Private Tour: Chennai Sightseeing Including Fort St George and Government Museum

I was the only person on this tour and so received first class attention from the guide. I probably wouldn't want to spend as much time as we did at the Government Museum but the visit toone of the largest Temples, the churches, the beach and lunch in an Indian Restaurant were much enjoyed. The driver was most reliable

I have given this tour only three stars because it was very rushed and completed in less than two hours. This is through no fault of the guide. He was given the wrong information by the local office and we started out on the wrong your outside Chennai. By lunchtime, the mistake was realised and pointed out to the guide who phoned the Delhi office for confirmation of what I said. We then commenced the two hour drive back to Chennai. The guide did what he could to salvage the situation. We enjoyed seeing what the guide showed us.

The guide was very knowledgeable! The driver was very reliable. I felt very safe at all times. I saw all the major attractions in Chennai and had a lovely lunch!
The problem is that they didn't arrive at the agreed time. In fact, I think that they forgot about me! Luckily the hotel staff helped me by calling the local agent Apollo and I think the tour was organized right there and then! I had tried to confirm the tour by email as advised but my email was never acknowledged. I suggest that you call the local agent and speak with someone directly and confirm the tour and pick-up time. It's well worth it!

After confirming the tour a week in advance, I was disappointed that the driver was not at the hotel to pick us up at 9 a.m., the pre-arranged meeting time. The hotel was wonderful and called the number that had been provided, only to find out that the number belonged to someone in New Delhi. That person gave the hotel another number to call that was based in Chennai, and contacted them to inform them that we were waiting on our driver. The driver then showed up an hour after the initially agreed upon time at 10 a.m.

We went to the Government Museum and our tour guide was terrific although based on her comments it was evident that the tour was put together at the last minute. She was extremely knowledgeable and made the day very enjoyable. Unfortunately, it seemed that neither the driver nor the guide knew the itinerary. After the Government Museum, we went to the Kapaleeshwar Temple, and then to Fort St. George, followed by a late lunch. We were dropped back at the hotel by 3:30 p.m. which was a much shorter day than we had anticipated and paid for. We missed out on the experiences of visiting the Madras High Court, the Ripon Building, and the flower market that had been promised.

I was so disappointed, as this was our only day in Chennai for sightseeing and given my previous experiences with La Vacanza Travel, failed to meet my expectations.

This tour was excellent. Both guide and driver were very knowledgeable, spoke good English and made sure we had seen everything on the itinerary and some! Lunch was a great experience with good local vegetarian ingredients. Would recommend to anyone thinking of visiting Chennai.