Legitimate All India Tourist Car

michelle

Hi everybody,

my husband and I are planning to go to India this Sep/Oct. and would like to tour Rajasthan in the good old Ambassador A/C with driver from 3rd or 5th of sep until 14th sep.

Our itinerary in Rajasthan:
3.9. Delhi - Jaipur
5.9. Jaipur - Pushkar
7.9. Pushkar - Jodpur
after that Jaisalmer, Osiyan, Ranakpur, Kumbalgarh
14.9. evening arrival in Udaipur and release of driver
16.9. fly back to Delhi.

Budget is limited, quotes received much too high.....
Got the information that a private person, owning such a car, which- as condition- has to be a LEGITIMATE "All India Tourist Car", could help to reduce costs.

Any idea where/how to find such a person?
Maybe expats could help?

Thanks for your help!
m.

seventies'hippy

You might release the driver in Udaipur, but the driver still has to do the return trip to Delhi and guess who pays for that,,,,,,,,,,,

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michelle

Hi Hippie,

no doubt one has to pay the return trip, and no doubt that agencies have to do business too!

What I am trying to find is a private person with such a car and do the deal omitting the agency - got this tip from a travel agent.

Anyway, thanks for your reply!
m.

steven_ber

Get the train to Jaipur, the early morning Shatabdi is well timed (details in 'Train info' thread below), then get a Jaipur based driver, this would save a day or two.

Also..........

Would the driver still need to be "All India Tourist Car"? (as the whole journey would then be in Rajasthan.)

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Train information.

hawaiiyogagrl

Hi Michelle, I have found that hiring a car is easier, cheaper when done in India. Think about it, someone who is not a professional driver may not know what they are doing 6 months from now. I have arranged a non-tourist car with the right permit the day before I needed it....I know that your time might be limited so maybe try to get the car a bit closer to when you get there. (like a month or so)

jyotirmoy

As Steven has suggested hire a cab in Jaipur. Make sure the driver understand English otherwise you will have a very boring & tough time. In fact train connections are quite good so travelling by train & engaging a local cab/auto for sight seeing isn't a bad idea. Hiring a cab at Udaipur & visiting Ranakpur, Kumbhalgarh is a good idea.
There is a convinient overnight train from Udaipur to Delhi.

michelle

Thanks for your valuable inputs steven ber, hawaiiyogagirl and jyotirmoy!!

I have finally found out exactly what I wanted!
A recommended driver, who - after 10 years of working for a travel agency - has been running his own business for 2 years (Tata Indica, Ambassador and Toyota Qualis).

Instead of 85 USD/day for an Ambassador A/C (which was the most expensive offer I received) we will now pay 32 USD. Should anybody be interested, let me know. Owner can be contacted by e-mail.

Michelle

cyberhippie

In Jaipur try the tourist department office, they will most likely be able to hook you up with a decent English speaking driver!!

You'll find the address here

steven_ber

Call me suspicious....

That reads just like an advert.

cyberhippie

It's also VERY cheap, are there no hidden costs???

Be sure you check this out, if it all checks out it's a decent deal for an AC ambassador!

vinayverma

Thats still on a higher side or maybe a tourist price.
I'm not able to locate the thread by Lily from jaipur where she had explained the basics of car fares in easy terms.
Let me see if I can find that for you (if its not what Steven says )

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cyberhippie

You think that's a bit on the high side for an AC car Vinay............next time I need a taxi I'll see you

vinayverma

Yes, The rule of thumb for car hire in India is:
A. Base price: 8 hrs and 80KMs whichever is earlier. for this normal price for an AC car in Delhi is Rs.700
B. per KM charges: This depends on the type of car you are hiring. An AC Indica or Ambassdor could be around Rs. 7per KM. This calculation is used once you have done your basic 80KM in a day.
C. The night charges: This is mainly a fixed price ranging from Rs. 250 to Rs. 500 a night.
So the price of US$ 32/day surely has a hidden cost that may come in terms of the per KM charges or the night charges.
So typically if you are on a long trip some day you'll be driving 200KMs (say from jaipur to Ajmer/Pushkar) and someday it would be just local sightseeing (say in Jaipur).
So if you just take the drive of 200KMs on a particular day it would cost you 700 + 840 (7*120)= 1540 =US$34
But on a local sighseeing trip in one city it would be just Rs700= US$15.5.

So the above rate quoted is not the complete information to say if it is cheap or a rip-off

michelle

Steven, it really sounds too good to be true!!!

Vinayverma, thanks a lot for finding out all this detailed info for me - I really appreciate it!!!

The calculation forwarded to me was the following:

2800 km round trip (Rajasthan incl. 1 day sightseeing in Delhi and return of driver from our drop-off in Udaipur to Delhi)
200 km/day @ 6 Rp
100 Rp/night accomod. driver

Itinerary: Delhi-Jaipur-Pushkar-Bikaner-Jaisalmer-Osiyan-Jodpur-Kumbalgarh/Ranakpur-Udaipur
Udaipur-Delhi (return of driver)

Total amount 18.100 Rp

incl. passenger insurance, fuel, toll tax, state tax, parking
driver/owner has government license, tourist pass and tourist bedge.

If we would do the tour in 10 or 13 days price would remain the same except driver´s accomodation.


Should the owner/driver have written the mail himself and come along with us, I´ll even improve my English :-).....

Thanks again!

Michelle

PS: OK, the driver´s food was not mentioned and also if we did some km more, it is a lot more reasonable than all other quotes I received......

michelle

PPS:
Sorry, I forgot to mention the following:
In his offer, the owner says that the reason of his low prices is, that compared to big agencies and government tourist prices, he charges the "transport price" (whatever this might be....).


Michelle