India Holidays

In the cities you will also see the great coming together of the ancient and the modern. In the capital, New Delhi, this is certainly the case whose tree-lined boulevards may be very different from what you imagine the city to be in your mind's eye.

Naturally, there is also magnificent wildlife to be sought out and savoured. This may be in the world-famous Ranthanbore National Park, 81 miles from Jaipur, where tigers still roam in the wild or even in the Chitwan National Park in Nepal, a world heritage site and home to the increasingly rare Indian rhino.

This is just one of the breath-taking places that you'll visit on our Grand Tour of India, Nepal and the Himalayas along with Kathmandu, made famous by the 1960s "hippy trail".

The enjoyment of the rich tapestry of history and culture that awaits the visitor to India is also enhanced by having knowledgeable and informative guides, whether you're visiting the wonders of Agra or Amritsar's legendary Golden Temple. So all of our accompanied excursions include this service.

Experiencing the traditional cuisine of India is another element that will make the holiday a memorable one. On some days you may be enjoying silver service treatment on board trains like the Maharajah's Express. At other times there will be lavish restaurant meals of five-star hotels like the Taj Bengal Hotel, Kolkata or the Taj Malabar Resort and Spa in Kochi.

On other days you may be left free to explore the local dining scene for yourself or to follow your Tour Manager's recommendations.

In fact, your Tour Manager will play an important role throughout your holiday offering exactly the level of support you need.

You can also be sure that we have taken great care to choose the perfect accommodation on all of our tours of India with four-star service as a minimum and many hotels achieving five stars. We also have long-established relationships with the hotels in question so any special requests you may have can generally be accommodated.

The Indian Rupee is the official currency and one rupee is worth a little over 1p in sterling. As a closed currency, you can't take in any rupees to the country, or leave with any either.

US Dollars are also widely accepted in the country, particularly in the cities, so it's a good idea to take plenty of these to exchange when you're there, or simply to use as currency.

Visa and Mastercard are both widely accepted in India and there are also plenty of ATMs, including in many hotels. It's worth noting, however, that using credit cards in shops can attract transaction charges of between 2% and 4%.

Dollar traveller's cheques can also be cashed at all major banks, exchange bureaus and airports. You may also be able to use them at some shops providing that you also present your passport.

When buying food or drink, tipping is expected, but not compulsory. The standard amount is 10% of the total bill. For taxi drivers 100 rupees is generally considered to be about the appropriate amount per journey.

When shopping in markets and smaller shops, bargaining is very much expected. So be prepared to haggle if you don't want to risk offending the owner. But in more up-market outlets, it's very much a case of paying the advertised prices.