We booked a 3-day tour to Cornwall and Devon with Mantra (July 11–13), paying £249 per person for a group of 17. Based on the itinerary advertised on their website, the trip looked promising, covering places like Tintagel Castle, Fistral Beach, St Ives, Land's End, and Torquay. Unfortunately, the reality was quite disappointing.### 🚍 **Day 1: London to Tintagel to Fistral Beach**Our pickup from Hounslow West was scheduled for 6:45 AM, but the bus arrived late (7:10 AM). After two more pickups and a 30-minute breakfast stop (where the queue was too long after 20 to 25 mins only you will get food), we were asked not to eat hot food or ice cream on the coach because they said some may have motion sickness.but we don't have any other way.so we ate rolls n burger @ coach We reached **Tintagel Castle** at 2 PM — the only truly iconic site on the trip. But we were only given **1.5 hours**, barely enough to walk to the castle, let alone enjoy the beach or the cliffs. The time pressure meant we had to rush everywhere, and the lack of information about the shuttle wait (which cost £2 and delayed us 25+ minutes) meant we were late returning. As a result, we were scolded publicly by the tour manager, even though the delay wasn’t entirely our fault and forced to say sorry.after this she announced in mic that due to some people, other people lost there time ,it will not happen again etc it's bit uncomfortable.( people who have small kids and elderly people came early because they just walked to the cliff and came back. If you want to explore it's not enough at all ,you will miss other cliff ,beach etcWe then headed to **great western beach**, arriving at 5:30 PM for one hour — not much to explore. A better allocation of time (e.g., less time here and more at Tintagel) would’ve improved the day. We were supposed to check in to the hotel by 8 PM, but due to the tour manager and driver taking the **wrong route**, we ended up arriving at 9 PM. Thanks to a kind local lady who parked her car walked for 0.6 mile to show the way , we found the right way after the bus got stuck on a narrow, both side wood covered road👉 Total sightseeing time: \~2.5 hours. 🌊 **Day 2: St Ives – Land’s End – Penzance**We left at 8 AM, reached **St Ives** at 10:15 AM, but had to wait for a shuttle to reach the beach. Though we did get 2 hours here and enjoyed it, time was tight again.Next stop was **Land’s End** around 1:45 PM. With just 1.5 hours to explore and eat lunch, it was impossible to properly enjoy the location. The queue for the landmark photo spot alone took most of that time.(1hour). Then 30 mins for exploring and food can't able to see other places thereWe reached the hotel at around 7:30 PM.👉 Total sightseeing time: \~3.5 hours.🏖️ **Day 3: Torquay – Torre Abbey Sands – London**After checkout at 8:30 AM, we reached **Torquay** at 10:30 AM. Due to high tide, we were only shown the beach from the bus, with no time allocated for it — even though it was listed in the itinerary.We got 2 hours in Torquay town, including time for lunch, but couldn't fully explore or eat properly. Some travelers who went on a boat trip were misinformed by local staff, and this caused a further delay. The tour manager could have communicated better here.On our way back the shore was visible(peoples in the shore) we asked to stop but they didn't give time there.we stopped for a **45-minute break at Reading services**, possibly due to driver hours. We arrived at Hounslow West around 6:55 PM.👉 Total sightseeing time: \~2 hours### ⚠️ **Final Thoughts**Across the **entire 3-day trip, we only got about 8 hours** of actual sightseeing. The rest was spent in the coach or dealing with delays. The tour was poorly planned and mismanaged:* Rushed schedules and minimal time at key locations.* Poor communication from the tour manager.* Wrong routes * Lack of flexibility despite itinerary changes.If you’re booking this trip expecting a rich experience based on the advertised itinerary — **be warned**. You’ll spend most of your time sitting on the coach and rushing through beautiful locations with little time to enjoy them.I would **not recommend Mantra** and will not be using them again. I hope this review helps others make an informed decision. **Rating: 2 out of 5**
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"Mantra Holidays is a group travel operator catering to the Asian market. We provide group and individual holiday packages to UK & Europe. We also do worldwide customized packages as per our clients requirements, we also specialise in arranging group holidays for communities across the UK. From authentic Indian food to multilingual tour manager we have it all covered."See more
