10 days in Rajasthan for 65000 INR?

Ingute

Hi,
we are coming to Delhi in a couple of weeks and will have 10 days to cover Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur (leaving from Udaipur). we got a quote for a taxi tour as 65,000 for the 10 days, staying at homestays. Is it reasonable? We are still waiting for a quote from Namaste tours. How easy would it be to wing it? ie, how about getting taxis from the places where we shall be staying? should we have the accomodation booked before we leave for India? We understand that it is a busy time in India, and do not want to be left to the wolves...
Thank you!
Ingute

Hal

Sounds about double or more the standard fare. What is included? Car type? Food? Admissions? Guide?

Best to get a car to take you round trip or you'll pay the to and from fares for all your one-way trips. And a new driver every time will be a pain. It takes a few days to train them.

Ingute

Thank you for reply...

From what I hear this agency (Rajputhana) has plaesed just about everyone with their services. They include half day safari in Jodhpur and all breakfasts and dinners (Jodhpur - all meals).

We got a quote from Namaste tours - the total is 52.012 INR. The car and the driver - 33,012 INR. This tour only includes accomodations and the car With a driver. Ambassador would be the vehicle.

We shall probably have to pick one as the date is coming very close and it is a high season.

Your opinions are very much appreciated.

zoltan

Interestingly, in Italian, that would roughly translate to King's whore

But on a serious note, I too think your quote is way too high. They may however be taking you to top of the range hotels.

You could always just get a car and driver and book your own rooms along the way.

As a by the way, a friend of mine has organised a car/driver for me. The cost is Rs 5.5 per km + Rs.200 for the drivers hotel each night.

Using www.mapmyindia.com, you could work out (approximately), how far the distances you are travelling will be and do the math to work out the cost for the car hire.

Hotels will vary depending on the level of comfort you want. Budget for your food will vary depending on whether you want to eat at 5* hotels or at roadside stops (where you can get some awesome food).

The choice is yours.

Cheers
Zoltan

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Ingute

Wow! that is a BIG difference.

i calculated teh distances (with return to Delhi from Udaipur) - it comes up to less than 2,000 km.

It should cost me about 13,000 INR for teh transportation...

Where do I find a friend like yours that could organize a car for this price?? Thank you!!!

Haylo

That's pretty cheap, for a small AC car (Toyota Innova) in Udaipur area we recently paid Rs 2000 a day for an English speaking driver and car including mileage and drivers hotel. I've seen websites quoting Rs 1800 a day including 200km, with a rate of about Rs 6 per km after that.

In Delhi I've been charged Rs 800 to Rs 1200 for 8 hours which includes either 60 or 80km, I forget which.

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Aishah

Cars here for 10 days - a rough costing for a round trip would be no more than 1800 rupees per day for Indica, and around 2100 rupees per day for larger vehicle like Toyota Innova. For 2 people an Indica or Indigo is fine. Then with the rest of your money you are free to book your own places.
65,000 rupees is far too high in my book. You would need to be staying at some really flash places for that - have you got the names of the places, because if you have and put them here it will give us some idea. For less than 2,000 rupees per night, you can stay at some very nice, clean hotels. Which leaves a lot of money over from that quote for your food!

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jeffnz

would love that great
country.so diverse and big been there couple of
times.snouds good of everything. was a bit too
confused before landing on there as had not have
anyplan what to do how to get it done with most
easiestway.my sister was there to give me a good company
through out. just took a flight to jaipur the very
next day i arrived delhi[as heard lots about the
jaipur well knows as pink city] being there was
justtoo great but further to that could not make any
goodplan. just getting in touch with a guy came out
muchperfect for both of us. we booked our trip for all
rajasthan and so the later on places down to goa
[flew from mumbai as flight was expensive from
udaipur though jaipur too] goa seems heaps
preetuer than beaches in india. had very good going over
there.perhaps the best beaches were calunget and
anjuna,arambol .
than to kerala.gods own country ,quite well said
i could not have done like this had not i met that
guy. was so nice on talk,most probably his honesty
and the way he treats clients. he made our stay
likeheaven. would not be bale to forget the moment i
spent in shekhawatimandawa a place very close to
jaipur felt like king so mine sister as queen.real
culture of rajasthan is out there.a must visit
place..

i apprecaite the kind of services he up to for
tourists.still would like to pass millions of
thnaksto him...we were really happy to have him arround.we paid them just 40000 INR for 10 days .hotels were really so much good than i could have got . including breakfast and each and every toll and parking.. even the charges for drivers too.
as a very good travel partner would like to
suggesthis name. a must check out guy..bet he lives up to
your expectations..keen to get in touch with
him.do write me back

cheers up the life

jeff

Ingute

Thank you for the replies.

