Tour companies like Intrepid Travel
 

I am considering a solo trip to India this year. I like what Intrepid Travel has to offer (semi-independent, budget but reliable, sustainable travel) and I am wondering if there are other companies out there that are similar so I can compare itineraries and companies before settling on a tour. I see people have also mentioned Imaginative Traveller and G.A.P. I checked out these websites, but it is hard to tell if they differ in quality much. Does anyone have this information or suggestions as to which company is best value for traveling to India?

I have only used Intrepid of the budget small group operators, but in addition to the ones you name I would also consider Adventures Abroad and Explore and Exodus. Maybe Peregrine. If you can go a bit higher in price Myths and Mountains looks interesting.

pacific delight

Hi cosmos, I'll be following this thread with interest (hopefully you'll get more responses!) as I'm close to deciding that India will be my next destination as well! Please follow up if you get more info!

travinfoindia

GAP and Imaginative are very similar, both offering small group adventures. If u look at their itineraries, u can see that there are different levels of comfort with both tour companies.

I have travelled with both companies and i wouldn't wanna say that one is better than the other, but i do like that they are small group as opposed to those comanpanies that take huge groups.

As someone mentioned Peregrine is also very good, i actually just wenet to a travel show here in Canada and they were one of the suppliers and i was impressed with what they have to offer.

I am starting to get away from taking tours, but sometimes take a short tour just to get to know the country and then we go on our own.

Actually in a few weeks, we are going to take a week tour in South America with GAP, and then going on our own for a few weeks.

I took 2 tours with Imaginative Traveller in India....North India Highlights (which i highly recommend and Kerala In Style (which they no longer run)..Now we prefer to tour India on our own, but would definately take them again should we need to go on a tour.

Touring really is a great way to meet people, especially if u are travelling alone.

And with these tour companies, u have a sufficient amount of free time and eat meals mostly on your own, although some breakfasts may be included, depending on what level of tour u are taking.

A friend of mine just went on a tour last summer with Geckos, and she thoroughly enjoyed her trip. She was a solo traveler as well, and their group had such a good time together they are planing a trip next summer!

Thanks for your input. After doing some research on many companies, I think I am comfortable with Intrepid as they meet my budget and I haven't heard anything negative about them. I just wish I knew more specifics about their accommodations.

Accommodation on Intrepid trips varies considerably. Depends partly on the level of the tour - Basix vs. Original vs. Comfort. Depends partly on where you are - Intrepid goes to some places where there isn't anything BUT basic accommodation. But if you've read massagediva's trip report on India with Intrepid you should have a good idea of what to expect there. You can also look at the trip notes for the tour you're considering to find out what hotel they're using for the start and end of the tour - but those hotels are likely to be more comfortable than those during the tour.