India and Sri Lanka – Forts, Temples & Tigers - Private Tour

The order of events and sightseeing may vary according to local conditions or for operational purposes. The schedules of the domestic airlines in country are subject to frequent changes. For this reason, we have indicated approximate times only. Your local guide will inform you of any schedule changes as they are informed of them. The driving times listed are point to point and do not include the duration of excursions or stops en route. Some road construction and/or weather conditions may lengthen the driving times. Our intention is to adhere to the day-to-day itinerary as printed; however, order of events and sightseeing may vary according to local conditions.

If booking more than 12 weeks before departure a deposit of £295.00pp will need to be paid at the time of booking with the full amount payable at 12 weeks prior to departure. The deposit applies to adults and children. If you are within 12 weeks of travel then the full balance of the holiday will be payable.

India visa requirements

A visa is required for entry into India. British Citizen Passport Holders will need to obtain a tourist visa. You can apply for an E-visa here no more than 30 days in advance. Your E-visa must be valid for your whole trip so please ensure the expiry date is for the whole duration of your stay. Alternatively you can visit The Indian Visa Application Centre in London: 142-148 Goswell Road, London, EC1B 7DU. We also work closely with The Travel Visa Company who will be able to arrange your visa on your behalf. Please call them on 01270 250 590 and quote 'Mercury Holidays'. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months before you enter India. Visa requirements are subject to change and obtaining a visa is the responsibility of the traveller and not Mercury Holidays. We recommend you check with your destinations' Tourist Board or Embassy prior to departure for the most up to date guidelines regarding visas and passport validity.

Sri Lanka visa requirements

A visa is required for entry into Sri Lanka. You can apply and pay for your visa online. Please visit https://eta.gov.lk/slvisa/ to obtain your visa. The cost is approximately $50. Whilst you can apply for your visa on arrival in Sri Lanka, we encourage you to obtain this in advance, to ensure your application is accepted before you travel. We work closely with The Travel Visa Company who will be able to arrange your visa for you on your behalf. Please call them on 01270 250 590 and quote "Mercury Holidays". Passports must be valid for a minimum period of six months from the date of arrival in Sri Lanka. Visa requirements are subject to change and obtaining a visa is the responsibility of the traveller and not Mercury Holidays. We recommend you check with your destinations' Tourist Board or Embassy prior to departure for the most up to date guidelines regarding visas and passport validity.

Please note your final documentation will be sent to you approximately 21 days before departure. Check in baggage is included with your flight. Weight restrictions will be finalized on your final documentation. Should you wish to take additional luggage you will need to pay extra at check-in. Check-in should be at least 3 hours before departure. If you wish to arrange Airport car parking or accommodation at preferential rates, we recommend you book this in advance with Holiday Extras on 0333 188 0407, quoting HX313. IMPORTANT: A printed e-ticket or boarding pass, along with your passport, is required for entry into Indian airports. Ensure you print your tickets before travelling, as digital copies on mobile devices are not accepted. It's also recommended to carry your invoice with flight details for reference.

We strongly recommend that you and all members of your party are suitably insured as soon as you book your holiday. It is a condition of booking that you must have suitable travel insurance. It is important that you purchase travel insurance that suitably covers your participation in whatever activities you may undertake at the time that you make your booking. To assist you with this, we have arranged travel insurance in partnership with Holiday Extras. To arrange your travel insurance with Holiday Extras, please call 0333 188 0407 and quote 'WK830' for preferential rates. Please ensure you provide us with the name of your insurer, policy number and their 24-hour emergency contact number as soon as possible. Mercury Holidays will not be liable for any costs incurred by you due to your failure to take out suitable travel insurance from the date of booking.

It is your responsibility to check any health and vaccination requirements applicable to your booked arrangements. We can only provide general information about this. Health and hygiene facilities and disease risks vary from country to country. You should take health advice about your own needs as early as possible and in good time before your departure. Sources of information include; www.fco.gov.uk, http://travelhealthpro.org.uk/, www.hpa.org.uk, your General Practitioner or a specialist clinic.

All our tours feature a “Tour Pace” to help find the right holiday for you. To travel on any of our tours requires unaided mobility and the ability to stroll around the sights, climb stairs and get on and off coaches and boats. The tour pace of is rated Intermediate. A good level of fitness is required as you may be on your feet for approximately four hours in a day, though this will be interspersed with regular breaks and will vary from day to day. You will be walking around the sights, and you will be getting on and off coaches, trains and boats and climbing steps which may be irregular. You will stay in variety of hotels throughout the tour. Our guides will always endeavour to provide the highest level of service and assistance; however, they cannot be expected to cater for customers who are unfit to complete the itinerary.

The currency in India is the Rupee or Rs. The Rupee is a closed currency and officially you are not allowed to take any cash out of India. US Dollars and GBP are also widely accepted in India should you wish to keep an alternative currency on you. There are restrictions on taking Indian rupees into India. Visitors, including tourists, are not permitted to take any amount of Indian currency into the country. You can take cash or travellers' cheques (in pounds sterling or another foreign currency) and/or a bank card with you and exchange or withdraw rupees once in India. Cash machines will also be available throughout the tour in order to withdraw money in your local currency. It is important that you budget carefully and ensure you have the right form of currency before you arrive in the country.

