Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation — Attraction in Bengaluru

Ref to recent Mantralaya -TB Dam - Hampi tour. Guide name: Prabhakar

I am a regular traveler with KSTDC. With heavy heart I say travel experience is pathetic especially because of incompetent,unkind , rude staff. All packages from KSTDC includes travel and accomodation only. Guide was incompetent, unkind. Usually our tour guide explains the importance of these places as I had visited twice earlier with KSTDC to the same places. However, the guide stated we needed to shellout 7-8K to hire local guides appointed specially for hampi. Anyway nobody agreed and he stated he would brief us and to pay him instead. His explanation was pathetic, he has his favourites whom he treats in specific way, was absolutely not helpful in any way. Driver and cleaner were more courteous than this guide. Accomodation was good. Rooms are renovated. Good job on that KSTDC. However , they need to be maintained well. The staff at the hotel (especially the old man taking orders) is rude which is unacceptable. Overall not so good experience. Bus was good but we had a broken seat handle causing inconvenience. Pitstops for restroom and food were pathetic. However food at one of your own hotels was really good and staff were very courteous than our tour guide.

Ref to Pondicherry and Mahabalipuram tour package - Tour guide: Chiranjeevi

Again during this tour our seats handle was completely worn out and we were seated at the front seat causing so much inconvenience whenever driver applied break , was unable to rest well during the journey. The charging points didn't work. Cleaner was pathetic , acting over smart and Tour guide was a bully who kept picking on us right from day 1 inspite of we being first and not coming late at the start of the day, he was rude most of the time. Another worst guide. Never want to travel with him. Rooms were unclean as there was urine in the commode seat and bedspread with blood marks and when we informed the guide he hardly heeded and finally when I was curt he came over to see and asked the hotel staff to change the room eventually. Please ensure we travellers have clean hygenic rooms we are entitled and paid for. Pitstops for food and restroom were pathetic. Don't want to travel with these two guides anytime. Ref to MM hills and BR Hills tour package. Guide name : puroshotham We had a great time not because of the tour guide but because of our fellow passengers ,awesomegroup.Driver ,cleaner were humble and helped accordingly. The guid was fair but he needs to learn how 2 talk Ref to Best of South India tour package: Guide : Anand. Seat were clean, the cleaner was humble and good helping us with our luggages as and when we needed. Thank you. Driver had good driving skills. Tour guide Anand had loads of patience and smiling face. He explained in Hindi, English and kannada accordingly to cater to various travellers from different parts of the country. Good job on that and we appreciate this from our tour guide. He gave an awesome explanation about the history of the place we are visiting before hand. Good job done on that too. What could have been better is if he can work on foreseeing challenges and cater and profile the travellers basis age and any special requirement to ensure they have safe and comfortable travel especially for elderly. Sometimes he lacked presence of mind and thinking out of the box in difficult situations. If he can work on these things he would be a great tour kind. However , he is the only kind we have Thanked for being with us in the journey. He may not be the best but he was definitely better than the rest we have met on our journey.

To KSTDC : Please listen to feedback from your staff and implement them on real time basis. As your tour guides are there real time dealing with situations at various sightseeing places. Ex: on new moonday ,on the day of sightseeing we were unable to get the darshan of Arunachaleshwara deity due to crowd. You need to consider this and change the travel dates accordingly. What is the point of paying but not seeing everything that...

Tour package - Tirupai- kalasthi, 3 days Date 14 Mar 2025 -16 Mar 2025 Overall experience: average Guide (Hemanth): just assisting on where to get down n pick up for bus, zero knowledge on how to get special entry either in tirupati not in padmavathi temple or in kalasthi everything has to be managed by us. Whichever questions he can't answer would cover up by saying it's unaware I have been told only so much check with KSTDC However at the end he promptly seeks for tips. Recommendation to others: 300/- special darshan not included (it's kind of seasonal of including/ not including varies time to time) dont opt for tirumala darshan with proper confirmation from KSTDC. Bus journey was good as bus was in good condition.

Day 1- 14th Mar 2025- night dinner (self sponsered) @ udupi hotel @9:30pm was ok less option (meals counter).

Day 2: 15 th Mar 2025- Reached tirupati cottage @2:30am Breakfast was not that great, kind of ok We have been told to take jeep ride for 2km (50/- person total 550 for 11people in a single jeep) I think this was not need, these are money making strategy. Guide didn't had sufficient information to assist due to which it took we had to stand in queue in Free darshan for 20 long hours( 6.am 15th Mar 1:15am 16th mar), however KSTDC had promised that darshan will get over within 6hrs while booking the ticket offline. This is unfair and unpleasant experience as we were kept in 2cages for long hours. Washroom weren't clean, stinks and garbage will not be cleared from the cage even if it's overflowing.

Day 3: 16th Mar- 7:45 am checkout and again we started for padmavathi temple n kalasthi which was good. Guide would simply give advise on where is the entry gate and where should gather once temple...

Hello Travellers,

I would like to explain about the worst experience faces my me and my family during the recent Tirupati Kalahasti Package tour TKT C368 Delux AC.

We started Right time and reached Tirupati @ 3.30 am in Hotel . The guide informed that we should be ready by 4:30 a.m. checking out at 4:30 a.m. doesn't seem as per the plan mentioned in the itinerary. That's ok we thought maybe the guide will take us faster. The horrible experience started once we reached tirumala the first weight was a shop number 92 for one and half hours at HT complex. Then we were asked to walk for two and half kilometres to a location we were asked to wait there till 11:00 we waited but at 11 am the group of 3000 people when four around one and half kilometre no guide was supposed to be seen and it was a total mess the experience what we faced particularly the senior citizens was a terrible nature the Darshan system in Tirupati is much better than the guides method of asking us to stay and run for one and half kilometre post walking of two and half km now comes the second day during the entire process of the trip guide was asking us to keep the mobile and slippers in the bus no other positive contribution was done even on the second day we were asked to check out at 4:30 a.m. which is not as per itinerary I had a lot of good expectations from kstdc but this incidents made my view really negative request members of the board to look into the issues antique actions on these deviations and share...