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AsiaOriginal Research
India
Spice, colour & a billion stories
— Overview
Why we keep coming back.
India is sensory overload in the best possible way. The Taj Mahal, Rajasthan's palaces, Kerala's backwaters, and Goa's beaches barely scratch the surface of this subcontinent.
Live · right now
34° / 93°F
thunderstorm in Mumbai
Feels 40° · 57% humidity · wind 9 km/h
Next 3 days
Wed, May 13
34° / 29°
Thu, May 14
34° / 29°
Fri, May 15
33° / 29°
Live · exchange rate
1 USD = 95.3 INR
1 GBP = 130 INR
1 EUR = 112 INR
1 EUR = 112 INR
ECB feed · refreshes daily
🇮🇳 Fast facts
- Capital
- New Delhi
- Language
- English, Hindi
- Population
- 1.4B
- Currency
- Indian rupee (₹)
- Timezone
- UTC+05:30
- Calling code
- +91
- Drives on
- Left
Best time to visit · based on 10-year climate
Go in Jan, Feb, Dec
Avoid Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep if you can.
Source: Open-Meteo ERA5 (Mumbai)
JAN
23.6°
1mm
FEB
25°
0mm
MAR
27.1°
2mm
APR
28.7°
0mm
MAY
29.6°
53mm
JUN
28.1°
453mm
JUL
26.6°
808mm
AUG
26.5°
484mm
SEP
26.5°
462mm
OCT
27.4°
115mm
NOV
26.7°
6mm
DEC
25°
16mm
IdealGoodDoableTough
Hotel pricing · Mumbai, India
$95
median / night
Low $95 · mid-market 3–4★ · updated Apr 22, 2026
See live rates →Jet-lag prep · flying to Mumbai
How bad will the jet lag be?
Severity from three major hubs. Full plan — bedtime shifts, light, melatonin — in the tool.
— Regions
Where to go in India
Golden Triangle (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur)
Old Delhi's bazaars and Lutyens' New Delhi, the Taj Mahal at sunrise, Jaipur's Hawa Mahal and Amber Fort. The classic 7-day first-trip route — but rushed; allow 10.
Rajasthan & Gujarat
Udaipur's lake palaces, Jodhpur's Mehrangarh and the blue city, Jaisalmer's desert fort, Pushkar's camel fair. Add Gujarat for the Rann of Kutch's white salt desert and Asiatic lions at Gir.
Kerala & South India
Backwater houseboats around Alleppey, Munnar tea plantations, Fort Kochi's Jewish quarter, Kovalam beaches. Combine with Tamil Nadu (Madurai, Pondicherry) and Karnataka's Hampi for a deeper south Asia trip.
Goa & Maharashtra
Goa for beaches (Palolem south, Anjuna north), Portuguese architecture in Old Goa, Mumbai's contrasts (Colaba, Bandra), Ajanta and Ellora caves. Two weeks for the lot.
Himalayas & North-East
Ladakh moonscape (June–September only), Spiti Valley monasteries, Sikkim and Darjeeling tea, Assam tea and rhinos at Kaziranga, Meghalaya's living root bridges. Less travelled, deeply rewarding.
— When to go
The seasonality call
| Period | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Oct–Mar | Peak — dry, pleasant temperatures across most of the country (cool nights in north). Book Diwali, Christmas, and Holi (March) hotels months ahead. |
| Apr–Jun | Hot to brutal in plains (45°C+ in Rajasthan/Delhi); ideal for Himalayas and Ladakh. |
| Jul–Sep | Monsoon south and central; Ladakh and Spiti at their most accessible; Kerala lush but flooding-prone. |
| Mar 14 | Holi festival — Mathura, Vrindavan, Pushkar, Jaipur. Once-in-a-lifetime; book trains and hotels 6 months out. |
— Entry & visa
Visa requirements
US, UK, Canadian, Australian and most EU passport holders need an e-visa via the official Indian government portal (indianvisaonline.gov.in) — $25 for 30 days, $40 for 1 year, $80 for 5 years. Apply 4+ days before flight. Six-month passport validity with two blank pages.
— Budget
What you'll spend
- Shoestring
- $15–30/day — guesthouses, thali lunches, sleeper trains, autorickshaw transit.
- Mid-range
- $60–110/day — heritage hotels, sit-down dinners, AC train classes, tuk-tuk and Uber.
- Luxury
- $400+/day — Taj Lake Palace, Oberoi Amarvilas (with Taj views), private guides, palace-on-wheels train.
India is one of the world's best value destinations. Mumbai and Delhi luxury hotels run at international prices; everywhere else, $300/night gets you a maharaja's room.
— Getting around
Transport on the ground
Indian Railways covers everywhere (Class 2AC sleeper is the sweet spot). Book on IRCTC or 12go.asia. Domestic flights (IndiGo, Air India, Vistara, SpiceJet) cheap and frequent — Delhi–Mumbai 2h. In cities use Uber and Ola; in smaller towns negotiate autorickshaw fares before getting in. Hire a car-with-driver for Rajasthan and Kerala (~$50–70/day) — never self-drive in India.
Edited by
Priya Deshmukh
Contributing Writer · Bengaluru, India
Priya Deshmukh writes about India and Sri Lanka for destination.com, with a focus on wildlife, conservation tourism, and the wellness economy from Rishikesh to Kandy. Trained as a veterinarian, she spent five years running field trips for a Kerala-based wildlife operator before moving into journalism.
India hub last reviewed May 1, 2026
— From the journal
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— Safety advisory
Current level 2 · Exercise Increased Caution
Exercise increased caution due to crime, terrorism, and civil unrest. Avoid travel near the India-Pakistan border and within Jammu and Kashmir.
Read the full briefing →— The scorecard
How India scores.
Our editorial team rates every destination 1–10 across 10 travel dimensions, calibrated against the full catalogue. Strongest on value for money and culture & history; weakest on ease of travel.
Value for money
10/10
Food scene
9/10
Beaches
7/10
Culture & history
10/10
Ease of travel
5/10
Nature & landscapes
9/10
Nightlife
6/10
Family-friendly
6/10
Adventure
9/10
Luxury options
8/10
Editorial itineraries
Day-by-day plans for India
— How we report this hub
What you read here, and where it came from.
- On-the-ground reporting. Every section of this India guide is sourced from destination.com editors who have reported from the country in person, in many cases more than once. We don't pivot from press releases.
- No paid placement. Hotels, restaurants and operators named here are recommended on editorial merit. When we earn an affiliate commission on a booking link, we say so on the page — it never affects what we recommend or in what order.
- Data we use. Visa rules, prices and seasonality call-outs cite official government sources, our editor's most recent in-country reporting, or the operator's published rate (in that order). Numbers age — see the verified date below for the last review.
- Corrections. Send corrections directly to our editors; we publicly log every correction we make.
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