Planning a trip to India but feeling overwhelmed by the overload of information out there? Fear not! We’ve got you covered with everything you need to know before your trip to India. We’ll share insider tips on where to eat and stay, along with practical advice on transportation and even some recommendations for useful apps. Consider this your ultimate guide to making the most of your travels without any stress. Let’s turn your wanderlust into a well-planned, unforgettable journey!
Everything you should know before your trip to India
1. Food and cuisine
2. Accommodation
3. Transportation
4. Local culture
5. Public holidays and festivals
6. Language and communication
7. Safety and health
8. Money and budgeting
9. Apps and technology
10. Sightseeing
11. Connectivity
12. Visa and entry requirements
1. Food and cuisine
When it comes to food in India, the options are endless and oh-so-delicious. Despite Kelvin feeling a bit under the weather for most of our short 6-day trip, we still managed to taste some incredible dishes that left us craving for more. For your convenience we listed the ones that stuck with us. 😉 The only thing we didn’t try was streetfood. If you do plan to do so, we recommend checking out where locals eat! Last but not least: ensure your food is prepared fresh on-site.
Vegetable pakora
These crispy, fried vegetable fritters are an absolute delight. They’re made with various veggies coated in a spiced gram flour batter and fried to perfection. Every bite is a burst of flavor! Great appetizing dish to order before dinner.
Kaju Matar curry with fried rice
This dish features a rich, spicy curry made with cashews and peas, served alongside any type of fried rice. It’s a nice combination of flavors, we literally couldn’t get enough of it! The owner at Shankara Vegis Restaurant (where we ate this dish) really made some great recommendations of what goes with what. Definitely ask him for some!
Aloo dishes
Aloo (potato) dishes are a dime a dozen in India, and we tried tons of them. The one we probably enjoyed the most was the Aloo Gobi. This is a spicy and flavorful curry made with potatoes, cauliflower, and aromatic spices. It’s a must-try for anyone visiting India, although be warned, it can pack a punch!
2. Accommodation
General information
If you’ve read our India budget breakdown, you’ll know that we were able to keep our accommodation costs at an average of just € 29,22 per person. We found this to be quite reasonable, considering the comfort and convenience we received in return. We stayed in 3 different accommodations in India. In Agra and Jaipur we stayed in a hostel, in Delhi we stayed in a hotel.
One of our top tips for saving money on accommodation is to consider staying in hostels. This is the number one tip on saving money in India! Don’t worry about having to share a room with strangers, as you can almost always get a private room at any hostel. You sometimes have to share a bathroom, but in order to save money you sometimes have to make sacrifices. 😉
Accommodation in Agra
For those visiting Agra, we highly recommend Joey’s Hostel. Its prime location, just a short 5-minute walk from the Taj Mahal, makes it an ideal choice for travelers looking to maximize their time at this iconic landmark. Plus, the rooftop terrace provides breathtaking views of the Taj Mahal, too. This was such an amazing addition to our stay, having breakfast with amazing views! We do have to mention that our nights were rather chilly because we visited Agra in January. However, if you’re making a trip to India in the warmer summer months then you really don’t have to worry about this. 😉
Accommodation in Jaipur
In Jaipur, we found the C Scheme neighborhood to be an excellent base for exploring the city’s attractions. Not only is it conveniently located near major sights, but it also offers a glimpse into Jaipur’s most prestigious district. For those seeking specific accommodation recommendations, our hostel Horn Ok Please Jaipur stood out for its exceptional value and quality service.
Accommodation in Delhi
If hostels aren’t your cup of tea, we have a great hotel suggestion for you in New Delhi. We stayed at Blue Pearl Hotel, this was our best accommodation during our time in India. Hot water, a spacious room, and delicious room service are all we need! We found this gem by being really picky with the booking.com-filters, and by reading tons of reviews on multiple platforms! We usually read the booking.com reviews first, and if we like them we continue with reviews on Google. If both of them sound great, you probably found your next accommodation!
