Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Honeymoon in April-May in India

The first thing you should know is that April and May are not great months for travelling in India generally, espeically to the main tourist areas like Delhi and Agra where the Taj Mahal is located.

North India (Delhi, Agra) will be HOT HOT HOT in April and May. Temps will be in the high 90s to low 100s F. It is really not a good time to tour the "Golden Triangle" of Agra/Jaipur/Udaipur etc., as the heat and the very strong sun will make travelling and touring unpleasant. I have been in Delhi in mid-April when it was over 110 degrees F and you could take about 10 minutes in the sun. (And there ain't no clouds in those months?.)

Take a look at weatherbase.com for historical average temps and rainfall for various cites in India. You should get a guidebookfor India and read up as you plan, as there are so many options. You also need to decide if you want an active or relaxing holiday, if you want to go to the beach, hike in the mountains, and whether art and architecture interest you are just sitting on a beach would be your ideal holiday.

If you do decide on India, then my suggestions would be:

1. Hill stations like Shimla or Darjeeling, which will be much cooler and pleasant than trying to see the desert areas of Rajasthan. You can see the Himalayas from Shimla. These are reachable by air, train, bus or car from Delhi. You can hike and bike, etc. The Oberoi hotel group just opened a hotel outside Shimla in the restored summer lodge of Lord Kitchener, a former CIC of British forces in India during the Raj. The hotel is called Wildflower Hall; and it made Conde Nast's top 100 hotels in 2003 list, take a look at http://www.oberoihotels.com/oberoi/I...ecil/index.htm. The pool on the cliffside looks great! They also have another property in Shimla which I don't know much about, but looks interesting.

2. Ladakh which is supposed to be like Nepal only much less touristed. You can hike and take guided treks of several days. I believe the best months weather-wise are June to September. However, there are regular posters here who have been, and could provide better information. The main city is Leh, and you can fly on Jet Airways or Indian Air from Delhi in just over an hour, see websites below. I am not totally sure about getting around Ladakh in April/ May by road, as I think some roads are closed.

3 South India esp the states of Kerala and Goa or the island of Sri Lanka. These would be good for beaches. Goa would be best in terms of weather. May is the last month before the monsoon hits Goa, and June is the highest rainfall month all year, so it is possible you may get many days of clouds as well as some rain. April and esp May are prone to more rain in Sri Lanka and Kerala. They are not the downpours of later months, but you are going a long way and it would be shame if rain spoiled the experience. If you want to go to Goa and decide not to include Dehli or the Taj Mahal in your itinerary, then my suggestion would be to fly in Mumbai and catch a flight down to Goa. I would not spend any time in Mumbai, esp at that time of year.

5. The east coast south of Chennai down to Pondicherry is also a good trip and not very much on the tourist path. April and May are good months along the east coast. If you aren't used to travel in developing countries, the east coast may not be ideal, as the tourist infrastructure (esp hotels) is not that well developed.

6. If you feel you have to see the Taj Mahal (which would not be unreasonable on a honeymoon itinerary), you could fly into Delhi and head down to Agra for 2-3 days (2-3 hours by train or car from Delhi). It would be hot but you could pace yourself, and sunrise temps would be nice. You could then go to Shimla or Ladkah from there. Delhi will be very hot, but again if you pace yourself 2-3 days here would be nice, although not nearly as nice as it is in the winter months.

If you give us an idea of budget, we can suggest hotels.

Website for Jet Airways is jetwairways.com. Jet Airways is a private airline which is far superior, IMO, to the national carrier, Indian Arilines. Website for Indian Airlines is http://indian-airlines.nic.in/ (Not to be confused with Air India, which is international flights only.)