Essential Tips For Visiting India For First Timers!

If you’re acceptable to battalion your bags and caput to the colorful state of India, you’re astir to embark connected an escapade of a lifetime!

With mouthwatering cuisine, bustling markets, affable people, and unthinkable once-in-a-lifetime experiences, India makes a lasting content connected anyone who goes there.

But earlier you dive headfirst into the chaos, you’re going to request to brushwood up connected these indispensable tips for visiting India. People travel distant either loving oregon hating their acquisition successful India, and I firmly judge the ones who don’t bask it spell successful unaware and unprepared.

So don’t beryllium that person! Here is however you tin bask India and person the champion acquisition possible.

Essential Tips for Visiting India

Get Your Travel Vaccinations

Before you adjacent publication your flight, don’t hide to instrumentality indispensable precautions from unsuspecting illnesses and cheque your vaccination checklist.

For India, the accustomed suspects similar Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid, and Tetanus are each connected the request list, but immoderate regions whitethorn besides person a small mosquito transportation dengue oregon malaria — truthful it’s champion to talk to your question caregiver earlier you spell and archer them wherever you are going.

Be definite to deterioration bug spray erstwhile visiting quality sites. A steadfast traveler is simply a blessed traveler — unless you number the ones who forgot to battalion their sunscreen!

Bring Medicine For An Upset Stomach

I don’t cognize anyone who’s been connected a culinary escapade successful India and not taken a detour into the onshore of an upset tummy – the infamous Delhi Belly takes everyone down astatine slightest once!

Be definite to battalion your question medicine kit afloat of antacids, diarrhea tablets, and different indispensable meds you mightiness request for an upset stomach.

Probiotics tin besides beryllium your trusty sidekick aft the archetypal play is implicit and assistance you support your gut blessed for the remainder of your trip.

Drink Bottled Water

You cannot portion the pat h2o anyplace successful India, truthful beryllium definite to portion bottled h2o only!

Some hotels volition person a h2o cooler wherever you tin refill bottles, but marque definite that the h2o successful the cooler is cleanable and bottled water.

If anyone offers you a vessel of water, cheque the headdress and seal earlier drinking it.

Carry Toilet Paper, Everywhere!

Carrying your ain rotation of toilet insubstantial is similar having a concealed limb successful your question arsenal — due to the fact that you ne'er cognize erstwhile you mightiness request a restroom and astir of the time, determination won’t beryllium immoderate toilet paper.

When quality calls, you’ll beryllium thankful you came prepared. It’s not that toilet insubstantial isn’t offered, it’s usually conscionable tally out.

India is simply a bidet civilization and prefers h2o for washing, and insubstantial for drying, truthful cognize wherever to enactment your insubstantial aft utilizing it.

Also connected a broadside note, the infamous “squatty potty” is communal successful India, arsenic it is astir of Asia, truthful if you’ve ne'er seen oregon utilized 1 earlier – cognize that its a rite of transition erstwhile visiting Asia. You got this!

Be Careful Eating Street Food

You should perfectly not debar thoroughfare food, it’s immoderate of the tastiest nutrient successful the world, but successful the satellite of Indian thoroughfare food, it tin either beryllium a thrilling rollercoaster thrust for your sensation buds oregon a dormant driblet to the bathroom.

While the tantalizing aromas wafting from nutrient stalls whitethorn beckon you similar a siren’s song, not each that glitters is golden — oregon successful this case, harmless to eat!

When successful doubt, look for bustling stalls with agelong lines, arsenic they often service up the freshest fare, oregon spell wherever the guides archer you. Make definite the nutrient is piping blistery earlier you chow down, and marque definite the spot looks clean.

Bring A Shawl For Temples

When visiting temples and beatified sites, men and women often request to screen their heads, particularly successful Sikh oregon Jainism temples and mosques related to Islam.

The main religion successful India is Hinduism, followed by Buddhism, and erstwhile visiting Hindu oregon Buddhist temples bare shoulders and knees request to beryllium covered, truthful it’s a bully thought to transportation scarves oregon shawls for those instances.

Also enactment that erstwhile visiting temples, photography is usually restricted oregon banned. Look for a motion with the rules if you are unsure.

Wear footwear you tin gaffe connected oregon off, similar sandals, truthful you tin participate beatified places easily.

Read more: Tips for women dressing modestly successful different countries

Eat Curry Before You Leave To Build Up Your Tolerance

Before you pitchy disconnected to India, see gathering up your spice tolerance beforehand by eating curries a fewer weeks earlier you go.

Think of it arsenic a culinary footwear camp!

The spice level successful India is nary joke, and adjacent erstwhile you inquire for “not spicy” it comes retired volcanic!

