Gypsies in the Thar Desert

Gypsies in the Thar Desert

Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar

Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar

Pushkar Fair

Pushkar Fair

Manu and Mel in Jaipur

Manu and Milli in Jaipur

Meditate in Dwarka, Gujarat

Meditate in Dwarka, Gujarat

Holi festival of colour

Taj Mahal

Village Lady in Bajana

Village Lady in Bajana

Village Holi

Village Holi

Village school principal

Village school principal

See The Real India and Ignite Your Soul

We would love for you to be able to share in the wealth of individualism only India has to offer, that is dispersed in many forms across this magnificent nation.

Feel overflowing with lifetime memories that not only enrich your heart but enshrine the very core of your soul. Our specialty is designing your individual itinerary to suit your interests and desired places to visit.

All our team protrude extreme pride in showing off their motherland and are full of information and antidotes. We are eager to show you the real India and introduce you to real people. Off the beaten tracks and the non touristic places are our specialty.

Soul of India Tours - Tour Guide & Driver
Trip Advisor - Certificate of Excellence 2016-2017

Our Travel Services

We at Soul of India Tours will design you an individual itinerary tailored to your interests and desires.

Whether a private or a group tour, we strive to make your dreams a reality. We will take care of all the inbound aspects of your trip, so you enjoy every moment.

We want you to experience India not just see it.

Planning your trip
We will design you an itinerary and suggest some amazing things to see and do, to suite your desired interests.We will take care of every aspect including booking accommodation and inbound travel arrangements. We are there 24/7 to drive you wherever you want to go. We know all the little hidden gems, which restaurants have the tastiest food and even where the best photo opportunities are.

Our group tours are specially designed to give you the opportunity to experience a magnificent trip with other likeminded people. These are a fantastic for single travellers that don't want to go it alone. You will make friends for life with momentous memories to share.

Upon your arrival – airport transfers
You will be greeted at the airport by one of our representatives, holding a placard with your name clearly visible. If you add on days at the end of a tour, we will still transfer you to the airport on your desired day. We will be there for you from the time your plane arrives to when you depart.

Our Tour guides
Immerse yourself in enthralment. Our dream is to give you the trip of a lifetime. India is the most soulful, colourful nation in the world with astonishing cultural traditions and customs. We want you to leave with no stone unturned. Our tour guides are handpicked with the upmost scrutiny. We only want the best for you. Our guides are passionate to show off their beloved India. Highly educated and experienced, our guides will allow you to get the most out of your India experience.

You will have the choice to see as much or as little from your guide. We understand that sometimes you might like your privacy to explore a little on your own. The choice is entirely yours. Your guide knows all the best kept secrets of India. They will show you many hidden astonishing gems. They can suggest great places to eat to suite your tastebuds and the best photo opportunity spots. They are there for you 24/7 when ever needed. The ease of having your own guide all the way makes for a remarkable and more personal experience. An accompanying tour guide will help you discover India better in a most memorable way that will create lifelong cherished memories.

Many assume a driver in India is a tour guide and he can guide people inside monuments and sites. In India, a driver cannot act as a tour guide. A driver in India speaks basic conversational English and therefore to expect him to explain monuments, history and culture is not so appropriate. Legally, a driver is not allowed to enter the sites because they must have a valid guide license to be able to enter the sites and monuments tourist will visit. Even in the public areas like bazars and markets a driver will not accompany you as he must take care of the car and will remain in the parking area. It is the responsibility and duty of the driver to guard your luggage and belongings left inside the vehicle while you are sightseeing.

Expectations, Roles and duties of an accompanying tour guide:

  • An accompanying tour guide will travel with you on your journey, allowing you to converse with him on a range of subjects pertinent to India such as history, politics and current affairs, traditions and customs and religion.
  • An accompanying tour guide will endeavour to ensure your safety and security while on tour.
  • An accompanying tour guide will endeavour to keep touts away and make you feel comfortable in public places. They will advise you on tourists traps and scams that could spoil your tour.
  • An accompanying tour guide will suggest things you should and should not do whilst on tour.
  • Our guides also have personal contacts with hotels and will try to upgrade your room using their local liaisons and contacts. Guide will also reconfirm your hotel booking prior to check in.
  • An accompanying tour guide is not a hindrance to your privacy. You may tell your guide to leave you free at leisure on your own at any given time. Just let them know your preferences and they will do the needful. You can see as much as or as little of your guide, the choice isyours as we understand everyone has different needs. It is totally your choice on how much to engage with your tour guide. Your guide will be totally flexible in terms of planning your sightseeing and daily day to day itinerary. You will be taken to monuments and sites that interest you so that you do not get bored and lose time in visiting monument that don't interest you.
  • All our guides are exceptionally talented and experienced. They will try to plan your sightseeing the way you want it. They will take you hidden corners of a city you visit and suggest you do activities that usual tourist don't do. They speak local dialects and languages this would enable them to engage with locals more confidently so that you could get to know more about them without harming their cultural and ethical beliefs.
  • An accompanying tour guide will advise you on the local customs so that you travel confidently and don't have to worry about unintentionally disrespecting local people, their customs, culture and traditions.
  • An accompanying tour guide is a local person and will act as an interpreter between you and villagers or locals where appropriate.
  • An accompanying tour guide will help you to maximise your travel experience and understanding of India.
  • An accompanying tour guide may take you to restaurants where you can experience local Indian cuisine. He will also advise you of the cost of meals, things that you buy so that you do not pay exorbitant prices.
  • Having a guide traveling with you gives you the opportunity to stop if you see something interesting along the way. There are so many events and festivals in India you never know what exiting thing you will see and want to stop at. Having a guide makes this possible.
  • The Fee for an accompanying tour guide always includes his food and accommodation.
  • An accompanying tour guide will be at your disposal for the whole duration of your tour.

