Luxury travel
Luxury India tours, designed in India
Private guides, palace and five-star hotels, the Palace on Wheels and a pace set entirely around you — tailor-made by a government-approved DMC on the ground in New Delhi since 1997.
Entirely private
Your own car, driver and licensed guides. Never a coach, never a fixed departure.
Hotels booked direct
Taj, Oberoi and the palace hotels of Rajasthan, matched to each place by first-hand stays.
Honest, itemised quotes
A real price for your actual itinerary, usually the same day. No marketing "from" figure.
Updated · Written by the Era Tours team, New Delhi
Luxury travel in India is not a category of hotel — it is a way of travelling: entirely private, tailor-made to you, and made seamless by people who live and work here. We've designed exactly these journeys since 1997, and the difference an in-country operator makes is the whole point. The foreign luxury agencies that dominate this space plan India from afar; we plan it from Delhi, with the hotels, guides and drivers we know personally, and quote you an honest figure rather than a marketing "from" price.
What luxury means with an in-India DMC
At this level, the luxury is in the access and the seamlessness as much as the suites. It means your own car and driver throughout — never a shared coach — and a government-licensed private guide in each city who reads the architecture, times your visits to avoid the crowds, and opens doors an independent traveller would never find. It means the Taj Mahal at sunrise before the tour buses, a candlelit dinner inside a Rajasthan fort, a Kerala houseboat to yourselves, a private boat at the Varanasi aarti. And it means a pace set by you: linger over breakfast, add an afternoon in a museum, change tomorrow's plan on a whim — with our Delhi office a WhatsApp message away to make it happen.
The hotels
India is home to some of the world's greatest hotels, and as an in-India operator we book them all directly — the Taj and Oberoi houses, the restored palace and heritage hotels of Rajasthan, and international five-stars in the cities. What we add is judgement about which property suits which place: a lake-facing palace in Udaipur, a sandstone haveli in Jaisalmer, a plantation retreat in Munnar, a garden bungalow near Ranthambore. Our recommendations come from having stayed in these hotels, not from a commission sheet — and because we hold relationships and rates with them, the value you get is real.
Signature luxury journeys
Each of these is a starting point, designed to be elevated and tailored to you — from the royal rail journey of the Palace on Wheels to the palaces of Rajasthan, the classic Golden Triangle and the serene backwaters of Kerala.
A Luxury Journey of Palace on Wheels
A Luxury Journey of Palace on Wheels is an 8-day, 7-night circuit aboard India's original luxury train, sweeping you out of Delhi and across the length and breadth of Rajasthan before finishing at the Taj Mahal in Agra. In one seamless loop you sleep in your own wood-panelled cabin while the train carries you overnight between Jaipur, Ranthambore, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Bharatpur — unpacking only once, waking each morning in a new royal city.
View itineraryRoyal Rajasthan Tour
The Royal Rajasthan Tour is our unhurried 10-day loop through the heart of India's desert kingdom, tracing a grand arc from the lake city of Udaipur through Mount Abu, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Khimsar, Ajmer and Pushkar before finishing in Jaipur. It gathers Rajasthan's greatest forts, palaces, havelis and sacred sites into one continuous private journey, and after 25 years of running it we have paced it so the long desert drives always end at a place worth arriving to.
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Golden Triangle Tour
The Golden Triangle is the classic 6-day introduction to India, connecting Delhi, Agra and Jaipur in one smooth loop that takes in the Taj Mahal, the forts and bazaars of the Mughal capital, and the pink palaces of Rajasthan. It is the single most popular first journey through the country, and after 25 years of running it privately we have refined the pacing so you see the icons without ever feeling rushed.
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Kerala — God's Own Country
Kerala — long marketed as "God's Own Country" — is South India at its most languid and green, and this 8-day journey threads together every side of it: the Portuguese-Dutch harbour town of Kochi, the tea-carpeted hills of Munnar, the spice forests and elephants of Thekkady, an overnight houseboat on the Alleppey backwaters, and the palm-lined Arabian Sea beaches of Kovalam. It is the definitive first trip to the deep south, unhurried and endlessly photogenic.
View itinerary“The luxury is as much in the seamlessness and the access as in the thread count.”
