Your suggestions on the Honeymoon Itinerary

pri_r1

Hi all,
after much reading on most of the Sikkim related threads..i did enquire with a Travel agent Holiday Makers of Kolkata and got the below itinerary:
For 7N/8D -
Day 1 : Bagdogra - Yangtey (Tashi Gang Resort)
Day 2 : Local Sightseeing Yangtey
Day 3 : Yangtey – Namchi (SEVEN HILLS RESORT )
Day 4 : Local Sightseeing Namchi
Day 5 : NAMCHI - Gangtok (GOLDEN HEIGHTS / TASHI DELEK–DLX / ROYAL PLAZA)
Day 6 : Gangtok – Local Sight Seeing (Tsomgo Lake, Nathula Pass and Baba Mandir)
Day 7 : Gangtok – Sightseeing cont
Day 8 : Gangtok – Transfer to Bagdogra

The costs mentioned are :
DELUXE PACKAGE - Rs 39,600
SEMI-LUXURY PACKAGE - Rs 43,400
LUXURY PACKAGE - Rs 46,600

Could you kindly share your thoughts if the prices quoted are reasonable? This is for the month of Dec this yr. I have already posted a thread regarding Sikkim trip but got only 2 replies.
Pls help!!!

Thanks!!

samya.indya

I think Gangtok is too crowded & congested.Instead of Gangtok try to stay at BORONG & RINCHENPONG.These are quite nice places.You can stay at the WILD FLOWER RETREAT in Borong.They have separate cottages.I am very much sure u will love it.And about cost, I think the quotation is a bit too much.

For Borong & Rinchenpong U can check out my blog...

__________________
SAMYA
My Travel Blog

two_2_tango

Hello pri_r1,

I am in the same boat , looking towards a sikkim honeymoon in Dec. Was the destinations suggested by you or is it purely based on what the tour operator suggested? Having gone through most of the threads in this forum, I have seen N. Sikkim getting the largest number of recommendations followed by W. Sikkim ( Yangtey/ Pelling) as well as Rinchenpong, Ravangla, Borong and like.. Have you considered any of these when making your request to tour operator?

pri_r1

Oh good to find a company!!
well, for a start i simply asked the tour operator to give me an itinerary for HM in Sikkim and this is what he gives me.. and i totally agree with you about North and West Sikkim getting max votes..but also felt they are more of trekky places,not sure as relaxing place. however i am going to write back to the tour operators and ask them to remove gangtok and include either Borong or Richenpong or any such less crowded place. Will share with you the response i get. Also, could you please share your plans for the trip? are you asking any tour operator as well?

Thanks a lot dude..!!

vineetsaini19

Hi,

Even we are visiting sikkim end of august 09.
We earlier approached the tour operators, but you wont believe when I approached the hotels directly, the costing came out to be almost 50% less including transportation.

You can make your own trip as per your liking especially if u r going husband and wife. If u r going for a fixed package sometimes u r not able to enjoy on ur own.

Infact the package cost mentioned here is too much.

I think you should consult someone else.

If u want a gud package.. Yatra.com is very gud.

Have a happy trip.

Enjoy!
Vineet

vineetsaini19

Hi all,

Can anybody help me out on the following:

We booked our honeymoon trip from Aug 21 to Aug 26 which included
Aug 21 - Darjeeling
Aug 22 - Site seeing
Aug 23 - To gangtok
Aug 24 - Gangtok site seeing
Aug 25 - Gangtok site seeing
Aug 26 - Back to delhi

PROBLEM IS : Most probably west bengal especially Darjeeling will be on strike from Aug 17 to donot know when..

All our bookings have been done. What should we do now??????

I am planning to change the itenary rather than cancelling the trip.

Can you help me regarding the same. Which all places should a add with gangtok.?

Thanks,
Vineet

samya.indya

I heard that there will be no long term strike in that region anymore.I am not sure about the strike from 17th.

If you are thinking of changing the Itinerary from Darjeeling To Sikkim you can add some of the quite places in sikkim.You can go to west sikkim region.Ask your tour operator for places like BORONG(my favourite),RINCHENPONG.

GooDLuck.....

vineetsaini19

Thanks yaa Samya,

Hope the strike doesnt get on. Its gonna spoil our whole trip otherwise.

Of course I'll explore Borong... Can you suggest some good hotel there as well as some nice site seeing points?

Thanks,
Vineet

samya.indya

There is only one place to stay in Borong.WILDFLOWER RETREAT.Dont have the booking no. with me right now.You can ask your Tour Operator for booking.

There are several cottages to stay.The experience will be awesome, That is I can assure u...

And about sight seeing The place itself is so beautiful that u wont want to leave there.There are no such sight seeing spots there apart from some local monasteries I guess.Its a place where u can spend couple of days and just relax.

two_2_tango

Vineet,

When you mentioned about costs coming out to be 50% less than tour operators, were you considering the same hotels as Tour operators were providing? Also, were you factoring in exclusive transportation or shared one.

I haven't done much leg work with approaching tour operators and is still torn between going my own vs tour operators for an upcoming honeymoon trip in December. Would appreciate any inputs.

two_2_tango

@pri_r1,

Haven't contacted any tour operators yet. don't think I have done as much legwork as you have, for the reason that my plans are still in developmental stage. All I have done for now is research on the locations and narrow it down. December is a total off season for Sikkim, and I am surprised to see that the quotes which tour operators seems to be giving are still on the higher end. I'd expect that there will be minimal occupancies at many of the good hotels during this time frame. Let us know if you receive any further quotes.

vineetsaini19

Mr. Tango,

The hotels we opted were even much better in star rating as compared to those provided by the tour operators.

vineetsaini19

Can you please share the best Itenenary for 5 nites and six days for Sikkim Visit...

I donot want to miss the best places and the experiences.

Please share..

Thanks,
Vineet Saini

samya.indya

Day1 : Gangtok
Day2 : sight seeing(THANGU LAKE & NATHULA PASS)
DAY3 : RINCHENPONG/PELLING(My Favorite : RINCHENPONG)
DAY4 : RINCHENPONG/BORONG
DAY5 : BORONG

two_2_tango

@Samya,

Thanks for your inputs. I was pretty much narrowing down to the destinations you mentioned in W. Sikkim + Borong for our honeymoon and was also toying between a few other destinations in West Sikkim like Biksthang, Varsey, Kaluk, Yuksom etc. At the same time, would like each experience to be unique in its on way and do not want every stop to be a repeat of the previous one. Which ones would you recommend?

Between Richenpong and Kaluk, which one would you prefer to stay? Does a stay in Richenpong/Kaluk add a different perspective than staying in Pelling/ Yangtey or is it just enough to stay in Pelling and visit Richen/ Kaluk.

How many days would you recommend in Borong and Pelling for a relaxed honeymoon ?