Cost for Custom 3 Week India Itinerary -- Please Comment!
 

Hi everyone. We are advancing with an agent in India who is customizing an independent tour for us. We received a cost which sounded very high and didn’t include entrance fees or lunch, as well as some other things. Is this typical for India? In my travels to China and Southeast Asia, both were included. The cost also didn’t include the option for a guide, car and driver from 9 to 5, should we decide to make use of them, as we requested.

I recall reading from my guidebook that knowledgeable guides can be hired for approximately $25 per day, and a car and driver for approximately $40 – 70 per day?

Can anyone ballpark a range for the cost of a 3 week trip that includes upscale accommodations (not the $600 - $800 type, but the more traditional 5 Star type) for two people sharing one room with visits to the following locations, including a private guide, car and driver:

Delhi – 3 nights
Varanasi - 2 nights
Delhi – 1 night
Agra – 2 nights
Jaipur – 3 nights
Jodhpur – 3 nights
Manvar Desert Camp – 1 night
Narlai – 1 night
Udaipur – 2 nights
Delhi – 1 night plus 1 Day Room

Our only internal flights will be :
Delhi – Varanasi
Varanasi – Delhi
Udaipur – Delhi

Our other transportation will be by car, and I guess we will have to pay the overnight and expenses for the guide and driver?

Thanks very much!!

I just planned our second trip to India. What price do you consider too high? We did not include lunch or dinner, since it is cheaper for client to choose their own price point, unless you are camping or such when all meals are by necessity included. I am surprised that they did not include a car and driver. It would be challenging to drive in India by yourself.

Bonnie

you want a quote with car, driver, tolls, gas, fees all included. also guides where needed should be included. i would not include any food. you can save $$ by booking your own hotels on the internet.

using this formula i think you might be in the $2000-5000 range for 3 weeks. i think the car alone with driver should be $1000.

costs are all over the map. get quotes from more than one vendor.

i am in india now and am using castle and king in delhi for the 2nd time and i find him honest and very fairly priced.

tell us exactly what you were quoted with the breakdown and we can help you better

Its impossible to judge without knowing which hotels they are looking at. "5 star" can be very expensive in India, especially in high season (Nov- march). Hotel dining in "5 star" hotels can also be very expensive.

Our quotes for car and driver never included entrance fees, but always included gas and tolls. The driver will make his own arrangements each night and will not expect to eat any of his meals with you.
I'd ask for a complete breakdown of costs. It is very easy to book hotels and flights on your own in India. Really all you need is a quote on drivers + guides where needed.

Thanks, Bonnie. They did include a car and driver but we asked the Agent to price the trip assuming we would use them every day of the trip and the Agent included them only for suggested sightseeing time. As far as what we consider high, I’m thinking that $5,000 per person for 2 people sharing ONE room and driving to most of the locations is high.

Rhkmk, we think it would be time consuming to book the hotels ourselves. I spoke to the Trident hotel chain yesterday and they have a number of rates and options which weren’t all that clear and it was very time consuming. My friend and I both work full time and our trip is in early January. We are happy to pay a “reasonable premium” to an Agent but we don’t want to pay for instance, double the cost of the trip for each of us . . . which I assume would be a windfall for someone living in India. (I apologize if I am being presumptuous or incorrect.)

Thanks, Lcuy. Again, I’m not sure we have the time to book the hotels ourselves, particularly given our late timing.

We were quoted just shy of $5,000 each using the following hotels, including breakfast and taxes: The Agent refused to breakout any costs.

Delhi – 3 nights
 (Shangri La, Superior Room)
Upgrade for Oberoi Deluxe Room, Add 5,500 RS/night
Varanasi - 2 nights
 (Rashmi Guest House, Super Dlxe Room)
Delhi – 1 night
 (Shangri La, as above)
Upgrade to Oberoi per above
Agra – 2 nights
 (Trident – Deluxe Room)
Jaipur – 3 nights
 (Samode Havele – Deluxe Suite)
Jodhpur – 3 nights
 (Raas – Garden Room)
Manvar Des. Camp – 1 night
 (Tent)
Narlai – 1 night
 (Rawla Narlai Grand Heritage)
Udaipur – 2 nights
 (Trident – Deluxe Room)
Upgrade to Taj Lake Palace- Palace Room, Add 26,500 RS/Night
Delhi – 1 night (Shangri La, Superior Room)


By the way, we are not familiar with the Raas. The Agent included this in the itinerary despite our requesting other hotels. Perhaps the other hotels were unavailable or the Agent prefers this chain . . . I don’t know.

When traveling to third world countries, we generally like to stay in 5 star hotels because the other costs tend to be so low (car, guide, driver, etc) and I am a little bit spoiled because I travel a lot for business.

One last point, the quality of the guides is very important to us as we truly like to learn a lot about what we are seeing.

Thanks so much for your help, everyone!!

