India is a vast nation packed with cultural and natural diversity. If you’re planning a solo trip, you could easily spend months, or even years, travelling the country without ever exhausting all it has to offer.
For most travellers, time will be a little more limited. But you can still extract huge amounts of fun from even a shorter trip, provided that you take the planning stage seriously.
Through the right planning, you’ll be able to optimise your itinerary and avoid stress-causing mistakes during your tours of India. But how should we go about planning a solo trip to India?
Prepare For Your Journey
Travelling to India means being able to present several documents. Obviously, you’ll need a passport. Your passport will need to have at least six months left to run from the date of your arrival in India. It should also have at least two blank pages available for your visa.
Visitors to India will need an appropriate visa. There are many to choose from, and penalties for those who don’t have the right one. Get it wrong, and you might find yourself turned away, or deported and permanently barred from entry.
It’s also worth thinking about your budget at the early stage. How much money would you like to have available per day? The cost of living in India tends to be lower than it is in the UK, which means your cash will go further. However, you’ll still want to make sure that you have enough that you aren’t forced to cut the trip short.
Finally, we should think about vaccinations. You might consider vaccines against diphtheria, hepatitis A (and B), tetanus, typhoid, and rabies. The risk of cholera is high in areas where clean water isn’t available, which is why humanitarian workers usually obtain a vaccine before travelling.
Choosing Your Destinations
So, which parts of the country might we consider travelling to? There are more destinations than we can reasonably cover. Jaipur is a particularly opulent part of the country, packed as it is with amazing forts and palaces. Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, provides a very different experience. The Ganges is a particularly important river for Hindus, and you’ll often find them congregating here.
On the other hand, we might consider Jodhpur, the so-called ‘Blue City’, with its amazing mix of vibrant tradition and modern luxury.
Staying Safe And Healthy
Reducing your risk while travelling in India means taking a few basic precautions. Most of these concern what you ingest. Don’t drink the local water; drink the bottled stuff instead. Beware bottles whose caps have been loosened since these might have been opened and refilled using tap water. Similarly, avoid ice – it can be made using tap water, too. A healthy level of caution might also be attached to Indian street food – delicious as much of it might be!
Embracing Solo Travel
Given all of the risks, we might wonder whether solo travel is worthwhile. But there are several reasons to think that it is.
Solo travel offers a unique opportunity for growth and personal development. It’ll force you to meet new people and to immerse yourself in a new and unfamiliar culture. The more travelling you do, the easier you’ll find it to understand the world and how it really works.
Conclusion
India is a country with a great deal to offer, and solo travel is an excellent way to see all of it. Through the right planning, you’ll be able to see much of the country and experience all that makes it rewarding.
