Hindustan Times Cafe 23rd October, 2009

Local travel agency offers unique packages to help city dwellers and tourists explore “aamchi Mumbai“.
Sneha Mahale
Want to explore this phenomenon called Mumbai, with utmost comfort and ease? A local travel agency is offering Mumbaikars and city visitors just that. equipped with an array of chauffeur driven luxury cars, personalised guides (fluent in English, French, Spanish, German or any other language of your choice, Namaste City Tour gives its patrons a “customised” glimpse of the enigmatic city and that much talked about “Mumbai spirit” . That too in a “hatke” manner.

Started in 2007, the travel agency is a brainchild of Naini Mehta and Kunal Vahalia who commenced operations with Ganpati tours after witnessing the large crowds that the festival drew. Thus, Namaste City Tour becomes the only tour operator to offer guided Ganesh tours with a dash of comfort.
Naini says, “People come to our city to learn about our culture and we give them them an opportunity to experience it in a “zara hatke” manner.

Now two years later, the duo has added more personalized packages to the mix. “the past year was a bad year with 26/11, recession and swine flu following all one another. The local travel scene really took a beating,” Naini says.

However this also gave Vahalia and Mehta time to get a feel of what Mumbaikars actually wanted and create packages that suited their tastes. So, apart from the usual half day and full day city tours, the agent now offers its clientele a couple of unique personalized packages. Read on.

Temple Tour

INCLUDES – Afghan Church, Babulnath Temple and ISKON Temple amongst others.
The temple tour offers customers a traditional and spiritual journey of the city. Mumbai is a cosmopolitan city and the agency has tried to include temples and churches into the mix. Mehta says, “The objective is to give the visitors a feel of the city’s culture. Thus, they see for themselves can co-exist with each other despite the lack of space”.
DURATION – 4 Hours.

Golf Tour

INCLUDES – A game of golf at a city golf course.
One of the most popular tours, especially amongst the Japanese. Apparently playing golf in countries like Japan is very expensive. So whenever the visitors are in the city, they head to the golf course for a round of golf.
DURATION – 4 Hours.

Shopping Tour

INCLUDES – Any shops, local markets and malls as per the customer’s wish.
Shop where you want, when you want and how you want with a professional shopping consultant. The consultant understands the customer’s exact requirements before the tour starts and then advises the shops and markets from where you can buy those merchandises. Getting good deals are part of the bargain.
DURATION – 6 Hours.

Museum Tour

INCLUDES – Prince of Wales Museum, Jehangir Art Gallery, Bhau Daji Museum, Mani Bhavan, RBI Museum and Ballard Bandur Museum.
For those interested in the culture and history of India, museum tour is the perfect option. Mehta says, “It isn’t a very popular tour, but yes, it does have its niche takers. Mostly the museum tours is restricted to history buffs and academicians.
DURATION – 5 Hours.

Morning Tour

INCLUDES – Visit to the Dadar flower and vegetable market and a Hindu temple.
“This one is for the early risers”, Mehta says. “We take them to the Dadar flower market and let them see for themselves the city’s hustle bustle even at the early hour. ” That apart they are also taken to a temple so that they can indulge themselves in a traditional darshan.
DURATION – 2 Hours.

Rural Tour

INCLUDES – Visit to a local village.
This is basically for Mumbaikars and foreigners alike…. To give them an understanding of rural life. Mehta says, “Most of the times, they are enamored by the rural life and it’s simplicity. And the joy on their faces, when they take a ride on the bullock cart or are invited to a villager’s house for a simple lunch. The whole experience is unforgettable.” One can also visit to local school, hospital and Gram Panchayat.
DURATION – 6 Hours.

Mumbai Special Tour

INCLUDES – Visit to a local slum.
“We wanted to call it the “Slumdog Millionaire” tour after a movie (by a similar name) that made slums a not so bad word but were a little apprehensive of hurting people’s sentiments. Anyway the tour gives visitors, a look into the life of a slumdweller. Most come away humbled by the experience”, says Mehta.
DURATION – 4 Hours.

Customized Tour

This apart, that other tour on offer is the customized tour that allows clientele to either create their own tour or merge two or more of the regular tours.
Tel: +91 22 23888711 / +91 9323652111 / +91 9323394850 / +91 9820954856
e-mail: visitus@namastecitytour.com
visit: http://www.namastecitytour.com/

Important :

We also offer a customized tour to our customers. The customized tour is exactly what you want, whenever you want and wherever you want.
We are specialists in arranging all tours at a very short notice.

Please Note :-

All our tours are personalized tours accompanied by a professional English speaking guide.
We also offer other language speaking guides at an additional cost.