Era Tours, New Delhi
Luxury journeys by region and theme
Each strand of luxury India deserves its own deep guide, written by us as the operator on the ground: the Palace on Wheels — India's original luxury train, explained honestly; luxury Rajasthan tours through the palace hotels of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Udaipur; luxury Kerala tours built around a private premium houseboat and the tea hills; and honeymoons in India, designed just for two.
Honest pricing, quoted for real
You'll notice we don't print a "luxury India from $9,999" headline. That's deliberate. A luxury trip's cost depends almost entirely on your choices — a heritage palace suite versus a five-star room, high season versus shoulder, ten days versus twenty, how much private guiding you want. A single advertised figure would be either misleading or meaningless. Instead we quote a real, itemised price for your actual itinerary, usually the same day you write to us, with no obligation. That transparency is easier for us precisely because we're the operator, not a reseller marking up someone else's package.
Why a Ministry-approved operator
At the top end, trust is everything — you are handing a stranger your holiday of a lifetime and a significant sum. Era Tours is a Ministry of Tourism–approved inbound tour operator (Reg. No. 5.TT.II (188)/2000), a member of IATO and ABTO, and a licensed, regulated Indian company that has hosted guests from more than 40 nationalities since 1997. That means there is an accountable firm standing behind every hotel booking, every guide, every transfer — and a family business whose name depends on getting your trip right. For senior corporate travellers and incentive groups, we also run dedicated MICE and corporate programmes; and for the practical planning, see our best time to visit India guide.
The difference is who plans it
The world’s luxury agencies plan India from abroad. We plan it from Delhi — with the hotels, guides and drivers we know by name.
Private throughout
Your own car, driver and licensed guides — never a group coach, always your pace.
The finest hotels, booked direct
Taj, Oberoi and the heritage palaces, matched to each place by first-hand knowledge.
On the ground since 1997
A Ministry-approved DMC quoting honest prices, accountable for every arrangement.
FAQ
Luxury India tours — frequently asked questions
A luxury tour of India is private and tailor-made — your own car and driver, a government-licensed guide in each city, palace and heritage or international five-star hotels, and a pace set entirely around you rather than a coach timetable. It means the Taj Mahal at sunrise before the crowds, a private dinner in a Rajasthan fort, a houseboat to yourselves in Kerala, and a team on call throughout. The luxury is as much in the seamlessness and the access as in the thread count.
A luxury India tour is priced individually because the cost depends almost entirely on your choices — which hotels (a heritage palace suite versus a five-star room), the season, the length, the amount of private guiding and any special experiences. Rather than advertise a misleading “from $X”, we quote a real figure for your actual itinerary, usually the same day you enquire. Tell us your dates, party and hotel preference and you’ll get an honest, itemised proposal with no obligation.
India has some of the world’s finest hotels — the Taj and Oberoi groups, the heritage palace hotels of Rajasthan (Udaipur, Jaipur, Jodhpur), and international five-stars in the cities. As an in-India operator we work with all of them directly and match the property to the place: a lake-facing palace in Udaipur, a restored haveli in Jaisalmer, a backwater retreat in Kerala. We recommend by first-hand knowledge, not by whoever pays the highest commission.
The Palace on Wheels is India’s celebrated luxury train, recreating the royal rail travel of the maharajas across a week-long circuit through Rajasthan — Jaipur, Ranthambore, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Agra’s Taj Mahal — with cabins, dining cars and butler service on board. You unpack once and wake in a new city each morning. It is one of the most memorable ways to see royal India, and we arrange it as a standalone journey or within a longer tailor-made trip.
Yes — in India a private, government-licensed guide is one of the best upgrades you can make. India’s monuments and cities carry layers of history that are far richer with an expert who can read the architecture, navigate the crowds, time your visits well and steer you past the touts. A private guide also means the day flexes around you: linger where you love it, move on where you don’t. It is the difference between seeing India and understanding it.
October to March is the classic window for a luxury tour of the north — Delhi, Agra, Rajasthan — with cool, clear days ideal for sightseeing and the Palace on Wheels running in season. The Himalayas (Ladakh, Kashmir) shine from May to September, and Kerala and the south are lovely through the winter. We match the route to your travel dates so you see each region at its best; see our best time to visit India guide for the month-by-month detail.
Ready to design your luxury India journey?
Tell us your dates, party and the hotels you love, and our Delhi team will craft a private, tailor-made itinerary with an honest, itemised quote — usually the same day, with no obligation.