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India
🇮🇳 India
Uber and Ola for fixed fares, UPI everywhere, and an e-visa applied for weeks ahead.
Ready-made routes
Know before you go
The practical facts for India, at a glance.
Currency
Indian Rupee (INR)
roughly ₹85 to US$1 — divide by 85, or by 8.5 for a quick "tens" read
Tap to pay
Cards tap fine in cities. Everyone local is paying by UPI, which you cannot easily use.
Power
Type C / D / M (three round pins)
230V, 50Hz
Tap water
Do not drink tap water, and avoid ice in smaller establishments. Sealed bottled water only — check the seal is intact.
Tipping
Expected in restaurants (5–10%) and for hotel staff (₹50–100). Drivers and guides appreciate it but it is not obligatory.
Emergency
Police 100 · Ambulance 102
112 · Works with no SIM, no signal
Best months
October–March across most of the country
Entry requirements
Most nationalities need an e-visa, applied for at indianvisaonline.gov.in at least 4–7 days before travel (apply 3+ weeks ahead to be safe). The official site is dated and slow; the many polished lookalikes are resellers charging several times the fee.
Paying in India
Cards tap fine in cities. Everyone local is paying by UPI, which you cannot easily use.
Tap to pay works
Malls and supermarkets
Chain restaurants and coffee shops
Hotels
Ola and Uber, paid in app
Carry another way to pay
Street vendors and small shops
Auto-rickshaws
Temple offerings
Most of rural India
Delhi Metro gates now take a contactless bank card. Elsewhere buy the local smart card or a paper token at the counter.
Apps to download
The apps people in India actually use, in the order to set them up.
Uber / Ola
Free app; ₹100–500 typical city ride
Critical
Fixed, pre-agreed fares remove the single biggest friction of travelling in India.
Before you fly
Google Maps
Free
Critical
Strong transit data in Indian cities, including metro lines, live traffic and auto-rickshaw-friendly routing.
Before you fly
Delhi Metro (DMRC Momentum)
Free app; ₹10–60 per ride
Important
The metro is fast, clean, cheap and air-conditioned — the best way to move across Delhi by a wide margin.
IRCTC Rail Connect
Free app; ₹400–3,000 per journey
Important
Indian Railways is the way to travel between cities, and this is the only official booking channel.
Airtel / Jio tourist SIM
₹500–1,500 for generous data
Critical
Indian mobile data is the cheapest in the world, and registration is much easier at the airport than in the city.
India e-visa (official portal)
US$25–80 depending on duration and nationality
Critical
Required for most nationalities, slow to process, and surrounded by convincing reseller sites.
Before you fly
Wise / Revolut
Free account; ~0.4–0.6% conversion
Important
Indian ATM withdrawal caps are low and fees are per-transaction, so a fee-free card does real work.
Before you fly
Zomato / Swiggy
Free app; ₹25–60 delivery
Important
Delivery and restaurant discovery across every Indian city, with hygiene ratings and photos.
IQAir AirVisual
Free
Important
Delhi winter air quality is a genuine health matter, not a comfort one.
Step-by-step setup for each app is in the iPhone app.
First 60 minutes after landing
1
Use the prepaid taxi booth or Uber, never a tout
Every major Indian airport has an official prepaid taxi counter inside the terminal. Pay there, get a slip, and hand it to the driver at the end. Anyone approaching you before that is a tout.
2
Get a SIM at the airport — it is hard to do later
Indian SIM registration requires a passport, visa, photo and a local address. Airport counters (Airtel, Jio) are set up for tourists; city shops frequently refuse foreigners.
3
Withdraw from a bank-branch ATM
Many Indian ATMs cap withdrawals at ₹10,000 and charge ₹200–250. SBI, HDFC and Axis machines at bank branches are the most reliable for foreign cards.
4
Have your e-visa approval printed
Immigration wants a printed copy. There is a dedicated e-visa queue at major airports; it is usually shorter.
