Questions people actually ask

Every escape lists its exact departure dates on its own page, along with the arrival window on day one and the drop-off time on the last day. Book your inbound travel to land before the day-one start time, and give yourself a couple of hours' buffer on the way out. If you're unsure about a specific flight, send it to us and we'll tell you whether it works.

It depends on the escape, and every trip page carries a difficulty rating. 'Easy' means walking around towns and monument complexes, nothing over a couple of kilometres on flat ground. 'Moderate' and 'challenging' involve real walking days or altitude, and those pages say so explicitly. We'd rather you self-select out than have a miserable third day.

Prices are on twin sharing and we pair you with someone of the same gender from the group. If you're booking as a couple or a pair of friends you'll be together. If you'd rather have the room to yourself, email us and we'll quote the single-occupancy supplement.

Small, and it's a hard cap, the exact number is on each trip page. One vehicle, one table at dinner. When the seats are gone the departure closes: we don't add a second bus or upgrade to a bigger coach. If a date fills, we open another one instead.

Most people on an Outway escape book solo. The groups are small enough that you'll know everyone's name by the first dinner, and your trip captain's job on day one is largely to make sure that happens.

Breakfasts always, and usually a dinner or two, the exact list is in the inclusions on each trip page. Lunches are generally not included, deliberately: it keeps the day flexible and lets you eat what you actually want. Budget roughly ₹400 to ₹600 per lunch.

Original government photo ID is mandatory on every trip. Indian hotels are legally required to record it at check-in and we cannot get you a room without it. A photocopy or a photo on your phone is not enough. Beyond that, each trip page has a packing list built for that specific route and season.

Yes, and people do. Each departure is booked separately so you can mix and match dates. If you're booking two in the same season, email us before you pay, we'll usually sort out something on the second seat.

Press 'Book now' on a trip page and you'll get a two-minute form: the date, how many of you, how you're getting there, and a handful of questions about how you like to travel. Nothing is charged there. A person reads it, checks the seats are genuinely free, and comes back to you within one business day to confirm the seat and arrange payment.

Because the group is the product. Eighteen people on one bus works when the eighteen wanted roughly the same weekend, and falls apart when half came to rest and half came to party. The questions take about two minutes and they're the whole reason our departures feel like they were put together on purpose.

By UPI or a bank transfer, to the account printed in the 'Payment details' block on the trip page — send us the screenshot on WhatsApp afterwards and we'll confirm. Nothing is charged on this website: you send the request, we confirm the seat and the exact amount, and only then does anything leave your account. We will never ask you to pay a different UPI ID or a personal account, so if anyone does, it isn't us.

Yes. The figure on the trip page is per person, inclusive of all applicable taxes, and it's what you'll be asked for. There is no convenience fee, booking fee or service charge added later. Flights and trains to the start point are separate and are never marked up.

Yes, and plenty of people ask us to. Tell us which city you're starting from in the booking form and pick the option you want: we book it, we quote you first and you decide, or you travel on your own. When we book it you pay the fare, at cost, and you travel with the rest of the group.

Payment, after we've replied. Sending the form does not hold anything: seat counts on the site are live but not reserved, and until we've confirmed and you've paid, the seat can still go to someone else.

The route, the stays and everything included are fixed. The clock times are indicative and marked with an asterisk on every trip page, because they genuinely move: weather, traffic on the ghat roads, and monument or temple hours all shift a day around. Your trip captain tells the group the actual plan each morning.

A few days before departure we email the exact reporting point, the day's timings, your trip captain's phone number, the hotel addresses and a final packing note.

90% if you cancel 15 or more days before departure, 50% between 7 and 14 days, and nothing inside 7 days. That last window is when our hotels and transport stop refunding us. You can cancel yourself from My bookings and you'll see the exact figure before you confirm.

You get 100% of what you paid us back, with no deduction, or a transfer to another departure, your choice. We'll tell you as early as we possibly can. We can't reimburse flights you booked separately, which is why we suggest refundable tickets or travel insurance.

Yes, up to 7 days before departure at no charge, as long as they accept our terms and carry valid ID. If a supplier charges us for the name change we'll pass on the actual cost with the invoice.

Call your trip captain, the number is in your joining email. We'll tell you where the group is and how to catch up, and we'll help you arrange the transfer, though the cost of that is yours. We can't hold a group of eighteen at a hotel, but nobody gets left behind either.

No, and we'd genuinely recommend arranging your own. It's inexpensive and it covers exactly the things our refund policy can't: a medical emergency, a cancelled flight, or losing a bag.

Because we build them one at a time. We'd rather plan a handful of routes obsessively than list twenty destinations we've half-researched. A new escape goes live only when every night, transfer and meal on it is genuinely booked, which is slower than putting up a photo and a 'coming soon' badge, and is the whole point.

Ask us. Write to us through the contact page with your dates and group size and we'll tell you honestly whether we can do it well. If we can't, we'll say so rather than take the booking.