Extremely willing and keen to help
Added By : Tony Marcelline
Added On : 25/01/2012
I had the very good fortune to utilise the services of Travel Hut on a trip to India late December 2009 to February 2010.
Am I glad I made that decision!!
Right from the start Abha was extremely willing and keen to help and offer advice and above all, value for money. There were six of us travelling (my wife and I as well as our two children and their respective partners) and neither our kids or their partners had ever been to India. So basically I gave Abha a set of "must visit" places and a timeframe and she did the rest. As I was born and bred in Calcutta, and my wife in Bombay they were on the list of must visit places as well as Varanasi, the Taj, a wildlife reserve where we could hope to see a Bengal tiger, some of the famous Mughal monuments, Goa, Cochin and a few days on a houseboat in the Kerela backwaters and of course a hill station Kodaikanal of which we have fond memories. And of course no trip to India is complete without a journey by train.
Abha arranged an absolute fantastic itinerary incorporating all of our must see places and then made several suggestions for the "gaps" to maximise our time in India.
We flew out of Sydney with Singapore Airlines and arrived in Calcutta. After 4 days there catching up with friends and re-acquainting ourselves with some of the culinary delights there, we left Calcutta and travelled to Varanasi by overnight train. After 2 days there we flew to Delhi where we were treated to the cultural delights of the Mughal empire and from there we went on a short train journey to Agra and the Taj Mahal. if you have not seen it, nothing can prepare you for the sheer beauty and granduer of this monument to love.
From there we were driven to Ranthambore via Fatehpur Sikri - the capital of the Mughal emperor Akbar and from there to Ranthamborewhere we visited the Ranthambore Tiger Sanctuary and to everyone's delight we were lucky enough to see a tiger. The accommodation at this venue deserves special mention as it was the Taj Ranthambore and provided a glimpse of times past and the luxury of the Raj. More road travel to Jaipur and more cultural masterpieces and then we flew to Goa for a few days at a beach resort. From there we flew to Bombay and after another few days in the financial capital, we moved into the south of India.
A couple of days in Cochin and then it was 2 days of absolute bliss on a houseboat in the Kerela backwaters. From there we moved on to the Spice Village, an eco tourist resort high up in the Western Ghats and then on to Maduri and Kodaikanal. Then it was onwards to Trichy, Pondicherry and Madras where we flew out to a Singapore stopover on our way home.
Abha did everything for us. We chopped and changed the itinerary several times before settling on the final one and she was more than happy to arrange the quotes and make the various changes. We were met in Calcutta and given all papers for our North India trip and then again in Jaipur and given all documents for our South India leg. We chose a 4.5 to 5 Star accommodation package which I would definitely recommend. At every city we were met by one of her reps and our baggage was taken to a waiting air-conditioned minibus/vehicle where we were driven to our hotels. the vehicle and driver were then at our service and was used for sight seeing tours. Each of the hotels came with free breakfast daily except in Ranthambore where the cost also included all meals. At each location there was an english speaking guide and each person received complimentary bottled water. There were also some shows such as a Kathakali show at Cochin, safari drives at Ranthambore, dawn boat ride at Varanasi, light and sound show at Jaipur and an elephant ride at Jaipur. The total cost of the package included all of these items as well as all train fares (1st class air con) and air fares.
This kind of tour is ideal of groups of all sizes and the beauty about these tours is that they can be personalised to suit your own travel needs and timings. Furthermore an added advantage over the "group" tours advertised in the press is that it is your own group and you see what you want to see not the "set" itinerary. Most surprising of all is the cost. Tours arranged through Travel Hut are very competitive and is most cases are cheaper those offered in the press.
The best testimonial of all is that both our kids as well as their partners will be going back to India in the future, and based on the level of service and value for money will be using the services of Abha and Travel Hut. As for my wife and I, it goes without saying that no matter where in the world we travel to in the future, we will be using Travel Hut.
