Tips and Tricks for Landing in India
The vast and beautiful country of India is often seen as a more “difficult” place for the traveller. Full of unexpected challenges, chaos and a truly massive population, India can be overwhelming to the newcomer. Read our guide to the must-know tips and tricks to minimise the shock and prepare you for the incredible adventures India offers.
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India can be an overwhelming experience whether you are a seasoned traveller, budget backpacker or even a family on holiday. Just exiting the airport and finding a hotel can be a very stressful experience! There are steps however, that can help you make the most of your time in India and remove some of the worry and inconveniences you may face in this incredible country!
Getting a Sim Card in India
Essential Apps to Download in India
Other Useful Tips for Travel in India
Just some of the obstacles to be navigated on the streets of India!
First things first, you’re going to need to be connected.
Getting A Sim Card
If you’re backpacking a sim card is a godsend. Without one you’re completely reliant on Wifi for booking, banking and transport. Sim cards are extremely affordable in India and widely available. The two main providers are Airtel and Jio.
We originally brought Airtel sim cards from Delhi International airport for 400 rupees each (£3.91 or $4.87). These gave us a 28 day sim with unlimited texts and calls and 1.5 GB per day of data. We got lucky and had a special promotion added which also gave us unlimited 5G data.
However on our second trip to India, it seems that it is no longer possible to get a sim card at the airport as you will need an Indian national’s phone number to vouch for you and activate the card. We’d recommend getting in touch with your hostel in advance as they maybe able to do this for you whilst you’re at the airport or as we did, they will happily help you out once you arrive.
One issue with Indian sim cards is that, when it comes to the time to top up, they frequently will not accept non Indian credit or debit cards. To get round this, just pop into one of the physical shops of your service provider. These shops are everywhere and in our experience, the staff were very helpful and quick.
Also if you’re staying in India for longer than 90 days, you will have to buy another sim card as sims sold to tourists are deactivated after three months of use. As far as we can tell there is no way around this. Just head to the mobile phone provider with your passport and purchase another sim.
Indian eSIM
Alternatively to all of the above, you can buy an eSIM for India before you even get to there and enjoy a much more hassle free experience for a small increase in price. eSIMs do not require a physical card or store and can be managed from an app on your phone. They cost a little more than plastic sim cards but you will avoid some of the issues we encountered! You can buy an eSIM for India entirely online from here.
So you’ve brought your sim card, now for some life saving apps in India.
Apps to Download
Indian Ride Hailing Apps
Uber - Uber is incredibly useful in Delhi and India as a whole. It removes all of the unwanted negotiation, overcharging and risk of getting your wallet out at the end of each journey. It also avoids the common scams where taxi drivers take you somewhere other than where you wanted to go and comes with safety features that may make solo travellers feel a lot more comfortable. We know Uber is a terrible company etc etc however, it has been so useful in India. We never had to negotiate or worry we were being taken somewhere other than where we asked to go. Also Uber is super cheap to use. You can order auto rickshaws as well as larger cars. In Delhi and the larger cities, rickshaws are almost always faster and cheaper.
If you’re ordering an Uber from a busy location e.g. the airport or a train station, you may have to make your way to an “Uber” pickup zone. These are usually well signposted and the app will give you a map to guide you to the zone if this is the case.
When you get into your Uber you will need to give the driver a unique 4 digit code. This makes sure you’re getting into the correct Uber. A godsend when at Delhi airport when you’re in a literal sea of Ubers!
If you haven’t got internet banking set up with Uber you can still pay the driver in cash, just specify this when booking the Uber. Pay only what you’ve agreed to on the app and get out if there are any issues.
Ola - For an Uber alternative you can download the Ola app. This does pretty much the same as Uber but may have different coverage areas. We were unable to link our UK bank accounts for online payments but you can still use cash.