Sueblue - I'm afraid I can't be of much help as I went off season when prices were considerably cheaper. The Taj chain was offering 2 nights with the 3rd free and of course the Taj is not in the same league as the Oberoi chain. We were very satisfied with Castle and King. I would say though that I don't think a guide is needed if you do a bit of reading ahead of time. Also, the audio guides which are available at most government sites are superb and often easier to understand than a guide who can be hit or miss. There are also guides available wherever you go and after speaking with them a few moments you can ascertain if their English is good enough and if you want to hire them. Personally, I forget half the facts that guides provide and sometimes find them to drone on endlessly when I want to take pictures and just enjoy the sites. I also think that for short distances within the city, it is sometimes more fun to ride in the tuk tuks and be part of the environment, rather than riding in an automobile. We very often let our driver rest and hired a tuk tuk within the city. The cost is so cheap.

Thanks, Dgunbug. I know you are probably right about the guide but I think we will feel more comfortable having one -- if only so we can relax a bit instead of constantly reading ahead and figuring out where we will be going next. Were you happy with the guides you used from Castle and King?

Also, we are actually thinking of changing our hotels a bit. I did a lot more research and am inclined toward the following:

Delhi – ITC Maurya, ShangriLa, Taj Mahal Hotel (didn’t look so nice in pictures), or Claridges
Varanasi – Gateway Hotel Ganges or Nadesar Palace
Agra –ITC Mughai
Jaipur – Trident
Jodhpur -- Vivanta by Taj Hari Mehal
Manvar Des. Camp – 1 night
 (Tent)

Narlai – 1 night
 (Rawla Narlai Grand Heritage)

Udaipur – Devi Garh Palace

Comments anyone? As always, thanks so much for your help!

The Imperial in Delhi was amazing when we were there in 2003.
As were all of the Oberoi properties we stayed at. Not sure what they would be like right now.

India is marvelous, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

The jodphur vivanta taj property was our favorite taj property that we stayed at. I think you will be vet happy there. Can't help you with the other hotels.

The only hotel on your list that I've stayed at is the Shangri-la in Delhi, and the Rashmi guest house in Varanasi. I really enjoyed it, probalby more than either the Imperial or the Oberoi. The room was nice, location good, pool areas nice, and the attitude and price were relaxed.
I had some big issues at Rashmi guesthouse (or whatever its current name is. Preferred Temple on the Ganges.
We enjoyed the Samode haveli in Jaipur...it is in the old quarter, and while not 5 star is comfortable, clean and feels like Raj India.

Other than that, i'm kind of an Oberoi fan- the Amarvilas and Udaivilas are fabulous. I've planned trips to India with less than two weeks preparation. It is the trains that give me fits when trying to book online, so I have my hotels get the tickets for me. Hotels are super easy. You could have booked them in the time it toomk to read this! don't call...do it on their web sites, so you can see (and print out) the details.

Corrrection tothe above: I really liked the Shangri-la. It was nearly as nice as the Imperial and Oberois, but without the attitude and much cheaper than either of them.

I didn't care for Rashmi guest house, though many on this site do. I prefer the Assi Ghat area of Varanasi. It's much cleaner and less crowded. You can take a cycle rickshaw or a boat and be up by the main Ghat in very little time.

lcuy - I agree that the Indian railways website is a pain, but booking on cleartrip.com is really easy.

sueblue - sorry, can't help, I do India on my own, with a guidebook, but your TA sounds very unresponsive. I'd fire her, and go with one of the recommendations from this site.

in have stayed in the ITC jaipur, its fine but really 4*

i think you would be better putting a few hours into self selection of hotels, as it appears you have already done so

Thanks, Kikiv. We heard the Imperial is beautiful but we’ve read they don’t always honor reservations . . . which would be a major problem after our international flight.

Dgunbug, we are hoping to include the Vivanta by Taj in Jodhpur. Right now, we are still being quoted for the Raas.

Lcuy, I hope you are right about the lead time and we don’t get closed out from what we want. We would love to stay at the Oberoi Hotels, but they seem to be in the $700 - $800 price range.

Thanks, Rhkmk . . . I believe you are right.

Has anyone heard of the Suryauday Haveli in Varanasi? Also, we are still having a hard time finding a well priced 5* in Udaipur. Any thoughts?

Here are our new hotel choices. I hope we can secure them:

Delhi – Shangri La, ITC Maurya or Claridges
Varanasi - Suryauday Haveli
Agra – ITC Mughai
Jaipur – Raj Palace
Jodhpur – Vivanta by Taj
Manvar Desert Camp
Narlai – Rawla Narlai
Udaipur – ?? (We have gotten quotes for the Trident and Lalit Laxmi Niwas Palace, both of which are probably 4 *. We would like something nicer but it seems the 5 * here are very high.)

Thanks everyone! Can't wait to finalize!

we are booked into the sheraton palace in udaipur and expect it to be quite nice 2 weeks from now when we arrive there... watch for my trip report on it

<BLUE>"we are booked into the sheraton palace in udaipur and expect it to be quite nice 2 weeks from now when we arrive there...."</BLUE>

Of course, three weeks from now, it may be quite different, as the manager will have gone in hiding... :-o



Sueblue, you have discovered the hotel secret of India; there are lots of "5 star" hotels, but they are not equal. Most of them are actually what we'd call 4 star and the truly 5 star hotels are outrageously expensive!

