Roll Call - Trip Dates 10-16-24 to 11-02-24

I've reserved for the above dates for A Portrait of India.

Right now due to flights I'll arrive about 9:30 p.m. on 10/14/24. Solo traveler as my husband isn't going. Anyone else arriving early? I see some posts that Old Delhi is not included in the tour. Thinking of trying to arrange via the hotel. Anyone else doing the same for this tour?

Does Tauck provide you with tipping guidelines/suggestions for the tour director and driver? It's been so long since I took an organized tour and the last one (a safari) the company did.

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Comments

  • edited March 8

    Yes, Tauck provides guidelines for tipping. If you dig into the webpage for your tour, you will find it. Not all tours require you tip the driver because on some it is already included. It may well be on this tour because you will have different drivers because you are flying to different places. The last time I took a tour with Tauck, the TD tip was $12 a day.
    Most flights arrive late at night. You will be collected at the airport by a Tauck rep whenever you arrive, but you must tell Tauck your flights at least three weeks before the start of your trip. Most all the hoards of people you see at the airport are 90% men and as busy day or night.

  • Hi Cheesi India--one of my favorite places and Portrait of India is in the top 3 of my Tauck tours. Arriving at 9:30PM is normal. Tauck will arrange your transfer and you'll be at the hotel in no time and offered lovely tea and scones upon your arrival at the Leela Palace hotel. The hotel is great. I still can't say with 100% certainty that The Imperial, with its old British World Charm, is the better hotel. Both properties really are great. The bathroom at the Leela definitely wins hands down!

    Are you certain Tauck no longer visits Old Delhi? My Portrait of India tour was in 2018; however, I was on the December 2023 Northern India and Nepal tour and we toured Old Delhi. Now, I can say with 100% confidence that the India/Nepal didn't go to all of the places in Old Delhi as the 2018 Portrait tour, but we definitely toured Old Delhi. I do not see how any company can delete Old Delhi from the itinerary.

    That said, the hotel can certainly arrange a car and tour guide for any independent touring you may want to do outside of Tauck's itinerary. I took advantage of those services. The Tour Director may, depending on the TD, include a list of things to do not included on Tauck's list. This will be in the packet you are presented upon arrival at the hotel.

    My TD for POI was Annie and she was great...very patient. My TD for Northern India/Nepal was Sid. He is the BEST TD I have ever had. I hope you get him. He is Indian and lives in Udaipur. He brings an entirely different perspective to India and you get extra perks because he definitely speaks the language. Sid also conducts the POI, Singapore and K&T Tours.

    Have FUN ...FANTASTIC tour!

  • Thank you both for your responses.

    Yes - I'm really looking forward to the trip. My niece and her (now) husband did an around-the-world trip on their own several years ago and liked India so much they stayed 4 months. I had her look at the couple of itineraries offered that I was considering from a couple of different companies and her input was very helpful and one of the reasons I selected this particular tour.

    I managed to get a business class airline ticket with frequent flyer mileage on United Airlines out of Newark (EWR) going to DEL and then back from DEL to EWR at the end. I'm still periodically checking to see if something else will open up directly from Mumbai (BOM). If not, then right now it looks like I'll have to go back to DEL from Mumbai and stay the night at the airport (or fly up domestically the morning of the international flight back). I'm more inclined to stay the night at the airport - we'll see.

    I took a look at the webpage for the tour again and the only thing mentioned about gratuities is: "All customary gratuities for hotel and restaurant staff, local guides and drivers are included. Note: Tauck Director and driver gratuities are not included." Maybe I'll just call and ask.

    I also reviewed the itinerary again and see it talks about an "Orientation tour" of Old Delhi so I'll see at the same time I call about getting more details on what that means. I need to call them anyway about coming in on the 14th regarding an extra (now 2 extra) nights at the hotel prior to the tour starting.

    I'm hopeful others who will be on this particular tour will respond too. It would be nice to chat with some people who will be on the tour - although hearing from anyone with suggestions/comments is great!

  • Getting close! Gosh I'm used to forum boards being much more active. No one reading the forum is on this trip?

