10 essential tips for traveling to India

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With this guide of Tips for traveling to India We want to facilitate as far as possible the organization of a trip to one of the most magical destinations in the world. Known for being a country that "you love or hate", India is in addition to culture, landscapes and people, a set of sensations that will transmit your senses to you by surprise and unexpected gifts. If you also add one of the most exquisite cuisine in the world and the Taj Mahal, the most beautiful monument in the world built for love, what can go wrong ?.

Based on our experience of the trip to northern India, we leave you what we believe, are the 10 essential tips for traveling to India. We start!

1. What is the best time?

The first thing you should keep in mind is that the large dimensions of the country cause different climates and situations depending on the area you want to travel to. Although throughout the post we will give general nuances, in certain aspects we will rely more on our experience traveling through the north of the country, which is also one of the most visited places by travelers.

  • High season (December to March): These months are usually the most pleasant and in terms of temperatures, since they are usually warm during the day and cool at night.
  • Mid season (July to November): During this time the rains appear normally until the month of September and from October to December in the southern area of ​​Kerala. Please note that if your destination is Ladakh, the ports open from July to September.
  • Low season (from April to June): These are the hottest months of the year, especially the month of June that is also much wetter when the monsoon season opens. Despite not being the best time for a trip to India, hotel prices are greatly reduced, so it can be a good option if you want to save.


2. Security

In general and always talking about a route through tourist places, we can say that traveling to India is totally safe. Regardless of this, it is true that it is advisable to have common sense and avoid showing valuables or going at night to places you do not know, especially if you are a woman and you go alone.
Unfortunately, in the latter case, the aggressions have been increasing in recent times and it is convenient to take precautions.

In the same way, news of scams have been referred to travelers who, taking a taxi, have taken them to a previous deception travel agency, explaining that there are problems in the city to propose an alternative route, this being totally false.
In any case it is important to check the information received and if at any time you see something strange, contact the hotel to corroborate any information.

In addition to the above, it is advisable to bring a copy in the cloud of your personal documentation such as passport, driver's license, travel insurance policy ... etc. so that in case of theft or loss, you can carry out the procedures in a much easier and faster way.

Taj Mahal in Agra

3. Requirements for entering the country

If you are a Spanish citizen you need to have a passport with a minimum validity of 6 months to enter India. In addition to this, if your visit is tourist, it is essential to have a visa to enter the country that you can request for a maximum of two trips in a year.
Applications take a minimum of three days and are valid for 60 days, with two entries, from the day of arrival in the country. You can apply for the e-Tourist Visa through the official government website here.
It is important to keep in mind that many companies are emerging that, under very similar names, manage these visas at much higher prices. It is important to be clear that you are doing the process from the official website or in case of any problem, through a recognized website.

Another thing to keep in mind and that falls within the Tips for traveling to India It is the knowledge that many motorcycle rental companies request to keep the passport to make the reservation and then claim to have lost it, which entails for the traveler.
Remember that you should never deposit your passport or any type of documentation, except in hotels, where you will be asked to make a photocopy, but afterwards, they should always be returned.

Passport

4. Vaccines and travel insurance

The first and most important thing is to be clear about the need to go to a vaccination center so that it is a doctor who values ​​your medical history and based on it and the circumstances of your trip, decide what vaccines are necessary for a trip to India.
Regardless of what has been said above and giving it the great importance it has, we can tell you that currently there is no mandatory vaccine to travel to India, except the Yellow Fever for travelers from endemic countries.
As recommended are Tetanus-Diphtheria, Triple Viral, Hepatitis A and B and Poliomyelitis, Japanese Encephalitis, Cholera, Rabies and Pneumococcal, in special situations.

In addition to this it is extremely important to be careful with water, being strictly necessary to drink bottled water and avoid the consumption of raw vegetables, fruits with skin or food from street stalls where the level of hygiene is doubtful.

After the visit to the doctor, it is very important to have the best travel insurance, so that if you need it, have the best care in the best centers of the country and in this case, have a translator who can act as an intermediary .
We always travel insured with Mondo, with whom we carry a totally adequate insurance to the needs that we will have during the trip. Hiring your insurance here with Mondo, just for being a Street Travelers reader, you have a 5% discount.
For more information you can check this post about the best travel insurance for India.