Where to stay in India
3 cities
Delhi
The metro is excellent, clean and air-conditioned; the roads are not. Most visitor journeys should be metro plus a short auto at each end.
Watch out for
Airport taxi touts are persistent and convincing. Use the prepaid booth or Uber only.
Winter smog (Nov–Jan) regularly reaches hazardous AQI levels. Check before booking those months.
Women-only metro carriages exist at the front of each train and are worth using.
Mumbai
Local trains move eight million people a day and are genuinely overwhelming at rush hour. Uber and the new metro lines are the visitor-friendly options.
Watch out for
Avoid local trains between 08:00–11:00 and 17:00–21:00 unless you know what you are doing.
Monsoon (June–September) floods the city regularly and shuts down transport for hours at a time.
Jaipur & Rajasthan
Autos and Uber cover the cities; intercity travel is by train or private car. Distances are longer than the map suggests.
Watch out for
"The fort is closed today, let me take you to a better place" is a shopping commission scam. It is not closed.
Summer (April–June) reaches 45°C. Sightseeing outside early morning is genuinely unsafe.
Getting around
Airport → city (Delhi / Mumbai)
Touts are the main hazard, and they are inside the terminal.
Airport Express Metro (Delhi)
Follow signs from arrivals. Fast, clean, air-conditioned.
₹60
20 min to New Delhi station
Uber / Ola
Book from the designated ride-hail zone, signposted outside arrivals.
₹400–800
45–90 min
Prepaid taxi booth
Official counter inside the terminal. Pay there, receive a slip, hand it over at your destination.
₹500–900
45–90 min
Getting around Indian cities
Metro where it exists, app-booked autos everywhere else.
Metro
Buy a token, tourist card or in-app QR. Security check at every station.
₹10–60
Fast and predictable
Uber Auto / Ola Auto
Book in the app at a fixed fare. Open-air three-wheeler.
₹50–200
Good for 2–8 km
Uber / Ola car
Air-conditioned and enclosed. Worth it in heat, rain or heavy pollution.
₹150–500
Traffic-dependent
Between cities
Trains are the classic answer; flights are often cheaper than you expect.
Indian Railways (3AC)
Book via IRCTC, or a reseller like 12Go if registration defeats you.
₹800–2,500
4–18 h depending on route
Domestic flight
IndiGo, Air India and Akasa. Book 3+ weeks ahead for the low fares.
₹2,500–6,000
1–2 h plus airports
Private car with driver
Arrange through your hotel or a reputable agency.
₹3,000–6,000 per day
Flexible
Staying connected
Yes — a carrier-locked phone cannot use a local SIM or eSIM
Airtel
Tourist SIM (physical)
2 GB/day · 28 days · US$8
Best value and gives you an Indian number, which unlocks Zomato, Swiggy and IRCTC. Buy at the airport with passport, visa and a photo.
Airalo
Kallur — India
5 GB · 30 days · US$13
Works the moment you land, which matters because local SIM activation takes hours.
Jio
Tourist SIM (physical)
2.5 GB/day · 28 days · US$9
Widest rural 4G/5G coverage in the country. Slightly weaker in some city centres than Airtel.
When to go
Best months
October–March across most of the country
Hardest months
April–June extreme heat; June–September monsoon; November–January Delhi smog
Languages
Hindi, English widely used in business and cities, 20+ official regional languages
Getting it right socially
Eat and pass with the right hand; the left is considered unclean.
Remove shoes before entering temples, mosques and most homes.
Dress modestly — covered shoulders and knees, especially at religious sites and outside major cities.
Public displays of affection attract disapproval in most places.
The head wobble means yes, agreement, or acknowledgement depending on context. It is not a no.
Ready-made routes
India’s Golden Triangle in 6 days
6 days · about US$60 a day
Delhi, Jaipur and a finish in Mumbai — the standard first India route, with the trains booked in advance.
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