Indian Travel Agents,  Tour Operators and Travel Agencies Online

A guide to finding a right reliable online Travel Agency, Travel Agent and Tour Operater in India.

In India travel agents, travel agencies and tour operators can be found in just about every lane in all major Indian vacation resorts and holiday destinations. You will also find them all over the Internet - all claiming to the "Best Indian Travel Web Site" or "Top India Travel Portal". But can you really trust these more-often-than-not fly-by-night travels and tours companies with the precious family vacation trip that you have been planning to India for so long? Your honeymoon to India may end even before it starts.

So how do you figure out which online Indian travel agency, tour operator or  travel agent is reliable and can deliver the ideal Indian vacations experience? Here are some tips to guide you on what to look for on the travel agent's website:

Before booking India Package Tours (aka Vacation Packages, Holiday packages):

• Do the tours have day-wise travel itineraries and route maps of the places that you will visit on the tour? The trip itinerary and the tour map will tell the touring circuits (is the travel circuit logical?) and how how much effort the tour operater has put into the designing the  tour packages. Is the itinerary crammed with sight-seeing or does it give you time to spend at leisure - exploring and discovering the world of India. After all you are on a vacation - not a business trip.
• Does the Holidays package clearly tell you what is included and excluded from your package deal? India is a land of monuments and you will be going sightseeing to several of them. Are the monument entrance fees included? Are the Guides licensed and English speaking? A guide who is licensed by the Indian Tourism Department, or the concerned local authorities, can help a traveler / traveller to not only understand the ancient history of the monument, but also give an insight to Indian culture, arts and crafts.
• Are the Hotel names or class of accommodation specified in the Tour Package? Or does the travel agent just mention "Best Hotels in Town"? You just might find that you are booked in a cheap discounted inn.

Before making Indian Hotel Reservations:

• Does the travel agency's website have information, photographs (pictures speak louder than words!) and room rates of hotels accommodations to suit tourists with varying budgets? Or does it just cater to moneyed travelers / travellers? Most travel agents list the top-end luxurious hotels and resorts in India only.  
• Does the travel agent also give you a description of the hotel and its ambience, or does the travel agency only churn out statistical data? Also check whether the "Best travel agency on the Net"  provides you with information of your hotel's neighborhood. For all you know it may be a seedy area!!
• Does the web site have travel directions maps showing  the precise location of the hotels? Signboards with travel directions are conspicuous by their absence in most Indian cities. Do read the Tourist Dos and Donts in the India Travel Tips section.

Before Renting Cars:

• Are the cars that you rent from the transport provider chauffeur driven? Driving on Indian roads requires unique skill sets. Make sure you have adequate Health and Travel Insurance for your road trip across India :)
• Does the travel agents' web site have images of the vehicles and information on the seating capacity?

Other Key Areas:

• Transparency is very important. Are the prices all inclusive, or are taxes separate? Different states in India have different tax structures, and hotels in the same city also have different tax rates. Ask for all-inclusive prices in a currency that you can relate to.
• Does the tour operators' site provide you with Travel Guides, Travelogues, Travel Advice / Tips and Tools and Virtual Tours of Indian Fairs and Festivals? Not only are they essential trip planning resources, they also tell you how much your travel agent really knows!!
• Does the " India Travel Portal" have a Web based Travel Reservation system that gives you the invaluable flexibility of making changes to your Indian travel itinerary? Online Travel Reservations also reflect on the degree of professionalism and commitment of the travel agency to provide customer support to you - a first-time traveller / traveler to India, and a stranger to the Indian way of life.

We sincerely hope that the above information helps you wade through the virtual sea of online travel agents / travel agencies / tour operators, and find the right Indian travel agent / travel agency  / tour operator for vacations of a lifetime in India, or should we say the perfect Indian Summer Holiday!

Happy Holidaying in India !