Terms of service

1. Who we are

Tavora (tavora.in) is a trip planning and booking service run by Dhruv Shah, trading as RailRoute (railroute.in). Tavora is a brand of that business, not a separate company. “We” and “us” mean Dhruv Shah. “You” means the person using the site, and “organiser” means the person who books and pays for a trip for a group.

You can reach us at info@railroute.in or on WhatsApp at +91 83699 27133.

2. What we do, and what we don't

We plan weekend and long-weekend trips from Delhi NCR and sell them as a tour package: travel there and back, your stay, getting around at the destination, and any experience you choose to add, at one price. We arrange and book each part for you with the companies that actually provide it: Indian Railways, bus operators, airlines, hotels and homestays, cab operators, rental businesses and guides (“suppliers”).

• We are the organiser, not the carrier or the hotel. We don't run trains, buses, flights or hotels. Each supplier provides its own service under its own rules, and those rules apply to you, for example the railways' rules on tickets and refunds, an airline's conditions of carriage, or a hotel's check-in policy. We tell you about the rules that matter before you pay.
• Train, bus and flight tickets. We book these for you as your agent: trains through RailRoute (railroute.in), an IRCTC-authorised agent, and buses and flights with the operator or airline. The fare is passed on at actuals, exactly what the carrier charges, and our booking service charge has its own line on the break-up (for trains, within the limit Indian Railways sets for authorised agents). Tickets are issued in each traveller's name after you pay and we confirm the seats. Seats are not held before that; we don't sell waitlisted or RAC train tickets, and bus and flight fares can change until we book.
• We are responsible for our part: planning your trip with reasonable care, booking what we promised, giving you accurate information, helping when something goes wrong, and passing on every refund we are owed for you.
• Using the planner is free. You need an account to save, request or book a trip.

3. Your account

• You must be 18 or over to create an account or book.
• Keep your sign-in details to yourself. You are responsible for bookings made from your account, unless someone used it without your permission and you tell us promptly.
• Please use the site for planning and booking your own trips. Don't copy our content in bulk, overload the site or try to break into it.

4. Prices and our fee

• One price per person, everything shown. Each trip shows the full price per person and for the group, with a line-by-line break-up, before you pay. Nothing is added at checkout.
• All-in. The price you see is the full price you pay. Nothing is added on top at checkout.
• Our planning and concierge fee depends on how easy your dates and route are to book: 9% of the trip cost for a straightforward weekend (at least ₹350 a person), rising to at most 9% and ₹2,500 a person on peak dates, tight trains or monsoon and winter roads. The amount is fixed in the price you see before you pay; it never changes afterwards. It pays for planning, checking, booking, the backup plan, and staying with you on WhatsApp through the trip. It has its own line on the break-up.
• Booking service charge on each train, bus or flight we book, on its own line: for trains, a fixed amount per ticket within the limit Indian Railways sets for authorised agents; for buses and flights, a fixed amount per booking. The amounts are on How it works.
• Not included unless the trip says so: food, entry tickets, permits, tips, shopping, and anything you order on the spot.
• Estimates. Until you pay, prices are our best estimates from fare rules and recent or live rates, as explained on How it works. Once you have paid, we never ask you for more. If a part can only be booked at a higher price, we either pay the difference ourselves or treat it as a part we couldn't confirm (see the backup plan below).

5. The 30-minute price hold

When you start a booking, we hold the price you were shown for 30 minutes. If you complete it in that time, that is the price. After that, we price the trip again, and if it has changed we show you the new price before you can pay. The hold fixes the price only; seats and rooms are not reserved until we book them after payment.

6. Booking and paying for a group

1. The organiser enters every traveller. Name, age and gender for each person, as on their photo ID, plus a phone number and email for the trip.
2. The organiser pays the full amount upfront for the whole group, through our payment provider. We don't collect separate payments from each traveller; how your group shares the cost is up to you.
3. We book everything ahead of time, usually within a few hours of payment (or as soon as booking opens, for example when train bookings open for your date).
4. You get your tickets and vouchers on your trip page and by email or WhatsApp as each part is confirmed.

By booking for others, the organiser confirms that:

• they have each traveller's agreement to book for them and to share their details with us and the suppliers, as described in who gets what;
• for any traveller under 18, they are the parent or lawful guardian or have the parent's or guardian's permission (we may ask the parent or guardian to confirm);
• the details are correct, and they will pass these terms and the trip details on to everyone in the group.

The organiser is our main contact for the booking, and refunds go back to the organiser's original payment method.