5. How to start the trip

Any trip to India should start by assessing the essential places to visit in India that you want to see and what time you have for it. In our experience, for a route through the north of the country, we would recommend a minimum of 3 weeks to see the most tourist places, including Jaisalmer and Varanasi as farther points.
For this the first thing would be to look for a flight, if possible multidestination, entering through Delhi and leaving through Varanasi, in order to save time. For these searches we always use this flight search engine with which we have the best options at the best prices.
Once you have the flight, the next step would be the reservation of the hotels. At this point it is important to assess the budget and be clear that in India sometimes, cheap is expensive. While it is true that it is one of the countries where you can find some of the cheapest accommodation in the world, in most cases they simply offer what you pay for, finding rooms of 2 meters, in which there is no room for a bed and that you also have to share (sometimes) with some little animals
Of course this is not widespread, but we believe it is important to take it into account and assess whether it is much more appropriate to pay a little more and enjoy the trip by staying in hotels with something more attractive. We always use this accommodation search engine and we have to say that we have always been right.

Varanasi

Depending on the travel time you want to do, we recommend moving around India by train, plane or by car with driver. In our case we opted for a combination of the three options, although the car with driver was the way we toured much of northern India.
After the experience of traveling to India in this way, we can only recommend it and that is that we save a lot of time and headaches, since we are not fooled by saying that India is not an especially easy country to travel for.
Another option, if you do not want to worry about anything and know the country by the hand of a guide in Spanish, is to book this 7-day Circuit for the Golden Triangle.

Once you have decided on these points, the next and last aspect would be to evaluate what tours and excursions in India you want to do. Although all can be done for free, in case you want to know these places in a more comfortable way and with a guide in Spanish, the most recommended would be:

More tours and excursions in India here

6. Money exchange

The currency of India is the Indian Rupee (INR) and the current equivalence is 1 Euro = 79 Indian Rupees. Although a few years ago it was very common to change money at your bank in Spain or change directly at the airport or at any exchange agency, currently when traveling to India or any other destination, it is highly recommended to pay as much as possible with a card and take money from the cashier to have cash, in this way, save commissions and also have the most favorable change.

We always recommend using the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.

Keep in mind that despite this, it is highly recommended to carry cash since depending on where you are or the place, they will not accept payment by card, in addition to being important to carry cash for tips or small value payments.

Get to know New Delhi on a trip to India

7. How to have internet in India?

If you want to have internet in india, something very necessary today, especially considering the amount of applications we use in our trips and the need to be in contact with our family and friends, you can choose several options:

  • Buy a SIM card at the airport or at a phone shop in the city.
  • Buy one Holafly SIM card, with which you will have internet from the moment you land, saving you all the time of the negotiations and making the whole process to have internet in India much more comfortable, fast and easy.
    In this case, with the Holafly SIM you will have several Gb to surf the Internet (depending on the option you choose), they will send it to you for free at home, you will keep your WhatsApp number and you will have assistance service in Spanish. You can buy your Holafly prepaid SIM card here with a 5% discount for being our reader.

More information on the Holafly post, the best prepaid SIM card for travel

8. Travel to India for free or with agency

As we mentioned before, it is perfectly feasible to travel to India for free, moving by plane, train or car with a driver. In our case and always from our experience, India is a country that we recommend traveling to when you have had a first contact with travel and especially Asia, since it is not a destination easy, due to the great cultural shock and sometimes to the situations of poverty that you will face.

Despite this and although you will not avoid seeing these scenes, we believe that if you are not accustomed to this type of travel or want to make a route in a more comfortable way in addition to a guide in Spanish, the option to make this Circuit 7 days per The Golden Triangle or this 8 day Golden Triangle + Ranthambore Tour, can be perfect.

Another option would be to make a base in Delhi and from there make different excursions or tours of several days, to know the most tourist places in this area of ​​India such as:

4-day excursion to Jaipur, Amber and Agra
Private tour to Agra and Jaipur in 2 days
3-day private tour to Agra and Jaipur

Jaipur

9. Route through North India

As we mentioned before, our recommendation is to dedicate an average of 3 weeks to know the most tourist and important places in the country. Based on our experience, we recommend you take a flight to Delhi and dedicate a minimum day to the city to complete this list of essential places to see in New Delhi.
From here the route of the trip to India continues going from Delhi to Mandawa, known as the city of the havelis of northern India, which you will visit throughout the day to visit the Temple of the Karni Mata rats on the way to Bikaner, another of the essentials of this area of ​​the country.
The next stage of the route will be to go from Bikaner to Jaisalmer, where in addition to visiting this incredible city you cannot miss a visit to the Jain Temples in the Jaisalmer Fort, its most tourist place.

