Morning Life of Mumbai's Dabbawalas and Dhobis Tour

Morning Life

Ms. Sangeeta was very good, the only improvement I would recommend is at the very start she lay out the tour plan. We had a few mix ups at the start but once things were clarified everything went smoothly. I confirmed with the tour operator that the tour walked through the Dhobi Ghat, I was reassured, we would walk through the Dhobi Ghat with our guide and see them washing customers clothes. Our guide told us it was not possible. She did end up finding an open laundry for us to tour, which was very nice of her.

Let Viator Ruin Your Holiday

Before we even left the UK the Viator operator managed to get the city in India we were staying in wrong. Nobody responded to my emails pointing this out, but I managed to sort out out with the local tour operator. On the day of the tour itself I was told the pickup time would be 9.30 as posed to 10.00am not a problem At 8.00am was told it would be 10.30 which could have made me miss my plane. Was told no problem would be 10.00am with a new guide who duly arrived at 10.45am, but promised we would be back by 1.00pm in time to catch our plane. Guide then commenced a series of visits to things not listed in the tour program until we reminded him of our time constraints then we got back on the tour. At 12.30am we pointed out that google maps said we were 45 minutes away. The guide still said no problem we would be back at the hotel for 1.00pm at 1.30pm we were still 15 minutes away when the car filled with smoke and the police pushed it to the side of the road. We got back to the hotel at 2.15 and had at considerable cost to arrange a later flight. This was compounded by our other Viator tour the previous day had been cancelled without explanation the previous day at 90 minutes notice, leaving no time to arrange an alternative.

very interesting

we made this tour with my husband. it was very interesting. the driver and the guide were perfect,the car comfortable. We think that the price is too high since you could have done it easily by ourselves

Dabbawalas and Dhobis

Not good value short thin tour which was grossly overpriced guide good Told he would pick us up at 10 turned up at 10.30 Back 2 hours later should have been half the price We felt ripped off

Fabulous tour! Excellent guide! Highly recommend!

We loved this tour! My husband was not keen on my booking this but thanked me so much afterward because he thoroughly enjoyed it. The Dabbawalas and Dhobis are nothing short of amazing. Our guide did lots of other fun things that we were not expecting. Loved the train ride but getting off was a big scary. Highly recommend this tour. It will give you a small glimpse of Mumbai.

Do not recommend this company

Tour didn’t feel like private at all. Minimum attention to client, minimum info given, not one word spoken in 50 minutes of driving. Not worth paying 170$ for 20 minutes of unwanted took: this is temple; that is mosque; l don’t know.... do not waste your time and money, look for the better company

Probably would have been great but I didn't get to see it!

Was so looking forward to this tour when I read about it. After going through the checkout I clicked on details and it said it was not available on weekends or public holidays. But it let me book that date!!! Unfortunately for me, there is not another day available - there is another public holiday, I have my dental treatment the next day, then the weekend again and then we leave! I had better get a refund!

We had a fantastic time on this our...

<p>We had a fantastic time on this our. Our guide Mr Arun was an absolute pleasure to spend the morning with. He was really informative explaining many aspects of the way of life in Mumbai in a short 3 hour tour. We caught a train, watched the lunch box men deliver the lunches and visited a working laundry slum area. The people there were really welcoming to tourists. Would highly recommend booking this tour especially if time is limited.</p>

Interesting and informative

A great insight into a remarkable piece of historic infrastructure. Our guide was very knowledgeable and interesting. Included a ride on suburban train that wasnt as crowded as one would have thought.Well worth the ti e.

Excellent tour, great guide/driver, pricey for what it has to offer

Our guide Ajeet/Ajit and driver picked us up (family of 4 adults, 1 toddler) from our hotel. Our guide Ajeet/Ajit was excellent. Very knowledgable about Mumbai. He pointed out various interesting sites and facts throughout our drive from the hotel to dhobi ghaat and Churchgate. There was never a silent moment on the trip. He threw in these little trinklets of Bollywood, political, social, local information/news throughout the trip which made the trip fun and fascinating. Spoke very good English. At the dhobi ghaat, we stood over the bridge overlooking the dhobi ghaat. He gave us a run down on the process and how hard and meticulous the task is. We did not walk through the ghaats or meet any of the locals. It was probably a 15-30 min stop depending on how many questions we asked. It was very hot so the driver was kind enough to watch our snoozing toddler in the car while we stepped out to see the ghaats. Next he took us to the local train station and got us all on to the train. I was a little worried about how we would do this with our almost 2 year old. But honestly it was no problem at all. She was in our arms the whole time. She seemed to love the train journey. It was around 11pm so the trains and stations were not as crowded. We got off at Churchgate where Ajeet/Ajit walked us through the dabba vaala system. Fascinating. Lastly Ajit and the driver drove us past Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminal station (let us get off quickly for a quick history lesson and pictures). Then they dropped off us off at an excellent Mumbai seafood restaurant at Kala Ghoda. All in all the trip was great. Our driver too was courteous, polite, trustworthy. The only thing I will mention...we did a couple of recommended tours. This one is definitely pricey compared to the others. I would definitely recommend it. But not sure 4 hours is worth the price we paid.