Review & costof Namaste India Tours-rental of car and driver

Malaysia
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Review & costof Namaste India Tours-rental of car and driver
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I would like to post a review of my family's experience of renting a car-Toyota Innova and driver with Namaste India Tours, as I had some difficulty in getting information on this topic prior to our India trip. We rented a Toyota Innova and driver (only) from Namaste as I had made all bookings for hotels on the net using information from tripadvisor. I settled on Namaste as I liked their web page and the few generally positive reviews on them. For a 7 day hire unlimited travel (range within 35 km) of any city within the Golden triangle-New Delhi, Agra, Jaipur plus airport dropoff-I paid Rs20,800. They also quoted airport pickup at Rs-800 to Rs1300 but our hotel has complimentary service. This includes all accomodation & meals of driver, toll and petrol. I can say that I was satisfied on the whole with their service-Kamal, the driver had adequate command of english, and has more than 10 years service with them. He is not a guide but you can get along quite well without one-esp if you have a lonely planet book!. My only grouse would be that they will suggest that you shop in certain places (jewellery/fabrics) that are much higher priced than the normal shops e.g the jewellery shop priced silver at Rs140/gm while the high street were at Rs50 to Rs60. But this being India, seems everyone has ways to make extra income. As long as you understand that there is no compulsion on your part to buy anything and a lot of the visitors to the shops do depart empty handed. One last thing-you are expected to pay for the trip upfront when you see the driver-in my case, I asked the Manager to come by and collect the payment. This is at least better than having to make a deposit, which is what happens with some tour companies. Also you are expected to tip the driver-10% was the rate recommended to me by the Manager. I deemed it well deserved as there were days when he had to drive quite late at night-past 8pm for us to reach our destination. I highly recommend them as a professional unit.

sussex
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1. Re: Review & costof Namaste India Tours-rental of car and driver
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We also travelled with Namaste India tours in November. We did a two week tour of rajhastan and it was fantastic. We had booked an Ambassador car ( which we didn't get until the third day) and our driver was Sanjay. He was brilliant very knowledgeable, good command of English, couldn't do enough for us. We did pay the driver our tour money and it was no problem. The drivers all come from the same mountain area in india and are very trustworthy and obliging. We never felt any compulsion to buy anything although we were taken to a few shops for items we requested. Sanjay was more keen for us to see the culture than shop and he wouldn't give any advice on shopping apart from make sure you bargain - which I thought was commendable. The forts and palaces were marvellous but did start to merge into one after a while, the Taj Mahal was the icing on the cake

We had plumped for the slightly cheaper tour - all hotels had en-suite, air conditioning and european toilets. Some hotels were good some were mediochre but if we were not happy the company were happy to change hotels - they value their reputation. The manger rang us regularly to make sure everything was ok. The food was good in all the hotels, I think the advantage of smaller hotels is the food is cooked fresh - no buffets.

Sanjay definitely made the trip more enjoyable - he had a good sense of humour and was always asking us to tell him if we wanted to stop for photos - which we did often! His driving was superb, we always felt safe despite the Indian roads! One day he was on the road for 12 hours as we got stuck in a jam, he never complained. We have kept in touch with him since getting back. We tipped him more than the 10% - he was worth it.

After our tour we caught the overnight train to Varanasi (Namaste booked this for us). This was an experience i would not repeat as the train was dirty and late. I had booked a Guest House in Varanasi myself which was fabulous - Kedareswar Bed & Breakfast Establishment. Namaste had organised our pick up from train and drop off to airport two days later. The company they used in Varanasi was not so good but suited our needs.

I would recommend this company. Read their site and keep an open mind about India - it really is incredible!

AUSTRALIA
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2. Re: Review & costof Namaste India Tours-rental of car and driver
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Must say I totally agree with the above two posts .We are a family of four and travelled with Namaste India Tours through Rajisthan in December 2011 .Travelling with a car and driver is without a doubt he best way to travel in India.You can go where you want and stop where you want which was great for us to take photos (we ended up with 8000 on 3 cameras!) Namaste booked all our hotels and I can honestly say they were all clean and comfortable enough. Our driver always made sure we were happy with the rooms before he left us .The two havelis we stayed in were quite spectacular.

Our driver Ramesh Kumar was just excellent and good company . He negotiated those chaotic crowded potholed Indian roads with impressive skill and endless patience .Nothing was too much trouble from trying to find a new camera battery charger which my forgetful hubby manage to leave at home to driving for an hour through gridlocked Jaipur traffic when the teenage daughters had a craving for McDonald's. He did take us to places to shop but only when WE asked him too ...and he did know his way around every city we went to so there was no getting lost all .

