We felt so lucky to have Tara organize our March 2024 trip to India which included Delhi, Jaipur, Samode Palace, Shahpura, Sarnath, and Varanasi. It was my second visit to Delhi, but I had a much deeper and more meaningful experience this time under Tara's thoughtful guidance. She listened to what we were most interested in seeing and doing and planned our itinerary accordingly. I appreciated having both an overview and a detailed description of each day's adventures in writing. Tara took us to restaurants, shops, and sites that we never would have found on our own. It was a grand adventure with opportunities to interact with locals, and I felt very safe and secure at every step, even as she navigated us through the teeming crowds of Old Delhi. Tara works with local guides who are very experienced and professional. The guide who shepherded us through Varanasi was especially good. He timed everything just perfectly and provided very thoughtful explanations of that mystical, awe-inspiring city. Tara is a lovely, gracious, and extremely knowledgeable travel agent who is clearly dedicated to providing her clients with a high-quality, personalized travel experience. She patiently answered our many questions and provided us with the kind of practical advice that made all the logistical details of travel go smoothly. I would highly recommend her services for any travel adventures! read more

Tara Gupta is a great travel agent. This was our 6th trip to India that she planned and hosted. This one was a private tour to South India for one month in March, 2024. We spent three weeks on tour with Tara, finishing with just us for one week in a resort. Exceptional planning, flexible when it came to our preferences, extremely knowledgeable, and a great host. Southern India...land of temples and some western European influence. We visited the church and Tomb of St. Thomas in Chennai, gazed on the Bay of Bengal (and saw, through a telescope, a lighthouse across the strait in Sri Lanka), crossed and paralleled the Western Ghats mountain range, and visited the very southern tip of India. Along the way we visited a spice and a rubber plantation and many other beautiful and interesting sites. And saw spectacular temples. read more

Tara Gupta planned and organized our recent trip to India, and it turned out to be one of the most interesting adventures I've ever had. Tara and her India by Design team coordinated a beautiful itinerary for a 16 day vacation. Our visit included Delhi, Agra/Taj Mahal, the Samode Palace and the small nearby town Shahpura, Jaipur, and a fascinating excursion to the holy cities of Sarnath and Varanasi. With behind-the-scenes walking tours and food experiences, we felt we got a true sense of daily life in the cities we visited. The local guides were amazing and our driver was exceptional. Tara's network is a professional, thoughtful, and good-natured group. I appreciated Tara's blend of deep historical knowledge, as well as her practical advice. She gave us a very detailed description of what we would see, and why we would appreciate a venue. She also prepared us by ensuring we had the local currency when we arrived and counseled us on what to expect in a culture we'd never experienced before. Tara is a travel expert; she adds value like no other travel professional I've worked with in the past. I look forward to working with Tara and the India by Design agency again! read more

We went on an amazing trip to India March, 2018. Tara Gupta did a fabulous job planning our trip, especially given that we had not given her much notice in advance. For the very start, Tara made sure that the trip would be planned around our specific wants and needs. She walked us though a couple of example itineraries, which I very much appreciated since it was my first time going to India. She was a great communicator and patiently answered all our questions. We really appreciated that she was honest about expectations and costs and genuinely wanted us to be happy with our experience. Before leaving, Tara kindly invited us over to her house for a delicious dinner and even gave us a few clothing items to help prepare for the trip. Once we were in India, every place that Tara had recommended was amazing. My husband had arrived early and she personally met him to go on a food tour in Old Delhi. Once I arrived, we had a personal driver for the entire trip (who was very friendly, patient, an excellent driver, and had a very clean car with AC) and a tour guide in each location that would meet us for the day. The skill and knowledge of the guides varied, but everyone was friendly. It was great to have someone to explain the rich history of the sites we visited. Our tour included Delhi, Samode Palace, Jaipur, Ranthambore, and Agra. Every location was fabulous and the hotels that Tara had picked were all very nice with comfortable rooms and great food. Tara was available to communicate with us during our trip and could give us recommendations on places to eat and where to shop. Some personal highlights of our trip were Samode Palace (in Rajasthan) and Ranthambore National Park. Samode is a stunningly beautiful and peaceful Rajput palace--definitely worth a night or 2. Ranthambore is a gorgeous game reserve full of wildlife. Be sure to book many game drives if you want to see a tiger. We only booked 3 and were lucky to see a tiger and cubs on the last drive. It was an AMAZING experience. We will be sure to do more tiger safaris on our next India trip. Lastly, we wanted to have an interaction with elephants that did not involve riding them. Instead, we inquired about visiting a rescue organization called Wildlife SOS in Agra. Tara fit this in to our itinerary and made it happen. This was another highlight of our trip as we could get close to the elephants (and feed them!), knowing that we were supporting them in a positive way. Overall, we highly recommend Tara for organizing a trip to India (or anywhere). We are so grateful for her knowledge and wealth of experience. It definitely made our trip run smoothly and allowed us to enjoy everything. Do not hesitate to call Tara, you will not regret it! read more

