The questions we are actually asked, answered plainly. If yours is not here, ask us — we would rather answer it once here than fifty times by email.
How does getting a quote work?
You tell us where you want to go, roughly when, how many of you there are and what you would like to spend; we send back a day-by-day itinerary with named hotels and a per-person price. There is no form to fill in beyond the first message and no obligation at any stage. Most people go back and forth with us two or three times before the itinerary is right.
How long does a quote take?
A first itinerary usually takes one to two working days, because a real person is checking hotel availability and building the route rather than pulling a template. A complicated multi-country trip takes longer, and we will tell you when to expect it rather than leave you guessing. If you need something the same day, say so.
Do you charge for planning the itinerary?
No. Designing the itinerary, revising it and costing it are free, and you owe nothing until you decide to book. What you receive is a proper working document — the route, the pace, the named hotels, the inclusions and the exclusions — not a teaser.
How much do I pay upfront, and when is the balance due?
A deposit confirms the booking and the balance falls due before departure. We do not publish one figure here because it follows the terms of the specific hotels and airlines on your trip — a peak-season booking with non-refundable hotel rates is not the same as a shoulder-season one. Your written quote states the exact deposit and the exact date the balance is due, before you pay anything. How payment works covers the rest.
Are flights included in the price?
Only if the itinerary says so. Where flights are included the quote names the routing and the fare type; where they are not, the price covers everything on the ground and you book the flights yourself or ask us to quote them separately. Always check the inclusions list — this is the single most common cause of two quotes looking different when they are not.
Are prices per person or per couple?
Per person, on twin sharing, unless a page says otherwise. That means the figure assumes two people sharing a room; travelling alone costs more per person, not less, because the room cost does not halve. A third adult or a child sharing with you is priced separately and stated on the quote.
Why is GST added, and what is TCS?
They are two different things and only one is a real cost to you. GST on tour operator services is 5% of the package value and you do not get it back. TCS on an overseas package is tax collected in advance against your PAN, and you claim it against your income tax when you file, so it comes back to you. Both are explained here, with a longer guide on what TCS actually means for an Indian traveller.
What happens if my visa is refused?
The trip has to be cancelled and cancellation terms apply, because by that point money has usually already gone to hotels and airlines. Visa fees are paid to the consulate and are not refundable by anyone. How much of the rest comes back depends entirely on how close to departure the refusal lands — we will send you the exact figure in writing before you decide what to do. Applying early is the only real protection, and travel insurance with visa-refusal cover is worth asking about.
Can I change my travel dates after booking?
Sometimes, and it depends on what has already been booked rather than on our willingness. Hotels on flexible rates and some airlines allow a date change for a fee; non-refundable rates and cheap airline fares often do not, and the cost is whatever the supplier charges plus any fare difference. Ask before you commit to a new date — we will price the change first and let you decide.
What happens on the ground if something goes wrong?
You travel with a phone number that reaches us, not a generic helpline, and a local contact for the destination. Most problems — a room that is not what was booked, a driver who has not arrived, a closure that breaks the day’s plan — are fixed the same day by someone making calls on your behalf. If something cannot be fixed while you are there, tell us during the trip anyway, because a problem reported at the time can be taken up with the supplier and a problem reported a month later usually cannot.
Do you run fixed group departures?
Rarely. Almost every trip on this site is built privately for the people travelling on it, with no departure calendar and no seat count. The exception is the Vietnam and Cambodia Discovery, which runs as a small-group departure of up to sixteen travellers, because its internal flights, guides and boat charters work better shared. Where a trip runs as a group, the cap is stated on its itinerary and we do not exceed it. If you want to travel with a group of your own — a family, a set of friends, an office — we price it as one private trip.
Do I need travel insurance?
Yes, and for most international destinations it is a visa requirement rather than a suggestion. Insurance is the only thing that covers medical treatment abroad, and it is also what covers a cancellation caused by illness. We will tell you what a destination requires; buy the policy yourself so the contract is directly between you and the insurer.
Can you book just hotels, or just flights?
We are a tour operator, not a booking site, so what we do well is a whole trip designed end to end. We will quote parts of one where it genuinely helps, but if all you need is a hotel room for two nights, a booking site will do it faster and cheaper than we can.
How do I know the hotels I am quoted are the hotels I get?
Because they are named in the quote, and the confirmation you receive after paying the deposit names them again with the confirmation numbers. If a hotel becomes unavailable between quote and booking — it happens, particularly in peak season — we tell you, and offer an alternative for you to approve rather than substituting one quietly.