India

One of my favorite destinations because of its rich culture, fantastic cuisine, and stunning nature.

General information

India is one of the largest countries on earth and has a population of almost 1.5 billion people. The currency is the Indian Rupee (INR) and apart from English and Hindi many different languages are spoken throughout India, including Urdu, Bengali and Tamil. The capital city is New Delhi. Famous for its many temples, diverse nature, yoga and ayurveda practices and spectacular cuisine.

Safety tips

Emergency number: 112

India is generally considered to be medium safe for travelers, depending on the area and travel behaviour. It is important to take necessary precautions and to prevent traveling to less safe areas. Always check your home countries’ travel advisory before heading off. In addition, it can be good to also read other countries’ advice, just to get a better idea (see for example US, Canada, Australia & UK’s advice for India).

Budget

India is relatively a cheap country to visit.

Low budget travelers: 20-35 EUR /day
Mid budget travelers: 35-65 EUR /day
High budget travelers: 65+ EUR /day

Itinerary

India is a very large country. Some states and cities tourists commonly visit are Goa, Rajastan, Kerala, Mumbai, Hampi, Agra, Munnar, Rishikesh, Amritsar, and Manali.

New Delhi is a gigantic and crowded city which is often used as a base to fly in or out of India, but most travelers tend to not stay there very long. It provides easy access to visiting the Taj Mahal.

Mumbai is a huge city in the state Maharastra, famous for its nightlife and for being the center of Bollywood. The city has various lovely places to explore, such as the old part of town in Colaba. It has one of the largest slums in the world, Dharavi, which was used for the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire.

Goa is a very well-known destination in the backpacker community, due to its beaches, parties, and yoga lifestyle. I recommend doing some research on where to stay beforehand, as Goa is actually a whole state and different parts of it offer different vibes (southern beaches as Palolem for a more calm vibe, northern beaches as Arambol for a more hippy vibe, while Anjuna and Vagator are for parties).

Kerala is a southern Indian state famous for its yoga vibes and stunning beaches, for example in Varkala. There is also gorgeous nature, in Munnar for example if you want to see beautiful tea plantations and lush greenery, or the backwaters in Munroe Island and Alleppey.

Amritsar is a beautiful, sand-colored city in the state Punjab in the north of India, where you can visit the famous Golden Temple which serves over 100,000 people every day.

Travel tips

Flights to India are usually not too expensive, with daily routes from many European cities. It is important to plan ahead and decide which part of India you will be traveling most likely, so that you can fly into the city that makes most sense. That being said, domestic flights are usually affordable if booked in advance. The infrastructure in India is generally good, with train connections between various cities and overnight buses available. Traveling overland is just quite time-consuming and most trains need to be booked well in advance, especially during high-season or weekends.

Don’t forget to check the visa rules well in advance, as most travelers will need to apply for a visa before being able to travel to India.

As is true everywhere: also make sure you have an adequate travel insurance that will cover you throughout your stay. Medical help can be less accessible in India, so make sure your travel insurance covers medical expenses and any required travel to that end.

Accomodation

Booking a stay while traveling in India? I usually compare prices on Booking.com, Hostelworld and Agoda. Searching on Google Hotels can also help to make an easy price comparison.

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