Big thanks to you both for another wonderful tour. Just when I think a tour was as good as it can be, you come up with something better. Your opera and city selections were simply delightful, and your attention to detail can't be beat! I don't think the hotels could be topped. Hope we'll have an opportunity to travel with one of your congenial groups again. (Southern Italy 2013)

I have done quite a bit of traveling throughout the world over the past ten years and have worked with a number of guides. Swati and Alister are at the top of my list and I would recommend them to anyone whether traveling to India or other areas of the world. They were the perfect team, Swati controlling the day to day activities, imparting cultural and historical knowledge to all who listened and Alister backing her up with our technology and physical needs along the way. Meeting Swati's family in Jaipur was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

We've done close to a dozen trips with The Aranis and I think I've seen enough to say it: they make it look easy. They've got the energy and sense of purpose to make it so the pieces all click together at the joints, and the tact to make you think they're having fun doing it, which means you have fun; perhaps they do too. We've got many fond memories of our trips with them and we look forward to more.

Hattours expertly helped arrange our three weeks of solo travel throughout northern India. From booking hotels and securing through their high-level connections the very best rooms with a view to arranging drivers and superbly knowledgeable guides, Hattours performed with flawless execution and military-style precision. Clearly my wife and I benefited from their years of operating in the industry to tap into their extensive network of colleagues for access and of merchants and craftsmen that allowed us to buy with confidence. For the highest level of service and expertise, I cannot recommend Hattours highly enough.

We return again and again and know we can count on a delightful experience with the Aranis. Each tour, even the first, has been like traveling with old friends. You have exceeded our expectations and we know we can count on having all the details taken care of and just be able to relax and enjoy the company of the small group.

As you know, my late wife and I traveled to northern India in 2006 and consequently visited most of the places we went to on our recent tour. But we sure didn't attend a wedding, and that's what I want to write about in this posting. What an extraordinary experience this was, especially to my western-trained eyes! I've been to many, many weddings in my long life, but none could compare with this marvelous extravaganza in Jaipur. From our horse-drawn chariot to the gaily painted elephant to the elegant bride and groom to the street dancers to the mountains of food and drink to the henna-painted hands to the fireworks to the beautiful sari-clad women and to my own colorful turban . . . I just can't adequately describe what a thrill it was to be part of it".

You two do an amazing job of making nice arrangements with good hotels, good tickets and interesting side trips. But what makes your tours quite special is that you establish such a lovely camaraderie among your patrons. The small Groups are part of the success but it is the personalities, enthusiasm and dedication of both of you that make H.A.T. Tours outstanding.

Dear Swati and Alister, Thanks for sharing your vision of India... and for your warmth, insights and seamless (and seemingly effortless) coordination. I'm still spinning from the experience... monkeys swarming the highway, cows sleeping in doorways, gentle eyes of elephants, silken swaths of color, incense (and whatever else) in the Delhi mist, the easy smiles and authenticity of strangers, crazed wedding dancers, upside down laughing yoga, palaces, forts and castles one has to see to believe, the very thought of people lining up for selfies, our zen bus driver skillfully honking his way through ridiculous traffic, eating green sauce with our fingers, butter-soft pashminas, warm spa oil on my skin, tracking time with calls to prayer, Swati's resonant teaching voice, Alister resorting to his Royal Guard skills to herd cats, Mary Ann in her element and loving every minute, Katherine's kindness, Jack's Hawaii, Brian's astute observations, Jock's amazing energy, Mike's amazing life experiences, your beautiful family... Mary Ann told me ahead of time how special the guides and the individuals in our group would be. She was spot on, to borrow an expression from you, Alister, old boy. Margie Levitt

We were impressed by the efficient transport arrangements, the excellent seats at each of the performances, and the first-class hotel accommodation (often walking distance from the opera house). But most of all, we realized that the primary goal of HAT Tours was that we should get maximum enjoyment from our tour. This meant their constant attention to those details that make the difference between a 'by the-numbers' tour and really memorable experience, like getting premium tickets to Anna Netrebko's Violetta in Vienna (to the detriment of their budget). We look forward to our next trip with Hat Tours, which is already confirmed for 2012. (Central Europe 2009, India 2010, Northern Italy 2010, Germany and Austria 2011, Southern Italy 2012).

Excellent seats for superb performances of great operas in the best houses; the chance to explore and revisit inexhaustibly rich cities; the opportunity to meet and talk with small groups of like-minded enthusiasts from around the world; superb meals and five-star hotels: HAT Tours supplies all of these things, and more. But what is especially distinctive, and what will keep us coming back again and again, is the perfect balance of hyper-efficient organization with relaxed informality. The walking-groups and bus-tours are always there (and always worthwhile), but if you'd rather wander off by yourself to a gallery or go shopping, there's no hassle; if an unforeseen opportunity comes up to attend an extra concert or recital, tickets will be found; if you decide to extend your stay in order to take in additional performances, seats will be booked; if a problem arises, Grethe and Aspee will find a way to solve it. Coming across them on the internet in 2014 when we were searching for some way to get to an oversubscribed Ring Cycle in Vienna has been one of the happiest discoveries of our opera-going lives.

