Age Related Activities
Children Under 12
Spend an evening with elephants –bathing and painting them and learning from the trainers how to take care of them and ride them
Become a junior chef for the night and make your parents a dinner of Indian bread and two types of curries
Teen Itineraries
Bollywood is India’s most enduring movie industry, the movies an extravaganza of music and dance. This afternoon you will visit a studio and you will have a lesson in Bollywood dancing and Indian hip hop. Your teachers will be experts in the field who train young aspiring actors and actresses. The session is vigorous and active and better than most workouts!
Adult Itineraries
Spend with a master potter who will teach you make the famous blue pottery, originally of Turkish Persian origin. It is the eye catching blue that gives it its name.
Spend a Day learning the Indian crafts of block printing and ceramics.
Key Itinerary Content
Travelers will complete a trip planning questionnaire that will allow Global CommUnity, working with their travel advisor, to fully customize their trip according to their family interests.
7-Day Itinerary
- Fun activities such as learning Indian magic tricks, craft and watching and participating in a “Tamasha” which is a kind of street theatre
- Explore the Old City of Dehli
- You will also visit the Jama Masjid, which is believed to be the largest mosque in India
- Visit the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi
- Watch sunset over the Taj Mahal from the quiet of the Mahtab Bagh garden
- Visit the City Palace in Jaipur
- Stop at an Akhara, a traditional gymnasium where the young go to learn Indian wrestling, and stick and sword fighting
- Visit Amber Hill Forts
3-Day Extension— Udapur
It is said that the ghost of Udaipur looks towards Chittorgarh, for it was after the tragic fall of that fort, that Udaipur, a fairy tale city of marble palaces and lakes came into existence. The City was founded by Maharana Udai Singh in 1559 and became the capital of the region of Mewar. The rulers of Mewar, the Sisodia Rajputs trace their dynasty to AD 566 and believe they are the defenders of Rajput honor. Unlike other Rajput royal families, this was a fiercely independent clan who refused to enter into matrimonial alliances with the Mughals or military alliances with the British. The city is dominated by the massive City Palace which overlooks the lovely Lake Pichola with its romantic island palaces.
- Jal Sanjhvi or the “art of drawing on water
- City Palace
- Visit an organic farm, spending time at the school where you will interact with the children and exchange stories, and stop at a home and learn how to make “chapatiis” – Indian bread on a “chullah”, or simple mud stove and perhaps try your skills at milking a cow.
3-Day Extension — Jodhpur
n the way you may like to stop at Tilionia. Located in Ajmer district, Tilionia is well known for the remarkable Barefoot College, a project that developed to resolve rural problems within communities by providing training in solar power, healthcare, and rural handicraft. Barefoot helps empower women by teaching them these skills and training them in health and hygiene and living in a better environ. You will spend the day at the Campus, later driving to Jodhpur.
- The Kingdom of Jodhpur was established by the powerful Rathor clan who claim ancestry as far back as 470 AD. In the mid 15th century, Rao Jodha, the ruler of Marwar, abandoned his old capital and built a new fort on the rocky cliffs of what is now Jodhpur. According to legend, in the process of building the fort, he displaced a hermit who was meditating on the site. The hermit placed a curse on the descendents of Rao Jodha saying they would be plagued by famine every year. This is the reason the locals claim that the area has drought every three or four years. The gigantic Umaid Bhavan Palace where you are staying was built as a result of a project initiated by the Royal family during a famine to provide employment.
- Forts in Rajasthanour the blue city, the heritage walk taking you past lovely architectural features, shrines, small craft workshops and examples of folk art
- Lartangas, desert musicians. This is the largest single congregation of a musical community in one village
CommUnity Impact Opportunities
Paharganj
Our CommUnity Impact partner works with street children in Delhi providing them with a secure environment as well as health and education. SBT aims to provide a sensitive and caring environment to street & working children and other children on the margins of society. It seeks to dissolve the barriers that rob children of the opportunity to realize their rights. You will spend the day in one of the contact centers helping the volunteers with the children in the school.
Preparing for India
- Children under 12 receive a new friend, Isha, who comes with a story book telling what his life is like in India.
- The whole family will receive recipes, books and movies preparing them for their trip to India.
- It is recommended that your children be at least 8 years old at the time of travel for your trip to India. Any younger and they find it all too overwhelming, though we have had families with younger children (four and five years). We tailor the itinerary differently – more in-house and activities and avoiding very crowded areas. The ideal age is 12+. By this time, especially if they are travelers they are aware, curious and enjoy some of the more interactive activities such as walking with street children and participating in our Global CommUnity Impact opportunities.
- The best time to travel to India is October through to mid March, avoiding February and late November both of which are peak travel times in India and hotels charge a premium.'
- The least ideal times to travel are May and June. With temperatures well over 100F and very dry and dusty in the north and very humid in the South the weather can be uncomfortable. We also advise against traveling the period around the Pushkar Camel Fair which is usually in November and Indian summer vacation, (end May to early July)
- A visa and a valid passport and visa are required for entry into India.
