I have a quote for a Golden Triangle driver/guide of 17,000 INR. That covers all expenses for the driver(s). 5 days, pickup/dropoff at DEL with visits to Jaipur, Agra, and Delhi. Looks like a modern and air-conditioned car.

Does this seem reasonable to people here who've done this trip in the past? (It seems quite reasonable to me but I just wonder what others think...)

Would it be customary to tip at the end to make it a flat 20k?

Do you know which car it is?

Rs. 17,000 isn't bad if it's an innova. It's on the higher side if it's an Indigo. If he does a good job I'd say Rs. 3,000 is more than adequate. If he's only average I think Rs. 1,200 - 1,500 is a sufficient tip.

Car type is a Mahindra Verito. There are two of us with one bag each. Images on Google look "good enough" - a basic midsize sedan. Do you think there's a good reason to pay a little more for a van or SUV?

It should be fine unless you are tall (over 6 ft). Three of us did a similar trip in a sedan and it was fine.

You can definitely get a better deal if you try... That said, what your quote is not completely outrageous, and it's your call as to how valuable that 1 or 2k rupees is to you... I'd suggest trying to negotiate down to 13 or 14k, and seeing how far you get.

1k to 1.5k is a sufficient tip, but you can give more if you want.

For the Verito i'd say it's on the higher side. You should probably be looking at about Rs. 12,000 or so. Having said that if someone you know has used him and he has good reviews then go for it. The Verito is a comfortable car and more than sufficient for 2 people with one bag each.

Did you book a driver/guide for this amount? If so and you were happy with him, please advise the name of the agency and website or email address. Thanks.

India by Car and Driver. I think it's the first thing that pops up when you Google it.

Had a nice new Toyota van until we got into our first wreck 2 hours into the trip. The back end was trashed pretty good so we had to switch cars. Had an old Tata car (small!) for the remainder of the trip. That car got bumped a couple times here and there but nothing serious enough to knock it out of commission. Good thing about India by Car and Driver is that they seem to be a larger firm - big enough to have backup vehicles if yours gets wrecked during your trip. (Sidebar: bodyshop owners in India must do an awesome business!!)

You must be FIRM with the driver when about where you want to go and where you do NOT want to go. If you don't want to buy a carpet or a bunch of fabric, you will probably need to firmly state this a few times. If you do not want guides at the tourist sites (the driver's buddies), you will also need to be firm about this. The guides were competent and inexpensive...we accepted them in some places...but sometimes we just wanted peace and quiet.

I'm definitely glad we hired a driver...not sure how else we could have seen the things we saw without spending more money on cabs and more time on the intercity travel. The car allowed us to hit some secondary sites on the way into and out of each city - places with no large bus tours. It's not for the faint of heart though. Fascinating at times. Terrifying at others. But probably the best way to do this trip all things considered.

Thanks for letting me know their name and for the other advice as well.