HAT Tours excels in all aspects of opera trip organization. The performances are well-chosen, the seats are great, guided sightseeing is well-planned, and the balance of organized activity/free time accommodates everybody. Most important, HAT Tours focuses on the trip participants, making each and every one of us feel welcome and comfortable. Compared to other companies that offer organized opera travel, HAT Tours excels in every way.

Swati & Alister, what an amazing trip and it is because of your deep care of your travelers, your kindness lovely humanity and attention to all the myriad of details that made this the finest travel I have done! Thank you for the ways you open my eyes to India! Getting out of India took some time but gave me The time necessary to digest all the delicious new memories of our travels. Thank you again for a delicious travel experience. Jock McDonald

My husband and I went with HAT Tours to Scandinavia in April/May this year. We had a fabulous time! We travel a lot and this has been one of the very best tours we have ever taken. The operas were all excellent and all three opera houses were amazing. We have been to all three cities before (Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagen) and still we enjoyed our time in each of them on this trip. They are all beautiful, historic, welcoming. We had fantastic meals in very special restaurants. We enjoyed our fellow travelers; we were a very compatible group. All logistics and arrangements were perfect -- and Grethe Arani and her son, Alistair, made sure all of us had a special time. We have gone on HAT tours before and always had a great time. This trip to Scandinavia was the best of the best!

The Verdi Festival 2023 was a lovely tour. I looked at other Italy tours and selected HAT because it had the variety of opera houses and city tours but did not have the frenetic pace of similar tours. I especially liked the time "At Leisure" after having a tour of the city so I could explore and return to areas of personal interest on my own and at my own pace. I also liked the restaurants selected which were excellent but I also had the option to return to the same restaurant or strike out on my own which I did both and it made my trip so much more interesting. Our tour manager was exceptional and very knowledgeable and helpful.

Wonderful work that you did for The Washington Opera trip to Budapest and Prague. Your expert handling of all the details made for a worry-free and pleasurable experience for all the trip participants. Starting with our arrival in Budapest where you met us at the airport with porters to take our luggage from the carousel and escorted us through customs, to the knowledgeable and interesting guides you provided for our city tours. The good choice of performances we attended in boht cities. Ending with the final dinner, in the wonderful restaurant New York in Prague, where we enjoyed such good food and wines. All of this made for a memorable trip. I know that all the participants of our Washington Opera trip to Budapest and Prague have very fond memories of H.A.T. Tours and especially of your personal touch in everything you did for us. Thank you again and I hope to see you in the near future on another of your wonderful tours.

The 2017 Vienna Ring Cycle tour which also included operas in Budapest and Bratislava was an outstanding experience from overture to applause. Everything from the choice of first class hotels to the inclusion of prime orchestra seats was handled with exceptional professionalism. Nothing was too much trouble to Swati and Alistair, and their incredible personal attention to details left little to chance. This was my first tour of any kind and frankly had never been interested in joining a tour group. But, when I discovered that the maximum group size was 15, I look a leap of faith and booked. As it transpired, there were only 2 of us and I feared that perhaps the tour would be canceled, but HAT Opera Tours do not cancel. We enjoyed the same if not higher level of extraordinary and personal service that a larger group might have received. This tour was a retirement gift to myself. Though I have no performing musical talent, I have been passionate about opera since a small child listening to my father's records. I am currently serving as the President of Greensboro Opera, a professional regional opera company in North Carolina. I chose this particular tour because of a love of Wagner's Ring Cycle having seen live performances at Covent Garden, the Met and in San Francisco, plus several video productions. The clincher for me was the promise of prime seats that I knew I could not book myself. Added to that, having all of the logistics of hotel selection, transportation between cities, guided tours, taxis etc. taken care of, made choosing HAT Opera Tours a no brainer. HAT Opera Tours has the advantage of over 35 years of experience specializing in opera tours. They have built up extensive contacts with superior English speaking guides and have established relationships with first class hotels and opera houses. They know their stuff and they deliver the goods! I can not wait to take my next HAT Opera Tour!

There is no way that I can adequately thank you all for the unbelievable trip to India that all of you put together. I have to repeat what each of you said in your emails. I was the luckiest of all in that I was surrounded by past friends that I had traveled with before and adored, Jock and Jack. Plus two of my family, Margi and Kathleen, and this topped off with wonderful new people, Mike, Brian, and new friends in our fabulous guides of Swati and Alister. And I can't forget Stuart who put so much work into the planning and who we all talked about and missed so much. I was spoiled as I'd been to these spots in India before but not with good friends and certainly not with such terrific information on what we were seeing. And the bus ! and it's driver and helper ! I'm now so spoiled that I believe that all future photo tours must be done in an equivalent bus. Again I thank all of you for for making this trip so especially wonderful for me. And I wish each of you the best in the next adventures you have coming up now. I look forward to seeing you all again soon. Mary Ann