Sample Tours

We offer you a totally flexible and personal service so you can see India your own way. Here's a few examples of tours we offer - just for some inspiration!

All of our sample tours can be customised to suit your personal preferences, or request your own personal tour of India.

Small Group Tours

Small group tours mean you don't share your time with a big bus load of people, but rather enjoy your time with like-minded people and not feel rushed.

Small groups save time getting on and off buses, and are much quicker at hotel check-ins and getting through admission gates. So, there's more time actually enjoying your adventure.

By keeping numbers small we can go to places that big groups can't, and can find you those personalised, hidden gems off the tourist track.

It's a wonderful idea for single travellers who want the travel experiences but don't want to go alone. Our tours are all fully escorted with a guide all the way, along with a highly experienced driver. You can even book a family gathering or with friends and call it your own with a minimum of 6 people.


 

Add-on Activities and Experiences:

We have searched into the very Soul of India and hand picked out some unique experiences, that will allow you to make your trip a memorable personalised one.These unique experiences will create life long fond memories. Specially crafted with your safety in mind we have come up with lots of enriching experiences to cater for all types of interests.

By all means, if you have any special interests that are not on our list below, feel free to email us and we will do our upmost best to see what we can come up with.

Please see the activities and experiences that we offer.

Soul of India Tours - Accommodation

Accommodation

We at Soul of India Tours always try to choose the best hotels in each category which are value for money and have character. We always offer mostly heritage hotels which have lot of unique things to offer, character and charm. They are different and well managed by the royal families and give a different feeling from a prevalent hotel chain. We always visit these hotels and after a lot of detailed inspections we choose these hotels for our guests.

Please see the Accommodation that we offer.

Soul of India Tours - Festivals and Events

Fairs & Festivals

Planning your trip to coincide with one of India’s copious occasions can make your experience more bountiful and memorable. The exuberance and exhilaration of India’s colourful spectacles is a mustn’t miss. Only in India, you can partake or spectate such ostentatious eruptions of wonder in a vast array of occasions.

Most of India’s festivals are held on dates according to the lunar calendar.Therefore, making the dates change slightly from year to year. Contact Us for more information and dates.

Please see the Fairs & Festivals

India Travel Tips from our Tour Guide & Drivers

Travel Tips

Broached upon our planet pinned tightly to her chest, shining as one of her most prided jewels for all to be captivated from her glimmer, sprawls India.

India is one of the most exquisite, intriguing spellbinding terrains you will ever place your feet. It is quite expected to feel a hint of culture shock on your first introduction, but that passes instantaneously with curiosities and a craving for more.

Your guide will be there beside you to answer any questions and to buff the cultural difference for you to have a remarkable safe journey wringing out every ounce of anxieties.

Travelling

The roads in India can be a congested conglomerate of organised chaos. Cars, bikes, pedestrians and an array of anything on four legs. In a nation that seems like from an outsider a web of no rules and havoc, our highly skilled experienced drivers navigate with ease around the beating veins of the city streets.

Food and Drink

As cows are sacred in India you will not find beef on the menus, some towns are strictly vegetarian. We strongly advise not to consume lamb, as it is not always as fresh due to the improper refrigeration before it gets to the restaurants and may cause stomach discomfort. Bottled water is always the best choice. Along the way to different destinations our guides know the best and cleanest restaurants with western bathroom facilities. These safe and hygienic restaurants function during the tourist seasons. If you desire to be adventurous with your culinary choices your guide and driver will gladly take you to try some local delicacies.

Temples & Holy Places

To avoid scorned looks, always remove your shoes before entering a temple or places of religious significances.

We advise ladies to dress in modest attire and cover their heads with a scarf as a respectful gesture. (always handy to carry a light scarf in your day bag).

Taking photographs of certain religious ceremonies and people bathing may cause offence, your guide will advise you in the right direction to these delicate matters.

