India: Advice on September weather and itinerary please!!
 

Hey everyone,

My friend and I are planning a trip to India in September for around 3 weeks. We are two females in our mid-twenties and while we love getting off the beaten path, for this trip we are primarily concerned with seeing the main things to see in India, and avoiding the rain. We understand that it's perhaps easier to stick with the north or the south, but we want to do both. We would love to go to Goa, but will it still be raining there? If so, are there any other beaches that might have better weather? So I guess my main question is, what itinerary do you all suggest for 3 weeks? Should we go from south to north to best avoid the rain or vice versa? Would it be smartest to fly into Mumbai and out of New Delhi or vice versa? At this point we are primarily concerned with booking our flights and will work out the details later. Thank you so much for any advice you may have!!

hazlis,
september is the monsoon or rainy season in india and chances are that it'll be raining in goa.

But from personal experience, goa was great even in october despite the rains; it would pour for a few hours and then stop and let the sun out...
south goa beaches are quieter and less "touristy" compared to north goa where most of the action seems to be.

the rains spread from south to the north and start by mid-june/july..but the north (north from bombay/mumbai upwards) is generally drier than the south.

about flying in from mumbai vs delhi..both are well connected to goa and southern india..depends on the country you fly in from....

another place to try, off the beaten track and if you're willing to rough it a bit..is ladakh, north of kashmir, very safe because its buddhist with tibetan refugees, himalayan, ancient monasteries, an hours flight from delhi, spectacular natural beauty....worth a look.

in general as long as you're sensible and have a skeptical mistrust of the tourists as much as of eager locals you'll be fine

I assume by beaten path you mean Rajasthan and Agra. It will still be hot in Sept but getting cooler by the day. Fly into Mumbai, see Goa, then fly to Udaipur. Do Rajasthan, then Agra, then last Delhi and fly out of Delhi. Even if it rains in Goa it is still beautiful there and the rain is generally not torrential that time of year.

You could fly into Delhi, do the usual golden triangle trip (agra, jaipur and maybe one or two more cities in rajasthan depending on your interest) and then fly south to Goa and fly out from Bombay. By the time you get to Goa, it should be mid/end of September, and you won't see too much rain. It doesn't rain continuously, just sudden showers that quickly disappear. Also, I like Goa in the monsoons, everything is much greener. You could also use the new Jaipur - Goa flight, thus saving you from some backtracking.