India vacations 2024 & 2025

What you experience in India depends on where you go in this vast and varied country, but the most popular sight is the Taj Mahal. Located in the Golden Triangle, Agra’s renowned mausoleum is an ethereal sight during a sunrise visit. Nearby, you can also track tigers in Ranthambhore National Park or meet artisans in the markets of Jaipur. In the southwest, you might relax on a rice barge-turned-houseboat through the backwaters of Kerala.

Wherever you go, we can arrange cooking lessons to help you explore the many facets of India’s regional dishes, like Rajasthani cuisine in Jodhpur or Mopillah cuisine in Tamil Nadu. To get to know individual ingredients better, you might tour a tea plantation.

For your first visit to India, we suggest visiting Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. Known collectively as the Golden Triangle, these three ancient cities are treasure troves of Mughal culture, including forts, palaces, and bazaars. You can also include a visit to nearby Ranthambhore National Park, to look for elusive tigers. Your specialist will help you find the region’s many hidden corners to give you a different perspective on the area. For example, you might opt to stay in rural villages instead of the big cities.

On a second visit, you might explore Tamil Nadu, where brightly painted temples stretch to the sky. Here, you can visit the 49 shines of Ranganathaswamy Temple in Trichy, take a cooking class in Pondicherry, and then end your trip on the backwaters of Kerala. Or you could explore Bengal culture and cuisine, starting in Calcutta. From there, take a lazy cruise through Assam on the mighty Brahmaputra, paired with a rhino safari in Kaziranga National Park.

Our specialists will build your trip to suit your personal tastes, but you can get inspired by browsing our example itineraries.

From sumptuous palaces to humble homestays, where you stay in India depends on where you’re visiting and your personal style. The big cities offer a wide array of options including thoroughly modern five-star hotels and boutique guesthouses in well-preserved Victorian-era buildings. Outside the cities, you might opt for a stilted bungalow on a tea plantation, a remote lodge, or a safari camp in the heart of the jungle.

If you’re visiting the Golden Triangle, you can also choose to stay in a converted fort, a regal palace, or a historic family mansion known as a haveli. And further south, in Kerala, you can dive deeply into rural life with a homestay, known as theravads, or a rice barge-cum-houseboat that glides along the sleepy backwaters. Your specialist will suggest the best stays for you, but you can get an idea of the options available on our accommodation page.

The best places to see tigers in India are the Kanha, Satpura, Pench, and Tadoba national parks. Scattered across the central states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh, they’re home to the country’s greatest concentration of Bengal tigers. You’re also likely to see India’s other wildlife, like sloth bears, leopards, deer, and elephants, who all roam freely through the protected jungles.

However, if you’re visiting Rajasthan and don’t want to venture so far afield, you can also include time in nearby Ranthambhore National Park.

You should bring clothing that covers your head, knees, and shoulders if you plan on visiting holy places in India.

A direct flight from New York to Delhi takes about 14 hours, depending on airline.

The time zone in India is UTC +5:30.

The best way to get around in India is a combination of private driver and internal flights for longer trips. The traffic in India is dense and hectic, so we’ll arrange a private car and driver for all your trips while you’re in the country. Some of the drives might be long, but the car will be air conditioned, and your driver can suggest stops to break up the journeys.

On days when you don’t have any planned experiences, we suggest you call our partners to have a private car rather than take a taxi.

If you’re interested in taking one of India’s trains, we can arrange for your ticket. Our representative will meet you at your hotel and escort you to your seat inside the train, cutting through the complexities at the station. As you disembark, you’ll find another representative waiting on the platform.

Yes, US visitors need a Tourist Visa to enter India. Additionally, your passport must be valid for at least six months from your date of arrival into India and have two completely blank pages.

Most US passport holders can apply online for either a long-term 1-year or 5-year E-Tourist Visa or you can opt to apply for the short-term 30-day E-Tourist Visa. We suggest sending postal visa applications to your chosen visa agency four to six weeks prior to departure.

If you’re visiting West Bengal, Sikkim, or Assam, you might be required to submit a passport photo or photocopy of your passport at each hotel — we suggest you arrange these documents before you arrive. In Sikkim, please bring spare passport photos with you for your Sikkim permit, which you’ll obtain at the state border.

If you’re not a US passport holder, you can check the visa requirements here.

Your doctor can provide you with vaccine advice for India, but you should also ensure you’re up to date with the recommended vaccinations for your home country. You can also check the suggested vaccinations on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.