Being a tourist

Indians are very friendly and understanding, they will accept your differences and help instead of hinder. Being hospitable is forefronted extensively. The gap between riches and rags is evident here. The low end of that scale brings the poverty ridden occasionally to beg. We understand this can be distressing and our guides are trained to handle such events with decorum. We do advise not to give to beggars as this creates what we call here professional begging. (These begging rings are usually run like a corporation and the money goes to the wrong people. We do advise if you wish to donate, to do so to a local school or charity. We can assist you discreetly on such matters if you wish.

Communication

India's telephone Country Code is +91.

Mobile coverage is quite extensive over India. SIM cards are cheap and readily available. You can purchase on arrival at the airport or just ask your guide to assist you.

Internet and emails are accessible from most hotels across the country. Most have WIFI. We can arrange a WIFI Device that can be put in our vehicles at a small fee.

VISA

A visa is a must requirement for foreigners to enter India.

E-Visas

An electronic visa is easy to obtain through following the steps laid out on the Government of India website. https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html

Money

There are ample ATM's in all the cities and are easily accessible. Credit cards are widely accepted in most of the hotels, restaurants and shops. You are advised to not change any foreign currency at the airports as they will not offer good exchange rates. By changing money in the city at a local money exchange office you will definitely get a better exchange rate. Our guides can assist with this.

Tipping

Who Gets Baksheesh?
Baksheesh sometimes refers to gratuity. You can think of giving baksheesh in India as a small act of appreciation for good service. While traveling through India you will be asked for baksheesh often but can refuse at any time. Someone asking you on the street for baksheesh without providing a service is simply begging. Child begging gangs and hierarchies are a serious problem in India, so don't perpetuate this industry by making it profitable.

Hotels

If a hotel porter carries your bag to your room, a small tip is usually expected. If you don't want to tip, say no to the baggage service. Tipping housekeeping is optional, but if you'd like you can leave a small tip. Some hotels might have a centralized tipping box, in which you can contribute one large tip for the whole staff. Room service bills might already have service charges added, but you can tip 10 percent if you are not sure.

Restaurants and Bars

Before deciding how much to tip in a restaurant in India, you should check the bill for a service charge. If the restaurant has already added 5-10 percent, you can adjust your gratuity accordingly. Sometimes this charge may simply be used to cover the employee's base salaries, so if service was exemplary, consider leaving a cash tip of 7-10 percent.

Transportation

When at an airport or train station, porters might offer to help you with your bags. Politely refuse if you do not wish to tip them. For single rides, you can tip a taxi driver by rounding up the fare to the nearest multiple of ten.

What to tip your guide and driver

Tipping guides and drivers after tours in India is customary, especially if they do a good job. It is at your discretion and gratitude for the quality of service as to what you deem the fitting amount. If unsure you can discreetly ask Manu or Melinda for advice.

Travel Adapter Plugs

India Type D is the usual adapter you will require and are usually readily available at travel stores and alike. Some hotels have universal power outlets installed.

Soul of India Tours - Group Tours with Guides & Drivers

Our team of Tour Guides and Drivers

Our team are extremely dedicated and proud to show off their mystical India.

Our team are not considered employees, we consider each other as family, and all share the same passion and drive to strive to make your experience a remarkable and unforgettable journey. .

See our Personal Tour Guide Service

 

India Travel Tips from our Tour Guide & Drivers

Our Partners

Make theconscious choice

By choosing Soul of India Tours for your travel experiences you not only get the great services we provide but also travel knowing you made the conscious choice that helps others in need.

Proceeds go towards helping those in need of assistance in India. We work closely with organisations and people who really make a difference.

The Lakshya Trust

We have partnered with the remarkable selfless Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil. We endeavour to support his life’s work by aiding the Lakshya Trust. He has poured all his heartfelt efforts into helping the LGBTQ communities across India. With numerous issues addressing and advocating the social, economic, legal, psychological, spiritual and health aspects of sexual minorities (Gay, Bisexual and Transgender population) in India.

The trust helps with the education and safe housing of LGBTQ people being forced into marriage against their wishes. Arranged marriages are the normal process of married couples in India. Being forced into marriage under these circumstances is a grotesque lifetime of what feels to them as severe punishment. By education and talking about what is “normal” is the only way this will ever change in India. By protecting the vulnerable that have no voice and no choice is our mission. Read more about his work on the link below.
http://lakshya-trust.org/

Soul of India Tours - Tour Guide

Soul of India Tours

Contact us

Thanks for your enquiry

Thank you for your request. You will receive our answer within 24 hours.

GIVE US A CALL!

Soul of India Tours

(IPT Travel Pvt Ltd India)

(IPT Travel Pty Ltd Australia)

Email-Address:
travel@soulofindiatours.com
mel@soulofindiatours.com

Phone or WhatsApp:
+91-96548 17595 (India)
+61 47812 3379 (Australia)

Global Head Office :
Soul of India Tours

(IPT Travel Pvt. Ltd.)

WZ-37, Ist Floor, Asalatpur
Near Janakpuri A-3 ,
New Delhi 110058 India

Website
soulofindiatours.com





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