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I have used Tara's services in the past. The first was in 2014 when she prepared an amazing Rome/Amalfi coast intimate trip for our honeymoon. She tailored the trip to our specific needs, in depth culture, enough downtime, blend of 4 star plus places plus an amazing über-luxury stay in Sorrento. From there it was a trip to New Zealand South Island in 2016. An amazing river cruise Vienna to Amsterdam in 2019 followed. And of course, how can one pass up a trip to India without using our tried and true expert. 21 days in Delhi/Agra and Rajasthan was amazing. We hit the shops of New Delhi, and were personally guided by Tara to the amazing maze of Old Delhi, hitting the best of the "hole in the wall" yet western-tummy friendly delights. She hit all the places spot on, including the Taj Mahal by the full moon, the palatial abodes of Jaipur and Udaipur, the village life with a haveli in Mandawa, and an old fort in Khejarla. We were paired with an most informative driver the entire way, Lalit, who really wanted to show us the REAL India, and was always there for us. At each stop we had a local, very professional guide, each and expert in his home town. We had no hitches along the way. We catered to like VIP's and yet like family. I cannot recommend a better travel professional than Tara and her team. read more

India by Design is an amazing company that provides comprehensive tours of India. The main idea of the company is to fully immerse customers in the culture of India through avoiding "tourist traps" and going to places that locals actually go to everyday. I, along with a small group of people from my school, spent a week with Tara, who in that time proved herself to be an amazing guide. From witnessing her intense bartering skills at local markets, to hearing her "Tara versions" of various points of interests, Tara proved herself to be an expert on Indian culture with the ability to relate it to concepts that Westerners are more familiar with. Setting aside all of the amazing cultural experiences that Tara showed my group, she made sure that everyone was safe and took special care in protecting everyone from getting sick, a fear that many have when traveling to a foreign country. Because of all of this, I can do nothing but recommend India by Design for being able to provide an intense cultural experience while making sure that their clients stay protected from all of the worries that most have while traveling abroad. Having Tara as a guide for a week was an amazing experience that I feel everyone should experience during their lifetime. Thank you, Tara, for everything, -Michael Yoh read more

We first met Tara when an agent referred her to us to plan our Nepal and Bhutan trip. We ended up joining her small group tour in Bhutan (which she tweaked when we wanted a couple of additional things added). That was about six years ago. Since then she had planned our trip to South America (4 weeks), India (6 weeks, including two weeks on one of her tours), Southeast Asia (6 weeks, including two weeks on one of her tours) and Indian Ocean (cruise to Seychelles, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Southern India followed by a trip to Ladakh in far Northern India). Over the next couple of years we are joining her for trips to Morocco, Iceland, and Germany/Croatia. She is incredibly knowledge read more

I cannot speak highly enough of Tara as a travel itinerary planner: she is simply the best. Tara has designed wonderful travel itineraries for me for destinations in South America, wherein I discussed countries I wanted to visit and places I would tentatively like to see; Tara created itineraries that included what I had in mind, but further enhanced my travels by including side trips to wonderful nearby destinations that made logistical sense to incorporate into the itinerary: places, tours, and experiences that I would not have known to include. One example would be exploring the Atacama Desert in northern Chile as a side trip while exploring Santiago, Chile. Tara prepares travel vouchers for you to facilitate airport transportation to your hotel, accommodations, meals and tours: all of which makes your travel logistics "pre-wired", so to say, to make your travel experience smooth and pleasant! I will always look forward to having Tara plan travel itineraries for me throughout the years ahead. Thank you so much, Tara, for all that you do; you are a sensational travel planner! read more

