Felluca sailing as you recall Tintin's adventures in Egypt, a cheese-making expedition in Le Gruyere, and a walk through an apricot orchard in Ladakh. The young Indian traveller's itinerary goes designer, cut by crafty entrepreneurs, who make sure their deals have never made it to a travel black book. Lalitha Suhasini reports

Offbeat is an overused epithet. Touristy is a foul word. How does one then take a trip to Egypt beyond a goggle-eyed exploration of the Pyramids? How about retracing the steps of super sleuth Tintin straight out of Cigars of The Pharaoh and hopping on to a hot air balloon in Luxor for more drama?

The Land of The Pharaohs Tintin 10-day tour by On the Go across Egypt
includes a trip to Cairo, Sphinx and Pyramids, Port Said, Luxor, Edfu & Kom
Ombo, Aswan and Abu Simbel, ending back at Cairo. Camel treks and horse
riding by the Pyramids and felluca sailing in Aswan are some of the highs of
this tour. PIC/ ufffd Herge / Moulinsart 2010u00a0

Last month, UK-based On The Go, a 12-year-old travel agency launched its Tintin tours, which includes the 10-day Land of The Pharaoh trip (Rs 52,000 exclusive of ticket/visa fare). The tours were the brainchild of Jay Lakshman, die-hard Tintin fan and director, On The Go Tours. "I grew up in India and am aware of the huge Tintin following," says Lakshman, who also chalked out A Very Indian Adventure a la The Blue Lotus. The 15-day tour that includes a tiger safari in Ranthambore and a visit to the Pacchikari marble producers in Agra, is a big lure for international tourists. Besides these, the Tintin Tours also include Jordan and The Rose City and Brussels Home To Herge tour, that takes a bow to Tintin's creator.u00a0

Taking a detour
Both, big tour operators and individual entrepreneurs agree that the number of people who prefer personalised tours has shot up. This is thanks to the growing tribe of the discerning Indian traveller who's been taking tips from magazines and travel shows on television. "When Indians travel, they are not all that comfortable travelling alone, and the psyche of wanting to maximise a trip based on the budget, still exists. I usually advise my clients to not cover more than two countries in a single trip if they are planning to tour Europe. They can come back for more. They must savour the places they visit," says Mumbai-based Amruta Dongray Damle, founder, DYOT (Do Your Own Thing), a travel firm that designs international itineraries, with a focus on Europe.
In Switzerland for instance, Damle can plan a stopover at the smaller villages off Lugano for a trip to a cheese or chocolate factory, or a day picnic by a lake. "None of these are on the must-dos of any big tourist company. Since I've travelled a lot myself, the itinerary I design is based on research," says Damle, who also provides her clients with hotel references to do their own booking instead of depending on agents.u00a0u00a0

New age voyage
Mumbai-based Piya Bose, founder of Girls on The Go Club, which tailor makes trips for women, says the trend of breaking away from the regular has picked up as recently as the last one-and-a-half years. "One of my clients who travelled alone to Bhutan (Rs 35,000 approx. for eight days for a single traveller) wanted to stay at a heritage hotel," says Bose.

As for Kerala, a done-to-death destination, Bose hooked up with estate houses and Portuguese mansions in Cochin to provide offbeat accommodation options (Rs 30,000 approx for a group of 3-4 on a one-week trip to Kerala).

Broken Compass, a five-month old agency founded by marine biologist Avani Patel and copywriter Manjari Verma, has been converting sceptical travellers with their enthusiasm. "One 57 year-old man wanted to do a road trip to Ladakh with his son," says Verma. Broken Compass's travel links in Ladakh can take your group for a walk through an apricot orchard or set up a meeting with the local village head followed by a traditional meal in the mountains. They say they can customise a trip for every individual even in a family of four, and yet make sure they get enough "together time."

"We have a travel profiler which is essentially a questionnaire that helps us understand what each client wants," she explains.u00a0

Big agencies hop on too
Kuoni India, which specialises in luxury international tours has coined a term for this breed of single travellers with no reservations -- the FIT customer or the Free Individual Traveller. "The FIT customer no longer wants to travel with a group of people, waiting to be directed and told what they need to do at every step," says Kashmira Commissariat, COO, Outbound Division, Kuoni India. Karan Anand, head, relationships and supplier management, Cox and Kings agrees that it is a new movement. "Travellers look for water sports, bungee jumping, sky diving, scuba diving, trekking, white water rafting, and desert safaris. These activities cannot be organised for group tours, hence customised tours are the best way that one can indulge in their fantasies."

It also comes as a surprise that Indian honeymooners are also opting for an adventure sport destination as opposed to an all-out romantic tour, according to Kuoni India. Australia and New Zealand are on top of this list and Kuoni offers a self-drive tour through New Zealand, with hot air ballooning and zorbing in Australia thrown in.

As for families, it's the women who take a call on the destination, says a spokesperson for Thomas Cook. "We see that food is a priority for Indians travelling. They would like to choose their meals every time," says theu00a0 spokesperson.u00a0

There's no dearth of new ways to explore old destinations. Who knows? You might just bump into Captain Haddock yelling "Blistering Barnacles!" en route.u00a0

The handbook

How to find a travel planneru00a0

These guys do the map for you

>>Girls on the go club
Exclusively for women travellers
https://www.girlsonthegoclub.com/
>>Do Your Own Thing
For the well-heeled international traveller
www.dyotindia.com
>>Broken Compass
info@brokencompass.in

Broken Compass can plan a Twilight Tour in Washington State along these lines
>>A visit to the Forks High School Brick building
>>A stopover at the south side of Quillayute river where the Quileute Indian village of LaPush is located. This is Jacob's land famous for surfing and whale watching.
>>And while you're at it, you can make the most of your Washington tour with a trip to the Eight Lighthouses on the Olympic Peninsula.u00a0 Also visit the native American town of Neah Bay, which is home to the Makah tribe, also located on Olympia Peninsula. Here, you can buy Makah jewellery and masks. Also give ice-skating a shot at the rink in the National Gallery of Art's sculpture garden in DC.
Cost of trip will be based on requirements.

Switzerland
Cheese being made at the The Maison du Gruy re cheese demonstration dairy in La Gruyere, Switzerland, a quaint stopover for Swiss tourists.

Washington
Now, Twifans can make a trip to Forks High School, where the Cullens first met Bella Swan in the film Twilight. Located in Washington State, the school was built in 1925

Burma
Burma is a popular tourist destination for women travellers. Girls on The Go Club which caters exclusively to women travellers received a request for a heritage hotel stay in Burma

In Season

Wimbledon Tour: SOTC Sports has organised a Wimbledon tour at Rs 90,000 (economy) and Rs 1,45,000 (business class tour) for 4 nights and 5 days. Includes airfare with taxes, 4 night accommodation in 3 star and 5 star hotels respectively, airport transfers, transfers to Wimbledon courts, 2 half-day sight seeing tour in London, breakfasts.

Ladakh
Fancy a walk through an apricot orchard in Ladakh? Broken Compass can plan it for you, alongwith a meal with the village head thrown in.