Verifying a tour company
 

Hello! Please help! I am planning a trip to India this August with a tour company based in New Delhi called Exotic Journeys Pvt. Ltd. Now that the itinerary is in place, they have instructed me to wire the total cost of the tour to a bank in Delhi. Has anyone ever used this company? It was recommended to me by an acquaintance, but before I wire money to India I was wondering if anyone in this forum had used it, had done the same, and/or could verify its legitimacy. Thanks in advance for any feedback!

it is not uncommon to wire money in advance for tours, etc.....they have to pre-pay hotels and the like at the time of reservation....i would think that a 60 day prepay is not an unusual request...

Why are you using a tour company you know nothing about? It's not unusual to wire money in advance but I would never use a company that I hadn't gotten some references for.

Maggy Bee,

I'm sorry to be seeing this post just now. How did the trip work out?

I am currently planning a trip to India for March, 2008 and a friend recommended Exotic Journeys Private Ltd. to me. I'm curious how you found them to work out.

Please let me know what information you provided them, and whether your trip was with a group or on your own.

I look forward to your feedback!

LisaG

LisaG - this was Maggy Bee's only post - not sure you'll hear from her.

Elizabeth,

Yes, I noticed that but am hoping she'll surface! You never know! There are some "active lurkers"!

Thanks for pointing this out so I didn't wonder.

LisaG

Here's an interesting trip report with positive comments

http://montereybay.com/creagrus/India2001.html

Elizabeth,

I'm so glad you found this reference! This is exactly the company that was referred to me, and the same guy (Raj Singh) that was recommended as well. What a coincidence.

It is always nice to have at least one more point of confirmation when using someone (or an agency) at a far-flung location.

I really appreciate the link that you found. Thanks for taking the time.

LisaG

You're welcome - I'm just like you - I want to hear real experiences.

My new search technique when regular Google has failed is to use the Google Blog Search (you have to click on "More" on the Google main page) I find it's really helpful for obscure travel information, although a bit hit or miss. But worth the 5 seconds to try!

Anyway - my motives are entirely selfish - we plan to go to India in the next couple of years so I need you to check it out for me!

Elizabeth,

Okay! This is very good stuff....anything to get better and new search techniques! Thanks for sharing your trick.

I've got a question---I tried doing as you said and went to the blog search part of google (noticed that it's a beta for them). I typed in "exotic journeys pvt ltd" and only got references to mostly Jaguar cars. At least in the first 8 or 9 pages I scrolled through. How did you find the link you sent in your answer above?

And thanks for the tip about the more button...now I'll go exploring the other parts!

LisaG

Well....I guess I had so many windows open yesterday I didn't realize I'd found that link via the regular Google Web Search - many pages into it! But the blog portion works sometimes too so it's worth checking....

Thanks, Elizabeth!

I've been using the blog portion of the search for other things since you alerted me to it. That was a great tip.

Happy travels,

LisaG