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Has anyone traveled to India with either Overseas Adventure Travel or Grand Circle Travel companies? I have used them for other trips and was pleased.

Thanks!

I am topping this as I have the same question.

I also am thinking of this trip. We just got back from Egypt with OAT and loved it.One couple had been on six trips with OAT and was happy with them all. They hadn't been to Inda however.

For those of you who have use OAT, what is the average age of the people who are on the tour? I know there is probably a mix but still.....

I have only been on one trip with them, but I think that the average age on that trip was mid-to-late 60's. I think it might depend on the amount of activity on the trip. On our trip to Egypt, everyone was rather fit and participated in all the activities. There were no complainers in our group and we toured briskly. It was a really good group with a fun tour leader and that is why I am going with them to India.

To Evelyntrav,
I have traveled with OAT and GCT and really liked the small group size of OAT. After reading the itineraries of their tours of India, I think I prefer the GCT schedule, especially the pre & post trips with GCT.

I believe that I read that you have already been to India before. Do you have any wardrobe & packing hints for someone who has not been there. I have been to China, Thailand, Egypt and Jordan. I try to pack light.
Thanks!

The average of our group For Egypt was 50 plus.There was another OAT group touring, at the same time as ours that had a couple of ladies,that might have been in there late 30s. As evelyntrav said,it is a fast paced tour with alot going on.I think all OAT tours are fairly fast paced.At least that is what I am told.

evelyntrav:
It is good to run into you again on the board. As I always get such good information from you. I would love to hear how you India trip goes.When are you going? Have you set a date yet?

Marsh, I was in India in November 1980. Since a traveled both in the northern parts (Kashmir) and southern areas (Madras)and it was such a long time ago, I don't remember what I packed but it must have covered these different climates. In terms of this trip, I expect I will pack several casual pants and shirts, one Gortex jacket and a fleece or two. Some of my long sleeve shirts can double as a jacket. In the restaurants I will most likely frequent, this attire is definitely acceptible.

Hi Dottie, I am leaving on the pre-trip extension to Bhutan on October 17th, and then on to India on the 25th. I am so pleased to hear that you enjoyed Egypt.

About OAT vs. GCT, for me, the small group size wins over the GCT itinerary. A smaller group can travel at a brisker pace and reach a consensus about additional things to do and amount of time spent shopping. The GCT tours are usually a filled bus and I observed one group in a serious shopping frenzy. In addition, I have found that OAT usually stays at nicer hotels than GCT. While the room doesn't matter much to me, since most of the meals take place in the hotel, the food is usually a better quality too.

My daughter (age 21) was the youngest in our OAT group to China. The majority of us were late 30's into 40's. Also a few in their 60's.
In our Ecuador/Peru group we had 3 teenagers. Most of us were 40's - 50's. Others in their 60's and one older. OAT trips usually require that you can walk a couple miles sometimes over rough terrain.

Our recent OAT trip to Turkey, which was lots of fun, had 14 in our group. Half were over 70 - the oldest was 78. The rest were in their 60s. It was a very active trip and everyone kept up very well, though from time to time some chose easier options (like skipping a hike).

Marsh, Evelyntrav, Dottie-
How did your trips to India go? Did you all go with OAT (or GCT)- and how were they?
What times of year did you go?
Also- how old were the folks in the group?
We're thinking ahead to next year and would love to hear all about your adventures!
Thanks!

NGail,

Hi, I just noticed your post. I haven't taken this trip yet. So I can't give you any feedback on it. I went to Thailand and Cambodia with OAT last year instead. Good trip! Loved Cambodia!! . ;;)

India is still on my must do list, however. When I do go it will be with OAT. I like the small group size, and so far the tours themselves have been every good. Just a note.. OAT's customer service after you book does need to be improved a bit,[long hold times,not very knowledgeble staff] but the tours,are very good!!

To give you an idea of the kind of people I have been with on my 2 trips with OAT..I am 53 and I was one of the youngest in our group. However most of the people on the OAT trips were very active, young minded interesting people.

Dottie - Thanks for your response. We're still thinking India with OAT - but I must say, their Thailand itinerary sounds fascinating.
Our Turkey guide joked that OAT couples in their 50's were known as "honeymooners", so I guess most OAT travelers are @ retirement age..also probably depends on the length of the trip.

I am still working, but alot of the people, on my two trips, were retired.

On the Thailand/Cambodia trip, I traveled alone for the Cambodia part of the trip. Then I met up with a women I work with for the Thailand portion of the trip.She brought her 18 yr.old, Grandson with her. He got along well with everyone,and seemed to have a good time. The tour is geared a bit more toward, fairly active, older people,however.

I did enjoy the Thailand trip. However just to let you know, there did seem to be a lot of time spent on the bus,traveling place to place.
The Elephant camp was the BEST!! :-d

Cambodia was in my mind the most interesting part of the trip..Fasinating!!..Loved it! So if you do sign up for the Thailand trip, do consider Cambodia.

We loved Thailand. We went last December with Pacific Delight. We enjoyed the country very much, but our tour guides were not up to par. The group was generally older than the groups traveling with OAT or GCT.

We definitely prefer OAT tours, since their tour directors are always great - we're scheduled to go with them to Australia in September.

Our last tour with OAT was to Peru and Machu Pichu. The ages ranged from the mid forties to the late sixties. It was a great group though - all very experienced travelers.

Marsh, Evelyntrav-
Did you get to India with OAT or GCT? We're going with OAT in February, but are a bit concerned about the pace. (we're 68/72) How did you find it? And did you enjoy the trip?
Thanks.

I have not looked at this thread in a long time! My husband & I had a great time in India with GCT! I really preferred their itinerary rather than the OAT. The group size was not a problem to me. We went on the pre & post tours & those groups were very small & really great. I loved India! I am not sure if GCT is even doing this tour now. It may be that only OAT is doing a tour there now.

Hi Marsh!
How nice to hear from you. When was your India trip? You're right -GCT no longer offers India - we're going with OAT. We're having hard time deciding on the post-trip. OAT has changed the itinerary to 3 nights on a houseboat and virtually no time in Mumbai. We're a bit ticked cause we liked the old itinerary.
How did you like the houseboat experience? Do you think three nights might be too long?

My wife and I had unpleasant experiences with OAT. We signed up for a Jordan&Egypt tour; less than a week before our scheduled departure (and long after OAT had confirmed and sent us the airline tickets etc.) we were told by phone that they had overbooked; we then had a miserable few days negotiating with OAT and we finally reluctantly agreed to accept the cancellation for a US$1000 credit per person applcable
to another OAT tour.

We took the substitute Jordan&Egypt tour about a year later, which we enjoyed very much. However although OAT makes a big thing of "never more than 16 travelers" the Egyptian part of the tour consisted of generally two groups of 16 tourists each generally viting the same sights at the same time, in effect very similar to a group of 32 with two escorts.

Our other trip with OAT was a safari tour of Kenya & Tanzania. On all the safari tour operators we are aware of, regardless of the size of the group, the tourists end up in jeep/minivan tour vehicles with 6 or 7 tourists each. So on safari tours it seems that the nominal group size makes little or no difference --- we could have gone with a tour group of 40 or 50 and it would have made no difference, and we could have the same experiences at lower cost.

What a bummer!!
How long ago was your Jordan/Egypt trip with OAT? I knew that they'd been guilty of this kind of bumping in the past but hoped they'd cleaned up their act. I'm surprised you gave them a second chance with Africa (or did that trip come first?)