India

Visiting India

While India’s complexity and diversity have long attracted visitors, travelers to India should expect to encounter a variety of local customs, sights and experiences which may or may not be familiar, but which are an authentic part of the daily fabric of India.

Food & Dining – India is renowned for its vegetarian cuisine, which sometimes doesn’t agree with people’s systems. To minimize the risks of becoming ill, we make sure different international dining options are available to you wherever we travel: our hotels and resorts offer a full array of delectable cuisine for your dining pleasure, balancing western-style menus with impeccably-prepared regional fare. Rice is the basis of Indian meals, with a flavorful array of spices and sauces enhancing every dish. Indian food is typically serviced family style, intended to be passed and shared. The food can often be spicy, but it is varied in style and quite delicious! Purified water is available at all hotels and bottled water is available on all our coach journeys.

City Sightseeing & Attractions – Imagine seeing a scared cow strolling down the street and watching rickshaws deftly maneuver through the cars and buses near the Taj Mahal. Such sights are common throughout India’s cities and near its popular attraction, always popular places to see colorful local sights. It is advisable to keep a watchful eye on your personal belongings at all times, take extra pre caution when in crowded areas, and when walking on unstable surfaces and steep, slippery steps of centuries-old buildings.

Restrooms – While hotels and resorts offer clean restroom facilities, please be advised that public restroom along sightseeing routes are limited and often difficult to maneuver.

Health – It is important that all travelers to India be in good heath. Special provisions for wheelchairs, motorized scooters, walkers and canes are generally not available. Roads can be bumpy; curbs are high and without ramps. This is an active tour that requires a fair amount of walking, frequently in warm weather, on uneven terrain and steep steps; many sites visited do not have handrails. Although not required at time of printing, the U.S. State Department and the Center for Disease Control recommend various inoculations for travel to India. Please consult your physician for pre-departure health advice.

Inclusive Prices

Tour prices are per person in U.S. dollars. All accommodations, entertainment, special dinners, motor coach, shore excursions, sightseeing, luggage handling, admissions, services of Tauck Directors, ship crew and drivers are included.

Hotel Accommodations – Tauck’s price includes all hotel accommodations with private baths. The Tauck standard is to provide the best available hotels without sacrificing value. Although the quality of accommodations may differ from place to place, this standard remains uncompromised. Two-bedded rooms are reserved in most hotels. Triples are two-bedded rooms plus a rollaway cot and are not recommended for comfort.

Tauck Director – Each India tour is conducted by a Tauck Director who remains with the group throughout the duration of the tour. Your Tauck Director is a professional, fully trained employee of Tauck. In addition, a bilingual local guide assists in each city.

Meals – Most meals are included as specified in the itinerary. Meal codes are: B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner.

Gratuities Included – All appropriate gratuities for bellmen, doormen, dining room servers, drivers and local guides are included.

No Options Sold – Tauck’s price includes special dinners, entertainment, sightseeing and most activities. Tauck Directors sometimes assist with information on free-time activities, based on honest opinion and guidance, but will not sell you anything. This means better value and a more relaxed, pleasant experience for you.

Not Included

Airfare to the tour departure point and from the tour ending point is not included. Airfare may be purchased from Tauck for travel originating in the United States.

Hotel Rooms Before & After Tours – Due to time schedules and the possibility of flight delays, many guests prefer to make hotel arrangements for the night preceding their India tour. As a service, Tauck will make reservations before or after your India tour. Rooms are reserved on a space-available basis and must be booked through Tauck to qualify for Tauck’s special rates. Hotel room charges will be added to the tour cost. Note: Airport transfers are included for these bookings. You may want to travel to India a day early to rest and relax before the first full day of touring. Tauck can book your transpacific flights for travel originating in the U.S., and arrange lodging in advance of the India tour at The Imperial. If you wish to spend additional nights in Mumbai (Bombay) at the end of the India tour, please discuss this at the time of booking.

Tauck Director Gratuities – The customary gratuity to the Tauck Director is not included. Such gratuities should be extended on a voluntary, individual basis and not as a group.

Personal Expenses such as phone calls, room service, alcoholic and bar beverages, laundry, airline excess luggage charges, visa fees, vaccinations and other optional incidental extras are not included and may be significant.

