India Travel

Departure Tax
When you leave India, you will be required to pay a Rs 500 departure tax just before you check in for your departing flight. The departure tax is Rs 250 if you are going to a neighboring SAARC country. This amount must be paid in rupees. If you purchase a ticket in India it is included in the ticket price.

Package Tours
There are many different package tour options. The typical tour goes to Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, a few cities in Rajasthan, Varanasi, often Khajuraho, and then goes to Kathmandu. A South India tour will usually go to Chennai, Bangalore, Mysore, and maybe Hyderabad or Kochi.

There are special interest tours specializing in trekking, safaris, wildlife parks, beaches, or the Palace on Wheels train tour. Usually these tours work out more expensive than if you arranged them yourself, but if time and comfort are important to you, a tour can be the best way to go. A package beach holiday to Goa or Kovalam can actually work out cheaper.

Many travel agencies who specialize in selling tickets to India and Southeast Asia have package tour options. If you are going on your first trip to India and money is not that important, a package tour is a good introduction. A two-week tour may cost around $2,000 for two weeks, not including the airline ticket. The Palace on Wheels costs $2100 for a seven-day tour.

The fact that you have a tour guide with you most of the time helps to protect you from being cheated and from other problems. On the other hand, tour guides are often working with merchants, receiving a percentage of any sale (often 25% or more). This is not only true of the Indian guides, but of the foreign tour guides as well. An Indian friend who was learning to be a government tour guide in Varanasi was shocked when the foreign tour guide with whom he was with went to receive his commission at a shop to which he had brought his group.

Overland to India
If you plan to bring your own vehicle, you will require an international license, the vehicle’s legal papers, insurance, and a carnet de passage in douane, which provides a temporary waiver from import duty. You also need the carnet for expensive spare parts that you will be carrying. Inquire at your local automobile club about this, and about getting an international license. When you cross the border into certain countries, you will have to purchase liability insurance for the period during which you will be in that country. You should check for the availability of spare parts for your vehicle in countries you plan to visit. Unleaded fuel is usually only available in India’s large cities, but is becoming more popular elsewhere.

From Europe
From Europe you have to travel through Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan to reach India. US citizens are not permitted to travel in Iran. Afghanistan is also presently blocked due to the political situation. Many travelers fly to Turkey, Jordan, or Pakistan and begin their overland tour from there.
Several companies in London arrange overland trips to India and across Asia. Encounter Overland (0171 370-6951, 6845), 267 Old Brompton Rd, London SW5 9LA, UK; Exodus (0180 675-5550), 9 Weir Rd, London SW12 0LT, UK; or Top Deck Travel (0171 370-4555), 131-135 Earls Court Rd, London SW5 9RH. I talked to a group of people who took an Encounter Overland trip to India and all of them were extremely pleased with their experience. They considered it a real adventure.    

Pakistan
The only border crossing is at Attari in India, between Lahore (Pakistan) and Amritsar (India). To get from Lahore to Amritsar by train, you purchase a ticket from Lahore to Attari, then another ticket from Attari to Amritsar. There is a daily train from Lahore at 11.30 am arriving in Amritsar at 3 pm. The train spends a few hours at the border for immigration and customs.
To get to Pakistan from India the train departs Amritsar at 9.30 am and arrives in Lahore at 1.35

If you know of information that is not listed here, or if you would like to help update our listings, please e-mail us at: