Everything you need to know about how Daffodils Travel works — planning fees, destinations, the booking process, Bhutan's SDF, cancellation policy, and more.
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Daffodils Travel is a ground itinerary specialist for India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. We design bespoke, day-by-day ground itineraries for these four destinations exclusively — accommodation, private transport, guides, activities, and all the logistics in between.
We do not book flights, cruises, or packaged tours. We do not cover destinations outside India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. That focus is deliberate. It is what allows us to know these destinations at the depth required to plan them properly.
India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. These are the only four destinations we plan. We have 20+ years of direct, on-the-ground experience in each one — repeated travel across multiple seasons, not aggregated data from booking platforms.
We do not cover Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia, USA, or any other destination outside these four countries.
It means we plan and manage everything that happens inside the destination country — accommodation, private transport, local guides, activities, day-by-day sequencing, and on-trip coordination.
It does not include international or domestic flights, visas, travel insurance, vaccinations, or the Bhutan Sustainable Development Fee. These sit outside the ground arrangement and are the client's responsibility, with our guidance.
Planning a single South Asia destination takes 25–50 hours for a first-timer — before a single booking is confirmed. That figure doubles for multi-destination circuits and increases significantly for Bhutan, which requires a licensed operator, the SDF calculation, permit coordination, and a festival calendar that books out 9–12 months ahead.
Beyond the time: the most expensive planning errors in South Asia are not generic travel mistakes. They are South Asia-specific — the wrong monsoon season on the Sri Lanka coast, a skipped Nepal acclimatisation day with medical evacuation consequences, the Bhutan SDF discovered after the budget is set. A South Asia specialist prevents these specifically.
We earn planning fees paid by you — not commissions from hotels. The itinerary reflects your brief, not our margin.
Yes. Daffodils Travel is a member of the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) as an Independent Advisor. ASTA membership requires adherence to the ASTA Code of Ethics, which includes transparency, honesty, and professional standards in all client dealings. Membership is verifiable at asta.org.
Dipti Kapadia holds the Certified Travel Advisor (CTA) designation, issued by The Travel Institute. The CTA requires examinations, demonstrated practical experience, and ongoing continuing education. It is the professional certification standard for specialist travel advisors in the United States.
This is distinct from the brand title 'Chief Travel Architect', which describes Dipti's role at Daffodils Travel.
Yes. Daffodils Group LLC is registered as a California Seller of Travel under California Business and Professions Code §17550 et seq. Registration Number: 2163233-70. This is a legal requirement for California-based travel businesses. Registration is verifiable through the California Attorney General's office.
English, Gujarati, and Hindi. If you would prefer to begin the conversation in Gujarati or Hindi, simply let us know when you reach out.
Five steps:
01 — Get in touch. A free conversation with Dipti or the team. No commitment, no cost. We learn about your destination, travel dates, group size, and what you want the experience to feel like.
02 — Select your planning fee tier and pay. Choose Explore ($65), Experience ($110), Immerse ($200), or Legacy ($450). Pay the planning fee. Itinerary work begins once payment is confirmed.
03 — Complete your Journey Blueprint. We send you the Journey Blueprint — a detailed planning brief covering destinations, dates, group composition, budget, travel style, experiences, dietary needs, and what you want to feel at the end of the trip. The more detail you provide, the more precisely we build your itinerary.
04 — Receive and refine. We deliver your day-by-day ground plan within 5–7 business days of receiving your completed Journey Blueprint. You review, give feedback, and revise within your included revision rounds.
05 — Approve, sign, and book. You approve the final itinerary. We issue the Booking Agreement for electronic signature. Hotel names and per-person ground costs are confirmed. We manage all ground bookings from here.
The Journey Blueprint is the detailed planning brief we send you after your planning fee is paid. It covers your destination, travel dates, group size, experience level, accommodation preferences, pace, activities, budget range, dietary needs, logistics, past travel experience, and what you want to feel at the end of the trip.
Submitting the Journey Blueprint commences itinerary work. The planning fee is non-refundable from this point.
Typically 5–7 business days from receipt of your completed Journey Blueprint. Complex multi-destination itineraries or Bhutan-specific routing may take slightly longer. We will confirm the expected delivery date at the start of the planning process.