3. Transportation
The options to getting around the country are almost endless. You can take the bus, train, rickshaw (tuktuk), taxis, use ride-sharing apps,… We tried all of these and think we have a pretty good idea of when to use what means of transportation. Below we discuss getting around in India by bus, train, rickshaw, private driver, and taxi.
Getting around in India by bus
For long distance travel, buses are definitely your safest bet. Privately owned buses leave on time, usually arrive on time, and have very friendly staff that let you know when to get off. For longer distances, they even include (toilet-)stops along the way for you to stretch your legs or buy some food. We took a bus from Jaipur to Delhi which lasted 4 hours, but time flew by super fast! On top of all that, buses are super affordable so they won’t break the bank. 😉
Getting around in India by train
We also tried the train in India, but not everything went according to plan. Our world trip began with a train ride from Delhi to Agra scheduled for 8 AM. At 8 AM, we were super happy as the train left at 8 AM sharp! However, the train arrived almost 3 hours later than anticipated due to… unexpected fog. What was supposed to be a 90-minute journey turned into over 4 hours of travel time! While fog-related delays were new to us, locals assured us it was a common occurrence. We do have to admit that it initially sounded like an excuse to us at the time! 😂
That wasn’t even the worst, because our train from Agra to Jaipur had a delay of 9 (!) hours. Yes, nine! This forced us to book a taxi ride instead, which is of course much more expensive. Luckily, we got a full refund for our train tickets.
Lastly, never show your ticket to anyone other than the train conductor. “Friendly locals” will try to scam you in any way possible to get some money out of you. They’ll say that your “quota is incorrect”, or that the “roads are closed”. This sounds silly, but we actually had both these things happen to us. We’re warning you now so don’t make the same mistake!
Good to know
A handy website to check for both public and private transportation options is 12go.asia, we’ve included a useful widget that will show you all available modes of transportation. We used this to book both trains and buses, and only have nice things to say about the service!
Getting around in India by rickshaw
If you want to use rickshaws, we recommend you get used to haggling, like… a lot! To make your haggling-life a bit more easy, we do have some tips. First of all, make sure to inform yourself about how much a ride should cost prior to the ride. This can be by using an app (more on that later), or just asking your hotel for a price range! Once you know how much the ride should approximately cost, you know the upper limit that you want to pay – do not go over it.
Another tip is to never let feelings persuade you into agreeing on something you don’t want! These rickshaw drivers do this on a daily basis, so you’ll have to bring your A game to not let them take (too much) advantage of you. In our opinion, though, these rickshaw rides are the most cost effective way to get around for short distances.
Getting around in India by private driver
Another way to get around is by hiring a private driver. In Delhi we rented a private driver for the day, which cost us about € 30. We can’t recommend this enough! Private drivers are very affordable and provide a lot of security and comfort. Just give them a list of the places you want to see at the beginning of the day. Make sure to tell him whether you’re open for suggestions or not, because otherwise there’s a chance that he’ll take you to a shop or restaurant of one of his friends so that he can earn some commission. If you are into that kind of adventure, great!
Our driver had some suggestions for a local market and some stores he wanted to take us to, but we told him to just bring us to the list of places and he was okay with that. To order a private driver, just ask your accommodation if they know someone trustworthy. They’ll take care of the rest! 😉
Getting around in India by taxi
If you’re looking for comfort rather than budget-friendly transportation, we recommend using taxis. We’ve taken quite a few of them during our time in India, so we do have some tips to share. Stating the obvious: always ask the driver to turn on the meter before entering the car. If he comes up with an excuse like a broken meter or that it is cheaper without, just don’t go in and try the next taxi. If you don’t care about a working meter or not, then make sure to agree upon a price before your ride starts. This way you won’t have any surprises at the end of the ride – this applies to rickshaws too.
If you rely on apps rather than the old fashioned way, always verify the driver’s identity. The first thing you need to check is the license plate and make/model of the car. Then, instead of asking the identity of the driver, let the driver say your name. That way you are sure that he knows who he is supposed to pick up. After that, monitor the route, and if possible, let someone know where you are going. For more information about what transportation apps to use in India, check out the technology and apps section.
