India Tours and Itineraries

India is the country where a good operator makes the most difference, and every trip we build here has a private driver under it. These are the six shapes we start from.

Ways to travel India

These are the shapes we build trips around, not fixed departures. Every itinerary is quoted individually in Australian dollars with international flights, internal flights, drivers, accommodation and guides on one booking. Tell us your dates and we will send a draft.

How a India itinerary is built

India is built around a region, a driver and a slow schedule. Every route starts with the choice of region — the Golden Triangle for the first trip, Rajasthan or Kerala for the second, the north in depth or the Himalaya for the third — and then puts a private car and driver under the whole of it, because that is how India works: AUD 60–120 a day for a car that stays with you across a Rajasthan loop, with a driver whose own accommodation is included. Licensed guides join at the monuments where a guide is the difference between looking and seeing (the Taj, the Amber Fort, Old Delhi, Hampi). Two nights minimum in each place, a rest afternoon every third day, hotels with a pool and a garden to retreat to, and at least two palace nights in Rajasthan. Flights cover the long legs (Delhi–Varanasi, Delhi–Kochi); the Shatabdi expresses cover the triangle for those who want the train. India is the country where an operator changes the trip most, and the India travel guide and the things to do page are where the region is chosen.

When to go

October to March for the north, Rajasthan, Varanasi and the Golden Triangle: dry, cool at night, warm by day, with December and January foggy in Delhi and cold in the desert. November to February for Kerala and the south. June to September for Ladakh and the Himalaya, when the plains are in monsoon. April and May are brutally hot on the plains — 45°C in Rajasthan — and the best months for tigers. The Kerala monsoon (June–August) is the traditional Ayurveda season. Diwali (October or November) books out; Holi (March), Pushkar’s camel fair (November) and Kerala’s Onam (August–September) are worth planning around. The India and South Asia guide has the monsoon explained.

What every itinerary includes

• Return airfare from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, open-jaw where the route allows; other cities via those three
• Every internal flight, train, boat and transfer, ticketed
• Accommodation chosen by district and by what the night is for, bed configuration confirmed in writing
• A private driver where the country runs on drivers, and licensed guides where a guide changes the day
• Entry and visa checks for every traveller, a pre-departure pack and a day-by-day document
• A quote in Australian dollars, Australian consumer-law protection, and a Cooee contact in Brisbane

Pricing

Quoted per departure in Australian dollars with everything above included. We do not publish from-prices for international itineraries because the season and the accommodation tier move the total by thousands; the country guide and the South-East Asia guide set out the underlying daily numbers.

How to book

Choose a shape above or tell us what you want. Send your dates, departure city and the party through the enquiry form or on 0409 661 342; we check the season against the route, confirm the beds that matter, and send an itinerary and a quote within two working days. A deposit holds it under our booking conditions; travel insurance is required.