India trip

scaredandsad

Hi I am off to India in a few weeks and wondered if anyone could give me advice on how much money I need to budget (Golden Triangle tour but with most food and entry included)? Also are there any items that are definite must haves ie v expensive over there? Thanks

Ballard

I’ve been to India half a dozen times and can’t think of anything that’s expensive. If you need cash ATMs work with overseas cards and many places take credit cards anyway.

I would advise you to check the reserve bank of India website for images of current banknotes as all R500 and R1,000 were withdrawn from circulation a few years ago and are now worthless. I dare say that people who still have some will look to offload them on tourists.

Other than that have a great time. I’ve done that tour independently and it’s a very interesting trip.

JosephK

I'll second Ballard's reply.

Plus more & more traders accept credit cards if you do want to purchase any pricier items such as jewellery, just make sure you don't use one with horrendous fees.

Enjoy, the people and country are great.

worried_jim

It's bonkers but fab! Have a great time, its pretty cheap too!

Voyager2002

Costs can be extremely low...

Electronic goods, telephones and cameras tend to be expensive.


I had a lot of trouble finding an adapter (to charge my computer), so if you can easily get one here that would work in India then do so.

maman

We had a great trip back in February.

Everything was cheap except for booze. Drinks can be as expensive as the meal. Spirits seem better value than wine except for one place that had an Indian wine.

Hope you don't suffer from Delhi Belly but when I did it cost all of £10 to have a doctor come : £5 for the call out, and £5 for the medication.:eek:

londoninvestor

Voyager2002 wrote: »

I had a lot of trouble finding an adapter (to charge my computer), so if you can easily get one here that would work in India then do so.

Yep, easy and cheap to get them here from ebay before you go.

For non-earthed appliances, a European adapter will also do the job.

See the later posts on this thread:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5952725/spending-money-india

CardinalWolsey

If your accommodation does not provide free bottled water, budget on at least 4 x 500ml a day (as you'll be cleaning your teeth with it as well). Very cheap outside of the hotel, but be careful you don't get charged an extortionate amount (relatively speaking) in your hotel.

sazaccount

Ballard wrote: »

I would advise you to check the reserve bank of India website for images of current banknotes as all R500 and R1,000 were withdrawn from circulation a few years ago and are now worthless. I dare say that people who still have some will look to offload them on tourists.
.

They reintroduced a new style Rs500 notes last year or the year before they are smaller than the old ones in a similar style to the new 2000 Rs note.

Power - you can get proper Indian adapters that have the 3rd pin
(makes it more stable in the plug and possibly earth) but tbh European adapters work just as well and in their electronics eg phones/ipads they come with the European plugs

Water - and basally anything you buy from a shop somewhere on the packaging there is the MRP which they have to sell for eg a liter bottle of water is anywhere between 10-20 Rs depending on brand, take an empty bottle with you as most places have filter water you can fill up with.

Pharmacies - are everywhere if you need paracetamol, anti histamine something for "loose motion" everyone knows what this means in english.

defiantly try the street food something like a dosa (although this is a more south indian dish) look for one thats pretty busy with locals.
If your going to the taj either wear slip on shoes or socks (they can give you shoe covers but they are super slippery on the marble.

If you've never been it can be a bit of a culture shock and the extremes from abject poverty to Saris that cost thousands of pounds feet from each other, if you would like to give please don't give it to the beggars (or the kids) as it encourages the parents to not send the children to school etc. There are NGOs working within the communities to give support, education, health care etc.

I love India over the last couple of years I have lived their a total of just over a year, I had a job with an NGO but me and my boss didn't get along too well

Ballard

sazaccount wrote: »

They reintroduced a new style Rs500 notes last year or the year before

That’s good to know and it reiterates my point about checking what valid ones look like. I was last in India a week after the old ones were withdrawn and it was utter chaos. In a fortnight I probably a combined 5 hours queuing at ATMs for the maximum R2,000 per day and then had to make sure that whoever I spent it with had change. It was still a fantastic trip and I’ll definitely head back in a year or two.