On a Northeast trip you will spend more hours with your driver than with anyone else. Hill roads here are slow, signal drops for long stretches, and the driver often knows more about tomorrow's road than any map. A trip goes well or badly depending on how well you understand how the driver's day works.
This guide is about the driver and the day. For what each line on the bill costs, see car rental charges explained. For choosing the vehicle, see which car to rent.
A normal driving day
Hill days start early and finish early. A typical day:
- 7AM departure. Mornings are clearer, roads are emptier, and passes like Sela and Nathu La are more likely to be open.
- Short stops every 90 minutes or so. Tea, toilets and a view. They cost nothing and are part of the plan.
- Lunch on the road, between 12:30 and 2PM. Drivers know which places are clean and quick.
- Arrival by 4 or 5PM. That isn't laziness. It's the dusk rule, below.
On a long hill day, expect six to eight hours of driving at most. If an itinerary has you doing more than that, it is usually two days squeezed into one.
Why hill drivers stop at dusk
Good operators in Arunachal, Sikkim and the Darjeeling hills don't drive the mountain roads after dark, and you shouldn't ask them to. Night brings fog, landslide debris you can't see until you're on it, and oncoming trucks on single-lane bends. Some checkpoints and passes also close in the evening.
This affects your plans in two ways:
- Late arrivals stay in the plains. A train into NJP at 8PM means a night in Siliguri, not a night drive to Gangtok. A late flight into Guwahati means Guwahati, not Shillong.
- Last days start early. Coming down from Tawang or Darjeeling for a flight, the driver will want to leave before you have finished breakfast. Trust them.
The plains are different. Guwahati to Kaziranga, or Siliguri town runs, can be done after dark.
Where your driver sleeps and eats
On a multi-day trip the driver stays where you stay, or close by. In most hill towns:
- Hotels have rooms or dormitories set aside for drivers, often free or at a small charge.
- Where there isn't one, the driver finds a lodge nearby or sleeps in a local driver's rest house.
- The driver pays for their own meals and room out of the daily driver allowance. If your quote includes the allowance, you don't owe anything extra for this.
Two things worth checking before you book:
- Is the driver allowance in the quote? It should be. If not, ask what it is per night.
- Will the hotel need to know? Remote homestays sometimes have no room for a driver. Tell your operator where you're staying so they can plan for it.
Same driver all trip, or a new one each day?
For a circuit, ask for one driver for the whole trip. They learn your pace, know which stops you liked, and carry the trip's paperwork: permits, ID copies, the hotel list. A different driver each day means re-explaining everything every morning.
There are two exceptions where a change is normal and correct:
- Sikkim's permit roads. Tsomgo, Nathu La and North Sikkim need a Sikkim-registered vehicle. See can a Siliguri taxi go everywhere in Sikkim.
- Meghalaya's tourist taxi rules. These affect some Assam vehicles. See can an Assam taxi take you to Meghalaya.
What your driver will and won't do
Will:
- Stop where you ask, within reason, and suggest stops you would miss.
- Help with bags, and wait at sights and restaurants.
- Carry permits and know where they're checked.
- Call ahead to the next hotel if you're running late.
Won't, and shouldn't:
- Drive the hills after dark.
- Go off the quoted route for long detours without it being added to the bill.
- Take a sedan up a road it shouldn't be on. If the driver says the vehicle can't do a road, believe them.
- Drive while tired. On long days a good driver takes a break, and you should let them.
Tipping
Tipping isn't required, but it's normal and appreciated if the driver did a good job. As a rough guide for a multi-day trip:
- ₹200 to ₹300 a day for a good trip.
- ₹400 to ₹500 a day if the driver went out of their way: an early start for Tiger Hill, a long wait, handling a closed road well.
Give it in cash at the end, to the driver directly. On a long trip, a meal shared along the way is often remembered longer than the tip.
Questions to ask before you book
- Is it one driver for the whole trip?
- Is the driver allowance in the quote, along with the night halts?
- Has the driver done this route before, in this season?
- When will I get the driver's name, number and vehicle number?
- What happens if a pass or road closes?
A good operator will answer all five without hesitating.
How we do it
Our drivers are police-verified and route-experienced. You get their name, photo and vehicle number on WhatsApp the evening before pickup. Driver allowance and night halts are in every multi-day quote. See car rental with driver for the cities we work in.
Frequently asked questions
In the plains, sometimes. In the hills, no. A night drive saves a few hours and puts you on mountain roads in the dark, which isn't a trade any careful operator will make.
Not if the driver allowance is in your quote, which it should be. Many travellers share a meal with their driver anyway, but there's no obligation.
Tell the operator on the first day, not the last. On a multi-day trip they can usually swap the driver at the next town.
In the hills, six to eight at most, including stops. In the plains, longer days are possible, but over eight hours is tiring for passengers as well as the driver.