India - solo

squirestarter

Thinking of going to India for about 3 weeks on my own. (Male, early 30s)

Any recommendations of where I could/should fit in during that time and when is the best time of year to go. I can go anytime after April

Cheers

desperate housewife

Our summer is their rainy season so try to avoid then. I went last July and August and was very rainy in the south.
Here's my tips:
we booked everything before we went and was very handy as all hotels picked us up from airport or train or bus station for free which was convenient, saved money and was safe. I was travelling with a friend though so you may not want to book ahead.
We flew everywhere if possible, we didn't like the trains as they were always delayed by hours.

We started in kerala in the south, very different to the rest of India, not as touristy but lots of great things to do. Would highly recommend.

Then we went to goa, this is where we were most looking forward to but hated it. In fairness it was off season but it was full of groups of Indian men and people selling things in stalls, they hounded us constantly. This was the only place we had this issue and we disliked it a lot.

Went to Mumbai which was our favourite. Fantastic modern city with lots to do. We got a private walking and taxi tour which was great, company was Mumbai magic. We also went to five star hotel, the taj mahal palace for dinner and cocktails one evening which was a lovely treat.

From here we went to rajasthan, great place so beautiful. We visited udaipur which we loved, the castle there is amazing great restaurants in this city too and it's all really beautiful. Went to jodhpur which was fab too, but smaller and not as much to do there. Then jaisalmer where we did a camel trek in the desert, fantastic experience and you camp overnight. Finally jaipur which was beautiful too. Recommend all of these spots.

Most people go from jaipur to Delhi but we flew to calcutta. Totally different. Crazy and overwhelming city but great to see it. We did a few touristy things here too.

We went to andaman islands which are ttotally out of the way, but really fab and a nice holiday from the hectic India.

Then we flew back to Delhi which we loved too. We heard awful reports of it but we enjoyed it. Got a private city tour there too which was great.

We did a day trip agra to see taj mahal, got a car and driver there and back. we were glad we did this.

Our only regret was not going to varanasi

Overall we had a busy trip, travelling a lot but I was so glad we did it. I like to see lots of places to feel like I've really seen a country.

People were so so nice. Very helpful and friendly. We were worried before we left about our safety but never felt unsafe at all.

Food is fantastic, Indian food is delish and so many options. If you don't like something it's grand because it's so cheap you can order something else, a main course would lliterally be a euro or less. If you stay in nice hotels you can get western food but we usually had Indian food cos it was so nice.

Any questions just ask! It's confusing to figure out where to go!

desperate housewife

In three weeks you could probably do Delhi, agra, and rajasthan comfortably. Easy to get around on trains and buses if that's what you want too. Probably more tourists these areas but tbh we rarely saw white people at all, usually only when we went to tourist restaurants.

squirestarter

Thanks for all that info. Much appreciated

I'm going to do a lot more reading and see what I can feasibly do in 3 weeks. Lots there to go on. I would definitely like to see Mumbai (Kinda hooked after reading 'Shantaram!') and a few off-the-beaten-track places

Might come back to you with some questions after i've read some more!

j.s. pill II

I was in India for 3 and a half weeks last year. Managed to take in Dehli, Mumbai, Dharmalsala, Amritsar, Varanasi and Goa. I'd strongly recommend Dharmasala if you're up in the that part of the country. I don't know what your budget is but just beware that Mumbai can be very pricey for accommodation. I'm heading off to India again next month and hope to get in a lot more of the south this time around (aswell as a cheeky visit back to Goa ).

As for general tips; do your homework about the regional climates for the times of the year that your might be able to travel. If you plan to take a lot of trains then book the ones you know you'll definitely take as far in advance as possible. Major routes, especially for overnight trains, can fill up weeks or even months in advance. See here for an excellent guide to rail travel in India

http://www.seat61.com/India.htm

I booked my train tickets through the cleartrip site mentioned in the above link. Can be a bit tricky to register with them, feel free to drop me a PM if you need any help or indeed if you have any questions on the destinations I mentioned above.

5p9arw38djv2b4

j.s. pill II wrote: »

I was in India for 3 and a half weeks last year. Managed to take in Dehli, Mumbai, Dharmalsala, Amritsar, Varanasi and Goa. I'd strongly recommend Dharmasala if you're up in the that part of the country. I don't know what your budget is but just beware that Mumbai can be very pricey for accommodation. I'm heading off to India again next month and hope to get in a lot more of the south this time around (aswell as a cheeky visit back to Goa ).

As for general tips; do your homework about the regional climates for the times of the year that your might be able to travel. If you plan to take a lot of trains then book the ones you know you'll definitely take as far in advance as possible. Major routes, especially for overnight trains, can fill up weeks or even months in advance. See here for an excellent guide to rail travel in India

http://www.seat61.com/India.htm

I booked my train tickets through the cleartrip site mentioned in the above link. Can be a bit tricky to register with them, feel free to drop me a PM if you need any help or indeed if you have any questions on the destinations I mentioned above.

Use an agency to book any trips, train journeys, etc. I spent a summer in Mumbai, travelling independently can be a total pain as you can be overcharged, often need a local phone number to get booking confirmation, etc. It can be a huge pain. Agra is worth a trip from Dehli, Mumbai is fun, go to the beach at night! Also I used to get approached all the time to be an extra in Bollywood movies, if you get time do it, great fun.