Advice for traveling to India
India is arguably the most exciting, diverse, fascinating and life changing place to travel in the world but let’s be honest, traveling here is not walk in the park, especially for the first time and preparing to go to India can sometimes feel a little daunting.
Despite this, for many people visiting India is a highlight of all their travels and they return again and again but some find the culture shock of their first trip to India is quite overwhelming but don’t let this put you off visiting.
India is a country that challenges and frustrates a visitor almost as much as it delights, enchants and rewards. With so many sights to see, huge distances to cover and culture shock and hassle to overcome India requires more planning and preparation than say a trip to Thailand or France.
Traveling India will change your life and anyone can do it but the right preparation can go a long way to making sure your first trip to India is memorable for all the right reasons!
Make sure you read these posts before you visit India:
One of the reasons why I started writing Global Gallivanting is because I fell in love with India so much but found my first trip challenging so I wanted to inspire and help others to have an easier first time than me by sharing my tips!
Pin me and help another traveller 🙂
Now I get a lot of emails with questions about planning to travel in India. I’m happy to answer your trip planning questions but perhaps you will find the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions in these posts:
Q: I don’t know where to start with planning my trip to India
A: There’s a lot to think about when planning your first trip to India from where to go, what the weather will be like, applying for visas, vaccinations, booking flights and transport and hotels. To make it easier check out my free Ultimate Step by Step Guide to Planning a Trip to India.
Q: How do I apply for an Indian Visa?
A: Nearly all visitors to India (apart from citizens of Nepal and Bhutan) require a visa to enter India so it’s essential that you apply for this before you travel. The process of applying for an Indian visa can be a little complicated and confusing, so to make it easier you can follow my Complete Step by Step Guide to Applying for your Indian Visa.
Q: Can I visit India as a solo female traveller?
A: Women are often worried about traveling in India due to the bad press the country has gotten in recent years but I’ve been traveling here mostly solo, independently and on a budget for over 24 months in total now and never had a problem but it’s a good idea to check out my Top Tips for Women Traveling in India.
Q: Where should I go?
A: India is such a vast and wonderfully diverse country with so much to see that sometimes the hardest thing when planning a trip to India is deciding where to go. To get some ideas check out these 30 Amazing experiences you can only have in India.
As India is such a huge country you can never expect to see it all in 1 trip so planning your itinerary is important. To give you some ideas I’ve written my Perfect 3 Month Itinerary for traveling India.
If you don’t have 3 months you could always just choose a small part of the itinerary and leave the rest for another trip. If you really have to narrow it down here are 5 Places in India you simply can’t miss.
Q: How much should I budget for traveling around India?
A: India is one of the cheapest countries in the world to travel but how much you spent will depend on the level of comfort you want. It’s possible to backpack India on as little as 1000 Rupees a day that’s about £10 or $15. Check out my post on The average daily budget for backpacking India and see more Typical costs and budget tips for traveling India.
Q: Do you have any tips for first time travelers in India?
A: So many! I’ve also written about my general Top 10 tips for your first time traveling India and don’t make these 5 Common Mistakes that most travellers make in India. Also read some words of wisdom from myself and other travel bloggers who reveal the 21 Things they wish they had known before traveling to India. and the India Survival Guide (Quick-Start Safety Guide) by Karl Rock an expat in India.
Many travellers either start their Indian adventure in Mumbai (Bombay) or Delhi so check out my city guides and it’s also good to be aware of the scams before you arrive too – read How to avoid the scams and survive your first time in Delhi.
But don’t be put off, once you get used to traveling in India you’ll probably find it’s not as hard as you thought. Check out 7 Reasons why traveling in India isn’t as difficult as you might think.
Do you want help planning your trip to India?
I love hearing from you guys and helping you to plan your trips so you can always email me with any questions.
Still want a bit more advice for planning your trip to India?
If you want to travel India independently instead of being tied down to a tour but confused about where to go, having trouble booking transport or just don’t want to go it completely alone then using India Someday could be the perfect solution.
India Someday will talk to you and plan a highly personalised trip just for you – no seeing sights that you’re not bothered about or rushing to keep up with a strict itinerary. The guys at India Someday and young and enthusiastic and will help you plan your perfect trip – from helping you decide where to go and advising you on the perfect itinerary to suit your interests, right down to booking trains (which for foreigners to do from abroad is a really frustrating, almost impossible process) and organising unique experiences and homestays. Plus it’s nice to have a trusted local point of contact throughout your trip.
I just travelled through North India and used India Someday to plan my trip and everything went really smoothly ( see my full review here) so I can recommend then from if you are looking to take your dream trip to India but want a little assistance with the planning process to make sure everything is booked and runs smoothly leaving you to just enjoy your trip!
One of the great things about India Someday is that they charge a fixed fee for all the travel planning and booking so there are no nasty surprises! Also, Global Gallivanting readers can get a 15% discount. Just mention Global Gallivanting when enquiring. Check out the India Someday website for more details.
Have I covered everything? Do you have any more questions about planning to travel India?
Leave your questions in the comments below 🙂