Reasonably priced tour for single woman
Jul 29th, 2010, 08:14 AM
#1
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Reasonably priced tour for single woman
I would like to travel to India by myself next February. I am inclined to take a tour as I hear that a woman travelling on her own will have a difficult time. I was looking at the Intrepid Tour " Food Lovers India" tour- as I was an ex-chef, I thought it would be a good choice. Does anyone have any ideas about a reasonably-priced tour for about 14-18 days? Has anyone ever traveled with Intrepid?
Jul 29th, 2010, 09:03 AM
#2
Do a search here for massagediva's trip to India with Intrepid. I've been on five tours with them, although not to India. See http://wilhelmswords.com/asia2002/index.html for my Intrepid tours to Cambodia and Laos.
However, I (older female) spent ten weeks traveling round India on my own, almost entirely by train (same website, asia2001), and I'm going back for six weeks this winter. No reason to take a tour if you'd rather go alone. What/where have you heard about women having a hard time? I would recommend dressing conservatively.
However, I (older female) spent ten weeks traveling round India on my own, almost entirely by train (same website, asia2001), and I'm going back for six weeks this winter. No reason to take a tour if you'd rather go alone. What/where have you heard about women having a hard time? I would recommend dressing conservatively.
Jul 29th, 2010, 11:28 AM
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Thursdaysd-Do you plan to travel by train during your 6 weeks in India? What is your itinerary? I am planning a trip to south India for January. Much as I would like to do it by train, I am intimidated by the logistics and chaos at the train stations , so I will probably use car and driver as transport. I certainly admire the way you travel, but I do not think I could do it in India.
Jul 29th, 2010, 01:09 PM
#4
shelleyk - I will almost certainly travel by train for at least part of the time. The logistics have improved since 2001 as you can now book on line - have you visited http://seat61.com/India.htm for general info on Indian trains? I hear that indiamike.com is also a good source.
You really don't need to worry about the chaos - you should be traveling either 1AC (colder AC and business and government types) or 2AC (more families) and will have a reserved place. The seating charts will go up before the train arrives (and may be available on line now) so you'll know where you'll be. You could hire a porter the first couple of times, but you may need to bargain (the porters in Kolkata are particularly rapacious).
India is part of a RTW trip, and the next itinerary I'll be working on. I expect to cross the border from Nepal, take a bus to the nearest train station and take the train into Lucknow, and then fly to Hyderabad. If I have time I'd like to go up to Shimla and Dharamsala first before I head south, but I don't think I'll have time. You'll find my 2001 India TRs at wilhelmswords.com/asia2001
You really don't need to worry about the chaos - you should be traveling either 1AC (colder AC and business and government types) or 2AC (more families) and will have a reserved place. The seating charts will go up before the train arrives (and may be available on line now) so you'll know where you'll be. You could hire a porter the first couple of times, but you may need to bargain (the porters in Kolkata are particularly rapacious).
India is part of a RTW trip, and the next itinerary I'll be working on. I expect to cross the border from Nepal, take a bus to the nearest train station and take the train into Lucknow, and then fly to Hyderabad. If I have time I'd like to go up to Shimla and Dharamsala first before I head south, but I don't think I'll have time. You'll find my 2001 India TRs at wilhelmswords.com/asia2001
Jul 30th, 2010, 01:28 AM
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This is the second post today where someone has the impression that a woman travelling alone in India will have a problem. As a woman who has travelled alone in India for the last 15 years or so, that is not at all my experience. Frankly, I think she would have more of a problem in many parts of Europe.
I would agree that if you dress in a short skirt and a tube top, you will attract attention of a kind you probably don’t want. But it will be more in the line of annoying verbal comments (allusions to the Kama Sutra, etc) than any threat to your safety. (And invariably there will be a fearless Indian woman nearby who will take a swing at the guys with her purse if you just mention (or she notices) that you have a problem. Kali and Durga are women, after all. Shy, retiring types are not the primary role models for Indian women.)
I would agree that if you don’t like tours, then there is no reason to take one just for India. If you DO take a tour, make sure it does not try to cover too much ground, esp via bus (which seems to be the MO for many tours I have seen). The Intrepid tour for example goes to 8 places in 14 days. That is more than I would want to do. I would do 5-6 places at most, and the last one would be close to one of the others. It also includes some longish drives, I see one of 7 hours, which is a bit more than I would want in a day on an Indian road. The Intrepid tour is dubbed “the real India tour”, however except for Karauli and Bijaipur (which do seem interesting, and the Castle is fairly well-known in India) all the other stops are firmly on the heavily touristed map. They are still “real” of course, it’s just that everyone else will be there too. Esp in Feb.
A better option would be an agent who can help set you up with good deals at hotels (which you pick first), guides in the few places you would need them, access to cooking lessons/kitchens, and drivers possibly (although you can find those yourself quite easily too). You can then set your own itin at a more leisurely pace.
If you really want a food tour, I would strongly recommend south India. A world of flavours and food influences. I see that the Intrepid trip goes to Goa, which is a great place for food. But you could do you own itin which includes Goa. Kerala is good too, as is the southeast coast (with some French influence). I personally don’t see the need to go to Mumbai as a first-time visitor, there are many more interesting places which are easies to handle and offer more.
