Practical tips from our India tour
Here are a few things we learned along the way, that might help anyone doing a similar escorted tour of India:
Water bottles are often filled right to the top, so open them carefully and hold them away from yourself unless you want to wear half of it.
Cows really are everywhere, and stray dogs are very common but generally keep their distance.
Tipping is a normal part of daily life. You may even come across toilet attendants expecting a small tip, although tour guides will sometimes cover this for the group. The suggested tipping amounts suggested by the tour company are generally what people expect and even ask for, and extra tips for local guides are often expected too. It all adds up to several hundred pounds, so budget for it.
All hotel rooms we visited included toiletries, toothpaste and even mosquito plug-ins (when needed), so there was less need to pack lots of extras than we expected.
Shorts and sleeveless tops seemed acceptable in more places than we expected, although temples required more modest dress of course.
Hotel drinks are expensive, but coaches often stop at off-licences or government priced shops, where you can buy things more cheaply.
There is a lot of travelling on this kind of tour (a lot!), so be prepared for long coach journeys and fairly full days.
There was quite a lot of gluten-free food available, although it was not always clearly labelled or kept separate from other dishes.
A proper small day bag or rucksack is useful for boat trips, day excursions and hotel transfers.
Try to leave the UK with some spare room in your suitcase. Everyone’s bags seem to get heavier as the trip goes on, whether through shopping or just accumulating things.
We found we needed less suncream than expected. There’s no time for sunbathing.
Delhi belly does happen, but in many cases it may be as much about the richness and unfamiliarity of the food as hygiene.
A small amount of clothes-washing liquid is worth bringing. Laundry services are useful, but quite expensive and not always quick, and one person in our group had clothes shrink in the hotel laundry.
If you like decaf tea or coffee, bring your own (indiviual sachets are good). It was not always easy to find. The same goes for zero alcohol beer, which did not seem to be much of a thing.
In some hotels, eggs cooked over easy were described as “double fried”, which I kind of liked.
Small deodorants and other travel-sized items are handy, especially for internal flights.
Portable luggage scales are very useful, particularly if you are taking internal flights with tighter baggage limits.
On our tour, most people tended to change into something slightly smarter for dinner.
In hindsight, a small wheeled cabin bag might have been more practical than a rucksack for transfers, as we usually only needed a handbag or small day bag during the tourist day.
Our eSIM worked very well, with strong 4G coverage in most places. Wi-Fi was also often available on the coach or through the tour guide.
Do not expect many leisurely coffee stops. Lunch was often quite late, around 2 pm.
Coach drivers often handed out complimentary bottled water, and extra water was usually available in hotels too.
Health and safety standards are not always the same as in the UK, so it pays to stay alert. Pavements can be uneven, and between the traffic, animals and general busyness it is worth watching every step.
There may not be much free time during the day, especially at the start of the tour, so it helps to be realistic about how much independent exploring you will actually do.
Do talk to local people. Many were warm, curious and happy to chat.
Do ask before photographing people. Many seemed pleased to be asked, and often enjoyed seeing the result on your phone afterwards.
Quite a few local people also wanted a photo with us, sometimes with their family. Saying yes can lead to a lovely moment and a shared laugh.
If you have a camera, a long zoom lens is very useful for wildlife and birds. If you do not own one, it could be worth renting one for the trip.
ATMs were not especially common in some areas, and some did not have cash available. SBI seemed the most reliable option for us, at least in southern India.
Take throat lozenges. Several of us developed dry throats or coughs, whether from the dry air, a bug, or just too much chatting on the tour.
And finally, it is amazing how many tips you can think of when you are on a six-hour coach ride.