India by Design and Tara Gupta are superb! I travelled with her during a business trip and she made our experience there enjoyable, informative and ultimately got us to where we needed to go with no fuss and no muss. She also was excellent in helping to arrange additional stays, day excurtions or anything needed outside of our group to make my India stay my best ever. I highly recommend using Tara if you want a small group and highly knowledgable customized India experience. read more

My young son and I used India by Design on a recent trip to India and had an amazing experience! Tara and her team are amazing - it was definitely the best experience ever. Tara put together our trip to Delhi and Agra to see the area and the Taj Mahal. I was traveling with a young child so safety was definitely my biggest priority. Her team was so wonderful, helpful, and was always checking it to ensure my son and I were enjoying ourselves and getting what we wanted out of the experience. When traveling with India by Design, you definitely will NOT feel like you are just another tourist who gets assigned some random tour guide. From the get-go, I was communicating with Tara by phone and email to ensure that I was getting exactly what I wanted out of the experience. She does an amazing job of helping you decide what to do and see (and believe me, there is a ton to do and see!) within your time constraints. We worked closely with Shyam, who heads the Delhi office. He was with us once we arrived in Delhi and really put the personal touch to our experience - we even got to meet and spend time with his kids (who were the same age as my child). Tara is super genuine, thoughtful, and truly wants us to love India as much as she does. Also, her pricing was very affordable and I definitely got more than my money's worth! I promise you, you and your family/friends won't be disappointed!! read more

Tara helped plan my graduation trip to Thailand for 2.5 weeks. She was extremely kind, patient, responsible, knowledgeable, efficient, caring and every other positive adjective you could think of! I recommend her to everyone I know that needs a trip planned, and cannot provide enough positive feedback. Her expertise extends worldwide, so no matter where you want to travel, she can make it an incredible experience. Her team is equally as impressive, so you'll never be lost or unsure of details during the trip. Most importantly, she was excellent at staying in budget (although I wasn't as good at that) Thank you Tara and Ambika!! Easiest 5 star review I've given read more

My husband and I took a fabulous and fascinating trip to India with Tara recently. We were part of a small group of 8 with Tara personally showing us her city and country, along with her well-organized network of drivers and guides. Her tours run like a well-oiled machine. She and her staff made our visit around the 'Golden Triangle' seamless. Not only was it educational, but extremely comfortable in their personally chosen vehicles. This is a trip you will never forget, and I would highly recommend Tara, particularly for your first trip to India. It's absolutely fascinating, and Tara and her team make the experience easy and hassle free, no easy feat in India! GayleB Travel Professional read more

I didn't end up using Tara's services, so this review is based on the skype convos/emails that we had. Honestly, she was very nice and knowledgeable, but I did have a gripe that I feel like people should know about... She made it seem like that unless I stayed in $300/night hotels and got super expensive tours that only she knows about I wouldn't have a good time in India. This didn't turn out to be true AT ALL. In fact, if you are a medium-budget traveler, you should do yourself a favor, and go to tripadvisor. The top rated hotels there (e.g. Bloomrooms in Dehli cost me barely $50/night and they were awesome). Same with the top rated tours (e.g. Friends in Dehli--a superb experience). If you have extra money though, you should use Tara. read more

If you are thinking about a trip to India, you should consider travelling with Tara!!! She provides a fantastic experience. Her knowledge, experience, connections, humor, warmth & charm made my trip unforgettable. From the fantastic colorful markets (getting great bargains due to her local knowledge), the many historical sites, the welcoming sweet small towns, the countryside, the eateries, the temples and the unplanned adventures, I got to experience the many faces of India....and there are many! Meeting her family & friends during Divali, was an added special bonus of my trip. I highly recommend travelling with India by Design if you are planning a trip to amazing India. Namaste. read more

Tara escorted a group of 20 around India in style. She was amazing! Very organized, knew how to get things done over there and made it fun. Thanks Tara. read more

