BEST OF NORTH INDIA, BHUTAN, NEPAL AND BANGLADESH

Reservations and payment
Please fill in the Reservation Form with all details needed and send it to office@lyuba.tours or yuri@lyuba-.tours. A deposit, upon booking, at the amount of €500 per person is required to assure your place. The final payment is to be made no later than three months before the start of the tour.

Extra nights in Calcutta, Delhi, and transfers
If you want to spend an extra night or two or more prior or after the tour, we can make a reservation for you or you can make a direct arrangement with the hotel. We can also recommend a nearby hotel which may be cheaper. Please note that we have included transfers in the price - advice us of your arrival and departure times. Which brings us to...

... flights
We love arranging flights, but in this case, we won't. You are responsible for booking your flight ticket. We can always help you with an advice.

Tour information
Once we get your deposit, us folks at Lyuba Tours will immediately send a confirmation of space by e-mail. We will also send reading materials, music and more information about the country: what to bring, what to expect, money, weather, food and other wise. We will send all this by snail mail or email.

About a month before the tour, we will send you hotel and rooming lists, emergency numbers and any last-minute notes. We will be happy if you meet payment and document submittal deadlines to insure we have time to post your materials. Upon arrival in India, you will find even more stuff awaiting you: maps, phrase-books, postcards, and more.

Customs and entry requirements
For this trip you require a passport with at least six months validity following the last day of the tour. That passport should have a blank page for a stamp.

Visas are required for U.S., Canadian and most western citizens traveling to India. You can apply for an
e-visa online on: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in.
If you don't happen to be a U.S. citizen, please make sure you have whatever documents are necessary to en-ter (and exit) India. We can help with this as well. Regulations are subject to change, and we will try to in-form you of the latest changes.

Travel insurance
We strongly advise you to have a travel insurance for the trip. Situations may arise, voluntarily or involun-tarily, in which the traveler cancels. We can recommend a comprehensive travel insurance plan, if you don't have one already. Insurance should cover trip cancellation, lost or damaged baggage, medical needs, and cer-tain travel-related accidents. We highly recommend trip-cancellation insurance. Although please do read the insurance company's fine print, especially the section on 'pre-existing conditions'.

Ground transportation
We will travel across India in a comfortable, air-conditioned private minibus. Smoking is NOT permitted on the vehicle. We will also use some local means of transport, including air-conditioned, safe trains and flights.

Health regulations
Please see the CDC's website for recommended inoculations: www.cdc.gov. We suggest you check with your doctor for medical advice regarding the trip and your health. It is also suggested you discuss updating your tetanus and diphtheria booster.

Health considerations
To get the most out of a tour, a traveler should be in good physical and mental health, able and willing to walk, climb steps, and participate in group events. This trip requires moderate walking, sometimes over un-even or cobbled streets or paths. If assistance is needed, a participant should travel with a companion. You must also be able to carry your own hand luggage, so please go light! Any physical or mental disability re-quiring special help or assistance must be noted in writing on the reservation form.

Opportunities for adventure
This tour is designed for those interested in learning everything about India. We will present you with all sorts of perspectives, and you will see many shades of this fascinating part of the world.

Also, this is a moderately active program ('soft' adventure). Since some of the travel will be in remote areas,
travel participants need to be flexible concerning time schedules, food and weather. Roads may be bumpy. Don't expect to find things exactly as they are at home! If that were the case, why travel? Occasionally, we may experience delays, alterations in the plans, some discomforts and inconveniences. But we will also expe-rience a different culture and our minds and souls will be expanded! A spirit of adventure and tolerance is absolutely fundamental to participation in any of our tours.

Wandering Policy
We encourage everyone to partake in all the sightseeing and special activities. We've spent months research-ing and preparing a full and exciting program. However, if you would like to venture out on your own, or take personal time for rest or shopping, you may do so. This is your trip! We only ask that you alert our group leader and guide when you will be separating and rejoining the group. Please take extra security pre-cautions with your belongings and yourself.

Changes in itinerary
Every effort will be made to operate this tour in accordance with the itinerary shown, including all activities as advertised. Museums and features are subject to scheduling. Occasionally, changes are made to improve an itinerary or enhance a certain feature. Unforeseen local conditions beyond our control may prevent the completion of an itinerary or require alterations in an itinerary. These local conditions can include inclement weather, seasonal variations in climate, changes in airline schedules and equipment, government appropriation of hotel space, and other events beyond our control that would jeopardize the traveler's comfort, safety, health, or enjoyment. In these cases, the right is reserved to substitute hotels, and to alter the itinerary for the comfort and safety of the travelers. The right is also reserved to cancel the tour prior to departure.

Cancellations and refunds
Should Lyuba Tours cancel a departure for the reason of insufficient number of participants to operate the tour with no increase in cost, a full refund of all monies paid will be made.

On the participant's part, cancellation or change of date will result in a per person cancellation fee of €500, irrespective of reason up to 90 days before the tour. Cancellation made 89 days to 30 days before the tour will result in a cancellation fee of €750. From 29 days before the tour, the cancellation fee will be at the amount of the tour. Should your cancellation cause the number of participants to fall below the required number to operate the trip, and a replacement member cannot be found, the full portion of the trip will be forfeited. If a person requests a room share to avoid the single supplement and then cancels after final payment is made and a roommate has been assigned, then the person canceling forfeits the single supplement if a share cannot be found.

Should a person cancel a trip voluntarily, and if payment was made by a bank wire, the amount of bank wire expense charged to Lyuba Tours will be deducted from the refund amount.

Once the tour begins, no refund may be claimed for all or any part of the tour fee. Unused or changed hotel accommodations, transportation, or other services or features of the tour are neither refundable nor ex-changeable.
Cancellations will only be accepted via e-mail, at office@lyuba.tours or info@lyubatours.com.

Is India safe?
Yes. The places we visit are safe. We pay careful attention to food, water, basic sanitation, transport. We avoid busy places where many tourists gather, and which attract pickpockets and petty criminals. Terrorism-wise, India is not more dangerous than any other country in the world.

All your best sights are in northern India. Why not South India?
Most of the best and most famous sites of India are located in the north. Climate-wise, it also makes sense to focus on just one "half" of India. But we are considering a southern India tour in the future. Running, possibly, from Chennai to Mumbai, via Pondicherry, Kanyakumari, Kerala, Ooty, Hampi, Goa, and maybe even Gujarat. Stay tuned!

Our tour goes to Leh, Ladakh. Do we risk getting altitude sickness in Ladakh?
Let is at 3500-m, or 11,500 feet. However, we spend less than 24 hours there. Whenever we walk, we will walk slowly. We do recommend taking altitude sickness pills, a day before we reach Leh. We will also provide oxygen. We expect that by the time you get altitude sickness symptoms, we will leave Ladakh.

What clothes should we pack? What will the weather be like?
Weather will be dry, and ranging from cool to warm. Please be prepared for cool, windy nights in Srinagar and Darjeeling. And almost freezing weather in Leh, Ladakh. We recommend dressing in layers, including a windproof outer shell, a warm sweater, and a hat.