A Beginner’s Guide to Traveling in India: Essential Tips and Cultural Etiquette

There are a lot of travelling opportunities for anyone travelling to India for the first time. The traveller would be able to understand and explore the unique culture of India and witness the diversity of changing cultures and geography every few kilometres they travel across the nation. Through the medium of this blog, we would uncover in detail a lot of information that a new traveller would find necessary while travelling in India.

Choosing Destinations and When to Visit

One of the biggest decisions that you will have to make as a traveller is when to visit India. Generally, you can choose the Full-on summer to mildly warm seasons, which runs from April to September, or you can visit India during the full-on winter to  Spring season, which runs from October to May. If you are travelling from Europe, we would advise that you go for the winter months as the temperature is much more pleasant, especially if you want to visit the northern regions.

Top Places for the First Timers in India

Delhi

Witness the heritage, culture, as well as the historical monuments that India is famous for In Delhi. Explore the local food, and plan a trip to nearby places that fall along the way.  Delhi offers unlimited travel scope, and if you plan to either travel through or stop in Delhi, we recommend that you visit the Red Fort, Chandni Chowk, Chawri Bazaar, Connaught Place and other historical monuments. You can always take a self-drive car rental in Delhi to commute and avoid using public transport as it will be crowded and you may miss out on many things.

Amritsar

Close to Chandigarh, you can plan to travel to the Golden Temple, Jallianwala Bagh and a few other places closer to the city. You can also plan to explore the local eateries. Other places you can plan to explore would be  Uttarakhand, Jaipur, Agra and a few other places.

Coimbatore

Settled on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats, the city was once ruled by Cheras in the Sangam period of history between the 1^st and the 4^th centuries CE. Coimbatore was a significant part of the intricate trade route that led to the Rajakesari peruvazhi. Thanks to such a significant role in the pages of history, the place has a deep and profound cultural importance. Travellers can visit the great Perur Pateeswarar or Murthamalai Mururgan Temple while in coimbatore.

Cultural Basics

The Hindu culture is based on four core values, which are as follows: Dharma – ( Righteousness), Artha- ( Prosperity), Kama ( Pleasure) and Moksha (Liberation). Our holy scriptures and righteous tales are a profound example of moral enlightenment and are hence being adopted throughout the world. History, art, and social diversity along with India's culture would showcase diverse facets that will surely encourage travellers to explore more. Here are a few cultural and social norms that every traveller should be aware of before visiting India.

• Greet with Namaste – Bow your head and join your hands, whenever you greet anyone, especially elders.
• Always take your shoes and sandals off before entering Temples, Mosques and Gurudwara's
• Wear appropriate clothing – Try and blend in and do not try to make bold apparel choices while visiting public places.
• Diversity – India is really diverse. Within a few kilometres of travelling, you could witness the changes in cultures, so be socially aware and respect different cultures.

Do's and dont's at places of worship

• Do not wear dresses and inappropriate clothing.
• Do not enter a temple or a place of worship inebriated
• Be respectful of the values and the rules of the place.
• Also ensure that you do not use abusive language or shout.
• Use appropriate offerings for prayers.      

Health and Safety Tips for Travelling in India

However, you must visit a physician before you travel to ensure that all your vaccinations and other medical necessities are completed and up-to-date. To provide yourself with complete protection from widespread diseases, get vaccinations for diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis A,B, polio, and typhoid.

If you are planning to travel with a kid, consider getting vaccinations for measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella. If you are planning to travel for longer, you should consider the possibility of getting vaccinated for rabies, Japanese B encephalitis, and meningitis.

Take Precautions Against Malaria

Anti-malarial tablets can take care of all your worries regarding the fear of malaria.  However, always consider taking a course of medicine only after getting a prescription from the doctor. If you don't want to get vaccinated, you can always take other precautions that can help you save yourself from mosquitoes carrying the malaria virus. These precautions can include:

• Cover yourself fully and wear long-sleeved shirts. Also, use mosquito nets while sleeping.
• Better yet, it would be much easier to use mosquito repellents.
• You can also invest in a plug-in bug killer to help you.
• Or use a mosquito killer with a high concentration of diethyltoluamiide.
• Also, try to wear light-coloured clothes to ensure that bugs do not get attracted to you.

Navigating Transportation

With the fast-paced development of transport services and highways across India, you would be able to travel across cities and states with ease.  Railways, bus service as well as flights are available in all major cities, but if you want to take your time and travel with the ease of convenience without any hassles of regular ticket booking and other issues, we would recommend rentals Self Drive Vehicles, but to use them you must avail an International Driving permit. Self-drive vehicles would provide you with the flexibility to drive as per your own plans and ideas with ease.

Money Matters

For a traveller new to India, converting your currency into Indian rupees at the airport would be the best option. You can also choose to buy new Indian roaming packs and data connection plans for connectivity. You can convert cash or try to use other methods described in detail in our other blog.

You can always leave tips for concierge and local restaurants and eateries as per your liking.

Packing Essentials.

Packing would also depend upon the weather in which you choose to travel in. If you are planning to travel in the summer, we recommend that you carry bucket hats or any other hats or goggles that help you stay away from direct sunlight. While travelling in the winter seasons, we recommend that you carry woollen clothes and warmers as the temperature in certain areas also dips to 1* C.