Tailor-made Travel in Pune

Almost all who have been a part of one have complained of being herded around like a flock of sheep in a package tour. There is a fixed time to sleep, eat and travel. Synonymous with travelling with unknown people, getting up at fixed time and visiting the same-old fixed spots listed in the travelogue, package tours are now evolving, giving way to a specialised version of it.

Travel companies are coming up with customised tour packages to suit people's interests. If you are an art aficionado, you can travel with a set of like-minded people to art museums, dance enthusiasts can avail of the opportunity of dance tours which take you to attend dance festivals happening around the globe, senior citizens can visit places of pilgrimage while students can take educational tours

Dance tours
If you thought tours are only about exploring wildlife and hill stations think again. Many travel companies in the city are coming up with specialised dance tours. Meghna Sabade, director, Guardian Holidays, who is a Bharatnatyam exponent, has come up with a unique initiative of dance tour. "The first Nrutya Yatri tour will start with a trip to the Chennai Dance Festival in January 2012. This will include a trip to Thanjavur, the Nataraja temple at Chidambaram and the Kalakshetra Cultural Academy in Tamil Nadu," she says. "This trip, which costs about Rs23,000, takes young and aspiring dancers to understand the history of Indian classical dance, take a few classes and be a part of seminars and workshops and interact with internationally acclaimed gurus and dancers," says Sabade. Nrutya Yatri will also be taking dancers to Shantiniketan in Kolkata, Kalamandalam in Kerala, Lucknow Dance Festival in Uttar Pradesh, Khajuraho Dance Festival in Madhya Pradesh and Nrityagram in Orissa.

Senior citizens' tours
The aged can break the monotony of everyday life and get an opportunity to interact with others like them by being a part of these tours. Specialising in this category is Navbharat Travels, which offers tours to places of pilgrimage and historical sites. "We assure a leisurely and comfortable journey with maximum thrust on heritage and culture. Our special senior citizens' package includes pilgrimage tour like Amarnath Yatra and Char Dham Yatra," says Darshan Thakkar, partner, Navbharat Travels.

The Char Dham Yatra (Badrinath-Kedarnath-Gangotri-Yamunotri), which is a 14-day trip, starts from Haridwar and costs about Rs19,000. The seven-night Amarnath Yatra, which also includes a complimentary Vaishno Devi, costs Rs12,000 per person. They also offer tour to South India which includes visits to places like Madurai, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirupati and Meenakshi temple among others.

Community-based tour
Are you drifting away from your culture? Then, its time to reconnect by opting for tours offered by Black-Swan. The community-based travel venture is attempting to revive culture through tourism. "We are attempting to build a bridge between the forgotten traditions and people who go looking for them. We provide tours to places where one can stay with the expert and explore the place. It is a development and conservation-oriented travel idea which is not only educational but also provides a rich, shared cultural experience," says Shishir Nikam, founder of Black-Swan.

The firm also has one-day and weekend trips to places like Bhuleshwar temple, situated at about 55 km from the city. "Till now, we have explored only two places in North India, one is Varanasi and other is Garli in Himachal Pradesh. One can stay in the 150-year-old wada located near river Ganga. In South India, we have been to places like Coorg near Mysore, Kunnur, Sharavathi valley in north Karnataka, Kotagiri near Ooty. During these trips, tourists are accompanied by subject experts and archaeologists, who enlighten you with rich history and culture," he says.

Education tours
Gone are the days when children were contented with picnics to the nearest zoos or amusement parks. Educational trips have shifted to foreign destinations, which cost between Rs45,000 and Rs2 lakh. Many schools are tying up with tourism companies. From 2006, Guardian Holidays has come up with specialised education tours for children aged between 12 and 17 years.

"Our 9 nights/ 10 days, US tour includes a five-day residential space camp which begins from the US Space Camp to Huntsville and later on to Space and Rocket Centre, Coca Cola factory, visit to Universal Studio in Orlando, CNN studio, NASA's Kennedy Space Centre, Rocket Garden, International Space Station Centre to name a few," says Sudeshna Parmar, who heads the company's education wing. She adds, "Students get a chance to interact with astronauts and experience space life. We also have 5 nights/ 6 days Singapore Science Centre tour which costs about Rs65,000," she adds.