By indulging successful a fewer spicy dishes astatine location earlier you go, you’ll not lone physique up your tolerance but besides springiness your tummy a warm-up truthful you’re little apt to get sick by the Delhi Belly.

Get A Local Sim Card

When you onshore successful India, snag a section SIM paper arsenic soon arsenic you can. Not lone volition this let you to enactment successful interaction with your GPS and loved ones, but it volition beryllium indispensable for flagging down Ubers, utilizing a translation to speech with the locals, and communicating with hotels.

Upon landing successful Mumbai, if you privation to link to the airdrome WiFi, you request a section Indian number, truthful if you deliberation you tin debar getting a sim paper astatine the airport, deliberation again!

Alternatively, you tin acceptable up an eSIM earlier you permission truthful you tin onshore without this hassle. We urge Airalo for effortless and affordable esim cards

Pack Warm Clothes For The North

North India tin get cold. You wouldn’t deliberation it, knowing that India’s clime is notoriously blistery and humid!

So don’t hide to battalion those lukewarm clothes, oregon you mightiness find yourself wishing you had a idiosyncratic abstraction heater successful tow!

Know The Best Time To Go

Indian landmark Gadi Sagar –

If you’re inactive successful the readying signifier and haven’t booked your formation yet, it’s worthy knowing erstwhile is the champion clip to sojourn India.

Typically the champion clip is betwixt October and March, erstwhile the upwind is arsenic pleasant arsenic a well-brewed cupful of chai!

During these months, you tin research the vibrant streets without feeling similar you’re melting faster than an crystal pick cone successful the sun.

December is possibly the busiest period for tourism, arsenic the upwind is perfect.

The monsoon play runs from June to September, which is not the champion clip to visit.

Get Your e-Visa Sorted!

Most countries necessitate a tourer visa to participate India. Depending connected your nationality, you’ll apt beryllium capable to use for an e-Visa, which makes it truthful overmuch easier, but it inactive requires a week oregon much to process.

All visitors needing a visa to India request to capable retired an online application, upload a photo, and voilà—you’re 1 measurement person to exploring the Taj Mahal!

You tin cheque retired e-visas for India here!

Don’t Think You’re Safe On Pavements, Look Out For Traffic

Everyone knows that India is busy! It’s not conscionable the postulation that’s wild, it’s everywhere. You consciousness similar walking down the thoroughfare you’re playing a crippled of quality tetris, weaving betwixt radical and trying to crippled your course.

It’s not conscionable radical connected the sidewalk though – sometimes erstwhile the postulation is crazy, motorbikes, scooters, bicycles, rickshaws, and anyone with capable enthusiasm, volition usage the pavement arsenic a signifier of “second lane.”

So adjacent erstwhile you’re walking around, support your eyes connected your sixth and beryllium cautious of traffic.

Be Aware Of Potential Scams

India is harmless to visit, but scamming is an issue, particularly astir tourer attractions, truthful support your eyes peeled for the crafty scammers!

One communal instrumentality is the “friendly local” who approaches you with a grin and a story, lone to steer you towards overpriced shops wherever the lone happening getting a bargain is their commission!

When buying souvenirs, determination is besides the classical disorder with the change. They whitethorn inquire for 100 rupee notes and past springiness it backmost and inquire for a antithetic note, and get you truthful confused by the extremity of it you’ve mislaid retired $50.

Then there’s the classical “tourist taxi” scam, wherever a seemingly adjuvant taxi operator offers to instrumentality you connected a expansive circuit — lone to person you extremity up astatine a bid of shops without your support that are much funny successful your wallet than your sightseeing. Or they instrumentality the “scenic route” truthful they tin complaint you more, adjacent though you’re lone traveling abbreviated distances.

When visiting wealth bureaus, marque a enactment of the speech rates and number your Indian rupees to marque definite they haven’t nether chopped you.

And let’s not hide the infamous “missing wallet” ploy, wherever idiosyncratic whitethorn “accidentally” bump into you, creating conscionable capable distraction for a speedy grab-and-go.

Prepare For Culture Shock

Stepping into India is similar jumping into a vibrant kaleidoscope of sights, sounds, and scents that tin permission adjacent the astir seasoned traveler feeling overwhelmed.

From the bustling bazaars to the symphony of honking horns, the sensory overload tin beryllium some exhilarating and bewildering.

So astir radical bash extremity up grappling with a spot of civilization daze erstwhile they sojourn India.

Respect the section mode of beingness and larn to adjust. The conception of idiosyncratic abstraction is much of a proposition than a regularisation successful India, and queuing doesn’t beryllium either.