  • Hi Cheesi, we will be joining you on this trip. Applied for my visa yesterday and awaiting approval. Very excited that we will still be there when Diwali starts.

  • You can make arrangements for a pre-Tauck tour of Old Delhi. Contact the hotel. This has been discussed on other threads about this tour. Check those threads for more info.

  • JimFLorida - I'm doing this trip in Decemeber. Went to the visa website and it appears that you can only apply for the 30 day tourist visa within 30 days of your arrival (click on the arrival date calendar now and only goes to the end of October). Is that correct or am I missing something?

  • On the visa the year long one is not much more than the 30 day one.

  • I just got back from a week trip to Philadelphia and some these responses.

    JimFlorida - Great to chat with another tour participant! It should be a great trip.

    BKMD - You are correct about the 30-day tourist visa. I decided to use the visa service that Tauck listed and applied for the 1-year visa in August. While the cost was more (but not outrageous) than just simply applying yourself directly to the government website, they provided great service. In fact, I received the visa the day after I submitted my application! Their website is easy to use and I had no trouble with uploading my picture and passport page. For me it was a peace of mind factor prior to making the final tour payment.

    MikeHenderson - I contacted the concierge as a result of the helpful information you posted on the other thread. I just emailed them this morning indicating I'd like to do the 8-hour tour with some modifications to their proposed itinerary. I'm waiting on their reply with confirmation now.

    I opted to return to DEL on the afternoon of 11/02 instead of the day of my international flight home which is 11/03. In doing so, it will still give me some additional time on 11/03 to see any additional sights in DEL that I feel I might want to visit.

  • Thanks Cheesi. I've done just about all visas I was able to do by myself. I'm technically savvy, so I don't think it will be a problem. I could have sworn I read somewhere that you could do it within 90 days, but maybe that was an outdated instruction. I have no problem waiting until 30 days, and have no plans to go back to India any time soon after the trip, so the 30 days visa will be fine. Last visas I did were for Vietnam and Cambodia back in Jan.

    One exception was China which had to go through Visa Central and I had lots of problems with them. So I would not use them again unless I had to. Speaking of China, that's a 10 year visa and my time is running out, but I'm not rushing back there. :)

  • I did the one year India visa on their website and it wasn't much of a problem. They asked a lot of questions but things I could answer - and the cost was just a bit more than the short term visa.

  • edited September 22

    Years ago, the India visa was much more complicated than today, you guys are lucky compared to then

  • BKMD - it wasn’t the issue of doing the application I was concerned about, it was the posts I read on other forums about some people getting to within 2 days of their departure and not having the visa. I opted to avoid that stress. On the other hand plenty of people have not had any issue at all.

  • BKMD, We received our visa in approximately 36 hours. I read that it’s best to apply about 21 days prior to arrival. This gives a window should you suffer through any type of delays. The 30 days begins on the actual day of arrival. We did book a private tour on Viator for the day of arrival. It has a pickup at Leela Palace and will be about 8 hours.

  • Thanks

  • India visas must have changed in the last few years. My India visa is good for 10 years. I've already used it twice and hope to get one more trip to India before it expires in.a few years. I'm hoping Tauck develops a new itinerary covering a different region of India. The Northern India-Nepal TD indicated they were looking into it...fingers crossed.

  • Visas can be for different durations. With the cost escalating for longer periods.

  • Did everyone actually get the actual visa when they went to visa site. If I recall I received something stating I was approved (and paid) but I think I have to get it verified or something upon arrival in India.

  • LindaMarie I utilized the services of Visa Central. I mailed my passport to them. I have an actual visa in my passport.

  • Pureluxury. I went direct. Too late for us I guess. Oh well we will be jag lagged and figuring this out at the airport I guess.

  • Unfortunately I can’t help as the India visa process has changed since we went. It was supposed to be a lot easier. When we did it, it was so complicated that my husband threatened to cancel the vacation. The online form was such that how you filled it in bore no relation to what it printed out which was totally confusing. I think we did this through visa central but we still had to fill it all out to send to them from what I remember and of course we would have sent our passports to Visa Central

  • British. I did it direct and it was okay. We have paperwork but I need to double check instructions. I think we just have to show it somewhere at airport. I think we did this in Africa too. But who remembers. Anyway our trip is in a few weeks so it is what it is I guess. I will get my papers organized over the next few days. Excited for this trip. I book so far in advance it mind boggling when it’s finally time. 👏

  • I received confirmation from the hotel on my tour for October 15th so looks like I’m set. If anyone is interested in joining me let me know.