Jaisalmer

From here and on the way to the next stop on the route, we recommend you to stop at the Osiyan Temple on the way to Jodhpur to begin in the afternoon to get to know the city and the next day to visit the Meherangarh Fort of Jodhpur.
The next day of the route will take you to Udaipur watching the Ranakpur Temple and the Kumbhalgarh Fort for the next day to dedicate it completely to the city and to the Lake Palace of Udaipur, one of the best-known postcards of India.

The next stage of the trip to India is to go from Udaipur to Pushkar, where you will discover one of the most magical cities in India where everything revolves around the Sacred Lake of Pushkar.
The next day you will make the journey from Pushkar to Jaipur taking advantage of the afternoon to visit the Temple of the Sun of Jaipur and the next day to visit the Palace of the Winds and Amber Fort.

From cumin to cherry From India, we propose to go from Jaipur to Agra visiting the Baori of Abhaneri and Fatehpur Sikri, for once in Agra and after enjoying an incredible sunrise on the banks of the Yamuna River, the next day, live an incredible sunrise at the Taj Mahal and make the visit to this incredible place, considered one of the most beautiful in the world.

After this visit, the route of the trip to India continues in the Fort of Gwalior and travel to Orchha for the next day to know the erotic sculptures of the Khajuraho Temples.
From here we suggest you take a night train from Khajuraho to Varanasi, with which in addition to saving time, you will have the experience of using this means of transportation in India.
Once in the city, in addition to knowing all its tourist attractions, you can not miss a boat ride on the Ganges river in Varanasi at dawn, stroll along the Varanasi Ghats and make a trip to Sarnath, the place where you He says, Buddha preached Buddhism for the first time.

From here you can catch a flight back to your place of origin or fly to Delhi, in case your flight leaves from there.

Keep in mind that this route, for times, is designed to do so largely with a car with a driver, as long as the opposite is not indicated. We did it with Mahendra Sighn, a great professional, well known in the sector that also speaks Spanish.
We leave your website in case you want to request a quote and make the trip with him or your child.

10. Gastronomy

Although we know that it is impossible to reduce the wide range of Indian cuisine to some lines, we do want to leave you a list of some of their most famous and famous dishes so you can try them, enjoy them and remember them together with the incredible places you will visit when traveling to India.

  • Samosa: triangular shaped dumpling, made of fried crunchy dough, which is usually stuffed with vegetables.
  • Chole Bhature: a kind of fried bread with which the chole is accompanied, a spicy chickpea paste, which is usually quite spicy.
  • Kati roll: bread dough stuffed with lamb meat and vegetables.
  • Kashmiri Aloo Dum: potatoes with spicy sauce and usually spicy.
  • Tandoori chicken: chicken cooked in a clay oven, with many spices.
  • Chicken Tikka Masala: one of the most characteristic dishes of India. The dish is prepared with chicken to which masala (spice mixture) is added to which coconut milk is added.
  • Nan: a kind of flour pancakes that are cooked in the oven and to which cheese, garlic or butter can be added.
  • Pappadam: crunchy lentil flour cakes. Exquisite!
  • Aloo Jeera: Potatoes cooked with cumin. One of our favorite dishes in the world.

Indian gastronomy

More tips for traveling to India

Other of the best tips for traveling to India They are:

  • Although it may sound topical: India is a country of contrasts. First of all try to go with an open mind, without trying to judge what you see, just look, enjoy and accept what you are seeing.
  • In most monuments and tourist places, it is important to be prepared for "harassment" by vendors. It is not something general, but it usually happens.
  • Due to the culture and the economic situation, in India you will probably find that a large percentage of people see you as a coin with legs. Just accept it. Don't get "bad blood."
  • Always drink bottled water. If you do not, you will probably be one of the people who make up 90% of travelers who end the traveler's diarrhea in India.
  • In restaurants always ask for non-spicy food. It will still be spicy, but just not to take out fire by mouth!
  • In India the voltage is 230V, the frequency 50 Hz and the plugs are of the C / D / M type.

Do you want to organize this trip to India for free?
Get it here:

The best offers of Flights to India here

The best hotels at the best prices in India here

Get € 35 for your reservation with AirBnb here

Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here

Book the best tours and excursions in India in Spanish here

Rent your car in India at the best price here

If you feel like helping us expand the list 10 essential tips for traveling to India, add yours in the comments.

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