INDIA BUDGET

I AM GOING TO BE IN INDIA IN SEPTEMBER OF 2008. I WILL BE TRAVELING MOSTLY BY TRAIN, BUT I NEED TO KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY I SHOULD BUDGET FOR 2 PEOPLE (MY WIFE AND I). WE WANT TO STAY IN MODEST HOTELS AND WILL LIVING PRETTY CHEAPLY. WE DON'T DRINK WE WILL PROBABLY EAT ON THE GO AND NOT AT RESTAURANTS MOST NIGHTS. WE WILL START IN DELHI THEM TO AGRA, JAIPUR, GOA, AND MADRAS. WERE WILL BE IN COUNTRY FOR ABOUT 6 - 7 WEEKS. THEN WE LEAVE FOR THAILAND. THANK YOU!!!

quote:

Screw you guys I'm going traveling..

lmao...nice Cartman variation

I can't speak for Jaipur, Madras, and Goa, since I haven't been...but in terms of Agra and Delhi, the Taj is about $20pp entry and getting there on the "express" train is not a problem, though make those plans IN ADVANCE [I was stuck on a bus with Hare Krishnas and that...was interesting. Long story].

In Delhi and other "big cities" like Mumbai, hotels are way more than the Indian average. Expect to pay about $50/night in Delhi. I stayed at a well-recommended hotel, who at one point was so full, offered to let me sleep on the couch in their common area because they felt sorry for me [Master Paying Guest House]. When I was in Kerala, southern province, I found the best-looking budget hotel room I have ever seen in India, which had a view of the tiger preserve and the price-gouger next door which I escaped. Total cost per night: $3. There are gems in every city, and I find Lonely Planet/Frommer's guides are not reliable for hotels in India.

Food is about 45 rupees (~$1) in restaurants. I'm not sure what 'on the go' means, but the restaurants are cheap and worth it. Use them. Save 'on the go' for the trains. Bring food. Trust me. It wasn't that great on-board.

Trains...Overnight hauls (8 hours on train) cost me as little as $13, but bring your linens if you travel sub-class. The trip between Mumbai and the waaaay south of Cochin only cost me about $50. For all trips over 4 hours, I strongly, STRONGLY, recommend 2nd Class Air-Conditioned sleeper. Engrain it in your head now. For the best seats with the most privacy, choose SIDE Upper/Lower. That way, the two of you can hang out during the day on the lower bunk. It is very important that you make your reservations yourself at the train station. Major stations in large cities, Delhi especially, have SPECIAL counters for foreigners. There are a certain number of seats allotted for foreigners, which allows you the benefit that not every ticket will always be sold out.

I wrote about it, and threw in some Indian airline links as well as website links (trains, hotels) on my website listed below. Buen viaje!!

I spent 6 months in India on about £4 ($8) per day, including some travel costs. Really with the exception of tourist spots the hotels shouldn't cost more than a pound per night. And the food? Wow a thali is about 50p, and that keeps you going all day more or less!

One of the joys of travelling in India is you can treat yourself for very little - if you spend £10 on a double room you can get something really nice in most places.

x
A

Hi, my husband and I just left India about a week ago after spending about 2 months. We found very decent hotel rooms in the north (outside of big cities like Delhi) to be around $15, but I'm sure there's even cheaper. The north is so dusty and gritty you'll want a nice shower once in a while, and for a few extra dollars its worth it, I say! Food for two people can be about $12USD total for the day including drinks if you eat in actual restaurants and not street stalls (bring cipro if you do a lot of that), and up to $20 or so if you go somewhere really nice as a treat. We found Goa and Kerala to be a more pricey, with the exception of staying in huts in Palolem for around US12/night. If you want just a little comfort (you said hotel, not hoStel), I think you could live comfortably for $60/day for two including transport and all those little things that always add up in reality. Of course, it can be done for as little as $20.

I'm looking at my Taj ticket stubs and they say 500 rupees for a COMBO ticket to Taj and Agra Fort (agra fort is skippable). I suggest going early, by the way. We went at 6:30 AM with no line and later on when we passed the line was about 200 people long.

Not that you asked, :-) but might I recommend including Jaisalmer on your itinerary? Just a really cool fort city with gorgeous Jain temples. It is very far west, but very much worth the extra overnight train ride. Also, the best fort by far out of all the northern cities was in Jodhpur. The audio guide was outstanding and puts the one in Jaipur to shame really. Not to mention, the views from there are gorgeous! Just my opinon, but I thought Jaisalmer, Varanasi, and Udaipur were the jewels of the north, making the grit everywhere worthwhile. And, of course, the Taj!! Maybe this is your second time in India, but if you haven't seen these spots it seems like you'd have plenty of time in your 7 weeks with enough time for the beaches in Goa!

Enjoy, and get ready for the chaos that is north india!

I'm in India now, have been for about 4 months. I've been round as much of the country as I could be bothered to see and so far it works out I've been spending around $20 a day. Thats including trains (crossed the country 4 times, done god only knows how any miles on those sodding trains, like the previous said, book in advance www.irctc.co.in (they won't let you book on there without an Indian bank account but they will show you the availbility of tickets, then you can run down to the station and book it)), I've been living in fairly cheap hotels, around 200rupees a night, I saw someone above thinks that hotels cost a pound a night, no they don't, trust me, I found one hotel for a pound down in Kerala but apart from that, up north, you are looking at 150-250 ruppes, more if you are soft and need extras.

The taj costs 700rs for one ticket, I got to the front of the Q, heard the price and told them to stick it.

In Delhi my hotel had hot water, cable TV and it wasn't to cold (this was the middle of winter) that cost me 250rs a night.

Any ques PM me n I'll be happy to answer if I can.

quote:

Originally posted by billynomates:
The taj costs 700rs for one ticket, I got to the front of the Q, heard the price and told them to stick it.

So you went all the way to Agra in a train, paid the train fare food on the way and all and then did not go inside to see the Taj.