
While this website offers an array of possible and suggested itineraries, only a tiny proportion of our clients actually travel precisely to one of these outlines. Virtually every tour is customised as we firmly believe that each and everyone’s experience of India should be tailored to their specific interests. Our tour planners love to get to know their clients (many of whom become friends when we meet them here, as well as those who welcome us to visit them when our team members travel the world) and therefore get to understand the particular interests which people have. Our years of experience mean we have dealt with a vast array of travel enquiries and attended to a host of situations involving travellers in India. You’ll never find us in a big hurry to get you to agree to a plan- often it can take many weeks to create the perfect itinerary.
We aim to keep communication clear and concise at all times and have a series of industry-leading back-office systems which mean your trip, once it is underway, will run without a hitch. We also provide an extensive pre-departure document, containing a wealth of information about visas, money, staying healthy and a lot of other important things to consider when you visit India- this will be emailed to you upon confirmation of your tour.
What can Indian Panorama do for you?
We are prompt and thorough in the planning, preparation and implementation of your tour plan and we can discuss any requirements over phone, What’s App, Skype etc which enables a quick answer at any time. Our relationships with hotels across India means we can obtain rates often significantly better than those found online, and we are also adapt at finding rooms when hotels appear to be full!
The best way to see India is by road and our fleet of modern, well maintained vehicles is another thing that sets Indian Panorama apart from other operators. We spread road travel evenly throughout your trip, always at a relaxed pace and with plenty of time for stops. Our friendly and experienced drivers are all professionals who know the routes and destinations involved in our tours well. We regard our drivers as the real stars of our company, and this is reflected in the pride they take in being a part of our team.
We will work with you to find the right type and standard of accommodation to suit your preferences and budget. In many places across the country you will find international hotel brands, and in some cases these are a good choice. But in the vast majority of cases, unique/heritage/characterful accommodation is available and creates yet another memorable aspect of a trip to India.
Whether it’s a restored palace in Rajasthan, a plantation bungalow in Kerala, bespoke beach-side accommodation in Goa or simple monastery-run accommodation in the Himalayan foothills, India is blessed with literally thousands of very special places to stay and we are happy to use our knowledge to help you find somewhere you’ll never forget staying.
Our team regularly head off around the country to renew our hotel knowledge, checking up on our favourites, visiting newly opened properties and exploring entirely new destinations. We are able to make recommendations based on personal experience and feedback from recent clients to ensure we find the right hotel for your requirements and budget.
Throughout your tour one of our team will be in touch with you to ensure everything is going smoothly. We believe strongly that context is an important part of your trip, as well as variety, so not only will we recommend and book knowledgeable, English speaking guides in most major cities and at important monuments, but we also work closely with a range of partner organisations to provide additional, contrasting activities such as walking and cycling tours, cooking classes, cultural shows and more.
Bringing all this together in a streamlined package is at the heart of what we do- many people comment on how much we do behind the scenes which is all-but invisible to the traveller.