I will forever be grateful to have used India by Design and especially Tara Gupta for arranging a trip to Russia, a destination of interest to my husband. He suffered a very severe, and ultimately fatal, medical event while we were away on this trip. Tara was right by my side (over the phone and internet) throughout the ordeal. She was calm, focused and very clear headed. She guided me with great care and concern and exellent focus as I navigated the medical care, the expenses, how and whether to have a family member fly to join me and the emotional upset. This was the first trip that we had ever used a travel consultant for and I am so so so glad that we had Tara on the team. While this was a very difficult experience it would have been so much more so without Tara's professional service and extensive knowledge. Thank you Tara! read more

We've recently returned from a quite wonderful stay in South India. In planning our journey, we had numerous telephone interviews with Tarang Gupta (India By Design) who became our personal travel consultant. She questioned us closely on what we expected from our trip and also on our general attitude towards the experience of travel. What seemed at the time to be a tad intrusive turned out to be her well-thought strategy to customize the trip to our personal tastes. Upon arrival in India, it quickly became apparent that she had pre-planned all our special requests, one of which was to visit the Museum for the mathematical genius, Ramanujan. Our hotels, guides and our driver (Jilmon) all exceeded our expectations. Special thanks to guides Kala, RPaneer, and Radhika for their extra efforts to make our visit personal and meaningful. Tara remained in regular contact with us throughout our trip to insure that all was going well and to inquire whether we were pleased with her choices of places and personnel while on this remarkable journey. Accommodations We want to comment on the superb Spice Tree Resort in Munnar. The hospitality and the quality of the food were exceptional! Their dining room probably had the best eating in all of South India and greatly surpassed our experiences with Indian restaurants in London. The same could be said of the Spice Harbor Hotel in Kochi which is right on the water. Do not miss these two! Right behind them are the Taj Connemara in Chennai and the Maison Perumal in Pondicherry. These are all five-star properties with special character that make one feel comfortable without being stuffy or pompous. Minor Issues The overnight houseboat excursion in Kochi (Cochin) was too slow for us and could have been shortened to a three-hour trip. We also found that our room at the Chettinadu Mansion in Kanadukathan was not appropriate for an older couple. A better choice for us would have been the Visalam Hotel in the same town. These minor issues were insignificant within an overall magnificent experience. We would strongly recommend Tara to both new and seasoned visitors to this wonderful country as she seems to grasp the inexplicable atmosphere that makes it such a magical place. Thank you, Tara! Dorene & Tony in San Francisco read more

Tara helped our company with a last-minute party that we put together for partners in Agra - and the event was terrific. Given our location in the US and our lack of familiarity with the area, we couldn't have done it without Tara! She was very professional and followed-up throughout every stage of the event. I'd definitely recommend Tara! read more

When it comes to India, do yourself a favor and use India by Design and Tara for all of your travel/booking needs! Tara and her team are very knowledgable; they will design YOUR perfect trip so you can enjoy all that India has to offer from sight-seeing to relaxing. They go above and beyond to ensure you don't have a single stress. read more

Love working with Tara Gupta and India by Design for our Business trip! Tara was immensely thorough, understanding, knowledgable, and very responsive. In Dec 2011, we had a large business trip to 4 cities in India. It was our first such business trip to India and we had no idea what we were in for - there were many complex moving pieces and Tara was extremely attentive, organized, and accommodating of our needs. In addition, she knows India better than anyone and was able to navigate the country with finesse and expertise! We were fortunate enough to have Tara join us on the business trip and we could not have done it without her! She was able to assist in arranging the logistics for our corporate events in India and give our travelers unique experiences in India like going to the top of the Spice Market in Delhi (something that is usually not allowed!) plus arranging a rickshaw tour - she actually had 12 rickshaws lined up to collect our travelers and take them on a tour of the streets of Delhi - an experience they are still talking about! I highly recommend Tara for personal or group travel. She takes the time to understand her clients' needs and expectations and has excellent follow through! read more

I feel so lucky to have found Tara Gupta and India by Design. I called her after I could not navigate the Air India Website and she came to the rescue even though airlines do not really reimburse travel agents for their services as they have in the past. Tara asked me a few questions about my time frames and needs and then went to work on planning a fantastic trip for my family of 4 on a very tight time frame. She took into account that we wanted to hit 4 cities in 8 days and handled the guides and hotels and transfers without a hitch. He suggestions for sights and shopping were right on! Her guides in all the cities were A+++ . I will return to India and will call her first to book my next trips. I highly recommend Tara read more

