A few suggestions to get the holiday planning process started
Visit Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Agra and the Taj Mahal on a journey through the mythical cities of northern India
10 days, from £2,975 to £4,105
Explore colonial Cochin and the beautiful backwaters of Kerela
16 days, from £3,300 to £5,270
Experience the sensory wonders of Delhi and tour the city by rickshaw
10 days, from £2,785 to £4,440
Old trading posts, temple towns, palaces: the cultural richness of Tamil Nadu
13 days, from £3,215 to £4,375
The stunning landscapes of the Himalayan foothills and the Nubra Valley
10 days, from £5,065 to £7,055
Watch the sunrise over the Taj Mahal in Agra
14 days, from £5,605 to £8,950
Our eager experts have explored India from its mountainous north to its tropical south in search of the best destinations, experiences and properties. In-country, our passionate team of Concierges share a love of India and are always on hand to impart extensive knowledge of their country. Working with phenomenal local guides across the country, we tailor experiences to your specific interests, from family-friendly block printing in Jaipur to city food tours and off-the-beaten-track wildlife safaris. Whether you’d rather call a historic palace or a humble guesthouse home, we can offer your dream accommodation while in India.
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Discover different ways to explore India
Practical advice and inspiration to help you prepare for your holiday
Practical guide
India Travel Advice & Information
Counting a Condé Nast Top Travel Specialist among our consultants, we have a keen team of India experts who have travelled all over the country, from Ladakh to Satpura National Park. We know India inside out, so can recommend the best destinations, properties and activities to match your interests, all based on our own experience. Whether you're an active family or a pair of laidback honeymooners, there's plenty for everyone in this huge, colourful country. Our team of guides understand your needs and adapt each tour to you, be it retracing a family history in India or helping your child create a costume design with a local tailor.
India holidays are for those willing to go far and wide to find complete cultural overhaul. Lovers of history, architecture and religion can revel in a land that has just about everything. Surrender to the cacophony of sounds and visual treats on offer in India’s big cities and you’ll soon find surprise and delight at every turn from sprawling open-air markets to glorious monuments. We recommend first time visitors start at Rajasthan, a northern state filled with vestiges of India’s glorious past; from the palaces of the Maharajas to its impenetrable great forts and of course the legendary Taj Mahal. Others might opt for a slower pace touring Southern India’s pilgrimage sites, spice forests and tea culture. It’s a chance to take in the country’s softer, serener scenes be it the arid lands of Gujarat, home to the world’s only wild population of Asiatic lion, or the mighty temples and buzzing markets of Orissa.
With 5,000 years of history, India’s sheer cultural heritage offers a fascinating medley of places both on and off the beaten track. In Rajasthan, discover the pink-hued temples of Jaipur and picturesque Udaipur, often called the 'Venice of the East' due to its scenic lakes and palaces. Tamil Nadu not only offers some of the oldest Hindu temples in India but also cuisine you may have never tasted in your entire life. In Southern India, watch local life unfold in the sleepy backwaters of Kerala while up in the vibrant green tea plantations, rural tradition continues as it has done for centuries. India’s most northerly region, Ladakh and the surrounding Himalayas are best for hiking high-altitude mountains, encountering untouched culture as well as superlative stargazing.
It's difficult to dispute Rajasthan, Delhi and the Taj Mahal as the perfect combination to visit for first timers to India, but after that it's down to taste. If it's mountains you seek, then the Himalayas and Ladakh should appeal. For beaches we'd recommend Kerala, and for diving the Andaman Islands. The elusive tiger is best viewed in the national parks of Central India or in Karnataka, and for vibrant city life nowhere (on Earth, let alone in India) comes close to Mumbai and Calcutta. In an ever-changing country, we are constantly adding to our knowledge of this vast region on research trips (tough life), sniffing out the finest little antique shop in Udaipur or the best bhaji in Bangalore.
Explore the famous storybooks scenes that inspired the beloved author, Rudyard Kipling. Spot elephants, panthers and the elusive Bengal tiger in Bandhavgarh National Park or visit the Pench National Park in central India, famed for its tiger and leopard populations.
Experience the real India riding along on a toy train (small-engine locomotives). Choose from a few scenic hill-station routes that travel across the foothills of the Himalayas to Darjeeling, past the lush green tea plantations of the Nilgiri Hills and through teetering local villages.
