India

Most travellers enter on the e-Visa, applied for online before flying — and the non-negotiable rule is to use only indianvisaonline.gov.in. Dozens of commission sites mimic it and charge large markups for nothing you need; no agent is required. There is no visa-on-arrival for US, UK, EU, Canadian or Australian passports, so sort it in advance (processing is usually a couple of days — apply at least four before travel). You pick a 30-day, 1-year or 5-year tier; fees vary by nationality, and the 30-day is cheaper in the April–June window.

On money, the rupee is a partially closed currency — you may legally carry only ₹25,000 in or out, and it’s hard to get abroad — so plan to withdraw on arrival rather than buy it at home. City ATMs take foreign cards (with per-withdrawal caps), and cards work in mid- and upscale venues, but cash is essential for auto-rickshaws, small shops, temples and tips. India’s UPI phone-payment system is everywhere for locals; the tourist workaround (a “UPI One World” prepaid wallet) is still mostly an airport pilot, so don’t rely on it.

Tipping is customary but modest: round up for auto-rickshaws, roughly 5–10% in restaurants if no service charge is already added, and small notes (baksheesh) for porters (₹50–100 a bag) and hotel housekeeping. A hired driver on a multi-day trip expects a gratuity at the end.

Book trains through the official IRCTC site or app, setting your account to a foreign nationality. For overnight journeys aim for 2AC or 3AC class; for day routes like Delhi–Agra, the AC chair car on a Shatabdi or Vande Bharat. Popular trains sell out, so book ahead — and if the general list is full, check the Foreign Tourist Quota and the same-day Tatkal release (AC from 10:00, non-AC from 11:00, the day before). For the long hauls, domestic flights (IndiGo carries the most, with Air India and Akasa) simply save days.

Do not self-drive: the traffic, norms and liability make it a bad idea for visitors — hire a car with a driver, which is cheap and standard. In cities, the metros (Delhi’s is excellent) are clean and cheap; for everything else use app cabs (Ola/Uber) or prepaid taxi/auto booths over unmetered street rides, and agree the fare before you get in.

From the airports, use the official prepaid taxi booth (fixed fare, printed receipt) or an app cab rather than a tout at the arrivals rail — the “your hotel is closed, let me take you to a better one” diversion is a classic Delhi scam, and it starts at the taxi.

Almost every major monument charges foreigners far more than locals — often ten times or more. This is standard and official, not a scam; carry your passport, and buy online where you can for a small discount and a faster lane. The classic first circuit is the Golden Triangle — Delhi (the Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Humayun’s Tomb), Agra (the Taj, closed Fridays, and Agra Fort) and Jaipur (the Amber Fort, Hawa Mahal and City Palace of the UNESCO-listed walled city).

India has 45 UNESCO World Heritage sites as of mid-2026 — sixth most of any country — so the monument list runs deep beyond the Triangle: the Ganges ghats of Varanasi at dawn, the rock-cut Ajanta and Ellora caves in Maharashtra, Khajuraho, Hampi, and Konark among them. The elephant rides at Jaipur’s Amber Fort are ethically contentious — take a jeep up instead.

A word on the Taj: it’s closed every Friday, and the foreign ticket (₹1,100, plus ₹200 to step inside the mausoleum) is timed — book online via the ASI platform for the ₹50 discount and the faster lane, and come for sunrise, when the marble glows and the crowds are thinnest. At Varanasi’s cremation ghats, show real respect and take no photographs.

The Golden Triangle is the standard first trip, and Rajasthan is its natural extension — the lake palaces of Udaipur, the blue city and Mehrangarh Fort of Jodhpur, the Thar-desert fort and camel safaris of Jaisalmer. For something utterly different, Varanasi on the Ganges is India’s spiritual heart, and the deep south offers the gentle counterpoint: Kerala’s backwater houseboats, Fort Kochi and Munnar tea hills (“God’s Own Country”), and Goa’s beaches and Portuguese churches.

Up north, the land climbs into the Himalaya: Rishikesh and Haridwar for yoga and the Ganges, the hill stations of Himachal, and high-altitude Ladakh (its roads open only May–September). Amritsar holds the golden-domed Harmandir Sahib, Sikhism’s holiest shrine, and the theatrical Wagah border ceremony; Mumbai brings the Gateway of India, colonial grandeur and Bollywood. The table pairs each region with its season.