Four of us used Tara and India by Design for all our arrangements for our thee week trip to India in November/December. We had a week in Northern India - Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, and a two week cruise around Southern India. All our guides and drivers were incredible - very knowledgable and always on time. We never worried that there would be a problem with any of the arrangements. All our hotels were excellent - clean and well located. For the Northern Golden Triangle area Tara was extremely helpful in assisting with planning our itinerary to fit in everything we wanted to see and do in the time we had available. She was also great at giving us realistic expectations for the craziness that is India, as well as some insider tours and information to make our trip even more fantastic! On the ship all our guides and drivers were also excellent. India is such a diverse country it helps to have a small group to be able to ask questions and adjust the itinerary as needed. We also had two small medical situations and our guides were instrumental in helping us through the maze of Indian bureaucracy! If we ever go again all four of us agree - we would only use Tara and India by Design! read more

We had not planned to go to India, and it had never been on our "bucket list", so why did we do it? Simple answer: We met Tara Gupta. This is how it happened. While searching the internet for a travel agent who had actually visited the countries we were considering for a trip (Bhutan & Myanmar) we saw that Tara had not only visited them as well as many other countries in Asia & the world, she had visited them more than once. Our obvious first choice, we contacted her and received an immediate response. While discussing at length the pros and cons of traveling to these countries (we were feeling more cons than pros as she spoke), Tara mentioned that she would be traveling in India at the same time as we were planning our trip. Had we ever thought about India? We hadn't. Several phone conversations and many hours of description later, she had us hooked. We then began to plan our excursions, first with Tara as our personal guide through Deli (and a crazy but fun New Delhi during Diwali!) and then on a very adventurous tribal tour. She held our hands the whole way and showed us things most tourists would never see in India. We came away feeling like we KNEW India and its people far better than we could have if we had gone the usual tourist route. However, Tara insisted we also see the highlights that were not to be missed, like the Taj Mahal, and stay in the most elegant hotels that India has to offer. We had a private driver throughout; ones who Tara knew personally. We trusted ourselves to them and were not disappointed. Our personal guides were exceptional as well. Our trip ended in the most dreamlike way with a stay at The Lake Palace in Udaipur, a palace Tara insisted would be worth every penny we spent for this stay. There are not words to capture the magnificence and setting of this hotel. And, with Tara's personal introduction, we were upgraded to the best suite in the hotel at no charge. In conclusion, you would be hard pressed to find a travel agent who knows her business better than Tara. Should we travel again after Covid-19, we would chose Tara as our travel agent. read more

India by Design and Tara Gupta are a very professional and friendly organization that knows the ins and outs of traveling to India. I was in a business trip with a colleague in Pune, India and Tara was able to arrange a weekend trip to visit The Taj Mahal. She took care of everything, from flights, accommodations, transportation from New Delhi to Agra, and professional guides in Agra. She was very knowledgeable about places to go and seeing and provided us with great suggestions to purchase souvenirs. Went it comes to India, please do your-self a favor and call Tara at India by Design. She will remove all the stress of planning a trip and help you make your visit to India a memorable one. I will certainly use India by Design on my next trip to India. read more

Tara is an incredible person to have on your side when booking a trip with her. On our trip to Bhutan we were lucky to have her accompanying us as she was continuing her ongoing education about places she helps her customers travel to. She is exacting in her standards, she seeks out personal and customized expediences and she is so dedicated to making your experience exactly what you want. I would book through her again in a second if I was traveling to destinations under her expertise. If you are heading to India or the surrounding countries she operates in I highly recommend her. read more

