We arrange both kinds of tours. Some of our tours are women-only and some of them are mixed group tours. We get a good number of women in our mixed gender group tours as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you cannot find answer to your questions in our FAQs, you can always contact us, We will answer to you shortly!
General
Apart from the website, you can drop us a message on WhatsApp at 9999749677 requesting to add you to our broadcast list. Please save the number before sending the message else the broadcast messages won’t be delivered to you.
We can definitely assist and guide you in your train/ flight ticket booking to the starting and ending point of our group tour. However, if you would want us to book your ticket and are ready to pay the service charges, then we can also go ahead with your ticket bookings.
Please note that we have a minimum group size of 5 participants and one group leader on any trip. However, maximum group size varies from trip to trip. For some trips, such as Spiti or Ladakh, the maximum group size is 11 participants + 1 group leader. However, for trips to Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the group size is 15 participants + 1 group leader and for the trips across South India, the max group size is 18 participants + 1 group leader. Our idea is always to keep a very small group size so that the personal touch isn’t lost.
We have our home office located in Bangalore and Delhi NCR.
Yes, of course you can join. As a matter of fact, most of our participants join alone itself. Our group leaders facilitate the interaction in such a way that everyone ends up bonding very well. Hence, you don’t need to think twice before joining alone.
You can definitely join our group tours with your friends or family. Just make sure that all your co-travelers are aware of the package and the itinerary before signing up, to avoid any conflicts later on.
We have hosted an age group of 18-70 in the same group. Any adult irrespective of age is more than welcome to join. Just make sure that you have completely read the itinerary and you are fine with all the elements of the trip. We also expect people to stay and bond together as a group without any kind of judgements towards each other. No one is a kid and no one is an aunty or uncle on our trips. Irrespective of your age, you would only be addressed using your first name.
We always target a minimum group size of 5 participants + 1 group leader and a maximum group size of 15 participants + 1 group leader.
Transforming Travels is run by a female founder which makes our trips more safer than anyone else’s, for any female participant. Moreover, we always get solo female travelers on all our trips. Our founder, Chandni Aggarwal, personally handles all the bookings and always available to clear any of your safety or trip related concerns.
There is always a group leader from our company who stays with the group from starting to ending. The group leader coordinates with drivers, guides, stay partners, and all bring the entire group together and bond them very well. Our group leaders are very well-traveled people, disciplined, but at the same time very informal and bring a lot of fun to the group.
To begin with, exact pick-up point details are shared on the itinerary page, and also in the preparatory emails before the trip. However, we understand that sometimes it becomes very tough to locate the group in public spaces. But you don’t need to worry as a WhatsApp group is also created before the trip and anyone facing trouble in reaching the pick-up point, is personally assisted by group leaders over the phone.
We first have a conversation with all our prospective participants and then go ahead with the booking. If anytime we find something fishy or the suspicious intent of any prospective traveler, then we don’t think twice about declining their booking. That’s why we haven’t yet enabled payments directly through the website. We also take relevant documents including the govt ID proof of every participant before the commencement of the trip.
Transforming Travels is committed to offering a mentally, socially, and physically safe experience to its participants. Our team personally makes all the arrangements and hires only verified and professional service providers. To do the same, we first visit a place personally that totally rules out the scope of any risks or dangers. Be it your driver, guide, group leader, hotel – everything is arranged through our verified ground-level network or based on personal experience. The itinerary is also designed by our team first by visiting the destination.
Sorry, but we don’t allow self-driven vehicles in our group tours due to logistical issues.
Yes, we try our best to follow the timings on the trip.
Starting on time on departure day ensures that the entire trip would be on schedule. We also need to stick to the arrival timings because most of the people have their onward journeys booked after the trip.
However, in case of road blocks or traffic jams, we may not be able to stick to these timings completely but still we try our best.
If the departure from the pick-up point is in a private vehicle booked by Transforming Travels,then we would not leave you behind, provided it’s a delay of a few minutes, not hours. However, you must plan your journey in a way that you are arriving at least 15 minutes prior to the departure.
We also encourage our participants to keep some buffer time in hand if they have a journey planned towards the end of the trip as well.
Sometimes, some shuffling could happen in the itinerary in order to make the time management more efficient. However, we don’t change the itinerary as long as some situation beyond our control happens such as delays due to road blocks, excess traffic jams or train/flight delays. In every scenario, we try our best to do the justification to the destination while keeping the safety of participants in mind.