From the serenity of the Taj Mahal to the bustling markets of Delhi, India is known for its innate ability to invigorate the senses of all who visit. In the markets, local spices fill the air, while splashes of colour add a vibrancy to the streets unlike anywhere else on the planet. There’s no better exhibition of this than during the country’s festivals and celebrations. In particular, Holi, which is the festival of colours, takes place at the end of winter each year. While traditionally a Hindu festival, the celebration is known for its inclusivity, and people of all faiths are invited to join.
Another important pillar of Indian culture is its film industry, otherwise known as Bollywood. Perhaps surprisingly, no other country in the world produces more films than India, and its actors and producers are revered as some of their biggest celebrities.
Akin to the movie stars in the popularity stakes are the country’s professional sportspeople. While India doesn’t have a designated national game, cricket is the most popular spectator sport, and the players are universally loved by fans across the country. If you’re fortunate enough to get a ticket, witnessing an international cricket match on Indian soil is a sporting spectacle like no other.
India’s food is one of the country’s worst-kept secrets, with Indian flavours pervading menus across the globe. However, when coming here for a holiday, forget everything you think you know about the country’s cuisine. The dishes you’re already familiar with will likely be prepared in a different, more traditional way, while variations in ingredients will alter the consistency and flavour of your favourite curries.
There are further variations between southern and northern dishes. For example, you’ll tend to find more meat in recipes originating from northern regions, while fresh vegetables are the star of the show in the south, where you’ll also find dishes tend to be slightly sweeter.
Fruit and vegetables play a prominent role in the country’s culinary landscape, with a large proportion of the population following a meat-free diet. In fact, vegetarian diets are more common in this part of the world than any other country. Even if you’re usually a meat eater, visiting India is a wonderful opportunity to sample some traditional dishes that champion local ingredients, like dosas, dum aloo and samosas.
With more than one million square miles to explore, you may be wondering how to get around this vast country. Fortunately, since it needs to accommodate the world’s largest population, India is home to one of the most extensive transportation systems in the world.
In particular, its railway network connects the vast majority of the country. The trains carry more than eight billion passengers annually, but despite their chaotic stations and frenetic passengers, its system works surprisingly well. Trains get booked up very quickly, so be sure to reserve your spot in advance to avoid disappointment. And, long train journeys are the norm in this part of the world, so booking into an air-conditioned carriage is recommended.
If you don’t have 17 hours spare to sit on a train from Mumbai to Delhi, take to the skies for two hours instead. With nine domestic airlines, you won’t be struggling for choice either. But leave the admin to our travel specialists who are experts at bagging the best seats and rates going. What’s even better is that children under twelve pay half fare, while under-twos pay just ten percent.
For visitors who aren’t used to the dangerous road conditions, driving in India generally isn’t recommended. If you really need to use the roads, it’s advisable to leave the driving to a local.
For more information on transport options in India, read our guide.
Owing to its size, weather patterns and climatic conditions vary from region to region. For example, southern India enjoys dry and sunny winters, whereas winter months in the far north of the country are characterised by freezing temperatures, especially in the mountainous Himalayan region. Monsoons affect the vast majority of the country throughout the summer months; at this time high humidity also contributes to the uncomfortable conditions that aren’t conducive to travel.
New Delhi is the capital of India and is located in the north-central part of the country. It’s often mistakenly used interchangeably with Delhi –?the capital is actually just a district within this larger city.
There are 22 recognised official languages in India. With so many dialects and regional variations across the country, it’s thought that there is just a 36% chance that two random people crossing on a street would understand one another. Hindi is the most widely spoken language, but India is also recognised as the world’s second-largest English-speaking country.
Despite spanning multiple time zones geographically, the whole of the country observes India Standard Time (IST). IST is five and a half hours ahead of GMT.
The national currency is the Indian rupee (INR) – one rupee is divided into 100 paisa. Since it’s a closed currency, you won’t be able to purchase your travel money in the UK before your holiday. Instead, you can exchange GBP once you arrive. Debit and credit cards are also widely accepted.
British citizens must apply for a visa before travelling to India. Various types of visa are available, including an e-Tourist Visa (e-TV), which allows a 30-day stay and double entry, meaning you can enter India twice during the time your visa is valid.
A maximum of two e-visas can be issued in one calendar year, although if you will be spending more than 30 days in India within a year, we’d recommend applying for a one-year visa instead of a 30-day one. To find out more about the eligibility criteria for an e-TV, visit the government of India’s e-Tourist Visa website.
India has only recently overtaken China to become the world’s most populous country – its population exceeds 1.4 billion people.
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We work with you to build an ultra-personalised holiday itinerary with your choice of accommodation, experiences and activities
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