Planning a trip with six, ten, or even twenty people sounds fun until you open ten different WhatsApp groups and realise nobody agrees on dates, budget, or whether the hotel should have a pool. That’s exactly when Group Tour Packages stop feeling like a compromise and start looking like the smartest option on the table. Fixed dates, fixed price, one person handling all the headaches suddenly everyone’s happy.

Here’s the real picture of how these packages work in 2025–26, especially for the usual suspects: Rajasthan, Kerala, Himachal, Goa, and the North-East.

All About Group Tour Packages

Why Group Tours Actually Save Money

When ten or more adults travel together, hotels drop their per-night rate by 20–40%, drivers don’t mind waiting, and guides don’t charge extra for a bigger crowd. Operators pass most of that saving back to you. A solo or couple paying ₹45,000 for a 6-day Rajasthan trip will easily see the same itinerary at ₹28,000 ₹32,000 per head on a group departure. That’s the maths that makes family WhatsApp groups quiet down very quickly.

Typical Group Sizes and Coach Types

• 10–16 people → Tempo Traveller (everyone gets a window or aisle, luggage fits)

• 17–26 people → 27-seater mini coach

• 27–40 people → 35/40-seater big Volvo or Bharat Benz

Most decent Group Tour Packages stick to maximum 35–36 people. Anything above that starts feeling like a school trip.

Popular Fixed-Departure Destinations and Rough Prices (per person)

Rajasthan (6N/7D – Jaipur, Pushkar, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Udaipur)

₹26,000 – ₹34,000 (3-star hotels, all breakfasts & dinners)

Kerala (6N/7D – Cochin, Munnar, Thekkady, Alleppey houseboat, Kovalam)

₹28,000 – ₹36,000 (includes one night on houseboat with all meals)

Himachal (8N/9D – Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala, Dalhousie)

₹29,000 – ₹38,000 (Dec–Jan prices jump because of snow)

Goa (4N/5D – flights extra from most cities)

₹18,000 – ₹25,000 (north Goa 3-star resorts, breakfast only)

North-East (7N/8D – Guwahati, Shillong, Cherrapunjee, Kaziranga)

₹32,000 – ₹42,000 (long distances, so slightly higher)

These are 2025–26 rates for departures between October and March. Summer and monsoon departures drop ₹4,000–₹8,000 per person.

What’s Usually Included

• All transfers in the coach booked for the group only (no mixing with strangers)

• Twin/triple-sharing rooms in 3-star or good 2-star hotels

• Breakfast every day, plus dinner on almost every day (except Goa and sometimes Kerala)

• All entry tickets, jeep safaris, boat rides, whatever the itinerary promises

• One tour manager travelling with the group from day one till drop-off

What’s Almost Always Extra

• Flights or train tickets to the starting city and back

• Lunches (some operators now add them for ₹2,000–₹3,000 extra)

• Anything marked “optional”  camel safari at extra cost, candle-light dinner, etc.

• Tips for driver and tour manager (₹200–₹300 per person per day is the going rate)

Fixed Dates vs Customised Group Trips

Fixed-departure Group Tour Packages run on set dates (every Friday from Delhi to Rajasthan, every Monday to Kerala, etc.). You adjust your leave.

If ten friends or family members want their own dates, most operators will still give heavy group discounts on a private trip — just expect to pay ₹5,000–₹9,000 more per person than the fixed-departure rate.

Best Months for the Best Deals

November–December and February–March are peak, so seats fill fast and prices are highest.

The absolute cheapest seats come in May–June (except hill stations) and late August–September when schools have reopened and monsoon is still around.

A Few Things Nobody Mentions Upfront

• Triple-sharing means one extra folding bed — fine for kids, cramped for three adults.

• Early morning departures (5 AM) are common to beat traffic.

• Some Rajasthan trips still have one night in a Swiss tent camp with shared toilets — ask before you book if that’s a problem.

• Senior citizens and kids below 12 usually get ₹2,000–₹4,000 discount.

At the end of the day, Group Tour Packages are the easiest way to travel with a big gang without one person turning into an unpaid travel agent. Pick a date that works for most people, choose a reputable Rajasthan tour operator or any established all-India company with good reviews, pay the advance, and just wait for the pickup. Everything else gets handled.