While planning a trip to India, many of our guests have questions about finding the right tour guide in India: are travel books, guides, or guided tours in India recommended? Should we book a guided tour or explore everything on our own? And how to find the right tour guide in India?
All these questions don’t have one straight answer. It all depends on how you prefer to travel and who you are traveling with – there are many factors to consider before deciding whether or not you need a travel guide.
Should we book a tour guide for the entire trip to India or only in specific locations?
If you are traveling independently in India, we would not recommend having a guide for the entire trip, as it can increase costs significantly. You would need to cover the expenses for accommodation, transport, and meals for the guide, making the trip quite expensive. However, if you are traveling in a large group, it wouldn’t be an issue and we can arrange the same for you. If you feel you may not be able to manage without a guide in India, we can also arrange a driver and vehicle to assist you with organizational issues.
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When do we recommend tour guides in India?
- If you are travelling in a large group, especially with family and varying age groups.
- If you are older and have not traveled much, especially not India or Asia.
- If you prefer an organized tour and wish to receive relevant information throughout the trip.
- If you have some difficulties with the English language.
When do we advise against booking a tour guide in India?
- If you are young with a limited budget
- If you enjoy independent exploration and have already traveled a lot.
Advantages of a tour guide in India
Tour guides in India have to apply for a license in order to operate as a tourist guide in the country, which involves training as well as an exam. As a result, you can expect your guide to be well-trained and to provide you with extensive knowledge about history, culture, and other aspects of the places you are visiting. The license also allows the guide to visit a lot of monuments for free and can therefore accompany you everywhere. This is not true of drivers, who can explain to you a lot during transfers, but cannot accompany you to the attractions for free.
A guide also helps you navigate large or chaotic cities, which can often feel overwhelming, like Varanasi or Jaipur. You will encounter many pushy vendors trying to sell you something, and in such cases, a local guide can keep them at bay or if you are interested, negotiate on your behalf.
Plus, your guide can recommend excellent restaurants and shopping places – a tour guide is a local person who’s by your side all day.
So if you like being accompanied by someone who can show you everything while traveling, you should definitely choose a tour guide. It will make your trip much easier and stress-free. However, if you like traveling independently, you might find a guide to be restrictive.
Read more: Is street food in India safe to eat?
Disadvantages of a tour guide in India
Typically, a tour guide has a set program covering the major must-see attractions in a region. This means that you will mostly see the touristy part of the region.
Plus, many tourist guides often guide tourists to certain shops and encourage them to buy souvenirs. The guides may secretly get a commission for the sale. So clearly tell your guide at the beginning that you do not wish to visit any shops unless you specifically ask for a recommendation.
While we at India Someday can help you book city guides, we cannot 100% guarantee that you won’t be taken to shops. However, we work very closely with local providers to minimize this. We work with carefully selected and experienced guides, but the practice of taking tourists to shops is widespread and cannot be totally avoided. Be direct with the tour guide about what you want and don’t want to see. You can also hint that the tip they get will depend on whether they take you to shops or not.
Can we book the guide directly at the attractions?
At most popular attractions in India, you will find a large number of tour guides who will approach you with their services. They usually have a rate card listing their prices, and the prices are quite reasonable. They are also cheaper than pre-booked tours. However, these tour guides are a gamble. You can either get a good guide or a bad one. Usually, good tour guides are pre-booked, and the group of guides you find at such places are usually beginners.
We do not advise against booking a tour guide at the attractions. You can find some great guides on site. However, if you know that you want a guide, it is worth spending a bit more money and booking one in advance.
Are there German-speaking tour guides in India?
In a few tourist cities like Agra, Delhi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Udaipur, you can find German-speaking tour guides who can explain all the attractions to you. However, these guides are more expensive than English-speaking guides, since learning German in India is labor-intensive and costly. Plus, the language skills are often limited, and there could be a strong accent. If you can understand some English, we would always recommend opting for English-speaking tour guides in India.
What is the cost of a tour guide in India?
The cost of a tour guide in India varies from one city to another. In Delhi and Mumbai, the prices are higher, between INR 3500 to INR 4500 per day on an average (guide only without a driver). In other cities, it is usually around INR 2500 for a guide per day. Sometimes, the prices include expenses for activities like a boat ride on the Ganges in Varanasi or on the lake in Udaipur.
At India Someday, we can prepare a separate offer for each city with details about the tour, activities, and costs, as well as book the tours for you. The payment would be made directly to the guide. During peak season (December to February), we also recommend booking guides in advance, as the best ones might be fully booked if arranged at the last moment on-site.
Audio Guides: An Alternative to Tour Guides
Audio guides are a great option for a guided tour without a tour guide. Increasing in popularity in India, they are available at a reasonable price ranging from INR 100 to INR 300 per audio tour. You can also share the audio tour with a companion at some attractions.
Unfortunately, rental audio guides have been discontinued at many locations, such as the Taj Mahal. So check in advance where audio guides are available as an alternative to live guides. There are also audio guide apps you can download and listen to at your convenience, even after you reach your hotel. One of the apps is Captiva Tours, which offers detailed tours of Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur, complete with music and interesting stories about the monuments. For South India, the Pinakin app provides extensive tours for many cities and attractions.
Can our driver be our unofficial tour guide in India?
You may have rented a car with a driver for many parts of your trip through India. Local drivers in India often have useful tips about which places to visit, where to eat, and how to plan your day. They might also share some local knowledge and tell you in depth about the land and its people. However, your driver will not have the same level of knowledge about the attractions as a professional tour guide in India. They do not have the same training and often do not speak English very well. But there is a possibility that the driver might try to persuade you to book a tour with one of their friendly guides.
If you are booking a trip through India Someday, you can get in touch with us at any time for assistance.
Are guided walks, hiking tours, bicycle tours, and off-beat tours common in India?
Yes and no. Such tours are not as common as in Germany or other countries. However, walking tours and bicycle tours are becoming increasingly popular, and we at India Someday often book these for our clients. You can go on a bicycle tour in Cochin, a street food tour in Mumbai, or a slum tour in Delhi – there are many exciting tours and activities available in many tourist places in India. Check out our activities page for more information.
Hiking tours in the mountainous regions like Dharamshala and Rishikesh in North India or Munnar and Thekkady in South India are often offered by accommodations. So if you are interested in such activities in these scenic locations, we can help you include them in your travel plans and book them for you!
For a tailor-made vacation in India, whether with or without a tour guide, plan your trip with India Someday now. We will design and implement your plans according to your preferences, budget, and travel dates.
