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gloriazuckerman

India is really awesome country. I have visited India in the February 2014. I experienced the best time of my life there. I visited some surreal places like Gulmarg in Kashmir, Panchgani in Maharashtra, Beautiful beaches of Kerala.

I liked the royal lifestyle of Rajasthan state.

I have been stayed in the India for two months.

scdreamer

I am interested in north India - have wanted to visit for a long time. I have traveled by myself in Mexico, Guatemala, and Spain. As a woman, I'm not sure about India, though.

I think I would be interested in a tour of some sort, but it would have to be a very small group. I'm past the age of wanting to "rough it," but I don't want an artificial experience, either. Not sure how to put something like that together.

I realize that's a fairly vague description of what I'm interested in, but I'm going to ask anyway.

Anyone know of something that might fit my needs?

thursdaysd

It's possible that a comfort level Intrepid tour might work. Their max group size is 12, and they don't put you in a cocoon, but they are a budget outfit. Otherwise, if you don't want to go the car and driver route, and you want a higher degree of comfort, it's likely to be expensive.

CaliforniaLady

Thursday has mentioned before that she enjoyed her Intrepid tour, and that may work for you.

As an alternative, you might consider keeping your first trip simple (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Varanasi), and hiring a driver, but not a guide in all cities but Delhi. In Delhi, we rode around in tuk tuks and felt comfortable. This way, you can keep your costs down, and you may feel more at ease. A good driver, especially one you find in advance, can help you plan your day, and can deposit you safely back at your hotel.

Indian men are pretty gentle, so I rarely felt uncomfortable around them. However, there are definitely people everywhere in India trying to part you from your money, but you just ignore them and keep walking. In Mumbai, there was a guy on a boat that tried to tell us that we had to pay extra to sit on the top--the usual scam you might see other places as well. Just hold your ground and ignore them.

India is a magical country--I hope you find a way to go that makes you feel comfortable.

artstop

I have long wanted to go to India, but have been scared off by reports of travelers getting sick. Would you recommend the tour you took as suitable for a 70-year-old couple?

jacketwatch

We just got back from a travel clinic before our upcoming trip to India. Recommended for us are typhoid and Hep. A shots. We have already had Hep B and tetanus but you should look into what is specific for your case.
We also got malarial prophylaxis and other meds in case of " Delhi Belly"
You have to exercise caution when going to India. GI illnesses are definitely a possibility. We have learned this the hard way.

vp_singh

Obviously as the post by artstop was written much before the world got afflicted by Wuhan virus, it would be another perhaps a couple of years before one could even think of long-haul travelling! Once this scourge is dealt with successfully, it would make sense talking of travel...at this stage it looks a bit heartless even to discuss it, owing to such fearful hardships we are all going through...such terrible loss of life, economic devastation and whatnot!!
As a distraction alone, I would attempt to say as below:
a. You will need to be careful of what you eat. Street foods are simply not recommended, howsoever delicious to look at or aromatic.
b. Hygiene is a casualty at midway hotels!
c. Arrive in winters, when most of the bacterial infections are very low. January / February is a good time, when the farmer is also saving on chemicals & not spraying his vegetables!!!
d. Winter will have killed off all mosquitoes & hence you do not worry about malaria.
e. You will have a stomach problem, about 4-5 days into your holiday, but that is normal, on account of change in routine and imbibing spicy foods. If that persists, you may see a doctor. Your local agent will look after you very well. Indians are very hospitable & kind hearted.
Stay home & keep safe!

jacketwatch

It’s in the 110’s now in Delhi so yes go in winter.

As for meds we were advised to take travelan before eating as it attaches itself to harmful bacteria. For minor to moderate upset stomach we used Florastor, a probiotic which I found works much faster the Align, the other probiotic I have used. The best price I got was from Amazon BTW.

if you go in winter and plan to arrive in New Delhi try to get a flight that arrives during the daytime or during daylight. Flights arriving at night are often delayed or diverted because at that time of year New Delhi has a lot of fog. This actually happened to us once. We got diverted to Bombay which is now Mumbai and we had to stay there for nine hours. Believe me it was no fun.

Yes as Mr. Singh said you must resist the wonderful aromas of street food. Maybe it’s OK if you lived there for quite a while but otherwise just say no and you know you can have plenty of good food elsewhere too.

Enjoy! There is a lot to see and have a good time doing. One thing that I don’t see shown much or talked about much is when you are in New Delhi go to the home of Indira Gandhi which is now a shrine to her life and her death. It is most moving.

r