Car rental in Kumaon

Tour itinery:

Dear Sir

I am travelling to kumaon in the first week of november ,09 with my wife,parents & parent - in - laws(total 6).We need a car for our trip for 6 days and 5 nights.Our itinery is as follows:
31st October:Reaching haldwani/kathgodam around 10.30 pm
1st Nov:To Binsar Night stay at Binsar
2nd Nov: To chaukori stay at KMVN Chaukori
3rd Nov: To Kausani,stay at Himvadi resort
4th Nov:At Kausani sight seeing
5Th Nov: To Nainital
6th Nov : Nainital Sightseeing and catch train from kathgodam at night 8 pm

We need a sincere car driver .we need urgent info.

A driver Anil Bisht comes highly recommended ! You may search the forum.

Thanks delhiwala .I will surely contact Anil.Actually i was enquiring about the rate of a qualis/innova per day basis(inclusive of all toll charges,drivers fees).

Should be appox. Rs. 1500-1600 per day !

I have booked an Innova & a Qualis with Mr. Anil(not Bisht) for Rs. 3600/- per day for our September end trip to Kumaon.

Rs. 3600 for both the vehicle is OK ! Comes to around Rs. 1800 per day per vehicle.

Yes. I also think so. He asked 2000/- for Innova & 1600/- for Qualis which seems to be very much reasonable, especially during that period of time.

Well isn't this a little ironic to pay on a per day basis instead of no of kilometers traveled.Even I have planned a trip in Oct for Binsar but was wondering that even on a day when their isnt any movement as such,while full day stay,ill be charged 1500.....?
For longer journeys its not bad but for shorter runs,its too expensive.

Do we have a car renting service in Kathgodam like ours in Delhi & other places who provide cabs say an Indica at Rs 7-8 per km along with 150-200 night charges?

Hill drivers are aware of the habbits of tourists visiting from plains. Noone travels much between places in hills. As they are engaging their vehicle, they are entitled for some profits also. I think the charges are justifiable.

Even if we compare the per km rates at Planes, there is a minimum km clause. Most of the car rental agencies in Delhi charges on per km basis with a minimum of 200 Kms travel per day for outstation duty. The rates comes to almost the same if not higher.

Also note that fuel efficiency in hills can not be compared with fuel efficiency in planes.

agree with sriprakash

[QUOTE=sriprakash74;802604]Hill drivers are aware of the habbits of tourists visiting from plains. Noone travels much between places in hills. As they are engaging their vehicle, they are entitled for some profits also. I think the charges are justifiable.

Well u r definitely right in saying that they do deserve some profit but I guess in some scenarios it can be obnoxiously high,for instance take this e.g.:
I am going to Binsar,chaukori,Pataal from Delhi via Kathgodam on 4th oct n wd b returning back to Kathgodam via pataal on 8th,so effectively 4 days(2night stay in Binsar,1 in chaukori & last day wen ill come back to Kathgodam):
Since we r 2 people only,an Indica or wagon R would be fine for around 1300 - 1400 per day,if lucky:
So that makes it 1400 * 4=5600~6k

Wheras I can get an Indica from delhi which wd charge flat at Rs 5 per km,also wid a constraint of min 200 km per day i.e. 1000 a day from Delhi,ill b back to Delhi by the end of 5th day wid not more than 1000 km(lemme know if that approximation is not correct) i.e.:

1000 * 5=5000 + 800 driver=5800~6k


Now u c in nearly 6k I can have a cab all d way from Delhi to Binsar n back whereas I wd spend 6k only in hills after traveling d major portion to Kathgodam on my own.



Kathgodam - Binsar - chaukori -Patal - Kthgodam circuit must not be greater than 300 kms I guess.So for 300 kms one has to pay 6k,coz night stays r obvious.Effective Per km rate becomes Rs20.

Even if dese guys charge almost double than what we pay in plains i.e. Rs8 or 9 per km wid some fix 200-300 per day it wd b very straight n economical.

However just a thought storming,we cant change d way they work...lolz! N ya frenz if u can suggest something on my itinerary,do let me know.

Well I think there is another way to book the car there. You can book with a fixed dry charge and then add the fuel charge accordingly.

I see ,tht does make some sense,ney idea bout a rental service like u said in Kathgodam?

Samrat - You have putted a very simple calculation taking simple assumptions. I do agree with you that in the example provided by you booking a cab in delhi is economical. But, will the rental agency of Delhi give you a concession if the origin of your travel starts at KGM? So its always the distance you are travelling. If you travel 1000 Kms in hills in 4 days the cost will not increase. But all knows this can not be done as we can not drive with the same speed in which we drive in planes.

Note : Indica charges Rs.7/- in Delhi.

Secondly, its not always economical to book a cab from Delhi. Lets take your example. If I book a cab from KGM to Binsar for drop only, they will charge around Rs.800/- (You save Rs.600/-). If you stay at Binsar for 2 days will you need a cab? If not then again another saving of Rs.1400/-. So you are actually saving Rs.2000/- in this way.

Likewise if one travels to All the tals (2 days Nainital, 1 for other tals) and Mukteshwar (1 Day) the best option would be to take a taxi from KGM to Nainital for drop only (Cost Rs.300/- per cab). No need for any taxi for 2 days in nainital. Take the cab for 3rd and 4th day. You will be spending Rs.3100/-. So which is more economical?

So its always better to make an analysis of which one will be more economical based on tour plan and number of persons travelling. Scenario always varies from case to case basis.

One point I forget to mention in my previous post that in Hill areas they have a season and offseason. There is very less tourist in offseason and so some of their cabs remains idle as around 95% of their business volume depends on tourists. In planes the rental agencies always finds a customer due to commercialisation.

Comming back to your plan, it seems to be perfect. Cab without fuel will charge around Rs.1000/- per day.

I wish I could take only a one way cab to Binsar for 800 as you say,but i guess I would face trouble in arranging a cab later to move on to Chaukori n all..........?
N by d way Indica here is for Rs 5,Tavera for Rs 8 & Innova for 9:50,I hav taken cabs several times,in case anyone needs one I can provide d no.

Happy Travelling!