cost of car & driver in the south

briane

Hi, any ideas on cost of a car & driver, for a couple, say an air-con smaller vehicle, for 30 days from Goa to Chennai, via Hampi,Aleppy,Kochi, Munnar, Trichy Pondi etc etc in Jan 2010.
We are staying a number of days in each place.
Anyone know a) how much is it usaully per km.?
b) how much do we pay the driver, or is it in the all up price?
c) how much to tip him? What about the return of the vehicle, how do we pay for that, or not?
and, hard question I know, about how many kms. would this trip be?
Thanks a lot for any advice at all. I can provide a more exact itinerary soon.
Briane.

Eastern Mind

Briane: If you are staying in one place more than a day or two, it is better to not have same driver/car the whole way as you pay for waiting time, and a minimum per day regardless if the car moves or not. Cheaper to just take a cab from place to place even though you pay for both directions. Use autorickshaw or walking for very local stuff. If you post a more detailed itinerary and time, someone will advise. Yes you will have to pay for the vehicle's return.

vandy

G'Day

If I may suggest after Hampi,catch train to Bangalore and then
Train to Cochin(Kochi)from Cochin you should be able to get a car and driver for 1400 - 1500rps per day all inclusive, Petrol,Drivers allowance,Drivers own accom,Tolls,Taxes.This price is for a A/C smaller car like an Indica or Indigo,even an Ambassador, which I personally don't reccomend for long Journeys.

Possible route - Cochin - Munnar - Thekady(Periyar)- Allepey -
Kolam - Varkala - Trivandrum (Kovalum)- Madurai - Tanjore(Thanjanvur)- Pondicherry - Chennai.

Having a car & driver is a Bonus as they also show you around in
each of the towns you stay at, included in the original cost.
You can stop where & when you want.


vandy

briane

thanks guys, i will come back with a detailed itinerary

briane

DianeTravels

We did Madurai - Periyer - Allepey - Kochi a couple of years ago with three different drivers. We asked around and got a sense of a reasonable cost, then made final arrangements the day before or the day of our departure.

Our only problem was in Madurai where my husband made the deal with one man, but our driver was another man who spoke no English and apparently mistook the various names for Periyer wildlife sanctuary (Kumily and Thekkady) as meaning he was supposed to take us to Kodaikanal. It looked from my map that we were taking the wrong road, but I don't think he could read the map and I couldn't easily communicate my concern with him. We eventually got to Periyer, but only after a long, but interesting, detour.

After that we made sure that the person who was making the arrangements understood where we wanted to go and the drivers spoke at least a little English. I don't remember how much we paid.

vthimmappa

Best Way and also cheaper is to plan and book overnight buses and travel in car in the city you are.

There are good travels available in each city which would help you.

-Vinaya

Nick-H

Goodness, Diane, what a journey!

Thankfully, I think such misunderstandings are rare.

briane

Thank you everyone,
we, an older couple, will be travelling from Goa to Chennai in an air-con smaller car with driver The agent is proposing one car for the whole trip, which has several advantages as Vandy pointed out. What I do not know is how far this is, and how much we should pay for the vehicle & driver.
Here is our itinerary:
Goa - Hospet 29/12/09 - 1/1/2010 visit Hampi, 3 nights
Hospet - Hassan 1- 2/1/2010 1 night
Hassan - Mysore 2- 4/1 2010 2 nights
Mysore - Nagarhole 4 - 6/1/2010 2 nights
Nagarhole - Calicut 6 - 7/1/2010 1 night
Calicut - Cochin 7/1/10 -10/1/10 3 nights
Cochin - Alleppy 10 - 11/1/2010 1 night houseboat, meet up with car, proceed to
Munnar 11- 13/1/2010 2 nights
Munnar - Madurai 13 - 16/1/2010 3 nights
Madurai - Tricchy 16- 18/1/2010 2 nights
Trichy - Tanjore 18- 20/1/2010 2 nights
Tanjore - Pondicherry 20 - 22/1/2010 2 nights
Pondi - Mahabalipuram 22 - 24/1/2010 2 nights
Maha..- Chennai 24 - 26/1/2010 2 nights

28 days, as you can see we need the vehicle for sight-seeing along the way, which will add to the mileage, and will use it in the towns where necessay/appropriate to get around. I think that we have allowed enough time to see each destination.

Any help on estimated distance &/ costing would be wonderful

Briane

vandy

G'Day Briane,

Has the Agent you mentioned quoted you a price.

As you will be hiring the car for an extended period you should be able to get a Pretty good price.

You also need to Clarify with the Agent,Petrol,Taxes,Tolls and
Driver,s own arrangements(Accom & Food)are ALL INCLUSIVE OF DAILY RATE WHICH HE GIVES YOU.

There is usually a Maximum mileage per day,after which you pay
a certain rate per Klm.

Have you had a look at the website, myprivatedriver ?

One other thing, from Munnar be sure to take the road to Madurai
via Thekady(Periyar)the route is fabulous. There is another route north of Munnar through Marayoor which is also spectacular.

Sounds like a great trip you have planned.


vandy

BTW, once you have made 10 posts you could Private Message (PM) a couple of IM members who reside in Goa and may possibly help you out with a reliable driver.

briane

thanks Vandy, I will look at that website.
Briane

stevec

Some thoughts about cars:

* how roomy and comfortable is the Ambassador! Also how mechanically bulletproof! (esp. the diesel)
* if you have a car & driver tip the driver enough every day to let him stay overnight and eat. (His employer will be extremely frugal in this regard) It won't cost you the earth.
* the best small car my wife & I hired was an Indigo. Would still prefer the larger (non-aircon) Ambassador though
* if you have a car & driver you can stop for a pee whenever you like
* if the hotel that looked so great on the website turns out to be toxic, a car gives you the chance to check out all the others
* in a sense, because a gora is less obvious and more anonymous in a car, people-watching at close quarters is more relaxed
* if you're a photographer, you can say to a car-driver "Stop! Go back please! Can you turn up that road? Would you wait for a second?" etc - all impossibilities with buses and India Rail
* if your driver doesn't speak English (I'm assuming you do here), and is not familiar with where you want to go, don't worry: you'll find friendly, helpful, informed people everywhere.
* yes of course you'll miss out on lots of the really fabulous stuff that happens on trains and buses. ah well, next time ...

Eastern Mind

briane: I did 16 days back in April around TN about the same distances, and the car was about 25000 to 30000. I can't remember exactly because hotel bookings and costs were included, and the total was 65000. I tossed all the communication I had with the agent.

If you do tip your driver enough for a room, there is an excellent chance he won't use it for a room. (Some higher end hotels have free driver accommodation.) Our driver didn't. He used it for booze instead, and to add to his already meager salary. Especially on the days when you won't be needing him, you need to watch out some for this. But all in all, the convenience of having a car at your service all hours of the day is great. Like others have said, if you see scenery, drying peppers, people, fresh coconut milk, washroom breaks, etc, and you want to stop, you can. I think it makes a huge difference.