Like the others I would recommend this company . They are honest and deliver what they promise plus more. You do have to pay up front but that is fair .There are no hidden extras ..in fact we worked out the cost in Australian dollars before we left but it ended up being a little cheaper as value of the dollar on the day was up a little ! What a bonus

And as Sussexsas said Keep an open mind about India and you will love it!

San Diego...
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Namaste India Tours (note there is another company with a very similar name) was wonderful. (Namasteindiatours.com) We took the Rajasthan Adventure Tour with basic Indian hotels and the up-graded Innova vehicle with air bags and belts for road safety. Kamal, our driver, made us feel safe and secure with his excellent driving skills and also watched out for us on our adventures. The company is willing to alter travel plans and can help you to connect with sister companies not in their area. Very accommodating and price was super. The hotels, which are well located, were basic and are not what you are used to in the US. Be prepared for electricity and water outages, but the trip was great. Highly recommend this company. They are familiar with all the cities and give you a smooth, hassle free tour of Rajasthan.

Edited: 9 years ago
Dunsborough...
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Thank you all for your postings. I am planning a trip to Rajasthan early next year and am considering using Namaste Indian Tours. A question for msk60750 please - you have put a web address in your posting, and also referred to another company with a similar name. Is the Namasteindiatours.com the company who you travelled with? Regards, pac1952.

Scotland, United...
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I contacted Namaste India Tours (not Namaste Tours India) for a quote for the Golden Triangle plus Ranthambhore Tour. I explained that we liked some hotels and included them in a detailed Itinerary to make it easier for them to give us a price. I was astounded to receive this reply:

"Not sure I understand what you are sending me. Is this an itinerary someone has set for you? We do not book these hotels. If this is a quote from another agency you may want to go ahead and proceed with them."

Needless to say I will not be using their services. I have never received such an unprofessional response to an enquiry - I also work in the travel industry myself. They are either very arrogant or very naive.

Edited: 8 years ago
Charlotte, North...
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I have just returned from my first trip to India, using Namaste India Tours and their Rasjasthan Legacy Tour. The trip exceeded my expectations and the service given by Namaste India Tours and our driver, Sanjay Kumar, was wonderful. I am glad we upgraded to the legacy tour as we stayed in some great hotels. We were kept safe and advised well by the driver, who was always available to assist us. His knowledge of the area was really helpful and after hours of sightseeing and being harassed by hawkers it was a relief to get into the back of the Ambassador car and relax while Sanjay dealt with the traffic, and took us to our next stop. I would use them again.

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Canberra, Australia
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10. Re: Review & costof Namaste India Tours-rental of car and driver
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Prepare to be taken for a ride

We did a modified “Rajasthan Heritage” tour with Namaste India Tours

In the past we have had trouble with Delhi travel agents, when arranging local and Cashmere tours, so we researched on the net and approached Namaste India Tours with care. The web site is appealing and quirky…but misleading

Even with all of our care the tour was very disappointing. We enjoyed Rajasthan and found the forts, palaces, food and havellis to be great but the Ambassador car was rubbish and the driver lazy, dishonest and ignorant

If we were to “do” Rajasthan again we would do it differently. It cost far too much

Be aware that the Ambassador car was designed in the late 1940s, it is an antique on wheels. There is a reason why there are so few still on the road. This ancient design is not up to modern Indian road conditions. They are slow, uncomfortable and unsafe. Their brakes, steering, engines, transmissions and safety systems are utterly inadequate and dangerous. Why does Namaste still recommend and use them? They are tough and cheap, thus more profitable. We would avoid the Ambassador car

Our driver got us where we needed to go with only a couple of mishaps. He was usually punctual, the car was generally clean, he spoke english and he did the basic job but……he took secret commissions from shops, restaurants and hotels, he did as little work as possible and he was ignorant of any interesting things which were outside his usual routine. He was not worth the money and I regret the large tip we gave him (out of embarrassment)

Be aware that Namaste India Tours is Jawahar. He operates out of a small home office in his Delhi flat. There are no office staff. This has upsides and downsides. Jawahar makes the hotel bookings and manages the drivers himself. He does not appear to be a member of any associations or have any travel industry accreditations, thus there is no “umpire” to whom you can appeal if there are issues

The “no up-front deposit” approach is nice but then you have to pay 100% on arrival. We paid 100% with some discomfort. One has to decide whether to trust him. We did and should not have. When you face that decision remember that Jawahar has been in the game many years. He knows all the angles and you have no effective defence if things go wrong or you are shafted

To get the best of Rajasthan you need a driver and car. If we were to “do” Rajasthan again we would go for the driver and car only and make the accommodation bookings on the fly. Cheaper, more flexible and much safer

Edited: 7 years ago
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