This depends on your planning fee tier:
Explore ($65): 1 revision round
Experience ($110): 3 revision rounds
Immerse ($200): 5 revision rounds
Legacy ($450): Unlimited revision rounds
One revision round = one consolidated submission of your feedback, followed by one fully revised itinerary document. We ask that feedback be submitted as a single consolidated response rather than incremental messages.
Specific hotel names and per-person ground package costs are disclosed at the Booking Confirmation stage — after you have approved the final itinerary and are ready to confirm.
During the planning and revision process, accommodation is described by character, style, and category (heritage haveli, boutique eco-lodge, contemporary city property, etc.). This policy applies at every planning tier without exception.
This approach ensures the itinerary is designed around your brief and travel style — not around what happens to be available or promoted on the day we are drafting.
The Booking Agreement is signed electronically via our e-signature platform. An electronic signature has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature under California law. You will receive the Agreement via email with a link to sign. The 30% deposit is due upon signing.
No. If you know you want to travel to South Asia but are not yet sure which country or combination of countries, the scoping call is exactly the right place to start. Tell us what you want to experience — not just where you want to go — and we can help you identify the right destination or circuit.
A planning fee is the fee you pay for the advisory and itinerary design work we perform before any ground bookings are made. It covers destination research, routing and sequencing, accommodation evaluation, day-by-day plan design, and the revision process.
We charge a planning fee — rather than earning hotel commissions — because it removes the conflict of interest inherent in a commission model. Our itinerary reflects your brief, not which property pays us the highest margin.
Explore — $65: 1 revision round. Itinerary design only. Booking management not included.
Experience — $110: 3 revision rounds. Itinerary design plus booking management included.
Immerse — $200: 5 revision rounds. Full service. Plan-to-Go credit available ($200 credited toward ground package cost if booked within 30 days).
Legacy — $450: Unlimited revision rounds. Full service. Plan-to-Go credit available ($450 credited toward ground package cost if booked within 30 days).
The planning fee is non-refundable from the moment the Journey Blueprint is submitted and itinerary work commences.
The Plan-to-Go credit is available to Immerse and Legacy tier clients who confirm their Booking Agreement and pay the 30% ground package deposit within 30 days of receiving their completed itinerary.
When the credit applies: the planning fee ($200 for Immerse, $450 for Legacy) is credited against the total ground package cost — effectively making the planning fee free if you proceed to booking within the window.
The credit is non-transferable, cannot be carried forward, and is forfeited if the Booking Agreement is not confirmed within the 30-day window.
No. The planning fee is non-refundable from the moment the Journey Blueprint is submitted and itinerary work commences, regardless of the reason for non-proceeding. This is because itinerary work commences immediately upon receipt of the completed form.
If you are uncertain whether you wish to proceed, we recommend beginning with a free scoping call before submitting your Journey Blueprint.
Additional revision rounds are available at:
Experience tier: $35 per additional round
Immerse tier: $50 per additional round
Legacy tier: Included — unlimited rounds, no additional charge
Additional rounds are invoiced and payable before the revised itinerary is delivered.
Beyond the planning fee, the following may apply in specific circumstances:
Rush planning fee: $125 — where travel begins within 14 days of initial inquiry.
Itinerary redesign fee: $95 — for a major redesign requested after the itinerary has been signed off and approved.
Last-minute re-shop fee: $75 — for re-shopping accommodation or transfers after confirmed bookings have already been made.
Cancellation handling fee: $75 — for managing supplier cancellations, chasing refunds, and coordinating rebooking on your behalf.
All fees are disclosed upfront. None are charged without prior agreement.
As early as possible — particularly for Bhutan and India festival-season travel.
For Bhutan Tsechu festivals (especially Paro Tsechu in late March): 9–12 months ahead. Accommodation fills completely by June–July of the prior year.
For India during Diwali, Holi, or the Pushkar Camel Fair: 6–8 months ahead. The best properties in festival cities are gone months before the festival date.
For general India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka itineraries: ideally 3–6 months ahead, though we can often accommodate shorter timelines. Contact us and we will be honest about what is achievable.
