My friend and I are considering visiting India next October or November for a month or more. We will be part of a tour and will be staying in very nice hotels.
These are some of the places that are listed on the tentative itinerary:
Khajuraho, Jaipur, Mumbai, Delhi, Varanasi,
Udaipur, Kumarakan, Cuchin among other places. We may either start or end in Nepal for a few days as well.
I am just not sure if India is a place that we will enjoy. We have been to SE Asia and Europe several times. We enjoyed both.
I would appreciate any opinions concerning this trip.
Thanks so much!!

i just finished 11 days in india...my first visit there...

lets put it this way: it is challenging in every way....it is also rewarding in many ways and the sights are unbelievable, both people and places...and oh yes animals everywhere...

food can be an issue, but we stuck strictly to the upscale hotel restaurants with a few exceptions...

shopping is unbelievable and very reasonable....there is bargaining, but less than i expected...

make sure the tour allows for interaction with locals or i fear you will miss a lot...you do not need much free time however as many places are a bit difficult for wandering around...

Thank you. Our tour itinerary seems to include way too many temples. I would rather do more interacting with the locals too. We may look into a different tour.

Came accross this site recently. Some useful India info I think.
www.indiainvites.com

You shall enjoy India, no questions about that. Some sights, like beggars begging for alms, a leper close to a monument or nagging salesmen wanting to sell you a ware or two, may disturb your thoughts. These have to be put into perspective. Your itinerary must have a fair sample of the best India has to offer in the way of sight seeing. Nobody wants to go to all the temples that happen to fall on the way. Khajuraho & Ranakpur temples, one throbbing with life & the other of mysticism, up north must not be missed. Your itinerary must also take you through some beautiful rural scenes, where you have ample time to meet the locals & see life from their point of view. There are a few nice small ‘haveli’ hotels, fairly comfortable & offering good food & service, where you can stay & mingle with tribes, potters, peasants who live in thatched huts. They will cheer you lustily, while you may have a closer look into their lives. These people enjoy no luxuries yet happy in their situation. (However, please note such an itinerary is not for those who see nothing but the dust on the road or are used to 5* hotels!). All these small properties happen to be sentinels of the past, and an ever so little slice of history will make your stay a pleasant experience.
It is very important that you take an erudite guide on a tour, who may be at hand to explain the myriad stimuli assaulting your senses. To break the monotony of sightseeing, do include a tiger or bird sanctuary in your tour. You may enjoy a night in luxury tents or huts & watch the sun go down or sit around the campfire tracing the course of a million stars in the night sky!
India, Hindu mysticism & philosophy has answers to existential questions agitating a profound modern mind. I have read posts on this forum which claim that a visit to this country has altered the way they looked at things!!
Happy Travels!

What is it that makes you think you might not enjoy India? What is it that's made you consider going in the first place? Which tour company are you looking at? Have you considered just doing your own thing?

Difficult to reply without more info about you and your desires, hopes, dreams for the trip.

All the best.

Hello and Namaste from a American woman living in India!

First off, India is one of the most fascianting Countries in the world to explore, and the places you shortlist are all wonderful! Actually, some of my very favorites@!

I can not see any reason why you would not like India and tspecifically those places mentioned, but of course I am partial to this land, the people, the culture and just about everything India!

Anyways, do feel free to drop me a line and would be happy to chat with you about your trip! I have been many times to all the destiantions mentioned, including nEPAL<WHICH iS but another of my all time faveoriteS!

The places you list are a great combination of some of the highlights of both North and South India, and of course on to kathmandu Nepal, and i think it is a wonderful comprehensive trip. U would be lucky to do a trip like this as and you will certainly get a good feel for the region.

However, in terms of a group tour for the full month well, that may be a bit long..U may consider creating a private/custom trip with a bit more flexibiity and also highlight more areas of your interest as one month on a group tour can be very long!

I lead two week tours of India and for the majority of the folks, this time together is plenty!

Anyways, i would be happy to answer any questions or offer more adivce. Feel free to drop me a line at [email protected]

I thought (see Bonita) that advertising was banned on Fodors. Yes, No?

Anyway, OP, the private trip, private driver, must have a guide, mentality is flavour du jour on Fodors - but you don't have to visit that way.

If you have 2 months in total why not do an organised trip for 2-3 weeks to start with - let someone else do the organising while you are getting acclimatised (geographically, culturally) and then set off by yourselves.

Why not do Rajasthan that way - there's a tourist circuit so you might as well be shepherded around - and you'll maybe get good value by staying in places at which tour operators get discounted prices.

And then .. having checked out the wondrous possibilities of Indian Rail - go south to Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.

Oh, happy planning, so many possibilities.

But do respond with an update.

Namaste FuzzylogiC!

I have been a Fodor-site member for many many years and have given out endless advice and helped hundreds of travelers to India with everything from the mundane to the more specific! I get simple questions and letters of thanx all the time!

Bottom line, I am a woman madly and deeply devoted to India, heart and soul and have revolved my life around this region of the world.!

I have been traveling in India for over 15 years and have plenty of insider experitse.

First and foremost i am a traveler in this region! And yes, i happen to be fortunate enough to now work/live in the Country i Love and am happy to help out Fodorites too in whatever way! I am lucky enough to have connected my passion to my livlihood!

Would not exactly call that advertising! I am who i am! Namaste!

Namaste!

fuzzy--bonita helped me a lot in the planning of my india trip and she has assisted many others....she does not deserve this snipe...

Bonita - just ignore FL - he's (it's?) just a Lonely Planet Thorntree person that's lost.

namaste and aloha....

rbphilly, we are planning a similar trip but hope to do at least 1/2 our stay independantly. bonita has helped us map out an itinerary that makes sense. her email address is not a commercial website, it is her personal email address.

all the travellers here are so helpful
and have made our trips to thailand , cambodia and vietnam so smooth and we
are very very grateful for everyones input.

bob... i think it is great you ventured to india...even tho thailand is your primary country.

thanks bonita, bob, leigh, vp sing and everyone for sharing all your insights, travel adventures and info
kai