Christine_Wiley

Hi

Would like to know when the best time to travel to India is ( I can travel May to January)

also which tours for a single lady may be recommended to hook up- Is a first time visit of 13 to 20 days enough?

Any thoughts, or recommendations would be gratefully appreciated

Thanks

Christine

rhkkmk

november and december are usually considered the best times to visit...

a golden triangle tour might suit you best for a first timer for that length of time...: delhi, agra, jaipur and some other areas...

Kathie

Are you looking for a group tour? One of our regular posters recently returned from a first trip to India, take a look at her report:

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...h-intrepid.cfm

Cicerone

November through February are the best months generally in most of India: nice temps and little rain. (That being said, north India is having its coldest winter in decades, temps only in the 40-50s F and frost in some places, schools in Delhi were closed for a week in early Jan due to the cold.) Early March and late October can also work, it can still be quite warm in October and you may get some hot days in March, so if you have a choice, I would pick November through end February. April – June would be the worst in terms of heat; after that you are contending with heavy rain, which while it makes things green and lush, can be difficult to travel and sightsee in those months, and beach vacations are not ideal. If you plan to go to the south east coast, like Tamil Nadu, they generally have heavy rain in October and November, so you might want to avoid those months. The south is generally hot and year, what you want to avoid is the heavy rain during the monsoon. See weatherbase.com and other weather websites for info on temps and rainfall.

13-20 days is fine for a first visit, the country is huge geographically and culturally; you could go for months and not see all of India. So you need to consider how much time/money you want to spend on the trip.

I am not a huge fan of tours because IMO they tend to try to cover too much time in too short a period. So look at itin’s carefully in terms of the distance covered in the time. One night in Udaipur sandwiched between long drives for 1 night in Jaipur and 1 night in Jodhpur is way too much traveling for me. A trip where you can set your own itin and the tour takes care of hotels, ground transport and guides where necessary might be preferable. IMO you do not need to join a tour at all to travel to India, but as a first-time single traveler I can see that there may be some comfort to you in joining a tour. If you can get a friend or relative to join you, then I would strongly encourage you to do this trip on your own.

It’s hard to give a suggested itin without knowing your interests. The typical “golden triangle” tour of northern India is fine, although somewhat repetitive and a bit mono-cultural. Many people also include Varanasi, which is quite interesting. A trip to one of the beach areas would also be a nice addition. But there are many other interesting less-travelled parts of the country. Most of this would depend on your interest: if it is religion, then include major religious sites, which would pretty much mean concentrating on the south. If it is food, be sure to include the south. If it is outdoors, then consider hill stations and other areas outside of the major cities. If it is animals, consider including a national park for a safari. I would not just take a pre-packaged tour of north India which may not at all address your interests. Remember that it is not a sin to go to India and skip the Taj Mahal if it does not interest you.

GingerHotels

Hi,

If you are looking to travel in India then January- March is the best time to travel.
Rosy winters prevail in India during this time and there is abundance of flowers and natural beauty then. Also, it is the best time to go to beach destinations and trekking spots.

chalofarva

May to January - December will be the Peak Season everywhere because of X'Mas and New Year. During October, there is a Diwali. In India, during this days people has got Vacation.

First you decide, what exactly you want to see, and from where you want to start your journey. There are Beaches, Wild Life, Temple Circuits etc. Golden Triangle i.e. Delhi-Agra-Jaipur along with Rajasthan is fine. Goa is for 3 Nights to 5 Nights. Uttaranchal is for 8 Nights. Kerala is for 9 Nights. Try to figure out your exact dates or in which month you want to travel and for how many days, so accordingly,we can suggest you good travel plan here, where you can cover so many things in one trip without rushing to all the places.

qwovadis

www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/india

December Jan my favs for Golden Trangle and/or spiritual tours

www.affordabletours.com good values if budget is good

www.tucantravel.com www.gapadventures.com or Intrepid

good for budget single travelers.

Stay out of monsoon season and 3 weeks or so is about right

for a first tour to see enough without getting overwhelmed.

Do check your consular advisories and www.insuremytrip.com

Happy Hunting,