How to pick a good private tour company and avoid the shills?

Sharonov

Hubbie and I (late 50's) will be going to northern India from Jan. 12 to February 14, which is almost 5 weeks. I've been doing a lot of reading and think I know our general itinerary (mostly Rajasthan with Varanasi and Kathmandu thrown in). I also think the ideal situation to avoid getting sick of being only with each other 24/7 (we have a good, 36 year marriage, but still need some space) would be to join a group for a couple of weeks and then hire a guide & driver for a couple of weeks. Here is my question: how does one choose a tour company? How does one separate out the people who just may come to sites like this to get customers for someone who will then pay them a commission? What if you arrange for, say, a comfortable car and then you get there and are provided with a beater? Is there any recourse, or are you on your own?

prince_anurag

Dear Sharonov,

Yes, you are right that many people visit this site, who are not real travel agents, rather commission agents. These people arrange the trip thru some travel agent and get the commissions without getting involved in the operation of the trip. In this case the price of the tour is always very high, and there are many chances of getting very low quality services.

The best way to select a travel agent is to contact atleast four-five travel agents simultaneously. You can find these travel agents on Indiamike website or thru internet.

After selecting these four-five (or, may be more) travel agents give them a vague idea about your proposed tour and aks them to send you a detailed itinerary on your private email.

Once you receive the itineraries, compare these to find out the best. First of all, the itinerary and the way of communication will itself reveal the professionalism of the Travel Agency.

Keep on communication with these travel agencies to decide your final itinerary. In this process of communication, you can easily find out as to which travel agency is giving you authentic data with detailed information.

Now the second step should be the price of the tour. After deciding your final itinerary write again to the same four-five travel agents (you can also change some of the travel agents, if you find that they are not professional, during the initial communication phase) to send you the price of the tour.

Compare the prices (of the same itinerary) from all these travel agents. Also do not forget to compare as to what is included in the price.

After checking the itineraries, detailed information, professional communication, prices etc, rate all these travel agents. And I'm sure you'll come out with the best.

YES! once you decide your travel agent, you should have faith in him/her.

I'm sure that there are many kind members of Indiamike, who can recommend you many travel agents, organizing tours in India.



I wish you glorious moments in India.

Best of Luck!

ace

Sharnov,

My parents (early 60s) are in a similar boat. The entire family is going for the first 3 wks to tour around Rajastan, but then they are tacking on an extra 2 wks (mid-late Jan). They were thinking of doing South India in that time, or perhaps heading to Pakistan (?). In any event, they too (married for 40 yrs) wanted to join a group . . . do you have any idea how tough it has been to find a group tour???? There are loads of travel agencies you can find here and elsewhere that will all want to sell you a "custom" tour -- ie. we'll arrange a car and driver, hotels, and itinerary -- but it would be more fun I think if a bunch of people got together . . .

Sharonov

It's actually extremely easy to find a group tour. Some of the very reputable ones I've found are: Overseas Adventure Travel (groups of 16 or less, very good company, we've done 4 trips with them: Thailand, Egypt, South America & China/Tibet/Viet name), General Tours (a friend used them and vouches for them), Intrepid (they have luxury and borderline backpack tours), Greaves, and Sita just to name a few. Finding a good group agency is very, very easy. I just don't know about the places that arrange private tours and am wary about taking advice from people who, I suspect, troll these message boards for commissions. Guess there's never going to be a way to find out until we're there!

Some people on the site have advised traveling on our own, but again--been there done that. In my youth I hitchiked across North Africa, Europe and the Middle East and stayed in hostels, pensions, private homes--it was wonderful. Now that I'm older it's just.........different. The body can't take rough mattresses, the brain can't go to sleep unless surrounded by a semblance of quiet, the stomach needs good food. Never thought I'd get to that point, but here it is. Still love to travel, just need a different mode.

beach

You can select a travel agent(in your country) who operates in india.At the ministry of tourism,GoI site they have listed the tour operators in many of the countries. There is a big listing of Indian tour operators also on a state wise category. I presume that these agents must have been selected based on some kind of qualifying criteria. The contact details are also given. Select your country or Indian state at the site (Just move the mouse pointer over the 'Plan your trip').