Please note that we don’t allot any seats in the vehicle. We encourage participants to keep shuffling their seats especially during long journeys because every seat has its pros and cons such as window seat offers the great view but then aisle seats would have more space for leg movement. However, if you have motion sickness or some other issue, then you can inform the same to the group leader requesting a front seat. As a matter of fact, we get such wonderful participants onboard who are always very considerate to each other.
There is always a group leader from our company who stays with the group from starting to ending. The group leader coordinates with drivers, guides, stay partners, and all bring the entire group together and bond them very well. Our group leaders are very well-traveled people, disciplined, but at the same time very informal and bring a lot of fun to the group.
To begin with, exact pick-up point details are shared on the itinerary page, and also in the preparatory emails before the trip. However, we understand that sometimes it becomes very tough to locate the group in public spaces. But you don’t need to worry as a WhatsApp group is also created before the trip and anyone facing trouble in reaching the pick-up point, is personally assisted by group leaders over the phone.
Payments & Cancellation
No, we haven’t enabled the payments through the website as we never take any booking without having an email/ WhatsApp/ telephonic conversation. It’s important for us to know that participants have read the itinerary thoroughly, have everything clear, and then only we share the payment details.
Bank Transfer or Google Pay
Yes, we do have the option of accepting the payment via credit card. However, payment gateway charges would be applicable.
We are open to giving partial payment options depending how many days are left for the trip. However, all the payments need to be cleared a couple of days before the departure. We don’t have the policy of accepting balance payment on the trip. You can have a conversation about this while booking the trip.
Yes, we do offer different types of discounts such as first five seats discounted, repeat participant discount and discount if two or more people register together. All these discounts are mentioned on the itinerary pages of the respective tours.
The cancellation policy for every group trip is mentioned on the itinerary page itself.
The cancellation policy for every group trip is mentioned on the itinerary page itself.
That would only be possible if either you send a replacement on our group tour to take up your slot or our group tour gets full to the capacity. In both cases, we would be able to use the amount paid by you as a credit in your future trip. Else, the mentioned cancellation policy would be followed.
So far, Transforming Travels has never cancelled any group tour after confirming it. Since the future is uncertain and if we ever happen to cancel a trip then your entire money would be refunded. But, if the trip gets cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control such as natural calamity, a political disturbance or scenario which is beyond our control, then a decision would be taken keeping the best possible situation for everyone in mind.
We always need a minimum 5 people to call any trip confirmed. When the first few participants make the payment, they are given a clear picture and asked not to book any flight/ train tickets to reach the starting point. As soon as we hit the number 5, our trip gets confirmed and everyone is notified to go ahead with their train/ flight bookings. The first 5 participants do stay uncertain about their plan for a few days, but they always get the advantage of booking discounted seats. If the trip doesn’t get confirmed, then the first 5 participants get their full refund. However, it rarely happens.
Booking
There is no last booking as such for our group tours. We close the bookings as soon as we are full because we have limited slots for all our group tours.
You can contact us at 9999749677 or send an email to chandni@transformingtravels.com expressing your interest in the trip. If you have any queries, please ask them via call/ email/ WhatsApp. Once you confirm your participation, you would be guided on the payment process. Your participation would be confirmed from our side only after we receive the payment.
Of course, yes! We want you to be 100% confident and clear before accepting your payment money. Hence, feel free to ask any of your queries on call or WhatsApp at 9999749677.
Room & Meals
We can try our best to ensure a single occupancy room. However, you must inform this prior to your booking and we would be able to give you the exact picture.
All our group tours are structured in a way to offer twin sharing room arrangement. If it’s a mixed group and you are a solo traveler, then we would pair you up with some other solo traveler on the same gender basis. However, if you have a traveling partner and you wish to share the room with them, then just inform us at the time of booking.
Yes, we don’t include the meals in the package that would fall during the road journey or during the day excursion as sometimes it becomes tough to predict their timings. Sometimes, we feel it is also better to leave some meals open so that participants can also try new dishes as per their choice. We always take a halt at the best available restaurant or food joint nearby, and people pay directly for what they order.
Yes, we always ensure that good vegetarian food is available on all our tours. As you know that availability of vegetarian food varies from place to place, hence the menu might vary from being basic to being lavish, but a healthy vegetarian meal is always promised from our side.
Non-vegetarian meals may not be a part of our all group tour packages. It depends on various factors such as some of our stay partners are completely vegetarian. However, they are on board because they offer an excellent experience to our participants. On such tours, participants can try local non-vegetarian delicacies in the meals which aren’t a part of the package.
Sometimes, a non-vegetarian option is available at the place of stay, but it may not be a part of the package because of their heavy price difference for vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals. In such cases, participants can place a direct order for non-veg dishes and pay for the same.
