Clothing for Northern India
 

I hope to tour Rajasthan including Jaipur,Udaipur, Agra, Varanasi and New Delhi with my husband in the last two weeks of September. We will be travelling by car, train and internal airlines and staying in good hotels. I would like to keep luggage to a minimum but need advice on what we should take in September. I am aware from other messages on the forum on what types of clothing cause offence and are to be avoided.

Hi, we visited that area of India last October..Weather was very pleasant, I am not sure how September differs..It still might be rainy season.
We took as little as possible...But what I recommend is a couple pairs of bermuda type shorts (to the knees), a couple pairs of capri's,(cotton) at least 1 nice outfit for going out in, a couple t shirts, a long sleeve shirt with long pants..Open toed comfy shoes (such as Birkenstocks) and a pair of running shoes..That is my opinion anyhow, i am sure other's may have other suggestions. We bought a few clothes in India (blouses, skirts, punjabi suit)..I found that we got quite dirty and changed our clothes sometimes twice a day..Laundry service is dirt cheap and i had my clothes washed several time through out our trip..Hope this helps.

To Tracy's list I would add a good hat and sunglasses and a scarf - always useful for covering your head where required or even for protecting it from desert sun. Avoid polyester and synthetic fabrics as end Sept is still warm - carry fabrics that breathe, perhpas with a bit of lycra or elsatane so they are wash and wear. Also carry some non white socks - useful sometimes to be wearing them to see temples.

I'd avoid bringing new/valued clothes. The laundry is cheap, but brutal! You may want to consider bringing older clothes and not even carrying them home at the end.

It's not so hot at the end of Sept that you need to wear pants that are not long. Doesn't really matter in your hotel, hired car, etc. but if you want to wander around local markets, tramp the streets, explore, then I would say long pants are best. And best of all go Indian style with a salwar kameez. So comfortable, and elegant too.

Sue, you are right about bringing good clothes..Some of my shirts got quite the beating, but generally everything is still in tact..Although my bra's are now in the garbage!!