But such conducted tours must be a bit expensive though comfortable for the less adventurous ones.

www.incredibleindia.org

or

www.tourismofindia.com

Disclaimer: beach is not a travel agent or anything . I’m posting here for just for the heck of it, nothing else, that is for the record . oops…but yes I’m a travel agent for mother India, working free for her

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wonderwomanusa

I am not getting a commission for this, though I might get a cup of chai next time I'm in Delhi:

Check out Namaste India Tours, who post on this forum. I used their services for an airport pickup and hotel room, and they were great. Other friends have used them on trips of varying lengths (car & driver) and were happy with them.

Click here -- the prices are on the website, and you can e-mail them and describe what you are looking for and they will quote you a price.

Travelingbhat

Hi Sharonov

Things to ask/check on the travel agents:

Area of specialty - do they have subject matter expertise? Have they been to the country?

If they use wholesalers or ground operators in india, how experienced are they? Do they/wholesalers have insurance to protect against bankruptcy or fraud protection?

How long have they been in business?

Why should you use them vs other agencies?

Ask for personal references from their clients. If they are at all good they should have clients who are loyal and will rave about their trips.

How they handle mistakes/issues while you are traveling? For example, a company is only as good as their claim if they know how to solve problems or issues for clients. Things happen on the road and how far will the company go to bat for you when problems crop up.

The above in general are the types of questions I used to ask when I was not a travel agent myself! But now that I am, I realize how important this is. A lot of people on this site have strong opinions on doing things on your own or not using travel agents. I think there is a time and place for everything. Do your research and have a great time traveling! If you need my help, please use my contact information below.

On a side note, If lowest or cheapest price is the only factor and not the service, follow-up, ease of use, protection then an US based travel agent might not be your most price competitive compared to someone selling you travel directly in india as the US based agent has to also cover expenses and obviously make money as well.

Sharonov

Thank you everyone for your good suggestions. I did look up Namaste because so many people had recommended them at Indiamike. They are very reasonable, though they do say that the cars used are not A/C, and I've read that because of noise and dust that an A/C car is best.

DianeN.

I used Namaste Tours and the car they provided was air conditioned. I paid a bit extra for the air conditioned car, but you would have to do it for every company, I imagine. Air conditioning is a must....in my humble opinion. They arranged everything for our 2 week tour through Rajasthan.

Lily

I am not aware of the hotels others use but if you want to stay in first class family hotels in Rajasthan, please send me a private mail and I will be happy to provide information about a number of them at
Jaipur
Udaipur
Jodhpur
Bikaner
and on the way!

(Many are already listed in the Hotels Section here)

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Lily

Sharonov

Has anyone used this group, or do you know anything about them (other than Bonita)?






(note: I have merged this with your other travel agent thread. m2)

Jxlot

I agree with the many posters who have suggested checking out many agencies and people. Personally, I reccomend checking with the lady I used to help set up a tour in India. She and Le Passage to India are great . Just give her a general idea of what you are looking for etc . Her name is Bonita and her email is dreamingofindia@aol.com

peace,
Joshua

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- Albert Einstein

Jxlot

Hello,
Yes, I have used this company and had a great touring experience with them last January. They are reputable, honest and experienced. They quoted me the best price and I enjoyed the guides who were amazing and answered any questions I had and went out of their way to be of any help. I reccomend them highly . Very professional and cool people who went out of their way to show me the best India had to offer..in fact, I enjoyued what I saw so much I cant wait to go back and use their services again to see more of India. They handle a lot of business and I know of other people who have used them and agree with me. I sent friends over with them and obviously would not have done that if I felt, in anyway, that my friends could have gotten a better deal or had a more professional service. Trust me, they are great and go out of there way to be of assistance. If you have any more questions about them feel free to let me know . I promise, everything is on the up and up with them and they are of the highest quality (I stayed in amazing hotels yet did not pay a fortune yet felt like a king). Give them a try and you will be happily surprised.

Joshua

LuAnnandJawahar

We provide AC or non AC cars/4X4s/buses/vans/minicoaches depending on the clients needs/wishes. We don't try to upsell AC to clients who are traveling in the winter on our standard circuits as it really isn't necessary. We do encourage people to choose an AC vehicle in the summer for the obvious reasons.

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chixjohn

We are looking for and doing the same thingas you, only we are married 32 years instead of 36. If you'd share some of your responses wiht me I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks, Rochelle