As well as tours to the Buddhist holy sites, we also offer a range of additional services related to these tours. Please look through the following links to see what we can offer you.
Meet & Greet
We can arrange for someone to meet you at your port of arrival, such as Delhi Airport or various train stations, and can help you with your onward trasnport to the holy sites. We can do this in a variety of ways, such as booking onward internal flights or trains for you, or by transporting you by our vehicle to your destination. Most of our pilgrimages tend to start at Sarnath, so we can easily arrange transport to Sarnath from anywhere in India. Please note that for ticket booking there will be a 2% charge for the service. Other fees, such as for someone to meet you and put you on a train to Sarnath from Delhi, can be discussed prior to your arrival. Examples of fees are given below. Exact quotations will be given on request. Please contact us for this.
Examples of fees, per person (all based on current prices and are approximate)
|
Arrival at Delhi Airport (1) |
|
|
‘Meet and greet’ and transfer to accomodation/onward travel |
£1234 |
|
Overnight accomodation at Delhi in 3* hotel |
£1234 |
|
Overnight train fare from Delhi to Varanasi in air conditioned coach |
£1234* |
|
‘Meet and greet’ at Varanasi train station and transfer to Sarnath |
£1234 |
|
TOTAL : |
£1234 |
|
Arrival at Delhi Airport (2) |
|
|
Airfare from Delhi to Varanasi (economy class) |
£1234* |
|
‘Meet and greet’ at Varanasi airport and transfer to Sarnath |
£1234 |
|
TOTAL |
£1234 |
 |
Train/Flight
& Accommodation Booking
The two best ways to get around India are probably
by train and air (although we naturally prefer
non-air travel, as we have concerns about the
environment – but that’s our choice! It
needn’t be yours). Information about each type of
transport is provided below.
Train travel
Travel by train is often long and trains get delayed
– don’t be surprised if your train gets
delayed by several hours! In fact, be surprised if
it isn’t delayed by several hours!! It’s
not necessarily that bad, but take it into
consideration. You’ll certainly see more
of India if you travel by train and you get a
bed to sleep on (albeit not very
private). Indian trains have several ‘classes’,
including just sitting coaches, non-airconditioned ‘sleeper’
coaches (fold down beds for night-time use, although
upper bunks can be used any time),
air-conditioned ‘sleeper’ coaches and first
class compartments with private facilities
(although not quite what we might call ‘1st class’
in the west!!). The AC compartments are
certainly quieter than non-AC compartments, as there
are double glazed windows, which there aren’t
in non-AC, but they can be more boring! If
you have dust allergies, we also highly
recommend that you travel non-AC. Bedding
is provided in AC and whilst it is clean, the
blankets often contain dust and this can
be very problematic if you suffer in this
way.
It is ESSENTIAL that you book your train in advance
when travelling long distances in India, unless
you don’t want the guarantee of a place to sleep
at night. Trains are always full, often months
in advance, so it’s highly advisable to get
someone to book your ticket well before your
date of travel to India. We offer this service to
you and will ensure that you get guaranteed
seats, and beds, on trains, in your preferred class
– as long as we too receive some notice prior
to your travel, of course! Please remember that
we charge an extra 2% as a booking fee.
Examples of train fares in India (all prices given
are single fares – generally there are no
discounts for returns)
First class
-
Delhi to Varanasi £1234
-
Mumbai to Varanasi £1234
-
Nagpur to Varanasi £1234
Second class air-conditioned sleeper coach (2-tier bunk beds)
-
Delhi to Varanasi £1234
-
Mumbai to Varanasi £1234
-
Nagpur to Varanasi £1234
Second class air-conditioned sleeper coach (3-tier bunk beds)
-
Delhi to Varanasi £1234
-
Mumbai to Varanasi £1234
-
Nagpur to Varanasi £1234
Second class non-AC sleeper coach (3-tier bunk beds)
-
Delhi to Varanasi £1234
-
Mumbai to Varanasi £1234
-
Nagpur to Varanasi £1234
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Air travel
Air travel in India is generally painless and uncomplicated
for internal flights, although it can sometimes be a bit
of a pain when waiting for internal transport between
terminals if you are transferring from an international
flight to an internal one, for instance. They
won’t have such a sense of urgency to get you there, so this
can be stressful for some westerners! (Inevitably, you
will get there, but it can be slow. You could get a taxi
or auto-rickshaw to the other terminal if you were extra
worried or in a rush – this usually won’t cost more
than 200 rupees / £3).
There are a number of budget airlines available in India these
days, so it’s possible to get some reasonably priced
seats on some routes. They are CONSIDERABLY faster,
as you may imagine, than going by any other method
(compare travel from Nagpur to Mumbai: by train, 16
hours; by air, 1.15 hours).
Also note that your baggage allowance may be slightly less on
internal flights. On a recent trip, a guest was allowed
30Kg from the UK (which she used fully), but her internal
flight, on a different airline, allowed 20Kg. As luck had it,
they didn’t notice or didn’t mind and it all went
smoothly, but it could be a problem! In any case, we
ask that our pilgrims travel lightly, as much as
possible, to make the journey easier. A 30Kg suitcase
might not be the easiest of things to transport around!
Examples of current economy class air fares in India (all
prices given are single fares – generally not much
difference for a return fare)
-
Delhi to Varanasi £1234
-
Mumbai to Varanasi £1234
-
Nagpur to Varanasi £1234
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Accomodation
Booking
Although accomodation will all naturally be booked for you and
included in the fee for your pilgrimage, we can also book
accomodation for you in other places during your stay in
India. The tours page provides detailed information about the
accomodation you can expect on a pilgrimage itself. The
accomodation does vary in standard and comfort between
our budget and luxury tours, so please take this into
consideration. The budget accomodation in India can be
very basic indeed, but is very affordable and safe, so
there’s no need to worry. You could always ask to transfer
to a luxury hotel whilst on a budget pilgrimage and pay
the extra charge, plus a booking fee, if you find the
budget accomodation too basic. We can try to accommodate
everyone’s needs.
Travel Insurance
We offer International travel insurance for all your travel
needs. We are in partnership with Thomas Cook Insurance
Services, the global partner in travel industry.
Passport & Visa Assistance
In order to travel to India, you must have a valid VISA to
enter the country. This must be obtained before you
travel. We offer free advice, by email, for people who need
to get a VISA prior to travel. You may need some
information from us to help you fill out
the forms too, such as addresses in India where you will be
staying. We will help you all the way with this
process.
If you are visiting Lumbini as part of your tour, you will
also need a Nepalese VISA. This can easily be obtained at
the border to Nepal, so there’s no need to get this in
advance, unless you’re travelling in Nepal prior to
your pilgrimage of course. There is a Nepalese
Embassy office in London if you need to get a VISA for Nepal
prior to travelling.
You can download further information on Indian VISAs and forms
using the following links:
Indian Visa Application Process London VISA form Birmingham
VISA form
(UK residents only)
We assist overseas visa as well as applying for passport for
Indian people. Please contact us if you require help or
further information.
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