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Budget Travel Tips

Just because you’re on a budget, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy India. In fact these budget travel tips probably guarantee you get a good feel for the country…

Budget Travel Tips #1: Hotel Breakfasts

While accommodation at the bottom end of the market is waaaay cheaper than the West, the same is not true for the luxury hotels, which are every bit as expensive as those around the rest of the world. Many hotels will have a set price for a buffet breakfast which you can purchase even if you didn’t stay, and if you like a full American breakfast, this is one of your only ways to get it. They’re expensive, but worth it when you just want food that’s familiar, and it means you can sleep cheap and eat rich.

Budget Travel Tip #2: Mix Up Your Accommodation Standards

You can afford to live like royalty in India (at least for a day). Rather than taking mid-level accommodation every night, my friend Kara and I have often mixed up our accommodation levels, so we could have a little luxury.

So we stayed in the lowest budget accommodation for some nights (with exposed wiring hanging next to the shower nozzle, nothing like risking electrocution just to get clean!), and then in converted palaces and havelis (like the one pictured, which we stayed in in Jaipur) for a few nights of luxury. Why not feel like a prince/ess every now and again?

Budget Travel Tips #4: Lavender

Ok, this is a godsend. You know the term, ‘flea pit’, well it can happen in India (you heard it first here!) And the day my friend Kara and I figured this out, we were veeeerrry happy. Take a small bottle of 100% lavender oil with you and sprinkle it liberally across the pillows and the bottom bed sheet. This will help repel any bedbugs that may be around. I now do this no matter where I am, budget, mid-range or luxury. The other wonderful side effect of using lavender is that it has a calming effect, so it may help you sleep better too!

Budget Travel Tips #5: Malaria Tablets

These are available in India at much cheaper rates than where I live, something like 1/10 the price. So what I do is buy only 1 week’s worth of malaria tablets from my doctor at home and then buy the rest when I get there. Again remember to ask for the active ingredient, not the brand name. This goes for other basic pharmaceuticals as well, like paracetamol etc.

Disclaimer: Someone told me recently that many medicines in India and other countries are not necessarily the real thing, that they may be fakes sold on the blackmarket. I’m not sure about that, but there’s no way I could tell. I would never buy from anywhere but a proper pharmacy, no matter what country I was in. It’s up to each individual to do what seems right, so please do whatever you think is right for you.

Budget Travel Tips #6: Sleep on the Trains

Taking overnight trains is one way to save time and money when you’re traveling through India. It means you don’t pay for accommodation and you don’t waste the daytime on public transport when you could be out exploring. I would recommend traveling AC 2 tier wherever possible—or first class wherever it’s available. It usually means you’re still paying less than if you were staying in a hotel and flying to your destination, so you can afford to spend a little more on the ticket. AC (Air Conditioned) 1st Class or AC 2 tier mean that mostly (depending on the train itself) you will get a lockable door and maximum four people in the berth, which means you’ve all got a bit of room to spread out.

Budget Travel Tips #7: Monsoon Means Off-Season Bargains

There are bargains to be had in Monsoon, which coincides with northern hemisphere summer holidays. You can get some great deals if you want to stay in a palace or expensive hotel. Kara and I once got a great deal, it was 3 or 4 nights for the price of 2, staying in a old fort palace which had been turned into a hotel.

Budget Travel Tips #8: Don’t Forget to Haggle

Haggling is expected in street markets and in most places except ‘fixed price’ shops. You can always ask a local what kind of price they’d pay for an autorickshaw trip, so that you know if you only pay a little more (you will pay more, consider it a foreigner-tax!), it’s ok. But you should never have to pay double or triple the local price, so it pays to be aware of prices in advance if you can.

Budget Travel Tips #9: Drink Beer Not Wine

India is not a country which produces wine well yet, though their fledgling industry is apparently improving, according to my friend Kara who lives in Delhi. India has extremely high import duties on wine, making it hideously expensive. In a hotel, you can pay more than USD10 for a glass of extremely poor quality local wine and much more for something equally poor which is imported. If you’re on a budget, steer clear of the wine—unless you want to spend an absolute fortune, you won’t enjoy it anyway! Alternatives? Try local beers or local whiskey, much cheaper and better value for money too. Someone once told me that if you have dodgy local whisky you can risk your health, but I choose not to believe them!

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