The suggested places (for 65,000) are:
Delhi - home of Major Chandrakant
PEHARSAR - CHANDRA MAHAL HAVELI
JAIPUR - DERA RAWATSAR OR MADHUBAN OR SIMILAR
JODHPUR - INDRASHAN
Udaipur - PAHUNA HAVELI OR KANKARWA HAVELI

I too think the price is a bit steep.

Here is how Namaste agency quoted us (total - 52,012):
500 (pickup from airport)
1600 (day in delhi)
out of station days x 2600 23400
12 x 626 7512 (I think this is a driver's charge)
Transport subtotal: 33012
Lodging 2 nights at 3,500 rs 70008
nights at 1,500 12000
Lodging subtotal 19,000
Grand total: 52,012

The lodgings with Namaste look pretty good too:

Delhi - Sun StarGrand, Singh Sons or similar
agra - Pushp Villa or AmarYatri Niwas or similar
Jaipur - Diggi Palace or similar
Pushkar - Green Park Resort or similar
Jodhpur - Bhev Vilas, Devi Bhawan or Ratan Vilas or similar
Udaipur - Raj Palace orsimilar

Do these prices look somewhat reasonable?

12 days total as the driver needs to get back to Delhi from Udaipur. I guess our trip is 11 days after all.

Aishah, what would be the daily pay to the drivers you mentioned? and how do I get them? Would tey be available in Delhi/ Or do we need to get to Jaipur?

Thank you so much for the notes!
Ingute

jeffnz

dear traveller !!!

still could find a nice indigo or indica car at 1600 INR AND driver charges per night is just 100.

cheers up
jeff

hotel could find even more cheaper than you been quoted.. sounds very good at reasonable prices..

Aishah

I don't know any of the hotels on your expensive quote, but the ones by Namaste are all good. the Namaste quote is more in keeping, and you have to bear in mind, that they will be making money for their services, so actually the hotel price will be cheaper if you booked yourself directly. I'd be inclined to ask Namaste the price for car and driver and do your own hotel of choice.
As Jeff says, it is possible to get an Indica for 1600 ( my figure of 1800 includes the driver's 100 rupees food money per day). Often the driver is employed by someone else who owns a fleet of cars, so you are actually paying a daily rate to the man who employs the driver. To get a good driver - there are some threads here in this Forum where folks have recommended their driver. Do a search also within the 'Buses, Automobiles, Motorcycles, and Bicycles' Forum.
Sometimes the hotel where you are staying in Delhi can recommend a good driver for you.

Ingute

so how do I find a car for so much less? thanks!

Thank you Aishah - i shall do some search...

Aishah

For a start, take a read of the threads relating to cars and drivers in this Thread here:
http://www.indiamike.com/india/india...thread-t60032/

You can contact your hotel as I suggested previously asking them to give you a quote for a car for a 12 day round trip. Specify what sort of car you want - Indica is smallest, Indigo is slightly more roomy with a bigger boot. Innova is very comfortable but more expensive. You could get a range of prices for each type of vehicle when asking for your quotes.
Ask Namaste what vehicle will be provided.
Do a google search on internet, and see what you can come up with in regards to car hiring people in Delhi.

Ingute

Thanks for the tips.

I gave up on agencies and am booking the places to stay by myself.

Question: is it worth staying in Bishnoi village? I got a quote for a private Twin Ensuite for $25.82 Canadian. That is about 1,000 INR. or is it better to take a tour from Jodhpur?

Thanks!

Aishah

Well, it would be an experience! When I did the tour there were no places for staying then, but we did stop for lunch. This was 9 years back and I'm thinking in the meanwhile perhaps they now have electricity. I'd like to see a website for this - can you post it here, Ingute?
The tour was quite interesting, but to my mind being at an older age, I like my comforts for the night's sleeping arrangements, so if you are sleeping like a Bishnoi villager, fine if you are young and used to camping!