Full Day Sightseeing Tour of Hyderabad

We were picked up on time from our hotel in a nice clean car. Our driver never really spoke to us but he seemed very nice and drove safely and calmly through the madness that is the Hyderabad roads. The tour guide was very knowledgeable, spoke very good English and had a talent for storytelling and thorough knowledge of history. First stop was Golconda Fort, which we climbed to the top of at a very gentle pace and received a good narrative of the history. Next were the Qutub Shahi Tombs, also very good pace and history presentation. It was in the middle of the day and blistering hot, don't forget to wear sunscreen. They did have water in the car. Then we took a long but interesting drive and went to Laad Bazar and Charminar - absolute madness and oh so dirty. We were asked if we wanted time to shop for bangles but declined. Then the highlight of the tour - right by Charminar, there is the Nimrah Cafe and Bakery. We were led to the back, where the cookies are baked and had water, chai and fresh hot cookies with the owner. Absolutely fantastic experience. They have two kinds of gluten-free dairy-free cookies - a coconut macaroon (divine when hot) with a maraschino cherry on top and on oat cookie. If you are dairy-free, ask for the chai black. We're then saw how they make the chai too and bought some fresh cookies. The bakery experience alone was worth the whole trip. There was a pearl store not 5 minutes away i wanted to go to and was told they'd take me to a better one. That was a mistake, i should have insisted to go because i never got the chance to return even though when i said okay we'll go to it on the way back to the car, i was not corrected that the car will pick us up elsewhere. We walked to Chowmahalla Palace and got a good history lesson there. It's a very impressive even though somewhat run down estate. Entry fee for foreigner is more than for locals and is not included in the tour.
Then the not so great part. We were driven to a two story souvenir store. A very nice one but super overpriced - trinkets, pashminas, carpet, some silver jewelry - the salesman were way way too pushy and it just felt icky. They served us saffron tea but the whole thing felt wrong, we were a captive audience and the tour guide did nothing when they got too pushy or help us negotiate, guess they have an understanding. I was able to bargain down for a nice scarf but it was still way too expensive and i shouldn't have bought it. I just wanted to leave. Then we were taken to a pearl store nearby which i assume has the same arrangement with the tour people and i quickly said no and left. I showed the guide what i wanted at the start of the day and it was very specific to the store i wanted to go by Charminar and he still convinced me that the other store will be better and with better prices. This "shopping" part soured the whole experience. We were initially told they can drop us off anywhere we like at the end of the day, and when we asked to be taken back to Charminar, they said no. Understandably so, it would have been a long drive back but then just don't promise to be flexible on dropoff if you won't be. When we were getting out if the car, we noted the shopping was not a good experience and we're told "but it was optional".

Bottom line: the tour is great, the tour guide and driver are very good. Just up front say no to being taken shopping with their people, and if you want a detour, insist.

Excellent tour of major attractions and history of Haderybad. Our tour guide Srinu is very knowledgeable and gave us very detailed history of the city. We visited the major attractions and highly recommend.

I did an amzing day tour with Kumar around Hyderabad and enjoyed it a lot. I could see a lot of nice places, we had a lot of interesting inter-cultural discussions and I learned a lot. Thank you again!