Assalam u Alikum All,
This is my first post on this forum and i must say that how this PW forum is working is really a commendable effort from all of its members.
Now after getting inspiration from all these posts, i have drafted a rough itinerary of my family trip:
Day 1 Pick up from Islamabad early in morning, enroute Nathiagali, do some tracking etc , Night stay.
Day 2 local sight seeing in Ayubia and Patriata and night stay Nathiagali.
Day 3 Short local sight seeing Thandiani and enroute Shogran, night stay Shogran
Day 4 Half Day Jeep to Siri paye, Night stay Shogran
Day 5 Enroute Naran, night stay Naran
Day 6 Half Day Jeep to Lake Saiful Malook, Night stay Naran
Day 7 Full Day Jeep to Lulusar Lake, Batakundi and Babusar top, Night stay Naran
Day 8 enroute Kaghan. Night stay Kaghan
Day 9 Visit and night stay at Neelum valley.
Day 10 explore neelum valley and surroundings etc
Day 11 enroute back to Islamabad
I will really appreciate if the experienced travelers (gurus) here can add value in this itinerary and suggest what should i add or skip.
Now some questions which can help finalize this trip:
1) i am planning this trip from mid september; what is the weather around those areas during that time, will that be suitable for kids too?
2) Please suggest the hotels in each location and approximate price/night if possible.
3) As this is my first trip there so can you please let me know the process of booking the hotels. How do you get the booking beforehand and rates? or is it feasible to go directly to location and search for hotels ? what do you recommend?
4) As i need car from Islamabad to all these locations so is there any recommendation of car rental with good rates?
5) Has anyone used the services of online tour planners like pakistantours.com, ajktours.com, tourplanner.pk etc, what is your experience and are they cost effective?
I hope these are some of the questions which may come in the mind of newbie in this area. let's try to accumulate your valuable suggestions so that it will be beneficial for some guy who is planning his first tour like me
Thanks a lot.