Trip Includes
- Accommodation on double occupancy basis
- Daily breakfast at your hotel. Full board while in Ranthambore National Park
- Sightseeing admission tickets
- All transfers and sightseeing by private vehicle
- Service of English speaking local guides.
- Three game drives in Ranthambore National Park including the park admission ticket.
- Service of intra-flight reservation.
Trip Does Not Include
- International and in-tour airfare
- India visa (You need to obtain it on your own before the travel begins.
- Drinks, tipping, laundry and other personal expenses.
- Extra expenses or loss due to unforeseen events such as flight delays, cancellation, civil unrest, accident, illness, inclement weather or any event beyond the control of the management.
- Additional game drives or excursions other than listed.
- Camera fees if any.
Guaranteed departure with a minimum of two signups
We guarantee departures with sign-up of a minimum of two persons. Group of family and friends booking and traveling together are entitled the right amount of saving. Sometimes, there are early bird booking discounts, and other offers are also available. Please, give us a call to find out if there are any discounts available.
Trip Difficulty Level
In terms of activity level, this is an easy trip, suitable for all travelers with an average health condition. There are no extreme adventures on this trip except a couple of long day drives and game drives in Ranthambore National Park. India is a highly populated country; busy traffics, cars, rickshaws, people and cattle all share the same road, cars honking, noises and fumes, it can be overwhelming to some. You are requested to have a positive attitude, be patient and open to surprises! Visiting forts may require climbing of stairs.
Traveling during late spring and summer, it can be boiling and make sure that you can bear it when you go during this period. Travelers are advised to bring their medical kit and prescription drugs.
Life on the Trip
A cultural sightseeing day, depending on the season starts between 8.30 A.M. to 9 A.M. Your guide and driver will pick you up at your hotel. We visit the sights and monuments or participate in activities, and we will have a lunch break around noon to 1 pm. After lunch, we again embark on the tour for 2 to 3 hours, and we are brought back to our hotel late afternoon, and our guide will generally leave us free. We will have time to take rest, write diaries or wander about ourselves.
When we are driving from one city to another, we usually spend 4-5 hours on the road with occasional stops for photography and drinks and snacks. Some days can be longer.
A jungle safari trip begins very early morning, sometime before dawn depending on the season. Chances of game viewing are higher very early morning or late afternoon. Usually, the morning safari begins around 6 a.m. following a cup of tea or coffee. We take safari style open jeep and ride for 3-4 hours. The parks are divided into different zones, and we will visit different zones on each safari. We will be back to our lodge or tent by 9:30 to 10:00 am, and then we will have a sumptuous breakfast. Then we will have time to rest, write diaries or chat with the lodge staff and naturalists. We will have a light lunch around 1 p.m., and we will embark on another safari around 2:30 pm or 3 p.m. Depending on the area we are visiting, we will be back to our lodge around 6:30 pm. Dinner will be around 8 p.m., and then we will sit around the bonfire and chat with other fellow travelers or naturalists about the sightings of the day. Some forts require climbing of stairs.
We try our best to adhere to the itinerary, but it should be taken as a general guideline or scope of activities rather than an inflexible series of events and depending on the local conditions or time factor; it can change from the exact sight to see to the precise city to stop.
Indian Visa
You need to obtain an Indian visa before you arrive in India. Cox and King Global Services handle all the India visa requests in the United States as a private contractor to the Indian embassy and consulates.
You are also able to apply Indian eVisa online, and you must do that between 4 and 120 days before your arrival in India. You will receive an electronic visa in pdf by email within three or four business days. The visa is valid for two entries.
Besides the Indian visa, there will be permits required for national parks and monuments visits, and we will take care of that for you.
Accommodation
Accommodations in this trip are superior-class hotels, four-star by local standard and heritage properties which are former castle or palaces. The hotels provide most modern amenities that include a private bathroom with a hot and cold shower, central air-conditioning, phone, mini refrigerator, on-site restaurant, etc.
Accommodations listed are our preferred properties and are subject to availability at the time reservation is processed. If the listed hotels are not available for any reason, we will book your accommodation in a similar property. Rooms are twin or double sharing basis. If you are looking for a private room, we can arrange it for you on the additional charge.
Meals:
The trip includes daily buffet breakfasts at your hotel. While in Ranthambore National Park, you have three meals a day provided by your hotel. Most of your hotels have on-site restaurants that serve traditional Indian and western style dishes. Traditional Indian cuisines are often spicy as they use hot peppers, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, etc. but you can request for a non-spicy or mild spice level.
If you have a special dietary requirement, they will try to cater with advance notice.
Tour Guide
For the sightseeing and excursions, we hire the local guides who know the area the best and have the first-hand information. The guides are college educated professionals, trained and certified by Indian tourism authorities. As for National Park visits, our lodges or national parks provide certified naturalists and guides for the game drive. They are knowledgeable, friendly and flexible. They will show you the wonders of the areas that you would never discover on your own and share their knowledge on Indian history, culture and religion. For travels between the cities, you will be with driver only. Your guide or driver brings necessary vouchers for the hotels and buys admission tickets where appropriate. If you are a group of 10 people or more, we can afford to send a tour director, accompanying you throughout the trip.
Transportation
Depending on the group size, we use air-conditioned Sedan Cars, SUVs, Mini Van or coaches for all transfers and tour in the cities. All transportation and game drives in the National Park will be by open-topped safari style jeeps with theater-style seating or sideway benches. The roads inside the park are a dirt road and are bumpy and dusty. You can wear pollution masks to protect your nose from the dust.
Health and Personal Fitness
While there are no specific physical requirements, all participants of the trip are expected to be in good health condition, have a positive attitude, team spirit and desire for adventure. The trip involves some long road trips; safari rides on a bumpy and dusty dirt road and some amount of walking and even climbing stairs.
Travelers are recommended to start mild exercises like jogging, walking, cycling or swimming several months ahead of the trip to prepare.
Traveling during late spring and summer, it can be boiling and so ensure that you can bear such temperature condition. Travelers are advised to bring their medical kit and prescription drugs.
International and Internal Airfares
You can purchase your international airfare to India and return on your own. If you need any help on this, certainly feel free to contact us. We will take care of the internal airfares for you.
Booking
When you are sure you are traveling, please don't delay in booking so that we can ensure you on the preferred hotels and flights. We request an initial deposit of US$ 300 along with a completes trip application form and passport copies.
The balance payment is due 90 days before your departure. Depending on the number of applicants, we may set an early payment date. Credit card payment attracts an additional 3.5% fee.
Cancellation fee
- Ninety days prior departure: Administrative fee US$ 50 per person.
- 60-89 day's before departure: US$ 250 or 25% of the land cost whichever is higher.
- Forty-five days to 59 days before departure: US$ 450 or 50% of the land cost whichever is higher.
- Thirty days to 44 days before departure: US$ 600 or 75% of the land cost whichever is higher.
- Less than 30 days: 100%.
Travel Protection Plan
While we plan and do our best to make your trip smooth and seamless, there may be chances of unforeseen events and conditions such as illness, accident, inclement weather, and flight cancellation or missed connection or loss of baggage. As a result, you may have a trip interruption, cause extra costs or a situation in which you have to abandon the trip putting your hard earned money in jeopardy. It's also possible that you may need medical assistance, emergency evacuation or medical transportation when you get ill or involve in an accident when you are traveling in remote areas. Far & High's Tour cost does not cover any of these expenses or losses, and so we strongly recommend you that you should protect yourself and your travel investment against those unfavorable conditions.