jk190

has anyone spent a few weeks or more traveling throughout india? if so, any direction on which tour operators to use would be most appreciated! i'm just starting to plan my trip and it's so daunting.

glorialf

I had a good experience with Myths and Mountains.

cwill

smartours.com is a good company;I went on their so african safari and tour and it was perfect.

Bonita

Yes, i have spent my lifetime traveling, living and working in INDIA and yes, there are alot of differnt travel/tour options out there. India is a huge country, and alot of differnt ways and means to travel in INDIA. do not be overwhelmed, plenty of great operators out there, for whatever is your need..I can give some reccos, but are you intersted in going on a organzied group tour of INDIA/pre-booked/pre-arrangement by U.S tour operator, or are you thinking of using a local indian Tour OPERATOR to create your own custom-made private tour program. would be happy to suggest with more info. [email protected]

hobbes

mail me on [email protected] with your budget and preferred cities you want to cover and will advise.

alice13

It really isn't necessary to take a tour/tour(s) - if you only have 2 wks then probably it is the way to go - if you have longer - a month or more - then just do yr own thing. It really isn't that hard, and much more fun!!

Rajhelp50

Seek all the information you need from these columns and from that other friendly site
www.indiamike.com

But, as Alice says, make your own decisions and do your own thing if you have a month. Much more fun!

fbh

One tour agency that I would not use is Span Tours from Delhi. While they were efficient in setting up a trip for my wife and me to the Golden Triangle, we had to cancel due to the death of an immediate family member. I knew that I would lose 50% of the cost of the tour based on the contractural arrangements, but the company refused to return the other $828. They sent a check for $558 from a New York bank which was returned for "insufficient funds". The company refused to honor their commitment and we eventually had to take the loss.

Buyer beware - avoid Span Tours if there is any danger of your having to cancel your trip. I don't know what would have happened if we had gone.

halfpint78

You are probably more than overwhelmed by the responses already, but I have to highly recommend Compass Tours (www.compasstours.com). Am organizing a 2 week trip through Rajasthan next month and I am really impressed by Durjay (the owner) and his responsiveness to my questions and concerns. Have contacted references as well and they have rave reviews.

Have a great trip!!!

Dev23

hi,
i recently took a trip to india and chose an online travel company called www.makemytrip.com - they organized everything for me and at better rates than most other tour operators i was in touch with. the agent was excellent and not pushy at all about selling me a holiday.
where you want to tour in india depends mainly on what time of the year it is - rajasthan is really nice in the winter and so is kerala and goa.

Craig

Another vote for Compass Tours. Durjay can arrange the whole trip for you or just the parts you don't want to do on your own. If you have a few weeks, you will be able to see more of India than most first-timers. We are going for two weeks in February. Your itinerary will depend a lot on when you want to go. From the posts I've read here, it seems you can spend 2-4 weeks in the north doing Rajasthan (Jaipur, Udaipur, Ranthanbore Nat'l Park) + Delhi, Agra (Taj Mahal) and Varanasi and perhaps some other cities in the area. The south - Kerala is also a popular destination as is the coastal area around Goa. You will get many ideas here - try and have a general idea of what you want to do before you contact a tour operator. Most tour operators can arrange hotels (often at a discount), in-country flights, rail tickets, cars, drivers and tour guides. You can also arrange cars, drivers and tour guides through your hotels.