4. Local culture
For this section we could’ve started with obvious things like “don’t wear shoes in a temple” or “dress appropriately”. These things are definitely true, although we feel like they speak for themselves. Instead of stating the obvious, we wanted to speak from experience and tell you what we noticed!
First of all, be prepared to get stared at… a lot! Everywhere we went, people were staring at us, crossing the street when we did, and even came up to us to ask for pictures! We found this extremely funny and participated in more than one photo shoot – some we agreed to and others just “happened”. When we were in a rush, we usually said no to locals asking for photos because it definitely takes a while! If a group asks, be prepared for lots of pictures. You’ll need to pose with each person individually, as well as take many group shots! And once you agree to one photo, others (like people from across the street) might try to join in too! Before you know it, the whole street will be queueing up to take one with you. This sounds crazy, but we actually had this happen in Jaipur! 😂
5. Public holidays and festivals
Another thing to keep in mind are public holidays and festivals. We happened to be in India when Republic Day took place. This is a national holiday with tons of music and parties on the streets, really fun! When this (or any other holiday) takes place, expect trains and public transport to operate at lower capacity. Other than that, we did not experience any differences or disturbances because of this holiday. Since we were in India for only 1 week and we only experienced one holiday, other impacts might still occur. Things like landmarks closing for the day or shops adjusting their opening times (or not open at all). So if you’re in the country on Diwali, Independence Day, or Gandhi Jayanti, make sure to double check whether everything is functioning as it should!
6. Language and communication
We have to say that English really goes a long way in India. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, since English is still one of the official languages used in government communication. We were able to get by just fine using just English, although some small Hindi sayings did put a smile on the face of some of the locals! The most famous (and easy) one is “namaste” if you want to greet someone. A “suprabhat” (good morning) or “dhanyavaad” (goodbye) are also some pretty easy but useful basics!
If you get handed a menu that’s solely in Hindi, we recommend using the Google Translate app to take a picture of it. The app will translate the words in the picture to the language of your choosing, which makes it super easy to understand everything! But did you know that there’s also a built-in translation app for iPhone? We only just discovered this and wanted to share it with the world. No need to download any third party apps if you are team iOS! It works in the same way as Google Translate, where you point your camera at the thing you want to translate. Super useful! We do have to mention that most things, like a menu or sign on the road, will have an English version too. Even the information on the screen on the train was in English!
7. Safety and health
Travel insurance
We think this comes without saying but travel insurance is super important. Make sure to find a plan or credit card that includes medical coverage and emergency assistance. But what we find equally useful, and something you have a higher chance of happening, is insurance for trip delays or cancellations. And don’t forget about lost or stolen luggage! If all 4 of these are included in your insurance plan, we think you’re covered! Our Mastercard comes with all these included, as well as insurance when renting a car.
Health precautions and vaccinations
Prior to the start of our world trip, we made countless appointments with our doctor to make sure we had all the vaccinations we needed. To be better informed, we also made an appointment with a doctor at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp. Here we went over our world trip itinerary, and the doctor told us what vaccinations were needed and the ones that were recommended. Since our world trip will last for a year (or longer 😉), she advised us to take all recommended shots. Better safe than sorry, right? Long story short, over the course of 2 months we made tons of doctor’s appointments, and in the end we both had 13 needles put into us. 😂 If we get sick now…
To see what vaccinations are needed and/or recommended, we have this super useful site in Belgium called wanda.be (also available in English). Here you can get an overview of all possible vaccinations needed for your destination(s). We highly recommend it!
As far as health precautions go, do know that the air in Delhi is super polluted. We noticed this the minute we set foot outside the airport. If you’re susceptible to breathing problems, make sure to take the necessary precautions for this.
8. Money and budgeting
India uses the Indian Rupee (INR), with a current exchange rate of 1 euro being almost 90 INR ( 1 USD is 83 INR). To make calculations easier, we always used 1 euro = 100 INR to get a general idea of the cost. Sure, by doing it this way the prices for items are more expensive than calculated (since we’re using 100 instead of 90). Nonetheless, we think this is a fast way to get a general idea of whether something is reasonably priced or not.