Lcuy, you are so right. I have been looking around and alot of the 5 stars are pricing at around $370 per night without taxes. (This doesn't even include the Oberoi, or alot of the Taj Hotels which are about double.) I hope our new price quote is not outrageous because I've sold myself on these choices and hope we can use them.

Somehow or other, I figured India would be very inexpensive particularly with the guides, car and drivers being so cheap. I didn't imagine the hotels would be double or triple the standard price. Oh well . . .

What about the rest of you who don't feel the need to stay in hotels in the 5* range? Hoe much do you usually pay per night for a decent place in a homestay, for example?

My last trip to India (click on my name for the TR) I think I paid between 1,500 and 2,000 INR for most of my stays. All but one came with AC and en-suite bath. If you go up to 3,000 INR - $60 - you should be very comfortable, just not wrapped in luxury.

When I started to price the hotels for a southern India trip about a year and a half ago, the average price for so called 3 or 4 star hotel was $150-$200. I switched my trip to Vietnam which was much less expensive. But I have decided to go to southern India in Jan.2013, and I am sure that those same hotels are much more expensive than 2 years ago. It is quite unbelieveable to pay those prices for what you get in Indian hotels, yet we still go. I do not consider India an inexpensive place to visit, in terms of hotels.

We did not stay in the super luxurious hotels and felt our accommodations were all fine. While the oberois would have been wonderful, I can't see spending that kind of money.

Hotel stays in India are only expensive if you insist on staying in expensive hotels.

You're looking at south India? At the Panjim Inn in Panaji, Goa, for instance, the most expensive double, in high season, is $115 incl. tax. The Bangala, a countryside place where I spent New Year's Eve, will be $130 for club rooms, but $115 for classic this winter. The Keys chain, which offers very nice business class hotels, is $91 on agoda.com for Chennai in December. Everywhere will be cheaper out of high season.

If you look around here you should find dogster's post on places to stay in India.

The heritage hotels in India are lovely and they aren't all expensive, though some are.

We are extremely comfortable with staying in smaller, less expensive, but still interesting lodging. So, I am relieved to hear that we should be able to find what we want for a reasonable price.

india is a fantastic place to stay on points. i am staying 3 times in the lux marriott courtyard in gurgaon (near delhi airport) for 10000 pts per night.

i am staying at the sheraton udaipur for 2800 pts plus $45 per night.

we are staying at 3 heritage hotels for $70-135 per night.

Hi everyone . . . I’m back and thanks for all of your additional comments. Thursdaysd, you are making me jealous with those costs – perhaps we will try a more adventurous route next time.

ShelleyK, I also went to Vietnam and found the hotels expensive, at least in the 5 Star range. However, they seem like hostels compared to the prices we’ve been seeing in India.

Kathie and Rhkmk, we are getting quotes of $300 and $400 for some heritage properties in Varanasi and Narlai. Seems kind of insane but we are exhausted from our planning so we will likely go with it.

Rhkmk, if you are a Starwood member, 10,000 points per night will buy you a room at the ITC Maurya in Delhi which is a “Moderate Deluxe” hotel centrally located that looks beautiful in photos.

Well guys, we are nearing the finale. While our original price will likely remain about the same, we upgraded about 4 of the hotels so at least we will be getting more bang for the buck so I feel better!

Thanks again for all of your help! Any other comments are welcome!

Sueblue, I hope this doesnt sound too blunt, but plese, get some more quotes! Personally, i'd nix this agent altogether.

Of hotels you listed, i've stayed at ITC Maurya and ITC Mughal, and loved them both!

I stay in much less pricey places, but we used a combo of Starwood points/cash for these.

The company with which i've booked two trips (Faith Pandian at www.indianpanorama.in ) includes cost of driver, guides, breakfast, and of course, the vehicle and hotel costs. They emphasize that the driver is available to you 24 hours day.We put it to the test for late hours only once when we were out shopping 10 pm, but other times, after we'd settled into the hotel in the evening, we wanted to go out for a bit. Just a call from the hotel's front desk to the drivers' area , and off we went!

I've NEVER heard of limited times for the hours of the driver's availability to drive you where or when you want to go, from any India-based travel agency.

I understand that you are paying for convenience to a large extent (and yes, i understand travel prep fatigue!) but i suspect you could still, if it matters, save yourself a good chunk of $ with a different agent

We just returned from 18 days in India with an itinerary similar to yours, except no Varanasi. While in Delhi, our hotel arranged daily drivers for 3 days at $34 per day for 8 hours which included gas, and tolls, all in. We flew to Jaisalmer and met the driver who would be with us for the next 15 days. He was on call 24-hours a day and we paid $830. This included the car, gas, and tolls. We paid our own entrance fees, meals, and hotels (although the driver service arranged all our hotels in advance). From my research prior to the trip, this is common with most driver services in India.

Get a few more quotes.
We used VP Singh, LegendsandPalaces.com. We recommend him highly as have other posters on this Forum.

sue, i wanted to be out near the airport each of my 3 stays in Gurgaon