dvejayd

We plan to hire a car service for airport-hotel transfers and several day trips. I am less concerned with cost than with reliability. Any suggestions for advance booking in Mumbai, Udaipur, Jaipur, Agra, Varanasi and New Delhi. Would like to do it as a package with one company.

dogster

'I am less concerned with cost than with reliability...'

well, then do ALL your airport-hotel transfers with your hotels. 100% reliability. You know there'll be a guy with your name in the middle of the scrum - and you'll get to your destination.

Why not just do your day tours via each hotel? Again - 100% reliability - direct to the concierge.

I might add - an airport/hotel transfer booked thru your hotel will cost up to 10X what you'll pay for a pre-paid non A/C taxi and about 5X the A/C car cost. If you're nervous and want to avoid all stress - just pay it. I dunno whether you've been to India before. Arrivals can be difficult.

Why a package with one company?

dogster

But, if you want to do it that way - here's a starting point:

http://www.savaari.com/user/step1.php

I haven't tried these guys, but it's a useful site to get an idea of basic costs... they might be perfectly fine.

SiobhanP

I ALWAYS do it directly with the hotel. You are their guest and they are more likely to be reliable for their guests. I normally stay in the Taj Hotels in Delhi and they are ALWAYS waiting for me after an international flight even if i am 3 hours delayed. I find hotels to be com0pletely reliable and i just mail to confirm prior to leaving.

travelaw

You might consider hiring Ramesh Meena to drive for you ~ he did a fabulous job for us (his contact info: phone numbers - 919829807074 and 91925246594; email addresses - [email protected] and [email protected]). bonnieheather of this forum also used him and she is in the process of posting her trip report (http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...ttaranchal.cfm) that includes a more in-depth discussion of this driver. We found him to be reliable, safe, professional and a great source of information. I had a bad booking experience with Kumar Taxi, though others on this board seem to like them. Also had a BAD experience with State Express out of Delhi. See my recent trip report if you want details, http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...-travelawg.cfm.

lcuy

Another good driver:
Narender is an independent driver, but also connected with Majestic India Travel
Tel: +91-11-9899360606
email: [email protected]
Give a few days for response. When he is off on a trip, he doesn't have access to his email.

holikurry

I see some of the recommended people are just drivres with their cars...! would it not be better to take the help of a reliable tour operator..?

lcuy

No. If you have a reliable, honest driver, why would you need to pay a tour operator? You can book hotels and domestic flights online, you can get guides as you go; either thru your hotel or at the monuments. that's why fodorites share this info on good drivers.

In addition, some of them ARE affiliated with major tour companies. Narender is often sub-contracted by Castle & King, and Ramesh is with FourWheels Drive India.

rhkkmk

the man lcuy has suggested is superior and the cars they use are perfect....get the SUV...

npjai

In Rajasthan I would recommend you try members of the Rajasthan Association of Tour Operators. Use the query form on the home page to get quotes from all members in one go - www.ratorajasthan.org

travelaw

Karen, not sure what you are saying about my budget -- could you clarify? We were satisfied with our driver because he gave us excellent service. Period. As for shopping, no, he didn't try to waste our time going to his cousin's store or some souvenir shop where drivers get a kickback. However, if we asked him to take us to a particular place to find something, he was accommodating. We did plenty of shopping when we wanted to, however shopping is not our top priority when traveling. Yes, we like to bring things home that will remind us of my travels, but that is not our focus. Our budget for our trip to India was actually quite reasonable. We did lots of research and read what tour operaters offered, and believe we got way more for our money by arranging the trip ourselves.

dogster

lol trav: I know what she's saying. Heh. But I think we have to cut karen some slack - she's had one of those ball-breaking trips. It'll take a while for her to recover. Of course, not everyone in Indian tourism is like her guy. I've had them too - and it's very easy to hate the entire Indian nation after a few days.

Of course, the real discussion should be - not what did HE do wrong - but what did SHE do wrong. lol.

For clarity: I mean 'did wrong' as in not achieving an amicable, practical solution to her problem. That ius the REAL task of India - things go pear-shaped all the time. It's HOW to get out of it that counts.

travelaw

EXACTLY dog. And, it's not just India, it happens in other countries too -- over the years we've had the bad types in such diverse places as Peru, China and Morocco. It is how you lay down the rules and how you respond that counts. Those guys are just doing their job. We've got to do ours -- and that includes communicating expectations, being entirely possessive over the schedule and being willing to fire them if they aren't providing what they advertised or for not following our (the customer's) wishes.

travelaw

Sorry you had such a bad trip Karen.

Trains and planes can also be bad experiences -- believe me, I've had good and bad with all types of transportation.

bonnieheather

If you've read my trip report, you know that I second Travelaw's vote. Ramesh will cover the whole country with you and he is as reliable as one could wish for.

jessmanuel

If you are looking for a tour operator to book your hotels, and provide you with a reliable car and an english speaking driver why don't you contact www.wondersofindia.info
email address is
[email protected]

CaliNurse

Another idea for drivers and/or tour operators:

We loved working with Faith and Pandian of Indianpanorama. After comparing with other sites, and other travelers' stpories, we were so glad we chose their company!

www.indianpanorama.in.

Our driver was excellent, fun, helpful, even protective. Faith is a great tour planner, and their compamy's prices are excellent.

Whatever you do, do NOT use Explorindya. They try to suck you in with this "nNdia road trip" theme... and then attempt to rip you off with exorbitant prices.