To get hold of actual Indian rupees, we exchanged some euros we still had in cash, as well as withdrew from ATMs. We can say that the exchange rate at the airport is way worse than at a (trustworthy) bureau in the city. We almost got 10 rupees per euro extra by exchanging outside the airport! For ATMs, we can give the tip of always declining the conversion at the ATM, something we already mentioned in our world trip preparation guide. It will save you quite some money, in the end it all adds up!
For budgeting tips, we forward you to the tips part of our India Budget Breakdown.
9. Apps and technology
Navigation
If you don’t want to use mobile data, the app maps.me can be super useful, just make sure to download the needed maps well in advance. The size of the maps can be pretty big, so we would not recommend trying to download it on unreliable hotel wifi.
ATM fees
To save on ATM fees, use the app ATM Fee Saver. It will show you the best ATMs near you, sorted from lowest to highest fees!
Ridesharing
For ridesharing, we can say that Uber works in India, but prices are much higher compared to the local alternative. The local ridesharing app is called Ola, and we can tell you that prices are very reasonable. In every city we visited, we were able to choose between auto rickshaws, cars, and taxis so there’s no shortage of possibilities! It is actually a must to download this app, even if you don’t plan on ordering rides through it. The reasoning behind it is that you can use the prices you see in the app as a guiding point for your rickshaw negotiations! Before you leave your hotel, look up how much your ride would cost by using the Ola app. Then, when you approach a rickshaw driver (or rather, they approach you 😉), you’ll know how much the ride should cost approximately. This reduces the chances of you being scammed!
Food delivery
Another super cool app we used is Zomato, the local equivalent of Uber Eats or DoorDash. We used this app to order food to our hostel in Jaipur, and the process was super easy! We signed up (with an Indian number, check Connectivity for more on this), filled in our card information and ordered right away! If you don’t want to add your CC info to a foreign app, don’t worry because you can pay with cash, too. The prices on this app are super cheap, they don’t add crazy fees at the end which makes everything much more affordable. If we stayed longer in India, we would be using this app every other day!
Currency converter
Feel free to download any currency converter app that fits your needs, but we have a better alternative. Did you know that you have a currency converter built into your iPhone? You don’t even need an internet connection for it! The only thing you have to do is the following: go to your homescreen, swipe down so that a search field pops up on the top of your screen, and then enter the foreign currency you want to know the price of!
So, if you want to know how much 100 rupees is in your currency, you have to do the following. 1. Swipe down. 2. Enter “100 INR”. 3. Your iPhone will tell you that 100 INR equals € 1,12! 😉 The only thing you need to know for this to work is the 3-letter abbreviation of the coin. So for euro it is “EUR”, for the USA this is “USD”, and for the Indian Rupee this is “INR”. Super easy, super fast, and no app needed!
10. Sightseeing
Looking for some top notch sightseeing recommendations? We’ve got you covered! Rather than reinventing the wheel, why not let us forward you to some super interesting posts that go extremely into detail? We cover the perfect day trip to Agra if you want to see more than just the Taj Mahal in Agra. 😉 For Jaipur, we curated an extensive list of the 9 best things to do in Jaipur. And lastly, read about 6 unique things to do in Delhi if you want to take your itinerary to the next level. Whatever you choose, you can’t go wrong with any of these!
11. Connectivity
Where to buy sim cards
One thing that is super important to us is connectivity. We rely so much on Google Maps, local ridesharing apps, and browsing in order to plan our trips, that not having a (data) sim would be a terrible decision. Prior to our trip, we found out that Airtel is the most reliable provider in India with the best coverage. That’s why we planned on buying a data sim at an official Airtel store.
That was the plan, until we met a super friendly local on the train to Agra! After talking for hours, he arranged a ride to our hostel, as well as phoned up a friend to take care of our data sim needs. This local joined us at his friend’s store, too, where we bought an Airtel data sim for 350 rupees (less than € 4). The sim card had a usage of 1.5GB/day and was valid for 30 days.
