rickus

My wife and I are planning a trip to India in January or February. We do not mind spending a bit more for an organised tour and probably would not be brave enough to do our own thing on our first (and quite likely only) visit.

We have come across this tour with Voyages Jules Verne:
http://www.vjv.co.uk/destinations/in...itinerary.html

It covers many of the 'must see places' and the pace looks to be quite hectic.

We would appreciate any views on the pros and cons of this trip - the pace, what it covers, the transport, the accommodation, the price. Any recommendations for similar type, but perhaps better, tours would also be good to hear.

lcuy

Well, it certainly covers a lot of India, but I think 19 days at that pace would be really exhausting.

My first trip was for two weeks..we only did the golden triangle (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur) and I felt we just barely did those cities justice.

At about 4000 GBP, I feel you could do a lot better on your own. You could perhaps winnow this down a bit in scope, choosing better hotels and see what an indian agent could do for you. They can book all the drivers/ trains/flights as well as guides for the places you'll want them, probably for less or better quality ofr the same price.

I've used Compass tours and Vinstring travel; others here have their own favorite agents. I think many of us were very happy going with an independent tour.

vp_singh

It is certainly not a good idea to have a very hectic schedule for your India visit. Though the weather conditions, especially in February are good - early January could be foggy in the north - the roads, congestion in big cities, at times & the intensive sight seeing around Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Jodhpur tends to exhaust a traveller. More over, India is a complex society & a lot of questions spring up in an intelligent mind. It is therefore advisable to do a part of India, for example, The Golden Triangle of Delhi, Agra, Jaipur plus say jodhpur & Udaipur, with Rishikesh. A lot of medeival Mughal & English history is associated with these places. It all depends upon your specific interests, though. I say Rishikesh because this place, right on the river Ganges, is conducive to understanding philosophical Hinduism & is yet free from tenacious touts & beggars that one encounters in Varanasi or Pushkar. It is surprisingly, a very clean city!
The Jain temples of Ranakpur & some Shaivite temples in eastern Rajasthan will leave you flabbergasted & if you have an erudite guide with you on these destinations, your day is made!
November & February are high seasons & there is a paucity of good accomodation in these destinations, so the sooner you start matching the destination to your interests, the better it is.
And what makes you assume "(and quite likely only)visit"?
Happy Travels!

rickus

Thank you for the helpful and interesting replies.

Looking into things a bit more deeply it does seem that this tour is likely to be too exhausting, also having checked a few of the hotels they have mixed recommendations.

Have had a quick look at Compass Tours website and it seems quite impressive -so have e-mailed them. Could not see a mention of them booking the international flights.

Only said 'only visit' because there are so many other places in the world that w ewant to go to.

agtoau

Compass Tours is a first-rate outfit. they are not cheap but their overall product is outstanding. If you have the budget I highly recommend them.

hlsam

Check out Intrepid. I took a tour with them to Rajastan last November and think they paced it well.

PIPERPAT

Several friends traveled to India with OAT, Overseas Adventure Travel, and loved the trip. You might want to look at their itinerary.

thursdaysd

And several posters wouldn't travel with OAT if it was free. Intrepid has great itineraries and prices, but I'm not sure how much luxury you want.

blgerber

I think you should take into consideration that while seeing all those places is great, and give you lots of amazing things to talk about and remember, the best part about India is the people, smells, flavors, and culture. These are not always things that a tour guide can show you. Make sure that you get time on your own to explore or you will miss out on the best part of India.

waynehazle

yep, this tour is definitely whiplash inducing. But if you want to see "everything" because you will likely never go back, then this is the sort've thing that one does.

India is amazing. Take lots of pictures and rest when you get home. Yes in each place you will miss a certain amount of local flavor, but ....

the only thing I could recommend is going independent, like others have said, so you still have a driver and guide, but you are not with a bus group of people, but just you and your wife. That way you can be nimble. If you are driving on the road and you want to see something, you can ask them to stop.

rickus

Thank you for the further helpful replies. I have been in contact with Compass and I think they have tailored one of their standard tours to concentrate on North India and to reduce the pace. The tour would just be for my wife and myself or we might also travel with my sister-in-law and her husband. There is scope to tailor this further to include more or different venues or to further change the pace. Further suggestions most welcome. I have copied the travelling itinerary below - not the details of all the excursions. It includes the names of the proposed hotels. Having checked most of these out they seem to be pretty well rated.


City Hotel Nights
Delhi Claridges 02
Jodhpur Taj Hari Mahal 02
Udaipur Fatehprakash Palace 02
Jaipur Jai Mahal Palace 02
Agra Taj View 02
Khajuraho Radisson 01
Varanasi Radisson 02

The tour includes:
THE TOUR INCLUDES:
a) ACCOMMODATION AT MENTIONED HOTELS,
b) SIGHTSEEING TOURS AS MENTIONED IN THE ITINERARY,
c) ALL TRANSFERS FROM STATIONS AND AIRPORTS,
d) PRIVATE AC SUV WITH DRIVER,
e) ENGLISH SPEAKING GUIDE FOR ALL MENTIONED TOURS,
f) RICKSHAW RIDE AT OLD DELHI,
g) ALL MONUMENT ENTRANCES,
h) ASSISTANCE AT THE AIRPORTS ON ARRIVAL / DEPARTURE,
i) ASSISTANCE AT STATIONS ON DEPARTURE AND ARRIVAL,
j) TRAIN FARE IN AC FIRST CLASS BETWEEN AGRA – JHANSI,
k) SOUND AND LIGHT SHOW AT KHAJURAHO,
l) LUNCH AT ORCHHA,
m) EVENING AARTI AT VARANASI GHATS,
n) ALL APPLICABLE TAXES AND SERVICE CHARGES,
o) MINERAL WATER ON LONG DRIVES (BOTTLED WATER),
p) RECONFIRMATION OF RETURN INTERNATIONAL AIR TICKETS,
q) ALL ROAD TAXES, GOVERNMENT TAXES AND DRIVER ALLOWANCES,
r) ELEPHANT RIDE AT AMER FORT – JAIPUR AND
s) BOAT-RIDE AT RIVER GANGES IN VARANASI.




Internal flights are:
Delhi – Jodhpur
Udaipur – Jaipur
Khajuraho – Varanasi
Varanasi – Delhi
Do internal flights require a lot of time at airports?

Train transfer is:
Agra – Jhansi

It is costed in US dollars for now:
$2400 for the tour, includes
$500 for internal flights
Does not include the international flights nor lunch except at Orchha nor dinner

agtoau

rickus - See if you can get the Taj Ganges or the Ramada in Varanasi. Both these are better than the Radisson and I suspect with negligible price difference.

If you can splurge one, consider the Oberoi Amarvilas in Agra. It is one hotel experience you will not forget for the rest of your life.

thursdaysd

Please, if you're going to take the trouble to go to Varanasi (and I highly recommend the experience) DON'T stay in the tourist enclave by the train station, stay on the river in the old town. See www.sawdays.co.uk/accommodation/india/ for some suggestions.

rickus

Thank you for all the helpful info above. For certain logistical reasons we have now decided to delay out trip - probably until early 2009. Might resurrect this thread when the hard planning starts.