For most of the country — the Golden Triangle, Rajasthan, Varanasi, the south — aim for October to March: dry and mild, with December–February the finest weather and the busiest (book months ahead). Skip the pre-monsoon furnace of April–May, when the plains top 40°C, and the southwest monsoon of June–September for classic sightseeing.

The mountains flip the logic entirely. April to June is exactly when the hill stations and the Himalaya come into their own, and the monsoon months are the only window for Ladakh, whose roads are snowed shut the rest of the year. So “bad season” is always a question of where — the swaps below are how to keep finding good weather year-round.

• April–June heat on the plainsSkipRajasthan and the Golden Triangle at 40°C+Gothe hill stations — Shimla, Manali, Darjeeling — or Ladakh
• The June–September monsoonSkipthe soaked west coast and the high Himalaya (landslides)Gorain-shadow Ladakh and Spiti, or Kerala’s green-season retreats
• Delhi’s Oct–Jan smogSkipthe capital when the AQI is “severe”Goheading straight to Rajasthan, the south or the coast

Catching a festival can be the making of a trip — Diwali’s lamps and fireworks (8 November in 2026), Holi’s riot of colour (22 March in 2027, and most intense across the north), the surreal Pushkar Camel Fair in the Rajasthan desert. The flip side is logistics: these are enormous, and the Ardh Kumbh Mela at Haridwar (January–April 2027) draws millions to the Ganges on its bathing dates, when transport and lodging for a wide region book out.

So decide deliberately: aim for a festival and book well ahead, or steer a few days clear of the peak dates. Either way, keep in mind that Diwali also marks the start of the north’s worst air — the two happen together.

Day to day, the issues are hassle and petty crime, not violence: touts and faux “tourist offices”, pickpocketing in crowds, auto-rickshaw overcharging, and the gem/carpet and “hotel closed” cons. The concern that needs stating plainly is safety for women — several governments flag an elevated risk of harassment and assault — so solo female travellers take more care here than in most places: modest dress, no solo night travel, the women-only train carriages and reserved Delhi Metro car, and pre-booked or app-tracked transport. Many women travel India happily; it simply asks for more street-sense.

LGBTQ travellers can note that same-sex relations were decriminalised in 2018 (the Supreme Court read down Section 377), though there is no same-sex marriage and society remains conservative — discretion is sensible. None of the hard advisory zones above sit on the normal tourist map, but re-check the current wording before you travel, as the US and UK advisories don’t align exactly.

A handful of states are “dry” (total alcohol prohibition in Bihar, Gujarat, Nagaland, Mizoram and Lakshadweep — Gujarat issues tourist permits), so don’t assume a drink is available everywhere. And the J&K / Pakistan-border / Manipur / Maoist “do not travel” zones are the few places to genuinely keep off the itinerary.

See a travel clinic 4–6 weeks ahead: Hepatitis A and typhoid are the headline vaccines, with others by itinerary, and malaria and dengue are present widely (dengue bites by day) — discuss prophylaxis and pack repellent. No yellow-fever certificate is needed unless you’re arriving from an endemic country. Never drink the tap water — sealed bottled or boiled/filtered only, no ice from unknown sources, and skip raw salads and pre-cut fruit. Travellers’ diarrhoea (“Delhi belly”) is near-universal, so carry oral rehydration salts and loperamide.

On manners: remove your shoes at temples and homes, dress modestly and cover shoulders and knees at religious sites, use the right hand to eat and give (the left is considered unclean), leave leather items outside Jain temples, and keep public affection low-key. The cow is sacred to Hindus, so beef is off most menus. Ask before photographing people. A local SIM (Jio or Airtel) needs your passport and visa and takes about a day to activate; an eSIM works too. Hindi and English are the link languages across 22 official tongues.

Save the emergency numbers: 112 is the unified line that routes everything, with 100 for police, 101 for fire and 108 for an ambulance. The 112 India app can also share your location and a panic alert — worth installing on arrival.