10 Day in India
Itinerary
I contacted Drivers India about a holiday in India about three months before we were due to travel. I provided an outline itinerary of a 10-day holiday. Their representative, Liana, soon came back with a detailed plan that came close to what we required at a reasonable cost. This was a private tour and included a car and driver, accommodation with breakfast, plus safaris in Rambhathbhore and Sariska.
Over the following weeks, I requested multiple minor changes, and Liana quickly incorporated these changes. The holiday went ahead as planned, and we were generally happy with the result.
The itinerary mostly went to plan. The major exception was Days 1 and 2, which were completely messed up because they had not allowed for the closure of monuments on Day 2, which was a Monday. We made a hasty rearrangement when they collected us from the hotel. We ended up being unable to visit Akshardham and see the Water Show. That was very disappointing.
Driver
Mr Sanyar was a good driver. He was friendly and helpful. We always felt safe. However, his English was not good enough, and there were many times when we did not understand him, or he did not understand us.
Accommodation
Most of the accommodation was average to good. Sariska was excellent. The City Star in Delhi was quite poor and the manager was the most unpleasant person that we met during the entire time we were in India. The location of the City Star is not good. They should consider an alternative hotel for future clients.
The major issue was in Ranthambore, where we were taken to a different resort from that stated in our itinerary. It was nowhere near as good. I have not received a satisfactory explanation of the change. My conclusion is that someone decided to send us to a cheaper place and keep the price difference. Maybe it was the driver, maybe it was someone in the Drivers India office.
Guides
The guides that we had were acceptable except for the one in Jaipur. The tour started with a visit to the Amber Fort, which was fine. After a quick stop for a photo of the Water Palace, we were taken to a factory/shop that makes and sells fabrics, clothes and carpets. We did not ask for this. We were not asked if we wanted this. The company's rules specifically prohibit this. We ended up wasting a lot of time, so that after lunch and visiting the City Palace, it was getting late and we were too tired to continue with the itinerary. So the only part of the itinerary that we completed was visits to the Amber Fort and the City Palace. We did not see several places on the itinerary. That guide should never be used again.
Summary
Overall, we were satisfied with the tour. There are always things that go wrong, and that is a normal part of travelling. As mentioned above, there were a couple of things that should not have gone wrong with proper planning, and some others where there is room for improvement.