India Travel Guide

Once the playing fields of only die-hard budget New Age travelers, India has in the past decade come into its own for top-end travelers who want to be pampered and rejuvenated as well as spiritually and culturally challenged. Given its vast size, the majority of India's top attractions are remarkably easy to get to, using a clever combination of internal flights or long-haul train journeys and chauffeur-driven cars (no sane traveler would self-drive). Hotels, particularly in the heritage category, offer excellent value-for-money in Western terms, and despite a number of potential health concerns, sensible travelers will enjoy their sojourn with little more than a brief tummy upset. It is, however, very important to plot out your itinerary and make reservations well in advance. Finally, though India has definite Third World elements -- infrastructure and service levels leave much to be desired -- you'll find almost everything you need here, particularly if you're armed with a credit card and Frommer's India, 3rd Edition, of course.

Visitor Information

India's Tourism Information Department is going all out to seduce international visitors, and has fairly extensive representation around the globe. Access one of its websites (www.incredibleindia.org or www.tourisminindia.com) for general information, but be aware that some pages may be out of date or permanently under construction. The websites do offer links to all of India's regional tourism departments, some of which provide fantastic coverage of what's on offer.

Indian tourism offices may be found worldwide as follows. In the U.S.: 3550 Wilshire Blvd., Room 204, Los Angeles, CA 90010, tel. 213/380-8855; and Suite 1808, 1270 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, tel. 212/586-4901. In the U.K.: 7 Cork St., London W1X 2LN; tel. 020/7437-3677. In Canada: 60 Bloor St. (W), Suite 1003, Toronto, Ontario M4W 3B8; tel. 416/962-3787. In Australia: Level 5, 135 King S., Glasshouse Shopping Complex, Sydney, NSW 2000; tel. 2/9221-9555.

Websites -- You can access up-to-the-minute news and stories through the websites of some of the country's largest English dailies, including www.timesofindia.com, www.hindustantimes.com, www.expressindia.com, and www.thehinduonnet.com. For up-to-date news from the two premier English-language 24/7 news channels, and updates on Bollywood movies, visit www.ndtv.com or www.ibnlive.com; for travel-related information and features, visit www.outlooktraveller.com. Travel Spirit International (www.tsiindia.com) has a wide range of links as well as easy access to sites where you can book reduced-price accommodations and travel.