Over the last three decades, we have traveled the length and breadth of the sub-continent to find exciting and unusual places to stay in some of India's most beautiful and fascinating locations. We now have a carefully selected range of guest houses and ancestral homes, atmospheric heritage hotels, intimate boutique hotels, stylish hideaways and finest palace hotels. They may differ in standard and price from moderate to luxury but they all guarantee a memorable experience.
The scope of special places to see and stay in India is quite overwhelming. In order to help you make a choice, we have put together a diverse and original range of tours that you can use as a guideline to plan yourself a holiday that takes you to places where you most want to go. All holidays can of course be modified to suit your personal requirements as all our trips are 100% tailor-made.
Start converting your dreams into reality by sending us an enquiry. It is absolutely free and without any obligation to make a booking.
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Born in the Netherlands in 1956, Hans studied History & Anthropology in Amsterdam and Sydney and wrote a thesis on the "Untouchables of India". Married to Sucheta, they started together organising tours to India in the early eighties. Now settled in Goa, they also look after their luxury yacht "Solita" which operates cruises in and around Goan waters.
Born in Mumbai in 1958, Sucheta studied Psychology and Public Relations and Marketing. Her interests range from wildlife, nature and the many handicrafts of India. Apart from looking after the marketing of Odyssey Tours & Travels Pvt Ltd, Sucheta is also a freelance writer and has contributed to many magazines and guidebooks, Indian and international.
Born in England in 1961, Phil escorted adventure tours in North Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and the Far East and in between he took holidays in other parts of the world. Now settled in Goa, Phil is the Operations Manager of the company. His in-depth knowledge of the South Asia sub-continent helps in creating itineraries for the more discerning travellers.
Born in Mumbai in 1985, Shalome studied English Literature at Xavier's University in Mumbai and International Trade between Spain and Asia in Barcelona. She became a founder team member of the Lonely Planet India magazine in 2010. She has now joined us as a Product Manager for which she travels very extensively checking out new destinations and hotels.
We are specialists in designing tailor-made holidays and tours in India for the independent discerning traveler.
For this we use a hand-picked portfolio of exciting and unusual places to stay, in some of India's most beautiful locations: hip hideaways and boutique hotels, heritage hotels, luxury tents, home-stays, chic and stylish beach resorts and eco-hotels.
We try to ensure that our trips are sustainable as well as authentic - and, of course, fun!
So explore India your own way with Traveller's Palm.
We are very conscious of the impact of tourism on local communities and this is why sustainable tourism is very important for us.
We try and ensure that the smallest person in the chain gets the benefit of the tourism directly. All our support partners are locally sourced. We work mainly with small, family run places and encourage them to use local staff at all levels. We have a policy of actively encouraging and helping reliable drivers to buy their own vehicles. This helps them be in charge of their own lives rather than depend on employment.
Already for thirty years, we have scouted for heritage properties and in many places, convinced the owners to open their homes to guests. We are proud that we were amongst the first tour operators to patronize these heritage properties in Rajasthan and Gujarat thus supporting this excellent trend in preserving these heritage buildings. Similarly, we have supported eco-friendly resorts in India which blend with the environment and give the travellers a more authentic experience. These kind of imaginative lodgings help us in attracting more discerning travellers to visit India.
For about a decade, we were supporting an orphanage for girls in Jaipur, Balika Sadan. Our contributions enabled this struggling organization to build extra space for their dormitories, got them water tanks, much needed refrigerators to keep food fresh. Apart from the necessities, we also took the girls for recreational trips, earning big smiles and much joy!
For a number of years we focussed our attention on Chandelao, a small village near Jodhpur. Along with the very enlightened ex-ruler of the area, Praduman Singh, we help the local schools in creating some basic infrastructure. Our emphasis here is the empowerment of women.
Today, there is an arts and crafts centre, run by village women, who produce many items like clothes, bags and much more. The idea is that, given an opportunity, the women should be able to earn their own living. We also donated solar cookers in the village to prevent the women in foraging long distances for firewood. We are confident that this will in the long term, protect the much needed trees planted by the Government.
Another good example of sustainable accommodation that we use is Shaam-E-Sarhad Village Resort in Gujarat's Rann of Kutch. The tribal people of this area, with the support of development agencies, built the Shaam-E-Sarhad Resort, using only local building materials and natural products used also in their own houses. You can visit different families to see their nicely decorated and painted mud houses, learn about their livelihoods and customs and admire their fine embroideries and leather works. By promoting properties like this we hope to help to increase the awareness of the need for responsible travel.
The world has become flat. We are convinced of the incredible importance of travel. It's only through travelling, through meeting people that we begin to understand that we're all sharing this world. We are all coming along for the ride, despite the barriers which governments, religions and economic and political beliefs often seem to build up between us.
We have an enthusiastic office team with great insider's knowledge. All our staff members have travelled extensively and share the same levels of knowledge, experience and expertise, to help you create a unique holiday experience wherever you choose to go in India.
Since we live in India, and have travelled extensively, we will give you rare insights into our country when we help you plan your perfect trip - unfolding some of India's best kept travel secrets.
Traveller's Palm is not really a palm, although the trunk gives it that appearance. It's closely related to bananas (as you might guess from the shape of the leaves) and in the same family as the Bird-of-Paradise Flower.
It gets its name from two distinctive characteristics. First, the leaves collect water and channel it into the base of the plant, so a thirsty traveler could cut a hole in the soft trunk and get a significant amount of drinkable water-about one liter per branch.
Second, Traveller's Palms tend to grow in an east-west direction, with each new branch turning either toward or away from the sun. So it can also serve as a sort of compass, to put you back on track after quenching your thirst.
Traveller's Palm is a registered trading name for Odyssey Tours & Travels Pvt Ltd, incorporated in the state of Maharashtra, India
Registered office: 302 Sai Chambers, Santa Cruz East, Mumbai - 400 0551
CIN: U92410MH1992PTC066430
GST: 30 AAACO0488P 1ZA