A non-refundable deposit of 30% of the total ground package cost is due upon signing the Booking Agreement. No ground bookings are confirmed until the deposit is received and cleared.
The remaining 70% balance is due 60 days before your departure date. For bookings made within 60 days of departure, full payment is due at signing.
Planning fees and ground package payments are processed through our secure payment platforms. We will confirm the current payment options when your invoice is issued. We do not accept cash.
No. Daffodils Travel is a ground itinerary specialist. We do not book international flights, domestic flights, or any air travel.
For flight booking, we recommend using a trusted flight booking platform or a separate flight specialist. We can advise on which airports to fly into for your specific itinerary, and which domestic routes (if any) might be worth considering within your destination country.
No. Daffodils Travel does not sell, administer, or underwrite travel insurance.
We have partnered with Arch RoamRight (Arch Insurance Company) to offer our clients access to travel insurance options. The choice of policy is entirely the client's responsibility.
See Daffodils Travel Insurance for our current recommendations.
In most cases, yes. We work with your Ground Partner to add your loyalty programme number to your reservation. However, some independent boutique properties and heritage hotels in South Asia are not affiliated with major loyalty programmes. We will confirm loyalty point eligibility for specific properties at the Booking Confirmation stage.
Under the new ground itinerary model, ground package costs are invoiced by Daffodils Travel and paid to us, not directly to individual hotels. We then manage all payments to our verified Ground Partners on your behalf. You will not make direct payments to hotels or ground operators.
Group travel is defined by the number of traveling households — not total headcount.
If your entire party is from one household (one family, one set of shared decisions), our individual planning tiers cover you regardless of family size. A family of 8 from one household uses an individual tier.
Group planning applies when two or more households are coordinating the same trip together — even if the total headcount is small. Two couples (4 people, 2 households) is group planning. The additional complexity of coordinating multiple decision-makers is what the group planning fee compensates for.
If your family of 7 is from one household — one family making all decisions together — you use one of the four individual planning tiers (Explore, Experience, Immerse, or Legacy). There is no headcount limit on the individual tiers.
If your trip involves multiple separate families or households coordinating together, see our Group Planning fees at Daffodils Group Planning
Group planning fees are based on the number of travelers across the coordinating households:
Yatra: 5–10 travelers · 2+ households · $300–$500
Sangam: 11–20 travelers · 2+ households · $500–$800
Odyssey: 21–40 travelers · Multiple households · $800–$1,500
Bespoke: Corporate travel, destination weddings, and groups over 40 · Minimum $1,500, quoted individually
All group planning fees are separate from and in addition to the ground package cost. Begin the group conversation at Daffodils Group Inquiry
Yes. Destination weddings, family reunions, multigenerational celebrations, and corporate retreats are all within our group planning scope — in India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka.
For Bhutan specifically: the Sustainable Development Fee of USD $100 per person per night applies to all group travelers. A group of 20 on a 7-night Bhutan itinerary owes $14,000 in SDF alone, before any ground package costs. We factor this into every Bhutan group proposal from the first conversation.
The SDF is a mandatory government levy charged per visitor per night in Bhutan, paid directly to the Royal Government of Bhutan. It is in addition to all ground package costs and cannot be reduced, waived, or negotiated.
Current rates:
International visitors (including OCI cardholders on a foreign passport): USD $100 per adult per night · USD $50 per child aged 6–11 · Free for children under 6.
Indian nationals (valid Indian passport or Voter ID): Nu. 1,200 per adult per night · Nu. 600 per child aged 6–11 · Free for children under 6.
Rates are set by the Royal Government of Bhutan and subject to change. The rate applicable at the time of travel governs.
No. OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) cardholders traveling on a foreign (non-Indian) passport are classified as international visitors for both visa and SDF purposes. The OCI card is not recognised for the Indian national entry category or SDF rate.
OCI cardholders on a foreign passport:
— Pay USD $100 per night (the international SDF rate)
— Must obtain a standard Bhutan tourist visa before travel from doi.gov.bt
OCI cardholders should plan their Bhutan budget at the international rate, not the Indian national rate.
