Nepal, India & Bhutan
Kolkata Ciry Tour
Kanchenjunga Express - Kolkata to Siliguri
Thimpu (Bhutan) City Tour
Punakha Dzong
and Chimi Lhakhang
- Punakha
Trongsa Dzong - Trongsa
Endochholing Dzong
+ Cultural Evening
Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve
Chitwan National Park
Gangtok Tour
Toy Train to Kurseong
Makaibari Tea Estate
+ Home Stay
Kathmandu City Tour
Chitwan National Park package: including jungle walk, elephant safari and river safari
Bird-spotting walks in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, cultural village walk, boat ride
All meals on tour
Drinking water on the tour vehicle
Accommodation on tour
Sleeping bags (when camping in Tibet)
All activities/entry fees to local attractions listed on the detailed itinerary
Internet usage on the tour vehicle (CDMA/3G whichever is applicable)
The use of an Apple iPad 2 and Android tablets
12 volt and 240 volt charging facilities on board the vehicle
All applicable entry permits, for example: Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim (not visas).
Any flights listed on the itinerary
All transport listed on the itinerary
All airport transfers
International flights and taxes
Flights not listed on the itinerary
Pre and Post tour accommodation
Meals you choose to take on your own
Alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages on tour
Optional activities
Personal Taxis and transportation
Items of a personal nature & spending money
Travel Insurance
Visas
Personal Tips
Group size
The tours comfortably carry 14 passengers and there needs to be at least 6 passengers for the trip to run.
Accommodation
These
overland trips are designed for either twin shared/double accommodation
or single supplement accommodation. If you are traveling alone and wish
to twin share, we will do our best to arrange this with another group
member of the same sex, however this can’t always be guaranteed. If you
are traveling alone and don’t want to share accommodation, single
supplements can be made available.
Most
of the hotels range from beautiful five stars with excellent facilities
to three stars with facilities that are quite acceptable. However, some
of the destinations you get to are quite removed from the normal
tourist path and when this is the case, the best accommodation available
is used. A local home stay is also used on a couple of the trips.
The
only camping is in Western Tibet, simply because accommodation is not
available. When you camp, a support vehicle and crew is used and every
day your camp is organised for you along with your meals. The camps
consist of personal tents and a kitchen tent, a dining tent (with
tables, chairs and heating) and toilet tent (with a toilet seat).
Mattresses, sleeping bags and safari cots are also supplied.
Tasteful and comfortable permanent tented accommodation is used when you stay at the Last Resort on our Crème De La Crème
Nepal Loop and High Road To and From Lhasa trips. These are safari
style tents where one can still stand fully upright and there is a
proper bed.
Meals
Meals
on these tours are fully inclusive. Most of the time the evening meals
will be mainly buffet meals at the hotels and on some occasions there
will be a group meal somewhere special. The only time you will pay for
your own meal is if you want a bit of time out from the group and goe
off to do your own thing. On your drive days, quite often
there will be a packed lunch. If you have any special dietary
requirements please tell us at the time of booking and also remind your
crew at the commencement of your trip.
Crew
On
all of the Comfort Level Overland Tours there is a crew of two; one
Western Leader/Driver and one Local Crew who keeps the passengers
informed with local knowledge, including culture, language and cuisine.
Both of the crew are responsible for the group and the day to day
running of the trip and will accompany you for the duration. Many of the
sites and cities you visit, there will also be English speaking local
guides to accompany you and offer their extensive local knowledge as
well as real insight into the lives of the local people.
Tipping
On
these trips, local guides are often utilised. These local guides may
live and travel with you through their home country and it is usual to
tip them when they leave. However, this
is already taken care of: all tipping of local guides as well as any
other help along the way is organised by your Tour Crew, so please do
not feel you have to tip. If at any time you are feeling pressured to
tip on a luxury trip, please let your Tour Leader know.
