A day outing package normally includes entry for a fixed daytime slot, the meals served during that slot, and access to the swimming pool, rain dance, lawns and the standard indoor and outdoor games. It normally excludes alcohol, adventure activities such as zorbing, ATV rides and archery, party decoration, rooms, and in most cases GST. Everything beyond that varies by venue and by package, which is why the single most useful thing you can do before booking is ask for the inclusion list in writing.
This page sets out the whole picture, category by category, so you know what you are buying and where the extra charges tend to appear. Our own current inclusions are listed on the day outing packages and prices page.
Meals
Meals are the backbone of a day outing and the biggest single cost inside the rate. A full package typically covers three services: breakfast on arrival, a buffet lunch in the middle of the day, and evening tea with snacks before departure. Each is served in a window rather than being continuously available, and the windows exist because the kitchen cooks to your confirmed headcount.
Buffets are normally offered in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian versions. For a group, dietary preferences can usually be built in when the venue is told well in advance, which covers Jain, no-onion-no-garlic and South Indian preferences. For a serious allergy, say so in writing before the day, since buffet service means shared serving areas and a verbal mention to a steward on the morning itself is not enough.
Two things are rarely included even when meals are. The first is anything ordered a la carte at the restaurant outside the buffet windows. The second is the bar, which is always billed separately unless a specific package has been agreed in advance.
What “unlimited” actually means
Packages often say unlimited food. In practice this means unlimited servings from the buffet while the counters are open. It does not mean food is available from morning to evening, and it does not extend to live counters that are billed separately, to the bar, or to anything from the a la carte menu. This is a normal and reasonable arrangement, but it is worth understanding before you arrive expecting a running buffet.
Water: pool and rain dance
For most guests this is the reason for the trip. In a full-facility package the swimming pool is included, with changing rooms and showers alongside, and a shallow section for smaller children. Pool timings are fixed rather than all-day, because lifeguard cover has to be scheduled. Carry your own swimwear, towel and toiletries; a poolside bag is not a locker, and valuables are best left at home.
Rain dance is included too, and it is the most popular part of the day for children and for large groups. It almost always runs in scheduled sessions rather than continuously, so the area can be cleared and cleaned between batches and the music managed. Ask the activity desk for the session times when you arrive.
Water attractions that involve equipment and an operator, such as bumper boats, are usually ticketed separately. The dividing line across the market is fairly consistent: if it needs a staff member to run it for you, it probably carries a charge.
Games and activities
The clearest way to see the split is to lay it out by category.
| Category | Normally included | Normally charged extra |
|---|---|---|
| Water | Swimming pool, rain dance, kids splash pool, pool volleyball | Bumper boats |
| Outdoor | Cricket, volleyball, badminton, throwball, tug of war | Organised tournaments with prizes |
| Indoor | Carrom, chess, table tennis, foosball, snooker and pool table | Nothing usually |
| Kids | Kids play area with swings, slides and climbing frames | Trampoline, bouncy castle |
| Adventure | Nothing usually | Zorbing, ATV ride, archery, bull ride, paintball, rifle shooting |
Equipment for the included games is issued at the activity desk, often against a deposit, and returned at the end of the day. During busy weekends the table tennis and snooker tables run on a turn basis. Lawn games for a large group, such as tug of war or a volleyball rotation, are set up on request and need a minimum number of players, so tell the desk early rather than at four in the afternoon.
The adventure activities are the ones to be clear about in advance, particularly with children. They carry height, weight and minimum age limits, and they are ticketed per person or per ride. The kindest way to handle this with a family group is to decide before you arrive whether you are buying them, and tell the children, rather than negotiating at the counter with a queue behind you.
Timings
A day outing runs on a slot: a reporting time in the morning and a departure time in the evening. The slot is not extended for late arrivals, so a group that turns up two hours late has bought a shorter day. The exact timings vary by package and by date, especially when a large event is running on the property, so confirm them for your specific date at the time of booking.
Within the slot, the shape of the day is fairly universal. Registration and a welcome drink on arrival, breakfast, then the busiest stretch through the late morning when the pool and rain dance are fullest. Lunch in the middle. A quieter hour after lunch when the sun is at its worst and the indoor games and shaded lawns come into their own. Activity again from about four, then evening tea and departure. A fuller walkthrough of the day is on the day outing page.
Children, and who pays what
Almost every venue runs a lower child rate over a defined age band, and very young children are usually not charged at all. The bands differ between properties, so the only reliable approach is to give the actual ages of your children when you ask for a quote. A group of eight adults and six children priced as fourteen adults is a materially different bill from the same group priced properly.
Children are covered by the same inclusions as adults for meals, the pool and the games. The exceptions are the age-restricted adventure activities and, in most cases, the trampoline and bouncy castle, which are ticketed for everyone. Adult supervision in the water and at the play area is the parent’s responsibility at every venue in this market, and it is not a formality: lifeguard cover is not the same thing as supervision of your own child.
Taxes and what appears on the final bill
Assume GST is on top of the quoted rate unless the quote states otherwise. It is the most common reason a final bill differs from the number someone remembered from a phone call.
The other items that land on the bill at the end of the day are the bar tab, any ticketed activities used, and anything specially arranged such as a cake, decoration or an extra AV requirement. If you need the invoice in a company name, share the registered name, address and GSTIN before it is raised, because amending a GST invoice afterwards is difficult.
What is never included
Rooms are not part of a day outing. If your group wants somewhere to rest properly, a room has to be booked separately, and our six room types are set out on the stay pages. Overnight stays run on separate check-in and check-out times, which are 3 PM and 11 AM, with a minimum check-in age of 18.
Decoration, cakes, a DJ and event setup are separate too. They are all permitted and can be arranged, but they belong to an event booking rather than a day outing package, which is how our birthday party bookings are put together.
Before you book
Ask for the inclusion list in writing. Confirm whether GST is in or out. Confirm the child rate and its age bands. Ask which activities are ticketed and roughly what they cost. Confirm the reporting and departure times for your date, the pool timings, and the outside food policy if you are bringing a cake. Then book ahead rather than walking in, because meals are cooked to a confirmed headcount and weekends fill up.
The frequently asked questions page answers the policy questions that usually follow, and the gallery shows what the pool, lawns and games areas actually look like on a full day.