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Cabs and Transport in Kashmir
Airport transfers, sightseeing around Srinagar, day trips up the valley and multi-day routes with the same driver. Arranged alongside your houseboat stay. Rates on request.
What we arrange
What We Can Arrange
All with a driver, all quoted before you travel, and all easiest to organise in the same message as your houseboat dates.
Airport transfers
Pickup at arrivals, the drive to the ghat and the shikara crossing to your boat, set up as one arrangement. See airport transfers.
Srinagar sightseeing by cab
The Mughal gardens, the old city and the viewpoints above the lake, with the driver waiting between stops rather than you finding a new cab each time.
Day trips up the valley
Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonamarg and Doodhpathri, leaving from the ghat in the morning and back to the boat by evening.
Multi-day trips with a driver
A route rather than a series of bookings: the same vehicle and driver for several days, with your nights split between the houseboat and the valley.
The ghat end of every journey
Because you are staying on water, each day starts and ends with a crossing. We make sure the driver and the boatman know each other's timings.
Day trips
Days Out From the Lake
What each day is actually like. We have left out distances and driving times, because they change with the road and the season — ask us and we will tell you what to expect for your dates.
Gulmarg
Up out of the valley into meadow and pine, with the cable car if it is running and snow on the ground for much of the year. The most popular day trip from Srinagar, so an early start is worth it.
Pahalgam
A river valley with walking, pony rides and pine forest. Quieter in feel than Gulmarg and easier on anybody who does not want altitude or crowds.
Sonamarg
The road climbs beside the river towards the glacier, and the landscape turns bare and enormous. Check with us before booking outside the open season — the route is not always passable.
Doodhpathri
Open meadow and shallow streams, much less visited than the other three. The choice for a slow day rather than a sightseeing list.
Srinagar sightseeing
The Mughal gardens on the hillside above the lake, the old city mosques and the craft workshops, with the cab waiting between stops.
Vehicles
Vehicle Options
Described generically, because which vehicle you get depends on what is available for your dates. We confirm the type and the rate before you travel.
Sedan
For a couple or a small family with normal luggage. The usual choice for an airport transfer to the ghat.
Rates on request
SUV
More room for luggage and more comfortable on the roads up the valley. What we suggest for Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg.
Rates on request
Tempo traveller
For a group or an extended family travelling together, so everybody stays in one vehicle rather than a convoy.
Rates on request
Together
How Cabs Pair With a Houseboat Stay
Staying on the water changes how a cab works. Every journey begins with a shikara crossing to the ghat, so the driver has to be at the right landing steps at the right time — and the boatman has to know you are coming down.
Because we arrange both, that handover is one arrangement rather than two. You keep your room on the boat while you are away for the day, come back to the same deck in the evening, and the meals carry on as normal.
It also means one written quote covering the stay and the driving, with everything that is extra stated rather than implied.
FAQ
Questions About Cabs and Transport
Do the cabs come with a driver?
Yes. All our cabs are with a driver — self-drive is not something we arrange. On multi-day trips the same driver usually stays with you for the whole route, which is much easier than changing vehicles each morning.
Can we do a day trip and still sleep on the houseboat?
Yes, and most guests do. The driver collects you from the ghat in the morning and drops you back there in the evening, and the boatman takes you across. Your room stays yours while you are away.
What does a day trip cost?
Rates on request. It depends on the vehicle, the destination and the number of passengers, and we confirm it before you travel. Ask for the day trips in the same message as your houseboat dates and we will quote everything together.
Can a cab be arranged at short notice?
Often, but not always, and less reliably in peak season when vehicles and drivers are committed. A day's notice is comfortable; the same morning is worth asking about rather than assuming.
Enquire
Tell Us Where You Want to Go
Send the dates, how many of you there are and the places you have in mind. We arrange the vehicle and the driver and confirm the rate before you travel.
Email bookmyhouseboat0@gmail.com Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India