So, arsenic you clasp the whirlwind of civilization shock, retrieve to laughter it off, instrumentality it each in, don’t fto yourself get overloaded by it. It’s each portion of India!

Don’t Go To Varanasi If You Don’t Want To See Death

Ok, existent speech now. Varanasi, besides known arsenic the Holy City, is 1 of the astir eye-opening destinations successful the world.

But it’s not a tourer destination. It sits connected the borderline of the River Ganges, a ineffable stream successful India, and is wherever radical travel from each implicit India, sometimes adjacent the world, to die, oregon cremate the dead.

In Varanasi, you volition spot a batch of beatified ceremonies and traditions, from greeting rituals of section radical performing their regular prayers oregon washing successful the ineffable waters, oregon to spot the Ganga Aarti ceremonial successful the evening.

But it’s besides wherever cremations instrumentality spot connected the banks of the river, and these are precise unfastened and nationalist events.

Many radical spell to Varanasi reasoning they tin debar seeing cremations and bodies, but that’s hardly ever the case.

While we would ne'er accidental don’t go, it tin beryllium an incredibly thought-provoking and moving question experience, but you should beryllium alert of what you volition spot earlier you determine to marque the trip.

Book Train Tickets In Advance

If you publication your bid tickets successful advance, you volition beryllium thanking maine each clip you get connected a bid successful India.

Not lone does it unafraid your seat, but you get to debar the Indian conception of queuing – which is each to unreserved astatine the summons model astatine erstwhile and whoever has wrestled to the beforehand archetypal volition win.

Also, erstwhile tickets merchantability out, you whitethorn find yourself traveling arsenic the locals do, by sitting connected the level astatine the backmost of a cart with a presumption of the snack vendor, oregon possibly adjacent sitting connected the extortion of the train.

Be definite to get aboriginal for your train, arsenic you mightiness person to combat idiosyncratic for your seat.

There are a assortment of classes to take from, but tourists who are overwhelmed should get archetypal oregon 2nd class, which is inactive inexpensive by Western standards.

Adventurous travelers whitethorn beryllium blessed with little classes, but don’t expect it to beryllium comfortable.

Stay In Unique Properties, Including Bed & Breakfasts

Fort Palace

India has immoderate astonishing spot options available, but Bed and Breakfast benignant accommodation is the astir popular, particularly successful the large cities.

Some whitethorn beryllium connected the commercialized broadside and are tally much similar hotels, but astir are tally by families, oregon couples that emotion to big travelers.

It’s a large mode to sensation section cuisines (sometimes with a interaction of home-made motherly love), find retired the hidden gems successful the area, and larn to navigator an authentic Indian repast oregon bask an Indian breakfast.

Our recommendations:

• Delhi – Check out Colonel’s retreat or Indee Home successful South Delhi. Colonel’s retreat offers spa services arsenic good arsenic yoga classes and cooking classes.
• Rajasthan – Why not enactment successful a accepted Haveli benignant oregon Fort Palace? We urge Neemrana Fort Palace a 15-century fort restored with rooms for each budgets. Or splash retired and dainty yourself to a luxury Haveli enactment at Alsisar Haveli successful Jaipur. This radical of practice hotels are owned by a sub clan of rajputs started by the grandson of the Maharaja Udaikaran of Amer.
• Northern India – Our Himalaya Elements acquisition is simply a 10-night acquisition successful the foothills of the Himalayas which see hand-picked exclusive B&B properties, positive immoderate hotels and lodges on the way. The item is decidedly Vanghat Lodge successful the mediate of Corbett Tiger Reserve. Also acquisition a beauteous practice Bed and Breakfast spot 2,500m supra sea-level and wrong Binsar Sanctuary with 180-degree views of the occidental Himalayas.

Visit Local Markets Outside The Tourist Traps

Let’s look it, to the locals, occidental tourists tin basal retired similar a sore thumb.

It’s for this crushed that the tourer buying areas adjacent fashionable monuments similar the Taj Mahal tin beryllium a small overpriced, and a small connected the tacky side.

It tin beryllium a spot overwhelming erstwhile you’re being coaxed by a tout oregon usher store hopping from 1 spot to different looking to marque a speedy commission, a regular acquisition successful Jaipur.

Do a small probe earlier you question oregon usage a reputable question institution to assistance you find those small section gems that you’ll beryllium telling your friends astir and retrieve for years to come.

Delhi:

If determination was 1 spot we would telephone the ‘One Stop Shop’ it would beryllium Dilli Haat. Dilli Haat is located successful South Delhi and has that accepted marketplace ambiance, with vendors represented from each corners of India.

Prices are tenable and you tin bargain till your hearts contented without being hounded by vendors, you mightiness adjacent person immoderate amusive with them portion you’re astatine it.

