LE PASSAGE to India (LPTI), India’s largest tour operator, will announce the very first true self-drive tours in India in conjunction with India rally specialist World Wide Classic Car Rallies (WWCCR), at WTM on November 8.
These two-to-three week tours include a self-drive vehicle, airport collection and drop off, the best hotels available, route and navigation equipment, excursions, meals and entertainment – and a unique adventure.
In the last decades the ‘Indiacurious’ have been escorted around in coaches and jeeps from hotel to hotel, stopping at pre-arranged ‘tourist’ lunch halts and sightseeing in pre-arranged groups and times. Everyone took home virtually the same memories and pictures.
For the more adventurous there was little between this packaged, vanilla tour and being left to one’s own devices, relying solely on guide books and your wits.
At last there is a real alternative – RoadTrip India where you drive your own car at your own pace and stop when you want, eat what you want and do what you want. The route is mapped out for you, but the adventure is your own.
Commenting on the new RoadTrip India tours, Arjun Sharma, managing director of LPTI, said: “This is the first innovative offering in the tourist market for many years and we are delighted to be at the forefront of this exciting new initiative. The routes vary from the more popular ones, such as the Golden Triangle, to the more adventurous, such as Trans Himalaya Expedition.
“We are delighted to be working with John Brigden at WWCCR who has many years’ experience of driving in India and has brought the navigation expertise to help create these great new adventures.”
On arrival in India, travellers are met at the airport and taken to their hotel where a car is waiting. They are then introduced to the vehicle, Indian roads and the navigation system which will accurately guide them from one hotel to the next, allowing them to stop and explore on the way. Comprehensive vehicle insurance cover is included.
Hotel rooms are booked in the best accommodation available in each destination.
The Golden Triangle itinerary hotels range from the amazing Umaid Bhawan hotel in Jodhpur to the fabulous Rambagh Palace in Jaipur. The Trans-Himalaya Motor Expedition runs in summer only and offers a round trip from Dehli.