Tour of Delhi or Old Delhi
We're going to arrive two days early for the Portrait of India tour. I contacted the concierge of the Leela Palace, and they have cars that you can hire for a half day or a full day. They can also provide an English-speaking tour guide. Neither is too expensive.
Before I book with them, I’d like to hear what other people may have done in Delhi on a free day. Someone had posted about an old Delhi tour they took that sounded interesting, but I can’t find that posting. It was probably just a note in a longer thread.
Anyone have any suggestions for a one-day tour of Delhi and a tour company that you would recommend? Something that would not duplicate what Tauck is going to show us.
0
Comments
We are also arriving early for our tour. I booked an all day tour to visit sites that aren’t covered by Tauck. My only trepidation is our flight arrives at 5am which gives little time to rest assuming we don’t sleep on aircraft.
@JimFlorida - Did you book through the hotel, or with another company?
Mike, we did not use Tauck for our India adventure, but a couple of thoughts. First, the Leela Palace is one of the best hotels we have stayed at with incredible service. I would trust the concierge there for their recommendations, even though it is going to be a bit more expensive than doing it on your own. We actually used our travel agents contact with A&K who had guides that they recommended. OLD Delhi is a very very busy city and we felt comfortable with our guide running interference. We took a bicycle rickshaw tour through the Chandni Chowk market, what a hoot that was. They will also take you to the Red Fort. I would also look at the Tours By Locals website to get an idea of the itineraries they offer to give you some recommendations of what you would like to see. I am also hoping that your tour director will reach out in advance and that they can make a recommendation for a tour guide for the day as well. Be prepared for sensory overload!
@taxare - thanks for your suggestions. I'm going to go with the Leela Palace arrangements.
You visit the Red fort with Tauck.
Mike: we contacted the concierge at the Leela in advance to hire a driver and guide with the understanding we didn’t want to duplicate the Tauck touring. We ended up arriving at the hotel much later than we expected because of long lines at immigration. Nonetheless the driver/guide was ready for us when we were ready - a few hours after our arranged time.
We had a brief drive by orientation to Delhi and then went to the outskirts of the Chandni Chowk Market where we transfered to a tuk tuk, There were 5 of us in 3 different Tuk tuks with the driver and guide trailing us closely. They were very protective of us. It was the wildest scene with chaotic traffic, sights, sounds and aromas. We made a number of stops in the market (fabric shops, spice shops, etc) with a running commentary from the guide. It was an unforgettable adventure and a perfect introduction to India on the drive back to the hotel, we stopped at a few of their ‘friends’s’ shop replete with fabrics, rugs, tchotchkes! We had a blast! And felt extremely safe!
Mike, this was an incredible trip!
Mike, I booked the tour through Viator. They offered half day or full day tours and cover a few locations not covered by Tauck. They pick you up at a scheduled time at Leela and it can be cancelled 24 hours in advance with no penalty.
MikeHenderson Hello
I booked with : https://delhimagic.com/
They are excellent and do support the community, especially women & kids. Deepa will respond promptly, and she is a sweetheart.
Check their website, I love my 2 tours I took with them, we saw a lot, they provide car and do custom your itinerary.
Hope this helps.
I decided to go with the Leela Palace hotel arrangements. They have several nice vehicles and will provide one with a driver for a decent price. They will also arrange for a tour guide to accompany us.
I asked about payment, and they said to pay the tour guide at the end of the tour, and the charge for the car would be added to our hotel bill.
Thank you all for your suggestions and help.
Mike we hope to do that too! Count down to October. Can’t wait!
MikeHenderson Hi.
The Leela Palace is Beautiful, and staff it's super nice. - The swimming pool is not heated- freezing cold.
enjoy your trip.
We also arrived early and arrainged a tour of Old Delhi using Tours by Locals (use either Dhruv Gupta or Raj Dhar who are both cofounders of Masterji Kee Haveli Tours.) The tour was great and even included lunch in their private home, which was delicious. Raj assured us that we would not get "Delhi Belly" from the meal and he was correct
I'm looking at the Trip Itinerary and it seems very general on the sites to be visited in Delhi. I'm curious how you know exactly what sites will be visited. Or are you thinking that what is listed is just that - the only sites they will visit?
The trip itinerary that I received seems fairly specific about what sites Tauck will take us to in Delhi. When I set up the private tour I sent the itinerary to the concierge to pass to the guide and said not to repeat anything on the Tauck itinerary.
Mike Henderson-
Afternoon reads: Guided orientation driving tour of New Delhi, including a drive through Vijay Chowk with views of the Secretariat buildings, Parliament House, the Presidential Palace and the India Gate.
Next day a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage site Humayun’s Tomb and explore 18 story Qutub Minar Victory Tower.
Is this what you’re seeing? Sounds to me like no stops on the first afternoon at all and limited stops on the next morning.
I agree an additional tour may be the way to go.
I received a document from Leela about the 8 hour tour. It listed seven sites to be visited. The last two, Humayun's Tomb and Qutubminar, were listed on the Tauck itinerary for the first full day as places we'd visit. All of the other sites were not duplicates of what Tauck offered.
Thanks for the follow up. I’ll be making some arrangements too. Will update as I finalize
Hi Mike, I wanted to set up a similar tour with the hotel. What was the cost?
I don't have the numbers in front of me right now, but I believe the 8 hour rental of a car and driver was about $380. The tour guide was an additional $30 (plus tip). But send a note to the hotel. The email is Concierge - The Leela Palace New Delhi concierge.tlpnd@theleela.com
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Oops, here's what I found about the car: I signed up for the BMW 7 and for 8 hours. We may not do the full 8 hours. The charges for the car are added to your hotel account. You pay the guide in cash.
Local Run - Delhi Rates in Indian Rupees
Rates inclusive of Taxes......BMW 7 Series.......BMW X5........BMW 5 Series
01 Hour and 10 KMS..............4,000..................2,300...............1,800
04 Hours and 40 KMS...........16,000..................9,200..............7,200
08 Hours and 80 KMS...........32,000................18,400.............14,400
Rate per Extra KM.....................400......................230.................180
Rate per Extra Hour................4,000...................2,300..............1,800
We can organize English speaking guide service for the tour in Delhi on chargeable basis of INR 2,500 for 08 hours.
Thank so much! We’re arriving a day before the tour begins so we’ll probably crash for a few hours before we begin. I’m wondering how much energy we’ll have to tour the red fort, Jama Masjid and hopefully Chandi Chowk.
We toured the red fort as part of the tour with Tauck but it was some time ago
Hi Mike, can I ask what sites the 8 hour tour will cover? I have fomo.
The very best thing for you to do is to contact the concierge at the hotel at the email address I posted earlier. They will send you a complete description of the tours. The concierge is very good and responds quickly.
You're not committing to anything by contacting them.