I want to save up for a trip to India, probably in Jan/Feb 2008. What is a reasonable coach class r/t airfare U.S. to Mumbai in winter (not at school holiday time)? $1000? I can control my ground costs by careful research and selection...just trying to get a grip on my savings goal!

$1000-1200 is standard....hotel costs are outrageous however....they will far outstrip your airfare costs unless you stay in very simple places...

i'm not sure what is meant by outrageous. you can get decent places for under $50, sometimes under $20, rarely under $10.

shak---i would find $350-600 to be outrageous for delhi hotels, that are normal international standard hotels like hyatts, intercontinentals, marriotts and sheratons.....

But why stay in a marriott or hyatt when you're in Delhi? You can get the Oberoi Maidens, hardly a "simple" hotel, for $200-250/night in late Oct. Precision Reservations has three star hotels for well under $100. Two star would be much cheaper. India can be outrageously expensive. It can also be outrageously cheap. The OP sounds like s/he's willing to economise some on hotels.

Hello there!
U can do India on a very tight budget, or u can do India on a Kings budget or anywhere in between...Really depends on how u like to travel and what type of properties/facilities u are seeking..

As a matter of fact, India is one of the best destinations for budget backpacer travelers! There are endless inexpensive places and travel can be very cheap if u do it on your own and stay in simple places..travelrs the world over come to India and spend months on end on small budgets!

As a matter of fact, i started my love affair with India over 17 years ago, as a solo independent female backpacker on a low budget.

I have come a long way since those days as i now lead luxury high end tours in the region, but i still sometimes stay in simple places too..

Anyways, in terms of hotels...For the moderate budget traveler, there are also plenty of choices.. u can find guesthouses for $15/20 a night dollars a night, small hotels for $50-100 and the five stars they may go all the way up to $300-$600 plus a night in the big cities or at the famous fabled Hotels like Taj and Oberois.

There is a huge middle grouund too of hotels, of course, for the moderate budget!!!

Outside of the big cities u can certainly find lovely places to stay between $50-$100.

In the big cities, like Delhi, Bangalore, and Bombay the luxury five star hotels are expensive and tremendously overpiced , but u can still find more economical options in Delhi and Bombay too, such as lovely small guesthouses or some smaller hotels.

Of course, the Oberoi Vilas are priced very high thruought, as are the Taj properties, but there are smaller heritage hotels too u can find, much less.

Yes, the Oberoi Maidens is a interesting option in Delhi, but it is a much older property and located in Old Delhi and certainly not on par with any of their other Oberoi properties. It is an interesting place to stay, but as per its location and older facility, not my favorite choice in Delhi aND that price u qouted still seems very High for that place!

Other alternatives in Delhi include, Hans Plaza, Connaught, Claridges, Ambassador, The Diplomat, and u can still get the Park, Nikko, and the Intercontinental for occasional decent rates..

And traveling in Rajasthan, u again will find hotel prices across the spectrum, in all budgets, from $20 a night to $600 a night, and again, plenty plenty of middle ground!!!

Also, do note**hotels that list themselves as three stars on websites and such are often just glorified guesthouses or basic small hotels, so would not rely too much on the star system in India for that matter.

Anyways, anyone planning a trip, feel free to drop me a line. I am a American living in the region. namaste.

I usually try to have an overall average of no more than about $100 a night on hotels. Sometimes that's staying in places that are $65 and sometimes $150 and sometimes everything hovers around $100. I just add the nights all together and shoot for an average...and I am pretty good at finding wonderful places for the price. I feel like $1200 for 12 hotel nights is a reasonable goal for India as well. I do not need fancy, just decent. No hostels and I like having my own bathroom.

I'm hoping that $4000 would cover our major expenses for 2 people excluding any shopping/souvenirs (may have clothes made)...airfare with 12 or 13 days on the ground/hotel/food/driver? We don't tend to spend a lot on meals...usually travel very independently but would probably get a driver...

I agree you can spend a lot or a little in India, it depends on what YOU want. With your budget, you should get a copy of the Lonely Planet guide and also get a copy of Allistar Sawday's great book called "Special Places to Stay India", which list literally hundreds of unique places to stay in various ranges, many between US$40-60 a night. This will then give you a very wide choice for you to decide for yourself where you want to stay. You may want to splurge in one place and skimp in another. The "top end" reccos in Lonely Planet are usually very nice and good value for money (although they have started to recco the Imperial in Delhi which is of course a wonderful hotel but hardly in the typical backpacker-Lonely-Planet-reader's-budget).

Why are you flying into Mumbai? Do you want to go to south India? If you don't and your objective is Rajasthan, then the first thing you will have to do is fly out of incredibly busy Mumbai domestic airport to someplace like Jaipur. I don't think Mumbai holds much at all to interest the first-time tourist, and traffic is really quite horrible. Why don't you fly into Delhi where you would want to go as a tourist anyway? You can then train or drive down to Agra, then drive to Jaipur.

Also, it is not necessary to have a driver for the whole trip. With a limited budget, a car and driver are an expensive option IMO, and not necessary in many places. Train service in India is very good and very inexpensive. The drive from Delhi to Agra takes 4.5 hours, the fast train just 2 hours (and costs US$16 for first class, versus about US$60 for the car, assuming you keep the car for the trip, and amortize that cost over the trip, a one-way car trip to Agra costs more than double that). You can hire cars or even rickshaws as you need them for the day or longer drives, and take trains. You can hire a driver in Delhi for about US$14 for the entire day. You don't need a driver in a place like Jodhpur or Udaipur, so you would be paying a driver to sit and do nothing each day you are there.