India: Women's Expedition

Discover northern India on a women’s expedition led by a female leader, riding women-only metro carriages, meeting inspiring local women and experiencing highlights from desert camping to the Taj Mahal.

• ACCOMMODATION:
• Some of the accommodation along the way is basic or simple, staying in local guesthouses and homestays. Some may have shared bathroom facilities with cold water only. We use a mixture of air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned rooms. Some areas of India experience daily load shedding. This is where the power may be turned off at certain times of the day and usually occurs for a few hours in the early afternoon. Most hotel properties have a restaurant or cafe serving local meals. Many restaurants and hotels do not serve alcohol for religious reasons or due to local laws.
• SHOWERS:
• Showers at some hotels only have hot water at peak times (usually morning and evening). Outside of these times, you may need to speak to reception to obtain hot water.
• ROOM ISSUES:
• If you have any issues with your room, please speak to the hotel and your tour leader right away rather than your travel agent so that the problem can be addressed without delay., SLEEPER TRAINS IN INDIA
• Sleeper trains are clean and air-conditioned. They’re a great way to travel long distances and maximise your time in each place. Depending on the route, you’ll travel in 2AC or 3AC class. Not all classes are available on all routes.
• 2AC carriages (second class or 2 tier AC carriages) have four sleeping berths in the compartment section and two berths in the aisle bay.
• 3AC carriages (third class or 3 tier AC carriages) have six sleeping berths in the compartment section and two berths in the aisle bay.
• During the day, sleeping berths are folded away and serve as seats. Each sleeping berth has a padded mattress with sheets, pillow and a blanket provided. Some travellers like to bring their own sleeping sheet.
• Your luggage travels with you in the compartment, so packing light will make your journey more comfortable.
• Each carriage has a limited number of sinks and charging points. There are toilets at both ends of the carriage, one a western-style toilet and the other a squat toilet. You will need to bring your own toilet paper, and you may like to bring sanitiser wipes.
• Some trains have a dining carriage, but there’s no shortage of vendors who board at each station, selling tea, coffee, snacks and local favourites. You can also grab something at the station before boarding your train, or at a station en route.
• Sleeping berths are allocated by Indian Railways’ reservation system, which we have no influence over. Regardless of when tickets are booked, your group may not travel together, with sleeping berths spread throughout a carriage, or multiple carriages, of the same class. You may share a compartment with local travellers of mixed genders. Your leader will do their best to swap with other travellers to enable people who booked together to travel together, but this isn’t always possible. Your leader may ask male travellers to swap with female travellers due to safety considerations.
• Due to the complexity of the ticket purchasing system and high demand for tickets, we are unable to offer upgrades to other classes.
• Find out more about travelling on sleeper trains in India here: https://www.intrepidtravel.com/adventures/india-trains-guide/, DESERT CAMPING
• Bedding, blankets and pillows are provided and we sleep on a camp style cot in the open air. Sleeping bags are recommended as it can get very cold at night. The camp is very simple with a windbreak, and set up against a sand dune. It’s a great experience to wake up under the stars in the desert. Simple vegetarian meals will be prepared by our local team for dinner and breakfast (included). Water and soft drinks are available for purchase. Toilets are a very basic long drop style. There is no shower and many travellers recommend bringing hand sanitizer, a small hand towel or some wet wipes (don't forget to carry them and any other rubbish out again).