The vendors rotate their stall positions each 15 days to support the bid and marque it just for each the stall holders.

It’s not conscionable a spot to bargain your handicrafts, clothing, shoes, fabrics, jewellery, but it’s besides a spot to tantalise your sensation buds with delicious authentic cuisines from each implicit India. We urge momo’s from Sikkim, but determination is conscionable truthful overmuch to take from.

Rajasthan:

If you are doing the accepted Golden Triangle (Delhi – Agra – Jaipur), wherefore not adhd successful a 2-night safari acquisition astatine Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, past marque your mode to Dhonk Craft?

Dhonk trade supports tiger conservation by providing sustainable employment opportunities to the section community, successful particular, a assemblage that is presently successful the process of moving distant from poaching endangered taxon similar tigers, deer, leopard, and moving towards sustainable, liable tourism.

Spending a mates of dollars present is your mode to enactment them successful this modulation from exploitation to conservation of some animals and environment. Their handicrafts and covering are beauteous awesome too.

Put Away Your Guide Book And Listen To The Locals

Dilli Haat

Guide books are large and they person a clip and place, but it’s good to occasionally enactment your usher publication away, and conscionable travel your intuition and commencement exploring.

I stake you tin retrieve a clip you did this and ended up not lone with an awesome experience, but a large communicative arsenic well!

Stop astatine a saccharine store wherever you spot locals congregating. If you bargain thing from a shop, inquire the proprietor for a proposal for meal oregon lunch. You’re apt to spell wherever the locals spell alternatively than wherever the tourists go.

If you’re staying successful a homestay, don’t hide to inquire your big household arsenic well.

They’re ever grateful for the accidental to beryllium of service. The champion experiences are ever those wherever you are contiguous successful the moment, connecting to people.

Connect With The Locals

A small similar, but antithetic to my earlier constituent successful that erstwhile a thoroughfare vendor approaches you to marque a sale, astir radical urge nary oculus contact. Just support walking.

This is bully advice, arsenic they tin beryllium beauteous tenacious characters and conscionable a glimpse successful their direction, to them says ‘I’m funny successful what you’ve got to sell’.

Try this instead – marque a joke, oregon inquire him a idiosyncratic question similar wherever is his household from? Does helium similar cricket? Who is his favourite batsman (9 times retired of 10 the reply volition beryllium Sachin Tendulkar!). The constituent is to bash thing they aren’t expecting to disrupt their ‘sales flow.’

The adjacent happening you volition notice, his selling volition halt and helium volition link with you, and astir apt a large grin volition signifier connected his look for having met idiosyncratic who responded a small otherwise than the remainder of the tourists helium met.

By the way, this tin besides pb to a slayer woody if you’re really funny successful what he’s selling.

The happening to retrieve is that ‘annoying vendor’ is simply a idiosyncratic similar you and maine astatine the extremity of the day.

They are often successful a idiosyncratic concern wherever pushing for the merchantability could mean the quality betwixt nutrient oregon nary nutrient connected the array for his kids that night, oregon medicine oregon nary medicine for his sick mother.

This doesn’t mean you go a propulsion over; it’s conscionable thing to support successful mind. Keeping this successful caput tin assistance you link to the locals connected a deeper level than you ever would have.

Forget Everything Your Friends And Family Have Ever Told You About India

Vanghat Lodge

Everyone has met idiosyncratic who volition often speech astir however they, oregon astir however their friends and family, were truthful shocked astir travelling to India.

Here’s the woody – everyone has an sentiment and it’s often based connected 2nd manus knowledge, not idiosyncratic experience.

Family and friends volition often person the volition to support you safe, and that’s wonderful, but India is simply a spot of opposition and contradiction.

India volition beryllium challenging and it’ll unit you to measurement retired of your comfortableness portion – true. However, the travel volition beryllium beingness changing leaving an imprint connected your psyche everlastingly – besides true.

When idiosyncratic has an opinion, grin and say, “thanks for that, I’ll support it successful mind,” and beryllium unfastened to the travel that volition travel to you personally.

No 2 question experiences are the same, find retired for yourself.

India Guided Tours

You whitethorn privation to question to India connected a guided circuit alternatively than solo question to India. Here are a fewer we recommend:

• India tours with G Adventures
• India tours with Globus Journeys
• India Tours with Cosmos

How To Travel India Video

Need much inspiration and proposal connected visiting India? Check retired our webinar with tips connected travelling to India safely, which is particularly important for solo pistillate travelers!

More India Travel Tips

• Bundi: My favourite spot successful each of India
• 10 reasons wherefore Rajasthan is cleanable for solo travellers
• How to safely question to India arsenic a solo pistillate traveller