[wanderernomad]

Guys need information on travel time and taxi charges.
Plan is to take a cab on 7th to reach Kaziranga from Guwahati. Stay at kaziranga on 7th, 8th n 9th. 9th evening or 10th morning go to Shillong. Visit Cheerapunji and reach Guwahati by 7 pm on 11th.
Also anyone at Guwahati who can help in making the arrangements as I dotn want to be skinned by atrocious rate charges.

[Shakensoul]

How are you going to Guwahati, flight/train ? And when are you reaching and going to stay in Guwahati ? No. of family members ?

[phamilyman]

Just go there esp taxi stand and keep one day to bargain your brains out. anyways, most places have unionised rates so there's little you can manage.

[hvkumar]

Tezpur is closest to Kaziranga, will save you some money by taking a cab from there, assuming you can reach Tezpur by train/air.

[watashi75]

I agree with hvkumar. With your plan you need to pass through Guwahati twice.

[hvkumar]

Keep some time for Unmiam lake (between Guwahati and Shillong), Elephant Falls and Shillong Peak (between Shillong and Cherapunjee).

[wanderernomad]

Already have flight tickets to Guwahati. Number of family members are 4 adults 3 kids. Cancellation of tickets will cost 750X7 = 5250INR. Then flight can be booked till Jorhat which is only about 97 KM from Kaziranga. Need to come back to Guwahati on the return leg. Suggest me a cost effective measure.
Does it make sense to cancel the ticket and then proceed to Kaziranga from Jorhat and then take a taxi from Kaziranga to Shillong and Guwahati or do the entire trip in a taxi straight from Guwahati Airport which we reach around 1215 hrs.

[Shakensoul]

If you are confortable travelling by bus, then I would suggest the bus route. From airport go to Paltan Bazaar and stay overnite at a hotel because if you decide to proceed to Kaziranga, you'll reach there at midnight, it takes about 5-6 hrs from guwahati to kaziranga. Book early morning bus tickets for next day from Paltan Bazaar to Bokakhat, which would be abt 150-200 per person. Bokakhat is about 10-15 kms from Kaziranga, and you can request the driver to drop you at Kaziranga. Travelling by bus is very confortable and safe, they have delux and volvo buses as well. Network Travels is a big name in the bus service or you can also book tickets at the ASTC (Assam State Transport Corporation) counter at Paltan Bazaar.

Once you get down at kaziranga, hire an auto or taxi to take you to a hotel. You can find information about hotels here
Hotels in Kaziranga,Resorts in Kaziranga,Wildlife Resorts in Kaziranga,Kaziranga National Park Accommodation

Once you reach the hotel, they should be able to arrange a gypsy for you for sightseeing, and you can also go for a elephant safari.

After that you can come back to guwahati and then proceed to shillong in a taxi or by bus.

[hvkumar]

Distances are as follows:
- Guwahati-Kohora, 220 kms, should take you 4-5 hours, depending on the condition of the road
- Tezpur-Kohora, 75 kms, should take you 1-2 hours
- Jorhat-Kohora, 90 kms, should take you 2 hours

Kohora is one of the places/gates in Kaziranga where you can stay. There are also 2-3 other places where you can enter the park. In Kohora, I have seen a very good-looking Assam Tourism hotel, although I did not stay there.

[kaushik_s]

Guwahati to Kaziranga: Best option may be deluxe Bus service. It's very well connected and you'll get lots of option either day or night time.
If you want to go for Taxi then better you book it from some known person or a travel agency. Yeah for many people(including myself) it's comfortable to take a cab as you'll have your say in stopping wherever your want (say for a photo shoot).
The road condition between Guwahati and Nagaon is currently not good due to ongoing construction work for East-West corridor. So it may take lil' more time than usual. After that the road is very good shape and a lovely drive.
Staying Options@Kaziranga:For staying there are places like Wild Grass, Bonani/Bonoshree(Govt Operated), GL Resort etc. Wild grass is the most recommended by the people who have been there. The Govt run hotels are also good from what I've heard.

Kaziranga to Shillong via Guwahati: Again you can take a bus to Guwahati. Or if you are comfortable with taking cab then you should be able to hire a taxi from there.
Guwahati to Shillong it'll be easy to find a Taxi and it's cost effective too as Shillong is not very far from Guwahati. Don't miss Cherrapunji, the road is a dream[that was 3 years back though, and I hope they've maintained it well till now]

Very important: Keep in mind that the Sun rises early and sets also early then the other parts of the country. The time difference is actually around 1.5 hr. So plan your itinerary accordingly. At this time of the year Sunset will be around 5.30pm or may be lil' early.

[abk]

Originally Posted by wanderernomad

Also anyone at Guwahati who can help in making the arrangements as I dotn want to be skinned by atrocious rate charges.

Wanderernomad, guess you are already done with the trip? If not, please feel free to contact me for any help you may need there

[wanderernomad]

Thanks abk, but I have already done it. Are you in this business, because if you are I will recommend your name and number to other people visiting the area. If that was a bhpian offer, thanks a ton mate, will take you up on it another time.

[abk]

Originally Posted by wanderernomad

Thanks abk, but I have already done it. Are you in this business, because if you are I will recommend your name and number to other people visiting the area. If that was a bhpian offer, thanks a ton mate, will take you up on it another time.

I wish I were! Unfortunately am much misplaced in IT

My family and loads of friends live in Assam. Though I am yet to see much of the north east myself yet but along with my friends from Delhi and other parts of India we did see a bit of north east together. Do feel free to ask me for any help if you need whenever you plan your next sojourn in those parts of our country

[s0uljah]

Looking at hitting the north east soon, seems like it would be a solo trip sometime in October.

Iv got friends in Aizwal & Shillong so those would be primary targets.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by s0uljah

Looking at hitting the north east soon, seems like it would be a solo trip sometime in October.

Iv got friends in Aizwal & Shillong so those would be primary targets.

Lovely circuit - you have wonderful places like Umiam Lake, Cherapunjee, and so on. I believe that all roads leading to Aizwal are in bad shape now.so you may want to check out with your friends on actual road condition just before your trip. I suppose you still have to obtain permits to visit Mizoram.