We spent three weeks in India recently, touring the Delhi, Lucknow, Rajasthan and Kerala areas. We had been referred to Tara by a work colleague (whom Tara had helped plan a week of touring Rajasthan after a conference in Mumbai). We also had a family history connection to Lucknow, which is not a typical tourist destination for first-time visitors to India. Tara and India by Design were very proactive in helping us set our itinerary (advising us to cut back when we tried to include too many places and activities), and in preparing for the trip, including sessions at Tara's house to talk to prior clients and travel industry professionals, and to sample delicious Indian food (Tara is a fantastic cook). She gave us homework as well - movies to see, books to read and restaurants to visit (to practice eating spicy foods) so that we would be best prepared for what India was to show us. We were fortunate that Tara was in India while we were there and able to personally show us Delhi and Lucknow. In Delhi, she took us into Old Town Delhi, street food and market shopping. In Lucknow she arranged for us to meet the pastor of the church where my wife's father was baptized, and took us for special events at the school she had attended there. Our driver, Lalit, took us from Lucknow to Udaipur; his mission was to get us safely from one location to the next, ensuring that we ate real Indian food, met locals and painted us a picture of India through his eyes. He was an integral part of the success of our trip. The local professional guides that Tara hired to guide us in each city/location were generally very knowledgeable and eager to show us the highlights of each attraction, although we sometimes felt a bit rushed and would have preferred more time to explore on our own, and more opportunities to shop at local markets rather than the tourist oriented craft stores that the guides favoured. Stays at Ranthambhore National Park, with a close-up tiger sighting, and kayaking in the Kerala backwaters provided welcome recovery periods from the onslaught of Indian cities. Additionally, Tara and her company helped us navigate the consequences of the recent Indian demonetization campaign, as well as to get us through an unexpected visit to a hospital ER in Jodhpur. We had been concerned about being overwhelmed by India, but Tara's counsel and trip management made that a non-issue, with the trip being a big success. read more

India by Design and Tara Gupta are absolutely the best! Tara guided my husband and I on a 15 day tour through amazing spots not only in India but Bhutan as well. Tara is an extremely knowledgeable tour guide and is able to describe in great detail the customs, culture and history behind the sites we saw. She also surrounded herself with expert staff and guides that made our trip exceptional. And I need to mention that she is fun to be around and has an excellent sense of humor. We got along fantastically well over this time and we were sad to have to say goodbye. it is important to mention that my husband and I are both Deaf, so we required a little extra time and effort to make sure we understood everything. Tara did this without hesitation and always with a smile. If you are considering a trip with her team, you have our full 100% approval! read more

We just returned from an amazing trip touring Sri Lanka that was planned by Tara Gupta of India by Design. We were there for 2 weeks with a very full and extremely enjoyable itinerary. Sri Lanka is a rather large island and it has a lot to offer! It is a destination where you can immerse yourself in ancient Buddhist culture, visit historic temples, go on safaris to see birds, and wild animals, pick tea on a plantation, stroll on beautiful beaches, bathe with and ride elephants, meander around flower and spice gardens, visit a traditional Sri Lankan home, shop for locally mined sapphires and moonstones, walk in an old Dutch fort, and help prepare and eat fresh flavorful food! Tara put together a well balanced trip that enabled us to get the most out of our vacation. Our guide, Ash, spoke clear English, was well informed on the sites, and answered all of our questions about the country, the people, and their culture. We felt very safe being driven from place to place by our driver, Casun. The hotels we stayed in were well situated, comfortable, and had excellent service. The accommodations were mostly 4*+ and boutique, although we also enjoyed staying in the luxurious 5* Taj hotel in Colombo and a "tented accommodation" in the Wilpatu National Wildlife Reserve. We were served the most delicious buffet breakfasts complete with tropical fruit, made to order eggs, local curries, rice, Sri Lankan breads and string hoppers. The Sri Lankan people we met were all very friendly and sweet. Tara goes above and beyond to make sure that her "guests" get the type of vacation that they want. She developed the itinerary with our interests in mind. Everything was so well planned that all we had to do was sit back and enjoy! And we definitely did! read more

Tara is a wonderfully amazing woman. This past year, our high school, Harker, worked with her to arrange a specialized entrepreneurship trip to India. We were looking to better understand the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India and pioneer a trip there. I was thoroughly impressed with how the trip panned out. Tara has such an extensive network of influential and amazing people. We visited Delhi, Rajistan, and Bangalore over the course 2 weeks. In each place, Tara introduced us to entrepreneurs on the frontier of their field. We were even given an inside look into many incubators and corporations. In addition, we had such a wide variety of cultural experiences that allowed us to look at India from a whole different perspective from the one we'd garnered during family trips. Her amazing connections don't surprise me at all however. Tara is such a talented woman. Her dedication, sense of humor, and compassion as an individual are among the few personality traits that made her so great to work with. Throughout the trip she felt like a second mother to me, and I always felt safe and secure around her. I'd irrefutably recommend Tara for an amazing experience abroad. read more