India's Golden Triangle with Jules Verne

morbius

Hi,

Voyages Jules Verne are doing a very attractively priced 9 day trip to India's Golden Triangle.

It's this one:
http://www.vjv.co.uk/destinations/indian-subcontinent/india/indias-golden-triangle/

At only £735 it's quite a bit cheaper than anywhere else.....questions is are Jules Verne a good company to go with?

My Partner and I have never been to India before and we would be looking to go on the 28th July Departure date....and advice on the destinations and/or the travel company would be welcome. Or if anyone can point me in the direction of a better deal then I'm open minded....

Thanks,
Mark Morb

Sam_Bee

Morbius,

Jules Verne are part of Kuoni. The recent opening up of the India-UK Air routes means that air prices have been slashed. Without looking too hard, you will probably be flying Jet Airways or similar, and as a result, the overall tour prices have dropped and this trip seems excellent value for money. You will be in a group of about 25 i'd expect.

They are well groomed in such trips, and have probably been running the identical tour for decades. I'm sure the holiday will be well run, comfortable and informative. There might not be much sponteniety as it is so established, but if it ticks all your boxes, you should have an excellent trip. Most importantly, your money is safe.

Bon voyage!

Sam

poe.tuesday

I went to China with them in 2001 - they were far cheaper than anyone else and very good too - I was very impressed with them - on the tour one of the people travelling with us committed suicide - this was an awful situation especailly in a place like China - it was dealt with very well by the tour rep and the local reps - as we were a small group travelling, we have all got to know each other - the itinary was changed slightly so we could spend some time in a lovely garden as many of us were shocked by the incident - I can not rate them highly enough

morbius

Thanks for the replies....That's put my mind at rest.

The fact that it was such a good price made me slightly cautious but the information about the new air fare situation for India explains that...

If the other half is in agreement I think I will book it tonight...

Thanks again

Mark Morb

dmg24

I know of someone that has done this tour, and I have regularly travelled with Kuoni, and I have to agree with the other posters, highly recommended.

SallyD

I did the Golden Triange with Jules Verne a good few years ago and the whole trip was just fine. In fact, I missed the plane due to a religious festival in Southall that morning that forced the North Circular Road to come to a standstill for what seemed an age. Anyhow, did phone JV, they contacted the Rep at the airport who in turn met us at the arrivals door with luggage trolley, rushed us down to the check in desk but alas, the gate had closed. Contacted the office straightaway, couldnt get us on a flight later that day so transferred us on to the next tour which was two weeks later and only charged us £14 admin.fee...........how bad is that.

The hotels were fabulous, guides very knowledgeable and the whole tour was interesting and I am so very pleased I went.

Okay, there was an air traffic control strike the day we were due to come home, but that is a different story and hardly the fault of Jules Verne, it just added spice!

Friends have travelled with them to Egypt and had a thoroughly good time.

Enjoy

Rakesh.Chauhan_2

Why dont you do the Golden Triangle yourself....Get yourself "India - Lonely planet" book and use the train services (rather than daughting cars and coaches).

This will save you loads of money (you can probably get the flights for £200 each - 300 at most) and spend £20 for your own version of the so called "Golden Triangle".

I did exactly that and enjoyed it much more because its an adventure!

Sam_Bee

Rakesh.Chauhan wrote: »

This will save you loads of money (you can probably get the flights for £200 each - 300 at most) and spend £20 for your own version of the so called "Golden Triangle".

If they can get direct flights, including all taxes for double that, I will eat my proverbial hat. £400 minimum.

So, that leaves £315 per person to get all accommodation, touring, whatever meals included, guides etc for 7 days. And enough left over for JV to make a profit???

I did the same trip on the cheap, travelling 3rd class trains 12 years ago. Sure as hell cost me more than £20 :think:

It's a great deal for what it includes!

davidlizard

We did a similar tour of India a few years back with VJV - Golden Triangle + Jodhpur, Udaipur and a few other cities - 15 nights in all.

It was the best value for money holiday I have ever done by a long way.

However, some aspects left a bit to be desired if you are "picky" for want of a better word. For example, we all pitched up at one hotel after a long day on the bus - we were split into two groups. The first group stayed in luxury in the palace, the second group stayed in tents in the car park !! Little things like that test senses of humour and suggest mediocre local organisation and penny pinching may be the order of the day.

The flight was with Monarch (ugh), however, it was only half full so we had 3 seats between the two of us which helped greatly.

In the past, we have travelled with them to Zimbabwe (twice), China, Hong Kong, India and Sri Lanka, at a fraction of what these places typically cost.

However, personally, I would do the GT independently as others suggest.

Rakesh.Chauhan_2

Sam_Bee wrote: »

If they can get direct flights, including all taxes for double that, I will eat my proverbial hat. £400 minimum.

Use a company called Gandhi Travels in Leicester to get it for £200 - probably wont be direct (but a 1 hour stop down in Bahrain i think) - hopefully the hat has salt n pepper.

Sam_Bee wrote: »

I did the same trip on the cheap, travelling 3rd class trains 12 years ago. Sure as hell cost me more than £20 :think:

Go to the train station to buy your train tickets in Delhi (rather than 3rd party companies and you'll get the best carriage possible for less than £20!)- Did this last year and got 1st class and sleeper carriage!

Sam_Bee

Rakesh.Chauhan wrote: »

Use a company called Gandhi Travels in Leicester to get it for £200 - probably wont be direct (but a 1 hour stop down in Bahrain i think) - hopefully the hat has salt n pepper.

As I said find me a direct flight for £400 and I'll provide the ketchup! Infact that now applies to indirect for £200, as taxes will be over £150. You won't get a flight for £50 return!

As for £20 I meant the entire trip including accommodation.

I have to completely agree that if you have the time, travelling round India by train is one of lifes great experiences. You meet wonderful people, and see great places. You can buy Indrail Passes in this country, costs next to nothing. My most memorable journey was 56 hours from Delhi to Bangalore in a 1st class (non a/c) sleeper. But some of the trips into the mountains are stunning.

However, I had 2 months... definitely wouldn't recommend for a 2 week holiday as you can spend the entire time travelling, or queueing!