I would agree that if you dress in a short skirt and a tube top, you will attract attention of a kind you probably don’t want. But it will be more in the line of annoying verbal comments (allusions to the Kama Sutra, etc) than any threat to your safety. (And invariably there will be a fearless Indian woman nearby who will take a swing at the guys with her purse if you just mention (or she notices) that you have a problem. Kali and Durga are women, after all. Shy, retiring types are not the primary role models for Indian women.)
I would agree that if you don’t like tours, then there is no reason to take one just for India. If you DO take a tour, make sure it does not try to cover too much ground, esp via bus (which seems to be the MO for many tours I have seen). The Intrepid tour for example goes to 8 places in 14 days. That is more than I would want to do. I would do 5-6 places at most, and the last one would be close to one of the others. It also includes some longish drives, I see one of 7 hours, which is a bit more than I would want in a day on an Indian road. The Intrepid tour is dubbed “the real India tour”, however except for Karauli and Bijaipur (which do seem interesting, and the Castle is fairly well-known in India) all the other stops are firmly on the heavily touristed map. They are still “real” of course, it’s just that everyone else will be there too. Esp in Feb.
A better option would be an agent who can help set you up with good deals at hotels (which you pick first), guides in the few places you would need them, access to cooking lessons/kitchens, and drivers possibly (although you can find those yourself quite easily too). You can then set your own itin at a more leisurely pace.
If you really want a food tour, I would strongly recommend south India. A world of flavours and food influences. I see that the Intrepid trip goes to Goa, which is a great place for food. But you could do you own itin which includes Goa. Kerala is good too, as is the southeast coast (with some French influence). I personally don’t see the need to go to Mumbai as a first-time visitor, there are many more interesting places which are easies to handle and offer more.
Jul 30th, 2010, 02:50 AM
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Have you checked the OAT tours? I haven't been following India threads, but I believe there was a recent rave for an OAT tour in India. And one of their best features is NO single supplement. I'm doing a Vietnam tour with them, and for a while I thought it might not happen due to not enough (10 or 12) for the minimum -- they have a maximum of 16. When I thought it might not happen, I started trying to duplicate it -- I couldn't come close to their price even using the exact same hotels. Their pricing is amazing. People here were telling me I could get an agent in Hanoi to duplicate it for me -- yes, I could but at least twice the price, and that didn't include a number of the activities that OAT does. In any case, the tour is happening, and I am glad.
There are more reasons for a single person to take a small group tour than simply being "afraid" to do it on her (or his) own. I've always thought I was not a tour person, but I'm already looking forward to this one over the nearly two months of independent travel I'm doing in Asia on the same trip.
There are more reasons for a single person to take a small group tour than simply being "afraid" to do it on her (or his) own. I've always thought I was not a tour person, but I'm already looking forward to this one over the nearly two months of independent travel I'm doing in Asia on the same trip.
Jul 30th, 2010, 04:28 AM
#7
While there are people who love OAT, there are others, including me, who have had bad experiences with them. Intrepid, and other similar companies like Explore!, Exodus, Gecko/Peregrine, Imaginative Traveler also have no single supplement provided you are willing to share if there's another same sex single and have quite a different "vibe" to OAT, which says it's for "mature Americans" - more adventurous, more down-to-earth, generally more budget, and with travelers from several countries on the same tour.
The OP already expressed a preference for traveling alone - no reason why she shouldn't.
The OP already expressed a preference for traveling alone - no reason why she shouldn't.
Jul 30th, 2010, 06:26 AM
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"The OP already expressed a preference for traveling alone - no reason why she shouldn't."
What she said was, "I would like to travel to India by myself next February. I am inclined to take a tour as I hear that a woman traveling on her own will have a difficult time."
You took that a different way than I did. I AM traveling by myself to Asia presently, but I am joining a tour for part of that trip. I didn't take it that she was saying she really wanted to be by herself, but maybe that is what she meant.
And by the way, OAT's policy for no single supplement is not a "if we can't find anyone to share with you" thing. You book and are confirmed to for all single accommodations with private facilities at the time of the booking. I honestly think that's how it was so cheap for me. When I'd check hotels on my own, all rooms are based on two people and my own bill would normally be the same as the full day's price for the OAT tour, including transporations, activities, and even meals. OAT was cutting all those hotel bills for me in half -- or even more!
What she said was, "I would like to travel to India by myself next February. I am inclined to take a tour as I hear that a woman traveling on her own will have a difficult time."
You took that a different way than I did. I AM traveling by myself to Asia presently, but I am joining a tour for part of that trip. I didn't take it that she was saying she really wanted to be by herself, but maybe that is what she meant.
And by the way, OAT's policy for no single supplement is not a "if we can't find anyone to share with you" thing. You book and are confirmed to for all single accommodations with private facilities at the time of the booking. I honestly think that's how it was so cheap for me. When I'd check hotels on my own, all rooms are based on two people and my own bill would normally be the same as the full day's price for the OAT tour, including transporations, activities, and even meals. OAT was cutting all those hotel bills for me in half -- or even more!
Jul 30th, 2010, 06:44 AM
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To my mind, it is much easier, and sometimes cheaper, to take a tour than organize the same trip by yourself. I generally prefer a GOOD tour to doing it by myself provided the itinerary is one I would choose if doing it myself. I have been on many tours that I have thoroughly enjoyed. If I could find a tour of southern India that covered what I want to see, I would take that. However, I can't, so I am doing it myself and it is extremely time consuming to research itineraries, hotels, etc. although interesting and fun. If I were working, I would never have the time to research this trip.I definately think a good tour solves a lot of problems for some people.