    Jim Florida-I’ve used Viator in the past and had great luck with them too.

    Wow some visa experiences here!

  • I was curious about size so I called and found out there are 32 confirmed for this trip. Pretty big group.

  • Cheesi. Group sizes are generally 35 unless you book small group which is supposedly 24.

  • LindaMarie - I guess 32 seems big to me only because I haven't done an organized tour in ages! When I first inquired I was told solo travelers can't book the smaller tours. Just more people to meet!

  • All the single travelers will tell you here, they told you wrong. Have a great time!

  • ^^ That is correct.

  • Cheesi, we are booked on the POI tour on February 15, 2025. Interested in your comments about using the "visa service that Tauck listed". I have not been able to find anything on that. There is only the e visa through the Indian Government with uploading 2 photos etc . If you could give me the name of that visa service you used I would appreciate it.
    Also anyone - an tips on suggested medicines to carry, especially in case of Dehli Belly? Also been told only vaccine needed is a Tetanus booster, any comments on that?
    Still to book flights. Is it better to use Tauck or go independent? Any thought on best routes from Florida?
    Getting close, now excitement building. Appreciate this forum and the help from those experienced

  • MHtravels I have copied this from the website page for the tour, it’s all there! Three options are suggested, including Visa Central which we used years ago before Evisas were available for INDIA.

    Travel Documents

    All U.S. citizens require a valid passport to enter India, and that passport must be valid for at least six months beyond the completion of travel. (Please note that although adult passports are valid for a full ten years, children's passports require renewal every five years.) Your passport must also contain at least two blank visa pages. If you are a United States citizen and do not have a valid passport, please contact the closest U.S. passport agency or consult the U.S. State Department web site for detailed information on how to obtain or renew your passport at: www.travel.state.gov.

    Tauck must provide our ground operator with each guests' passport info 60 days prior to departure.

    A visa is required to travel to India and they cannot be processed more than 90 days prior to departure. The visa fees are not included in the tour cost.

    There is an option of e-visa which is multiple entry and valid for one year from date of approval. Guests can apply no more than 90 days in advance from proposed date of travel for a visa that is valid for 30 days of visiting. The evisa website link is: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa.

    Tauck has collaborated with VisaCentral in the US to assist our guests with processing and issuing their travel documents. If a guest opts to work with VisaCentral, their services are available online at www.visacentral.com/tauck. To speak directly with VisaCentral Customer Service, please call 844-860-7199 (toll-free in the US) or email tauck@visacentral.com.

    Please Note: While Tauck has an affiliation with VisaCentral for processing visas, you are not required to process your visa through VisaCentral, and you may elect to choose other visa services or work directly through the appropriate consulates or embassies.

    Regardless of which visa service company you chose (or if you opt to work directly with the appropriate consulate or embassy), your visa application will require a summary of your Tauck itinerary. Please email journeypreparationteam@tauck.com to request your itinerary summary, which we will be happy to provide.

    Please Note: Because a visa is an official document, Tauck cannot apply for a visa on your behalf, and we are very limited regarding the assistance we're able to provide. If you require help, we recommend working with a reputable visa service company as they can provide the highest level of assistance.

    Non-U.S. citizens should check with the Indian Embassy or Consulate to determine necessary travel documents.

    We strongly recommend that you make at least two photocopies of all the travel documents that you bring with you. Include copies of the photo page of your passport that contains the date of issuance, the date of expiration and your citizenship. Secure one set of copies in the safe in your room while traveling and leave one set behind with someone at home who will assist you in the event your documents are misplaced, lost or stolen.

    To facilitate Travel Requirements, destinations are increasingly utilizing online forms that require digital proof that you've successfully completed your submission (via an email, QR code, etc.) To ensure smooth travels and peace of mind, we strongly recommend all guests carry a personal smart phone and sign up for international data plans before traveling overseas

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