You can probably get an even cheaper card if you go to an official point, but the reason we still recommend doing it this way is the following. It is super difficult to get a sim card as a foreigner in India! The registration process includes multiple verification photos, filling in some documents, and sending your passport over to the provider for manual verification. This is super tiresome and can take hours, but there is a much easier alternative! Become friends with an Indian national and register the card under his name. 😂 That’s what our new friend did for us, and we couldn’t be more grateful. For Indian nationals, the process is surprisingly easy. They have to give their address to the guy at the counter, and take a selfie to verify their identity. Five minutes later, the card will be active!
Normally we are all for going the official route, but in India we advise to get some help from a friendly local or rickshaw driver. Oh, and this sim came with an Indian number too which means you can use it for all kinds of local apps! This was also the number we gave to hotels, tour guides, and private drivers (instead of our Belgian phone number).
Now, after we completed our trip to India, we learned about a super cool company called Airalo. They specialize in both local, regional and global e-sims that you can activate online! This can be such a timesaver, especially if you’re unable to get the help of a friendly local. On top of that, the process seems super easy, too. You just buy the e-sim you want, install it on your phone, and activation happens the moment your phone connects to an available network. Yes, it is that easy! This means that you’ll be connected the moment you step out of the plane. And what’s even better is that you can use the code TastingSunsets for a $3 discount of your first order. How cool is that? For your convenience, we’ve included a search bar for India to get you going. 😉
Internet availability
Regarding the quality of the network, we were quite happy with Airtel. Coverage was widespread, but this can be written down to us only visiting big cities. Overall, we were happy with what we paid for! That being said, we did find that the speeds weren’t that great, but for simple googling this was still acceptable. We could often stream YouTube videos (in lower resolution), too. All in all, for less than 4 euros we could not complain – it did the job.
The WiFi in ho(s)tels on the other hand, was much more unreliable. The only place where the WiFi worked more often than not, was at the Blue Pearl Hotel in New Delhi. The WiFi in Joey’s was fine when it did work, but it switched off and on all the time – even though the router stood outside of our room. Horn Ok Please in Jaipur was a little better, but the speed was still quite slow. If fast WiFi is important to you (for work or video calling), then make sure to check the reviews of your accommodations beforehand. Of course, we opted for budget-friendly accommodations which means you can’t have it all! We’re sure that the WiFi is much more reliable in the more prestigious places.
12. Visa and entry requirements
Entry requirements
The entry requirements for obtaining a visa to India are pretty normal and straightforward. You’ll need: a recent picture of yourself, a visa application, a passport that’s valid for more than 6 months and at least 2 blank pages. That’s about it! Of course, this largely depends on your nationality. If you’re, let’s say, Pakistani, then the requirements are much more difficult than that!
Visa application process
We do have to say that we found the Indian Visa application process very long, boring, and glitchy. You have to upload pictures of both yourself and your passport with very specific resolutions, image sizes, and formats. But it doesn’t stop there!
After that, we had to answer tons and tons of questions that were (according to us), not that relevant. Things like where our parents were born and how old they were, educational information (in Indian terminology so no idea what to fill in as this highly differs from Belgian terminology), our religion, all the countries we visited in the past 10 (!) years (why though?), and lastly who our contact person in India was. This is a normal question on any visa application, so we filled in the name, address and phone number of our first accommodation. Unfortunately, it didn’t let us, it needed to be a “private individual” (or so we think).
With our hands in our hair, we searched for a solution. Luckily Kelvin had a colleague with Indian nationality, and she provided all the necessary information! On top of all this, the application website is really buggy. We had to start over 3 (!) times and used different browsers every time just to make it work. It added a lot of stress to what should’ve been a pretty straightforward application.
But, there are also some positive things to say about the process. First of all, the fact you can apply online before your trip starts, is a massive plus. It gives you a confident feeling before you board the plane (if you get accepted of course). Secondly, the processing time was super fast! We received confirmation of our application less than 36 hours later, on a Sunday! And lastly, the price. Sure, a free visa-exempt would’ve been even better, but the price of $25 per person is very reasonable and not at all over the top. For reference, Sri Lanka’s is $50 each, Saudi-Arabia (where we had a quick stopover that forced us to buy a visa) was more than € 120… each!
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