Luggage Responsibility – Although every effort is made to handle guests’ luggage carefully, we cannot be responsible, assume liability or accept claims for loss or damage to luggage and personal effects due to breakage, theft, or fair wear and tear through hotel, airline and group carrier handling. Therefore, it is important for your own protection that you make certain you have adequate insurance to cover these eventualities.

Additional Information

Itinerary Changes & Price Flexibility – Tauck pledges to make every effort to operate all tours as advertised. Tauck reserves the right to alter or curtail the itinerary, or substitute sightseeing, hotels, and/or conveyances as deemed necessary. Any savings realized by these changes will be refunded to passengers. Any resultant added expense will be covered by Tauck. Note: Although not expected, prices in this brochure may be modified due to unexpected significant external factors not forecasted at the time of printing.

Travel with Children – Many countries have specific entry requirements for children under 21 who are traveling with or without both parents. Usually a notarized letter, signed by the parent or parents not traveling with the child and stating the name of the child, the adult guardian, the itinerary and dates of travel, and the flight number, is required. To ensure smooth travel, Tauck requires all travelers to comply with the regulations for the country you are visiting. This information is available from each country’s consulate. Tauck is not responsible for the disruption of travel caused by
improper documentation for any travelers, including children traveling without both parents. While there is no definitive format or standards for these letters, Tauck does offer for download guidance for writing this letter.

Membership – Membership will be granted to all persons. Tauck reserves the right to terminate the tour of any persons who are abusive of others or whose behavior disrupts the operation of the tour.

Travelers Needing Special Assistance – We regret that we cannot provide individual assistance to guests for wheelchairs, walking, dining or other personal needs. Persons needing such assistance must be accompanied by an able companion who will assist them. We regret that small ships in Asia cannot accommodate wheelchairs.

Airline Security Measures – Travelers must provide identification in the form of a passport at the time of airport check-in. Your passport name must match the name on your tour reservation and airline ticket or you may be denied boarding.

Air Services – Airfare may be purchased through Tauck for travel originating in the United States. By using Tauck's air services, you agree that Tauck, in purchasing, selling or otherwise arranging air transportation, is acting only as your agent and is not liable or responsible for any accident, death, personal injury, illness, property damage, delay or other loss or expense of any nature whatsoever arising directly or indirectly out of any act of God, or any actions or omissions (including any failure to provide services) or default of, any carrier. All carriers are independent contractors and are not owned, managed, controlled or operated by Tauck. Your airline ticket constitutes a contract between yourself and the airline (and not Tauck), even if purchased through Tauck. Tauck is not liable for, and does not assume responsibility or accept claims with regard to, seat assignments, schedule changes, flight changes, cancellations, claims for a refund or reimbursement of airline ticket fees, or any other loss incurred by you for any reason whatsoever (including, without limitation to, bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or similar relief from creditors). Tauck must handle ticketing for Tauck's special fares, which are subject to availability and cannot be guaranteed until reserved. Special fares cannot be combined with any other promotional offer. Tauck's air services can only be purchased in conjunction with a Tauck tour. Tickets or e-ticket numbers will be mailed with final documents. Should you cancel or change your air before or after departure, all airline cancellation and change fees will apply.

Flying to India
Flying time to Delhi averages about 18 hours from gateway cities in the U.S., and may include a stopover in Europe. Most international flights arrive between 11:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. local time, 10 1/2 hours ahead of the U.S. Eastern Standard Time. You may want to travel to India a day early to rest and relax before the first full day of touring. Tauck can book your transpacific flights for travel originating in the U.S., and arrange lodging in advance of the India tour at The Imperial. Ask for details when booking.

Holidays & Museum Closures – Museum visits and personal shopping time may be disrupted due to unforeseen circumstances or the many religious, state and local holidays observed in Asia.

• Comfortable walking shoes
• Non-leather purse (leather is not allowed in some sanctuaries)
• Non-leather shoes
• Shoes that are easy to slip on and off when visiting places of worship
• Hat (a wide brimmed hat is recommended)
• Sun screen
• Sunglasses
• Eye drops for the dust
• Camera, extra film and batteries
• Soap leaves, travel packets of tissues, and hand sanitizer (toilet tissue is not available at some sites)
• Bathing suit
• Binoculars
• Light jacket or sweater
• Mosquito repellant
• Travel alarm clock