No. All international visitors to Bhutan must book through a Bhutan Tourism Authority-licensed operator. Independent travel to Bhutan is not legally permitted.
Daffodils Travel uses a verified, licensed Bhutanese Ground Partner for all Bhutan itineraries. Your visa clearance, permits, and ground arrangements are all coordinated through this licensed partnership.
Most international visitors must obtain a Bhutan tourist visa before travel — it is not issued on arrival. Apply at doi.gov.bt through your licensed operator.
Indian nationals may enter Bhutan on a valid Indian passport or voter ID card. Minors under 18 require a passport or birth certificate accompanied by a legal guardian.
OCI cardholders on a foreign passport must obtain a standard tourist visa — the OCI card alone is not sufficient for entry.
Yes, in principle. SDF refunds for cancelled trips are processed by the Bhutan Government directly through visit.doi.gov.bt. Daffodils Travel does not handle SDF refunds — they sit between the client and the Bhutan Government. We can guide you through the refund process, but we cannot expedite or guarantee it.
Cancellation fees are calculated on the TOTAL confirmed ground package cost — not on the amounts already collected. If the cancellation fee exceeds the amounts you have paid, the balance remains due.
The planning fee is non-refundable in all circumstances.
Cancellation fee schedule by days before departure:
91+ days: Deposit absorbed (30%). Balance refunded if paid.
61–90 days: 30% of total ground cost.
31–60 days: 50% of total ground cost.
15–30 days: 75% of total ground cost.
14 days or fewer: 100% of total ground cost — no refund.
Cancellation requests must be submitted in writing to info@daffodilstravel.com.
Minor changes (adjusting activity timings, substituting a similar experience) may be accommodated subject to Ground Partner availability, at no additional fee.
Significant changes — adding destinations, extending trip duration, changing departure dates, or substantially altering the routing — constitute new scope and may require a supplementary planning fee. We will advise on costs before any changes are confirmed.
At the Experience, Immerse, and Legacy tiers, you have access to named advisor support throughout your journey. The advisor who designed your itinerary is personally reachable by WhatsApp, email, and phone during your trip.
At the Explore tier, itinerary design is provided without ongoing trip support. We recommend Explore for experienced South Asia travellers who are comfortable managing on-trip logistics independently.
For situations beyond our control — natural events, civil disruption, Force Majeure — our Terms and Conditions set out our obligations. Travel insurance covering trip cancellation, curtailment, and delay is strongly recommended for all South Asia itineraries.
Force Majeure covers events beyond reasonable control: natural disasters, pandemics, war, terrorism, civil unrest, government travel restrictions, border closures, and similar events.
In Force Majeure circumstances, refund entitlements are subject to the amounts recoverable from our Ground Partners — we cannot guarantee full recovery of costs already committed on your behalf.
This is one of the primary reasons we recommend comprehensive travel insurance including trip cancellation and curtailment cover for all South Asia itineraries.
No. Daffodils Travel does not sell, underwrite, or administer travel insurance. We have partnered with Arch RoamRight (Arch Insurance Company) to offer our clients access to travel insurance options.
The choice of provider, the specific policy, and all insurance decisions are entirely the client's responsibility.
See Daffodils Travel Insurance for our current recommendations.
For Nepal and Bhutan itineraries — particularly those including high-altitude sections — standard travel insurance is often not sufficient. Before purchasing any policy, confirm in writing that it covers:
A helicopter evacuation from high-altitude Nepal can cost USD $5,000–50,000. Standard policies often exclude high-altitude activities unless explicitly added. Verify your specific coverage in writing before purchasing.
For India, the priority coverages are: comprehensive medical coverage (stomach illnesses are common in the first few days for many visitors), trip cancellation covering festival-season disruption, baggage, and Force Majeure for civil disruption.
For Sri Lanka, standard comprehensive cover is generally adequate. Confirm: water sports coverage if your itinerary includes surfing at Arugam Bay, whale watching excursion disruption (weather cancellations at Mirissa), and standard medical and trip cancellation.
For both destinations, we recommend a minimum of $100,000 medical coverage. For any Nepal or Bhutan extension, raise this to $250,000 given evacuation costs.
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