My experience before completing the booking and after was completely different.
I ditched the other travel agent whom i had almost finalised on travel triangle and choose Breezy travels (for th...
e review that they claimed to have). But, the responsiveness before completing the booking was not there later on, especially when I wanted them during the course of trip.
As a traveller, I expect my travel agent to stay in touch and take feedback atleast once at the end of day. But, there was nothing from Breezy travel and infact, even till date, She has not made any attempt to check how my trip went. Thats because, She know what my response would be.
Major concerns-
1. From the beginning I made it very clear that the booking is done with a condition for visiting Teetwal, which is close to LOC, which required permit. Travel agent assured me that she has spoken to concerned officials and took all our IDs. But, nothing she did. After arriving at Srinagar she told (upon checking multiple times) that the driver will handle everything. Our visit to Teetwal was not at all certain even on the day of our visit. The driver just took us to DC office which was closed because of weekend! Upon telling this she asked us to go to Kralpora police station and told driver is all aware and he will handle it. When we reached Kralpora police station the driver happily left me handle all of this and sat with his mobile phone. What a joke! I had to use my own contacts and eventually got the permit. Wasted over 1 hour due to this mishap.
2. Due to space constraint we upgraded to TT from Crysta from Day 2 and that was the mistake. The vehicle was not in condition (driver clearly mentioned this when he took the TT for getting minor maintenance done. Greasing was done and told this vehicle was idle for a long time). Really ? You took additional Rs. 8500 for this junk vehicle with which we need to travel 160+ kms one way in rough terrain?! As expected, the vehicle broke down after couple of hours and we lost almost 1 and a half hour. We ended up reaching Teetwal late, ruining our plans.
3. There was an unwanted de-tour while returning from Kupwara and instead of taking a straight route, the driver took some interior route, touched Baramulla and arrived at Srinagar. This not only delayed our arrival by 1 hour 30 mins, but also put us in a tense situation. This was completely uncalled for citing there is some religious procession when the road was shit empty. You cannot make your guest have an uncertain time.
4. The driver showed a very casual attitude throughout the trip and never paid attention to our request. AC wasnt turned on when the weather was damn hot in Srinagar (despite agreeing to pay the charges). To Breezy travels- your driver had a dedicated fan on top of him and he made us sit in hot weather. Yeah, you say no one in Kashmir use AC. But we do!. Furthermore, we ended up missing visiting few places due to his careless and lethargic behaviour. We made a mistake by being very nice to him, taking care of his stay in Teetwal and food during entire trip since he was diabetic. We get this for the care we showed. Driver should be treated as a driver!.
5. There was no clear communication on Shikara ride and when we went to the Ghat, we did not get what the lady told. Since we just wanted to be done with it, we completed the ride which was completely waste of time as they make us visit their shop for purchase even on dal lake!. Let the people enjoy their vacation!
6. While dropping us back to the airport the driver asked for AC charges and i outright rejected and Breezy travels were immediately involved. To my surprise, their statement was 'You have to pay AC even if it's used for sometime'. Madam, as communicated on call, I pay for what I get. If i ask the driver to turn on the AC, he should. If I ask him to turn it off, he should. Only then I am obligated for payment. Its not like the driver switches on and off as he please and ask me to pay for all days. It was very evident that the AC was not working properly, the temperature was not set lower than 26 degrees and we traveller's were taken for granted! The driver still took 1200 in the form of tips and AC charges. We just wanted to be done with him and paid and left.
Few pros-
1. Hotel Kareem residency stay was good only for 3rd night stay since I spoke to the hotelier and got my rooms changed. Requested change of hotel to travel agent on 1st day and no outcome so took this on my own hands and spoke to hotel for change of rooms for my return stay.
2. Food in Kareem residency was very good. I understand they are running on 50% offer so all the travel agents have flocked this hotel and that is good for traveller's.
3. Driver and car given for 1st day was so good. We missed the driver (Mr. Riyaz) on remaining days and will directly get in touch with him when I visit next time.
A note to travel agent.
1. Please ensure you speak to travellers during the trip. Booking the hotel and cab is not the end of your duty.
2. Even to this date; 15th July 2025 travel agent has not made any efforts to seek a feedback on the trip. I wanted for a week and then submitting this to travel triangle to seek a fair audit on service standards.
3. You are obligated to take all payments through travel triangle. Please dont insist for direct payment citing avoidance of convenience fee as travellers know what they incur.