Ladakh, India Money Saver
Today's Sunday newspaper Travel section had an article detailing a expedition to a remote area of Ladakh, priced at $4,195 a person. I'd like someone to please explain why anyone would want to spend $4,195 a person to travel through Ladakh when you can easily see the same sights and book a group trip through Footloose Travel at about $1,100 A PERSON! We've arranged three customized trips with Footloose Travel (for not much more) and, no...they do not comp me or give a discount because I am recommending them. Footloose does a wonderful job and will include every single item the pricey $4,195/person organizer does for one-quarter of the cost. Don't want to hike? Fine.....sightsee and your costs go down because a trek is more costly.
I'd like to explain a little about traveling in India. Backpackers usually arrive in India and organize a tour on the spot for $400/person but we like a little more structure while traveling and are willing to spend a little more. That's how inexpensive India travel can be and:
- There are no luxury hotels anywhere in Ladakh;
- The guesthouses in Leh are uniformly clean, fairly similar in room size (some with bathrooms, some without), and food offered at breakfast;
- It's difficult to spend $8.00 for dinner - that's for two people - even that price is considered a ***Michelin restaurant in this part of the world;
- All the tour organizers hand-off to the same trekking companies in Leh, AND follow the same routes.
Ladakh is cheap...cheaper...and cheapest...ex-Marine (husband, Steve) and I could not possible afford to travel often if every trip ran over $11,000 for two persons including air. Trust me on this...and don't pay through the nose! Travel is my passion and I hate to see anyone overpay.
For more details, read about two of our experiences with Footloose, Where Is The Himachal Pradesh?,4/23/07 and Ladakh, India - A Summer Destination, 3/31/06... Contact Tomas, at Footloose and go....