The currency in Sri Lanka is the Rupee (LKR) and it is a closed currency. This means it is not possible to buy Sri Lankan money in the UK before you travel. It is important to budget carefully as you should not take any Rupee (LKR) out of Sri Lanka when you depart. There are foreign exchange offices and cash machines available in most places during your tour. Your tour guide will assist you at the start of your tour with currency exchange. Credit and debit cards are accepted in most hotels and some shops and restaurants; a charge is sometimes added for using them.

As normal practice you will be asked for your credit card details on check-in at the hotel in order to cover any extras incurred during your stay. If you do not have a credit card you may be asked for a cash deposit. American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa are widely accepted in hotels.

You will need to take some extra money with you to cover any personal purchases, such as souvenirs, laundry and extra drinks and snacks. Approximately £100 - £200 will be sufficient for the duration of the tour. It is a good idea to try and maintain a supply of small notes and change in the local currency for tipping or small purchases.

Tipping

It is at your discretion to tip both your driver and guide. We would recommend to tip approximately £3 per person per day. It is asked that you tip in pounds and not local currency, please do not give coins as these are difficult to exchange. Your guide may also ask you for £1 or £2 a day to add to a kitty this is for the porters, waiters etc throughout your tour.

This is an escorted tour, meaning you will have the services of an English-speaking guide during each excursion ensuring that you have first-hand knowledge at all times. Also, local monument guides will be provided subject to the monument’s rules.

For groups of 5 people or less you will have an English speaking Driver Guide or a Driver and Local/Monument Guides

Private Tour: If you have booked a private tour then you will be accompanied by a Driver Guide or a Driver and Local/Monument Guides. These will be available to you during all scheduled sightseeing. Private Tours can depart on any day of the week depending on flight and train schedules and the opening days of the attractions. They will follow the itinerary as described in the brochure unless you have been advised otherwise and you will still have all of the same meals, sightseeing and local excursions included.

Your accommodation is selected for convenience, location, comfort or character. Hotel accommodation is generally rated as local three to four-star standard, but please note there is no international classification system for hotels, and differences in facilities and quality do exist between the UK and India. All group tours hotels have private bathroom facilities and air-conditioning, where needed. Rest assured that all accommodation used by Mercury Holidays is regularly inspected by our staff and partners to ensure that standards meet your needs. A triple room is available but please note that this will be a twin room with a fold away bed for the 3rd passenger.

Breakfast is always a combination of Indian and western style and served in the hotel each morning. Lunch and dinner will be taken in local Indian restaurants. A variety of restaurants are visited giving you the chance to experience a range of dishes and flavours. There are some dry hotels in India, and some hotels where alcohol can be consumed on the premise but must be brought in from outside. Your guide will pre-warn you of this and if anyone in the group would like to purchase drinks before getting then he will arrange for you to visit a local shop and get what you need wherever possible. Please contact Customer Experience for questions about other dietary requirements or allergy information. Vegan, vegetarian and non-spicy meal options are available, all meal requests need to be sent over to our suppliers before travel. It is not recommended to drink the tap water, even in developed countries water may contain unfamiliar elements that can cause upset stomachs. In less developed countries water is not filtered in the same way. 2 bottles of water are supplied per person per day on your tour.

In Sri Lanka, the sale of alcohol is prohibited by law on specific days throughout the year. These include Poya Days (full moon days), Independence Day in February, World Temperance Day in October, the day before and after Sinhala and Tamil New Year in April, the day following Vesak Poya Day in May, and Christmas Day. This ban applies to all shops and hotels, ensuring that alcohol is not available for purchase on these designated days.

Dry days are when the sale of alcohol is not allowed. Most of the Indian states observe these days on major national festivals/occasions such as Republic Day in January, Independence Day in August and Gandhi Jayanti in October. Dry days are also observed during elections in India.

During visits to Churches/Temples please note long trousers or skirts should be worn to cover knees, Long sleeved tops should be worn to cover shoulders and ladies should bring a scarf to cover your head. In the Golden Temple and any other Gurudara visit it is also mandatory for men also to cover their head with a scarf.

It is seen as respectful to cover your shoulders and not to expose too much skin in Sri Lanka, so it would be advisable to pack a shawl or similar for women to cover up, including wearing up to/covering your kness when entering religious buildings etc.

On your arrival in Delhi you will be met by a representative from our local agent, Jayasree Travels and Tours, holding a sign displaying: “Mercury Holidays”. The Mercury Holidays/Jayasree Travels and Tours representative will show you to your transfer vehicle. Your guide will be able to answer any queries.

On your arrival in Colombo you will be met by a representative from our local agent, Aitken Spence, holding a sign displaying: “Mercury Holidays”. The Mercury Holidays/Aitken Spence representative will show you to your transfer vehicle. Your guide will be able to answer any queries.

India:

If you need to contact Jayasree Travels and Tours, during your stay the details are:

Jayasree Travels and Tours: F 341-Ground Floor Lado Sarai New Delhi 110030

Contact number: 0091 471 2505067

Emergency contact information:

Telephone number 24 hr:

Biju Unnikrishnan +0091 952 618 8860,

Ms Jayasree Vikraman +0091 974 700 5888,

Mrs Samitha Azhar +0091 974 471 3380,

Mrs Rekha Anil 0091 9744813380,

Mr Amit Bhardwaj +0091 995 898 8719

E-mail: biju@jayasreetravels.com

Sri Lanka:

Please find below the emergency contact details for Aitken Spence

Telephone number:

Rizmika 0094 772 916461

Anil 0094 777 270500

Anu 0094 774593182