7. Confirmation and our backup plan

For every trip we keep a backup plan: another train, bus or hotel we can switch to if the first choice falls through. A part of your trip counts as confirmed only when the supplier has confirmed it (for trains, a confirmed ticket, not a waitlisted one).

• If something can't be confirmed, we may switch to the backup at no extra cost to you when it is of the same or a better standard and similar timing. If the backup is different in a way that matters to you (a different way of travelling, a noticeably different time, or a lower hotel category), we ask you first.
• If you say no to the backup, or there isn't one, we refund that part in full. If nothing at all could be booked, we refund everything, including our fee.
• If the backup costs less, we refund the difference. If it costs more, we pay the difference.

The details are in our cancellation and refund policy.

8. Changing a trip

• Ask us on WhatsApp or by email and we'll tell you what a change costs before making it.
• Most suppliers treat a change of date or train as a cancellation plus a new booking, so their cancellation charges apply to the old booking.
• Names on train and flight tickets generally can't be changed. Indian Railways allows a name change only in a few cases set by its rules. If a traveller drops out, that traveller's bookings are cancelled under the refund policy.

9. Cancelling

You can cancel all or part of a trip at any time. What you get back depends on what has been booked and on each supplier's rules. It is all set out, with the railways' charges in full, in our cancellation and refund policy. In short: before we've booked anything, you get everything back; after that, you get back everything the suppliers refund, and our fee is kept for the work already done.

10. What we ask of every traveller

• Photo ID. Carry valid original photo ID (such as Aadhaar, a passport, driving licence, voter ID or PAN card) whose name matches the ticket. Railway ticket checkers and airlines can refuse travel without it, and hotels ask for it at check-in.
• Railway rules. Train tickets are personal and can't be transferred. Be at the station well before departure; the train won't wait. A ticket booked for a group is valid only with the ID of the passenger named on it.
• Times and connections. Keep to the times on your tickets. A missed train, bus or flight caused by arriving late is handled under that operator's rules.
• Permits and health. Carry any permit the trip needs (we tell you about the ones we know of). Hill trips can mean altitude, cold and long drives; tell us about any health or mobility needs before booking so we can plan around them.
• Respect. Follow the rules of the places you stay and travel in. A supplier may refuse service to someone who is abusive or unsafe, and we can't refund that.

11. Events outside anyone's control

Weather, landslides and road closures, floods, strikes and bandhs, government orders, epidemics, and carriers cancelling or rescheduling services can disrupt trips, especially in the hills. When that happens:

• we help you first: switching to the backup plan, rebooking, or finding a way home;
• we pass on in full every refund the suppliers give (for example, a cancelled train is refunded in full by the railways), and refund any part we have not yet paid for;
• we can't refund amounts that suppliers keep and that we have already paid on your behalf, and we aren't liable for losses caused by such events. We'll always tell you what we got back and from whom.

12. What we're responsible for

• We are responsible if we fail to provide what we promised, or if something goes wrong because of our own mistake or carelessness (for example, booking the wrong date). We will put it right, refund you, or compensate you fairly.
• Suppliers are responsible for their own services. If a train runs late, a flight is cancelled or a hotel falls short, your rights are against that supplier under its rules and the law (for example, the Railways Act for rail journeys), and we'll help you claim them.
• Apart from death or injury caused by our negligence, and anything else the law doesn't let us limit, our total liability for a trip is limited to the total amount paid to us for that trip. We aren't liable for indirect losses that no one could reasonably have foreseen.
• Nothing in these terms takes away your rights as a consumer under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 or any other law.

13. Complaints and grievance redressal

If something isn't right, tell us on WhatsApp (+91 83699 27133) or at info@railroute.in. You can also write to our Grievance Officer directly (details below). We acknowledge every complaint within 48 hours and resolve it within one month of receiving it, as the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 require, and usually much faster.

Grievance Officer

Dhruv Shah, Founder and Grievance Officer

Email

hello@railroute.in

Phone

+91 83699 27133

If you aren't happy with our answer, you can contact the National Consumer Helpline (call 1915 or use consumerhelpline.gov.in) or file a complaint with the consumer commission online at e-jagriti.gov.in.

14. Law and courts

These terms are governed by the laws of India. Subject to your right to approach a consumer commission where you live or work, the courts at New Delhi have jurisdiction over disputes about them.

15. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms; the date at the top shows the latest version. A trip you have already paid for stays under the terms that applied when you paid, unless a change is in your favour.