Regarding your Tour crew at the end of the trip.; if you feel you have
received an excellent service, please feel free to give a little extra
at the end of the tour, but don’t feel obligated - a tip is something
that should be earned… not expected.
We ask all passengers to declare any pre-existing medical conditions. For trips that travel to areas of high altitude we also recommend all passengers ask for our information pack on traveling at altitude and acclimatising. There are no age restrictions though we do recommend clients who are 70 or older to visit their doctor to confirm they are physically able carry out the day to day requirements of these trips. Passengers should be prepared for long driving days and possible limited facilities. You should also be aware, quite often you are traveling in very isolated and remote places and help just isn’t around, we may even be in an area that is quite populated, but the medical system isn’t of the same standard as you would expect if you were in your home country. If you have additional concerns, please just ask.
The local payment is a group fund and forms part of the trip price for our upmarket trips. It's an amount that each passenger puts into a central fund and is monitored by the crew. These funds are used to pay for anything that hasn’t been pre-paid in advance of the trip including accommodation, all meals, entrance fees and any activities that the group takes part in as a whole. The local payment is unlike a kitty where it’s controlled and managed by passengers. It is part of the trip price and has been costed into the daily running of the trip. There will be no refund at the end of the trip.
Sometimes, civil or political unrest, or other reasons beyond our control (e.g. a natural disaster), can mean that an itinerary is disrupted and we have to make a contingency plan. This may involve hiring alternate transport or even the whole group flying over an area. Although there will be help to organise alternative travel arrangements, in circumstances outside our control, it’s a good idea to be prepared to pay for unexpected costs and therefore we ask you to bring along a 'Contingency Fund' of USD400. In almost all cases trips run smoothly and this fund is therefore rarely used. We also recommend that you take along an internationally recognised credit or charge card with a decent limit in case of emergencies, such as medical treatment en route, or even the need to be repatriated; though these occurrences are rare. Remember that travel insurance policies usually only refund you for expenses after you have already paid out.
TBC
If you wish to arrive in Kathmandu a few days earlier, we can book pre tour accommodation at the departure hotel for you if you provide us with your arrival details. You will need to pay for your room upon arrival. Post tour accommodation can be booked en-route with the help of your crew.
The tour departs from the Fairlawn Hotel
13/A, Sudder Street
Calcutta 700 016
India.
phone: 91 - (33) - 2252 1510 / 8766 / 8767
fax: 91 - (33) - 2252 1835.
email: fairlawn@cal.vsnl.net.in OR fairlawnhotel@gmail.com
web: www.fairlawnhotel.com
RATES - FROM:
Single Room: Rs 2250 + Service Charge and Taxes
Double and Twin: Rs 2700 + Service Charge and Taxes
*Prices are subject to change
All rooms are air - conditioned, with private Bath / Shower. Among the other facilities, are phone, TV and tea making items. All Rooms also have fridges.
It is a condition of booking that you have comprehensive travel insurance. Without evidence of valid travel insurance you will not be allowed to start the trip. Whatever policy you choose, you must ensure that it is designed for adventure/overland travel. As such it must cover you for adventure activities such as white water rafting, trekking, horse riding and that the 24 Hour Emergency Assistance Company must be experienced in handling situations in developing countries – for example they have the ability to arrange repatriation from remote areas such as the Tibetan Plateau or if you were trekking in the Himalayas. Travel policies that come with a credit card will not be accepted. These policies have many conditions and quite often the bearer of the card is confident of full travel insurance but in fact, when it comes to a claim, if one of these conditions hasn’t been met, the claim in all likelihood will be rejected. There is a firm policy with credit card insurance and no one will be allowed on the truck with this type of insurance. We recommend that any policy have the following minimum levels of cover: Medical (incl. repatriation) US$5,000,000 / Personal Liability US$2,000,000 / Cancellation and Curtailment US$10,000 / Loss of Baggage, personal effects, money and other inclusions are down to personal choice.