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Individual Travel

2 weeks Rajasthan + Agra

16 years ago, February 14th 2008 No: 1 Msg: #27497 Delete Edit

Nikko
Klaus Hagn

N Posts: 1

My family of 4 adults are planning to travel to India middle of June - early July for about two weeks. Nothing booked yet apart from Hotel in delhi for the 1. night.
We want to tour Rajasthan + Agra and -if there are some days left- perhaps a few days in Goa (Is it good idea at all in resp. of rainy season??)
We are seasoned travellers - though not really used to India, having been there just once about 30 yrs. ago.
Perhaps someone can help my with my questions:
- I read somewhere it is possible to rent a chauferred car for 1 or 2 weeks; has anyone experience with that kind of travel, and if so, where to go for, cost?, or is it just nonsense and traveling by train is the better alternative? And if it makes sense, can it also be arranged in Agra or Jaipur?

Does it make sense to organise this trip yourself? instead having it arranged for you, considering the limited time we can spend. If so, which tour operators can one recommend, who can despite the arrangement give as much privacy as possible, i. e. when, say, traveling through countryside and I want to stop, does he do that, or, if arriving in a choosen hotel, can I change to another one, if I don't like, etc.? I must say, we are not really used travelling in a bigger groups, having a daily itinery all week!

Also, is it worthwile visiting one of the wildlife reservates? How big are chances to see Tiger or other rare animals?

I know it's a bit much (naturally I have more questions later on....), but I do hope one or the other reader may be able to help me, thanks alot!

Nikko

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16 years ago, March 17th 2008 No: 2 Msg: #30131 Delete Edit

WanderAndWonder
Brian Searwar

B Posts: 53

Hi,

I am also planning a similar trip but in October. I think some of the hotels will help with a car and driver. I have been in contact with a couple places. I don't know yet if they're over-priced or not. I plan on spending a couple days in one place and then getting a driver to get me to the next. Delhi, then Agra, then Jaipur, etc. I don't think Sariska Tiger Reserve is reporting too many tigers lately. Apparently, poaching is an issue. However, I heard that Ranthambore is OK. I don't know if this place is a day-trip from Jaipur. It may be quite a drive.
I did get the runaround from one agency who told me that I could not drive to Jaisalmer and that the only way was to fly. Then I learned that it is also possible by rail and road via Jodphur. I am planning the whole thing myself, with the crucial element being that I hire someone to get me from one city to the next. Taxis in each city would be OK for getting to museums, etc.
Keep in mind that in Delhi on Mondays attractions are closed. This is not the case in Agra, Jaipur, etc...as far I have learned.
I don't really want to take the train. They are usually crowded and I have heard horror stories about scheduling. My take on it is that this is my holiday and while it may cost a bit more to get a car, I have limited time in the region and I don't want to spend hours waiting for a train.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask more. I find that it also helps me plan my adventure.

Brian.

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16 years ago, April 10th 2008 No: 3 Msg: #32261 Delete Edit

sacha3ld
Sacha Petersen

N Posts: 6

Hi Nikko,
I got Veeru's name from a friend who travelled in India a few years ago. My friend had actually travelled with Veeru's father "Ashok" and highly recommended him. "Veeru" is Ashok's son and has been trained by his father to be a driver.

I went to India with a friend this year for 3+ weeks to travel North India and Veeru was our driver. I really can't say enough good things about him!

On the practical side: he is a great driver - I never felt unsafe or scared in his car. The planning of the trip was great - we never felt like we were on a schedule, but somehow we saw everything we wanted to see and arrived at our destinations with plenty of time to eat and rest etc. We let Veeru choose our accommodations and ended up staying in some great places 'off the beaten path' - guest houses and small hotels that were clean, comfortable and way more charm and character than the larger hotels. We also let Veeru suggest places to eat along the way - and had some great dining experiences as a result. The food is so delicious! I credit Veeru's restaurant choices with our making it through the entire trip without getting sick.

On the personality side: Veeru is a smart, honest, intelligent, responsible man. I honestly feel like we were so lucky to find him. As you get to know him, you will find him to be friendly, funny, sweet and caring as well. He was very knowledgeable about the history and sights and people and religion and so on. I am not sure if you
are interested, but he will teach you some basic Hindi - which we found to be fun - and people really appreciated our efforts to at least try to speak the language. I don't know how to say this except to be honest - I met many other tourists on our trip who were unhappy with their drivers - complaints about poor English, misunderstandings, bad driving, and drinking at night were common. On many occasions people asked us how we found Veeru - they too, could see that he was outstanding. If you have concerns or changes you need to make along the way, Veeru will listen and make sure you are happy with the trip and your hotels and whatever else comes up. If you want, he will tell you stories about the Hindu religion and life in India. I honestly think we asked him 1000 questions a day and he never lost his patience - even when we asked stupid questions like "why do one cow's horns curl one way and another cow's horns curl the other way????" I learned so much from Veeru and left India feeling like so lucky to have had the experience with him as our driver. I plan on seeing more of India in the future and will absolutely hire Veeru as a driver again.

(On a side note: this was my second trip to India. The first trip was with a group on a bus - and while it was a good trip, I would never travel that way in India again. Going with a driver is the way to see India!)
Send me a PM to know his contact details.
Have Fun!

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16 years ago, April 14th 2008 No: 4 Msg: #32517 Delete Edit

Scottjj77
Scott Johnson

B Posts: 5

Hi guys, We did 6 weeks in India around September last year. Just a few things for you. The Taj Mahal is closed one day a week, which I think is Friday so you need to check that before you plan as it's the main reason to go to Agra. We were warned by all travellers to spend as little time as possible in Agra as it's quite pushy there and we found that to be true. As for Rajasthan, it was my favourite part of India and probably the friendliest. I would recommend Udaipur. As for the wildlife reserves, we found it to be a bit of a letdown as did many other people we'd spoken to. We saw no tigers, it would be better if the drivers carried walkie talkies to let each other know where the tigers are rather than meet up every 3 hours and report any tiger sightings, as the tiger will be long gone. I'm sorry, we'd been to Kenya earlier in the trip and things are run much more professionally there!!!!
Goa was not as nice as I thought it would be, closer to Rajasthan is a place called Dui (think that's how you spell it) island which we were told is nicer and less commercialised. May be worth checking out!!!
Can't help with the chauffered cars etc, as we planned everything ourselves including the extreme bus and train rides!!!!
You can get to Jaisalmer by train, but I think it's an epic. As for the train situation, we had no problems at all with scheduling and as long as you pay for good seats or sleeper compartments it's OK and good value (better than bartering with taxi drivers). The cheaper compartments for the locals are the ones where it's crammed.
We visited Mumbai, Goa, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Delhi, Agra, Gwalior, Khajuraho, Varanasi, Calcutta (and some other small towns along the way). Any questions, I'll happily answer!!!! Reply to this