Palace hotels, tiger forests and the Taj Mahal at dawn, with the Kerala backwaters for a slower second week.
India is the size of a continent, and the trips that work accept that. A first visit usually means Delhi, the Taj Mahal and Rajasthan, where many maharajas’ palaces are now hotels. A second might be Kerala’s backwaters and spice hills, or Varanasi and the tiger reserves of central India.
It suits travellers who want intensity balanced with comfort. We pace the trip so that a crowded city day is followed by a quiet lake, a fort or a forest, and use private drivers, trains and short flights to keep journeys manageable.
The honest caveat is that India can overwhelm. Cities are loud and crowded, and FCDO warns of severe winter air pollution in the north. We keep Delhi short and build in slower places. Parts of the country, including Jammu and Kashmir, are currently off-limits under FCDO advice.
The experiences we plan most often, with the months they are at their best.
The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan as a tomb for his wife, and it changes colour through the day. Go at sunrise, when the light is soft and the crowds are lightest, then see it again from across the Yamuna at Mehtab Bagh at dusk. It is closed on Fridays. Stay in Agra the night before to be first through the gate.
Rajasthan is the India of forts, havelis and desert light. In Jaipur, climb to Amber Fort early and walk the bazaars of the pink city. Jodhpur’s Mehrangarh towers over a blue-washed old town. Udaipur is the calmest, with palaces on Lake Pichola seen best from a boat at sunset. Sleep in at least one palace hotel.
Ranthambore’s dry forest surrounds a ruined fort and lakes where tigers are often seen in the open. Take morning and afternoon jeep drives over two or three nights for a good chance of a sighting, along with leopards, sloth bears and deer. The best viewing is from March to May, when the heat draws animals to water. The core zones close in the monsoon.
Inland from the Kerala coast, a network of lagoons and canals is lined with coconut palms, paddy fields and villages. A night on a private kettuvallam, a converted rice barge, is the classic way in, drifting past fishermen and washing ghats. Pair it with the tea and spice hills of Munnar or Thekkady and a few days on the coast at Marari.
Varanasi, on the Ganges, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and among the holiest in Hinduism. Take a rowing boat at dawn along the ghats as pilgrims bathe and pray, and return at dusk for the fire ceremony of the Ganga aarti. It is deeply moving for some and too much for others, so we suggest two nights.
Festivals follow the lunar calendar. Holi, in March, means coloured powder thrown in the streets: good-natured in the countryside, chaotic in cities. Diwali, in October or November, lights every home with lamps. The Pushkar camel fair in November fills the desert town with traders and pilgrims. We plan around them, and book hotels well ahead.
Many of India’s best-known hotels are former palaces and hunting lodges. In Rajasthan, mix a grand palace in Udaipur or Jaipur with smaller heritage havelis. Choose a tented camp near Ranthambore, and a private houseboat and beach villa in Kerala.
We match each trip in India to hotels, lodges and villas chosen for the way you travel. Tell us what matters and a specialist will suggest two or three that fit.
Ask for hotel suggestionsFor most of India, the best time is October to March: dry, sunny and warm by day. From April the plains grow very hot, and from June the monsoon sweeps from Kerala across the country until about September.
Summer has its own India, though. The monsoon turns the south and west green, and the high desert of Ladakh is at its best from June to September. Winter mornings in the north can be foggy, and FCDO notes severe air pollution from October to February.
A 12-night classic by road with a private driver, from the Taj Mahal to Udaipur via the tigers of Ranthambore. Best from October to March. 12 nights.
Arrive and rest, then Old Delhi by rickshaw, the Jama Masjid and Humayun’s Tomb.
Train to Agra for the Taj at sunset from Mehtab Bagh, and again at sunrise.
Via the abandoned city of Fatehpur Sikri to the forest for four jeep drives.
Amber Fort, the City Palace and the pink city’s bazaars, with time for block printing.
Mehrangarh Fort and the blue old town, then a Bishnoi village in the desert.
Via the Jain temple at Ranakpur to the lake city. Boats on Lake Pichola, then fly home via Delhi.
Practical notes checked against their sources. For entry and safety, the FCDO advice for India (opens in a new tab) is always the authority.
British Airways and Air India fly direct from Heathrow to Delhi in about nine hours. There are also direct flights to Mumbai, and domestic flights connect every region.
UK passport holders need a visa or e-visa before travel, and must complete an online e-arrival card. Read the FCDO entry requirements (opens in a new tab), and check which regions FCDO advises against.
Read the FCDO entry requirements for India (opens in a new tab)
See TravelHealthPro (opens in a new tab) well before travel. Drink bottled water, eat freshly cooked food and use repellent. FCDO warns of winter air pollution in northern cities.
The currency is the Indian rupee, and there are restrictions on bringing rupees into the country. Use ATMs on arrival; cards work in hotels, cash is needed elsewhere.
Mobile data is cheap and fast in cities. Airports and many stations have free wifi. A local SIM needs registration, so an eSIM is simpler.
Smarter restaurants may add a service charge; otherwise up to 10% is fine. We suggest tipping your driver and guides at the end of their time with you.
It can be, if the trip is rushed or too city-heavy. The answer is pacing: short stays in Delhi, a private driver, and quieter places between the big sights, such as a tiger camp, a lake palace or a rural heritage hotel. Rajasthan is the easiest introduction, with Kerala a gentler alternative.
Tiger reserves in central and northern India are usually open from October to June, with core zones closed in the monsoon. Sightings get better as the heat rises, and March to May is best, when tigers come to water. That is also very hot, so we plan early morning drives and cool camps.
Yes, if you choose the region. The plains are very hot from April to June, and the monsoon arrives from June. But July to September is the best time for Ladakh, in the high Himalaya, and Kerala in the monsoon is green, quiet and a good time for Ayurvedic treatments.
Kerala has its own beaches at Marari and Varkala, which pair naturally with the backwaters. Goa is a short flight from Mumbai or Delhi, with quieter beach hotels in the south. Or add a week in the Maldives, or in Sri Lanka for more culture and coast.
Tell us a little and a specialist will reply with ideas, dates that work and a price. Best months: January, February, October and November.
Ancient cities, tea hills, leopards and beaches in an island small enough to cross in a day.
Twenty-six coral atolls, one resort to an island: here the reef and the transfer decide the holiday, so we start there.
Temple cities, cool northern hills and two coasts with opposite monsoons, so there is nearly always a good beach somewhere.
