Trip to Badrinath and Kedarnath

We are family of 5 people (2 adults and kids aged 20,16,16)are planning a trip to Do Dham.Our plan is to hire a Innova taxi(Cost??) from Delhi and go to Haridwar-Badrinath-Kedarnath-Rishikesh-back to Delhi in 7 nights 8 days.I am in a fix whether to take a package from travel agents or book a taxi and book hotels(I prefer GMVN)on our own.Another question-How do you book GMVN..On the website it says you can book only 3 days earlier..That will be lot of tension when traveling with kids.
Any other insights are also welcome.
Day 1-Haridwar
Day 2- Guptakashi
Day 3-Kedarnath
Day 4-Pipalkot/joshimath
Day 5-Badrinath
Day 6--Rudraprayag
Day 7- Rishikesh
Which are reasonable and good/clean hotels in Delhi around karol bagh area?
Thanks

The itinerary looks good. Much will depend on your travel dates. If you are planning to travel in End April-Early May or after mid July, you should not have any trouble with the reservations at GMVN, as the maximum crowd is between Second week of May and Mid July. After that the crowds wane somewhat. Even if you do not get accommodation in the GMVN there are plenty of other staying options open to you.

We will be traveling in 1st week of june 2010.I got the price quote for innova car for Rs3500 per day includes everything like toll,tax,drivers ta..Is the price good?

I think 3500 is more. You can Non AC Tata Sumo ( 9 seater) for 2100 per day

I am also planning to go to same trip but we are 9 family group so I asked for tempo traveller 12 seater pushback @4000 INR minimum 5 days.

Hi You can book the hotel through GMVNL.com and date you can chose as per your travel plan.

I am doing the same jopb since one week but not yet fixed everything.

Thanks Neerajt75.Would you mind telling me the place you will be hiring your car from.I inquired a few places and everyone quoted Rs 3500.I guess we need a/c from Delhi-Haridwar.
Regarding booking GMVN places-If you write an email with dates will they accept it?
Today I have got quotes from a couple of travel agents..its all expensive. Car plus budget accommodations(minimum is Rs 11000 plus 2.58% tax)
Have you zeroed in on any place in Delhi?
i am on the internet all the time..its so confusing and time consuming

Hi,
I got the price from (shubhyatratravels. at the rate .hotmail. com) but he is rishikesh based travel agent. You can write to him. Our starting point is Rishikesh/haridwar (for mini van). As its hill area so no one likes to have A/C on during uphill but he gave the option if we like to use AC then it will Rs 400 extra.

Now GMVNL site so it typical government based system. You can go to the site (registered first) and look for accommodation tab followed by place. Click the place it will give the status and if it is green, you can book the rooms and pay online. I think it is centralized system and if you are using USA based CC then some time banks block the payment although payment get approved (It happened with me one time )
I am coming from kanpur (at present in USA) so cant have any idea about delhi.

Thanks.I have written to Shubhyatra.Lets see his quote.

You really don't need to hire a car ex-Delhi, it will be more expensive and a lot of Delhi drivers are not experienced mountain hands. Safer and cheaper to take the car from Haridwar/Rishikesh.
YOu can take the train from Delhi to Haridwar, there are several day trains as well as overnight trains. You could chose one of these. It is cheaper, faster and more comfortable than the road journey.
The price quoted for Innova seems on the higher side. You will not need an AC when in the hills, so no need to spend extra money on an AC car if you hire from Rishikesh/Haridwar.

Today got lowest quote from Skylark journeys/nature tours.Does anyone know how good they are?Shubyatra gave me Rs3000 per day Innova car but their package deal is expensive.

3k/day for Innova are usual rates...

3k per day seems more reasonable, Shubhyatra has a good reputation amongst the IM members, several of whom have used their services.
What are they including in the package and what are they charging you?
Iwould suggest just hire the vehicle and the driver, for the rest - hotel accommodation etc make your own arrangements.

I think I also got the quote from skylark and their price was same Shubyatra. If skylark is giving better price then go for that. This is first time I am dealing with Shubyatra so no idea how they are.

I dont know why but package deal is always expansive!!

Did you check the hotel price?

Actually I had mis -read Shubyatra's quote..i was thinking its per person.Sorry about that.Their quote is separate for hotels and car..which I think is not bad.They have given names of all the hotels.Have to check them.
Hotel package cost: 07 Nights
Premium hotel package: Rs 55000/- ( with bkft and dinner, 02 dbl room + 01 Extra bed)
Deluxe hotel package: Rs 27000/- ( 02 Dbl room, No meal)
Regular hotel package: Rs 17600/- ( 02 Dbl room, No meal)
Transporation cost: 08 Days
Innova: Rs 3000/- per day
Total cost: Rs 24000/-

Skylark's
Reg. Package :
With Tavera / Qualis - Rs. 07,990/- Per Pax
With Toyota Innova - Rs. 08,470/- Per Pax

MAPAI SUPPLIMENT (Daily Breakfast & Dinner) : Rs. 2,200/- Per Person

Dlx. Package :
With Tavera / Qualis - Rs. 10,740/- Per Pax
With Toyota Innova - Rs. 11,220/- Per Pax

MAPAI SUPPLIMENT (Daily Breakfast & Dinner) : Rs. 2,800/- Per Person
Skylark has given the names of the hotels too.So have to do some research on the hotels(how good they are)and then decide.

Thanks for all your inputs.