Himalayan Escape

Yes, unless you are a national of Nepal, Bhutan or the Maldives. If you are from an eligible country, the easiest way to get one is to apply for an e-tourist visa online, but make sure you visit the official site… Here’s the link.

Assuming you live in an eligible country / territory you can apply online up until a minimum of 4 days in advance of the date of arrival with a window of 120 days. So for example, if you are applying on 1st Sept you can select arrival date from 5th Sept to 2nd Jan.

For peace of mind, we recommend you do this nicely in advance to avoid any delays or issues. The visa lasts 60 days so unless you decide to extend your trip for vastly more than the length of the tour, then this should be plenty. When you arrive at Delhi airport, there is an immigration form to fill in before you queue up to show your visa. Now we all know Brits love to queue but don’t wait to get to the front just to have the man send you to the back past everyone to fill in the form, it’s just embarrassing.

Follow this link for the most up to date entry requirements. This is a link to the UK foreign office website – if you are not a UK resident, please search for the equivalent info from your home country’s foreign office.

Visa costs, if applicable, are not included in the tour price.

1. Stay well hydrated. Caffeine and alcohol impacts hydration, so it’s a good idea keep intake to a minimum until you are acclimatised.
2. Apparently a high potassium diet helps. Lots of bananas then…
3. Make a conscious effort to breathe properly as we climb to higher altitudes – you want to saturate your blood with oxygen. Your tour leader will explain this in more detail in your welcome briefing.
4. Diamox is an altitude sickness tablet – please do your own research on this – if you decide you would like to take these, we always carry a stock with us. You’ll want to start taking these in Delhi, before we start climbing.
5. Oxygen – we carry oxygen bottles with us on every trip. Our medic will keep an eye on everyone and monitor peoples stats. He will administer oxygen if necessary.
6. Ibuprofen if you start to feel a headache coming on.

To secure your place we simply need a 20% non-refundable deposit (subject to a minimum of £500). The remainder does not need to be paid until 60 days prior to the tour start date.

This Royal Enfield motorcycle tour will be followed by either one or two support vehicles depending on group size. This means that all your luggage goes in there rather than having it bounce around on the back your Royal Enfield for miles on end. You just need to take either a tank bag or small rucksack for your camera and any travel essentials.

Yes. Here at Ride Expeditions, we take the necessary precautions to ensure that we protect both ourselves and you as the customer, with insurances covering financial failure, public liability, professional indemnity and employers liability (you will need your own travel insurance).

To obtain this insurance we must meet strict safety standards and local regulations. We must also carry out thorough risk assessments about all aspects of a tour before tyres can hit tarmac (…or dirt!).

NO! Although the locals may be drinking tap water, doing the same has a strong possibility of playing havoc with your insides. It’s called Delhi Belly for a reason.

We recommend that you drink only bottled water and that you check the seal before drinking. If you choose canned drinks, give the lid a good wipe beforehand just to be sure. And when brushing your teeth, rinsing with bottled water is a good idea too.

Yes. All passengers booking with Ride Expeditions Ltd are fully insured for the initial deposit, and subsequently the balance of monies paid as detailed in your booking confirmation form. The policy also includes repatriation if required, arising from the cancellation or curtailment of your travel arrangements due to the insolvency of Ride Expeditions Ltd. This insurance has been arranged by Towergate Travel through Evolution Insurance.

Not riding the motorcycle, no (although this will of course depend on the extent of your limited mobility). However, we may be able to accommodate you in our support vehicle. We advise you to give us a call and we can discuss.

In theory yes, although in practice, Wi-Fi coverage can be slow at best, slower on average and non-existent on many occasions. We advise you activate your ‘out-of-office’!

For the most accurate and up to date info, we advise you visit the Indian page of the ‘Travel Health Pro’ website.

Please also consult with your own doctor at home at least 8 weeks before your trip.

This one is both simple and complicated. The local currency is Indian Rupees – INR. However, unless you are a resident of India, importing rupees is prohibited so you cannot actually obtain the notes outside the country itself like you can for other countries.

You can either bring in other currencies to exchange when in India, or simply withdraw rupees from ATMs as you would back at home. Well we say that, but if you are in a remote village with only three residents, a yak and an elderly donkey, there may not be an ATM, so don’t expect universal coverage throughout the trip!

If you do bring cash, US dollars are universally welcome. Bitcoin, coloured buttons and belly button fluff are not. Whatever you bring, try not to exchange too much at the arrival airport – the exchange rate is terrible! There are ATMs at the airport too.

To be legally riding in India you are required to carry your local driving licence, which must cover the size of bike you will be riding. This will also be a stipulation of any travel insurance company too.

You will also need an International Driving Permit (IDP). An IDP is basically an official, multi-language translation of your driving licence.

Average group sizes are 8-9 riders and we limit the groups to 12 riders.

If you cancel your booking before departure, cancellation charges will be applied as follows:

• 61 days or more before tour start date – retention of deposit
• 42-60 days before tour start date – retention of 50% of tour price
• 28-41 days before tour start date – retention of 70% of tour price
• 0-27 days before tour start date – retention of 100% tour price

Please refer to our Terms & Conditions for further info regarding cancellations, changes and transferring your trip to a friend.

For the most accurate and up to date info on travel advice for India, we advise you to visit the foreign office website.

Follow this link for Indian advice from the UK foreign office. As we are a UK company, this is the official government advice we follow. If you are not a UK resident, we advise you search for the equivalent info from your own country’s foreign office, as travel advice may differ.

The minimum required number for this trip to run is 6 riders. We reserve the right to cancel the tour if this number is not met and we will provide you with a minimum of 56 days notice. Please know that this is an absolute last resort for us and we will always do everything in our power to avoid this happening.

We accept GBP payments by Visa, Mastercard & American Express and direct bank transfers. Please get in touch if you would rather pay in another currency – we’ll do our best to accommodate!

There are 2 types of sockets in India – 3 Pin connections – Type D, or 2 pin connections -Type C.