The Airport / Hotel Scam
A common scam in India (we met at least three people it had been attempted or used on), is the “hotel scam”. A driver picks up an overwhelmed or sleep deprived tourist and is very friendly and helpful… The driver may “know the hotel” the tourist has booked or even offer to call it for them. Of course, when they do, the hotel is now overbooked, closed or cannot otherwise accommodate the hapless traveller. The driver with then take the traveller to a “tourist office” where all their accommodation problems will be “solved”, along with high pressure offers to book out the whole of their Indian itinerary. Of course the hotel was never closed and the “tourist office”, if not an outright scam, will be overcharging you to an extreme amount. One travelling companion was hoodwinked into paying over $200 for a $15.00 hotel room and another narrowly escaped being booked on a flight 500 miles away that was leaving the next day!
Be aware and reject any offer for a trip to “tourist offices”, or drivers insisting your hotel is closed/doesn’t exist. Make sure you follow your taxi on the map and that it is following the agreed route. All the modern ride hailing apps have safety contact features you can use if you feel your being taken somewhere other than where you wanted to go.
If the driver is insistent or you feel uncomfortable demand to get out - there are plenty more Ubers in India. Just report the incident, ask for a refund and rebook.
We didn’t have any issues with drivers as Uber / Ola make it harder for drivers to take advantage of your ignorance, just be careful and never agree to a stop that you didn’t ask for!
Indian Food Delivery Apps
Swiggy - Sometimes you don’t want to leave your comfy hostel for dinner and this is where Swiggy comes in! Just like UberEats/FoodPanda/Grab this is your go to for all things food. We’ve used it a few times and it's been great. You can track your order in real time and get it delivered straight to your door. You can get everything you can possibly imagine on Swiggy from biryani to burgers, dosas to donuts!
Zomato - A Swiggy alternative with slightly different coverage areas. If you’re ordering, it’s good to compare prices as you’ll often find deals on one app but not the other.
Domino’s - We’re not judging you, we can't. We gave in to the urge for a pizza on more than one occasion of our Indian adventure! Every major city, town and village seemed to have a Domino’s outlet and the app makes ordering and delivery simple.
Indian Transport Apps
12GO - Super useful all round the world and especially in India. You can book most forms of transport through it including overnight buses and trains. Crucially, you can book trains without having an Indian credit card, which can be very tricky on other apps. Tickets can be brought well in advance, even before you land in India.
There is also an option with 12GO to purchase for an additional small fee 24 hour help. This can be invaluable when you can’t find the pick up point!
To book you tickets in advance on 12GO click here.
Abhibus, Ixigo and Redbus - These three apps all allow you to book buses and trains. It’s worth checking all the apps as different bus operators are available with different apps. Make sure you add your mobile number when booking tickets, as the bus driver will frequently call you to make sure you’re at the correct pick up point.
Be aware that for some things, e.g. trains, you may have to pick up your ticket from the station and, in cases of very bad luck, you may not get the ticket you reserved online. The online companies work by booking the ticket on your behalf, so if it's a very busy line it's possible the tickets will sell out before they can purchase them for you. If the ticket is no longer available you will be notified and refunded.
Booking Accommodation Apps in India
Booking.com, Agoda, TripAdvisor, Hostelworld, Zostel and Expedia - All these apps worked perfectly for us and we found it useful to compare prices online across all of them.
The only one of these apps you may not have heard of is the Zostel app, which is the app specifically for booking the Zostel chain of hostels. They were consistently great throughout our trip, but especially in the Spiti Valley.
If you want to book your accommodation in advance, or just want to browse options, check out the handy map below.
Other Useful Apps for India
XE Currency Exchange - No one wants to be short changed on any trip and no one enjoys the mental arithmetic of currency calculation. The free XE app allows for quick currency conversion from your home currency to any world wide currency. Super useful, but you will need an internet connection to use it.
Google Translate - Despite our best efforts on DuoLingo and an impressive standard of English throughout India, Google Translate was still very useful when communication failed. Make sure you download the relevant language packs so that you don’t need an internet connection to translate on the fly.
Google Maps and Maps.Me - Essential apps for navigation and finding your way around. Offline maps are available to download with both apps, so you won’t need to rely on an internet connection. We would recommend using both as we found that Google struggled especially in some of the ancient winding streets of Delhi!
Maps.me was super useful for hiking especially in Manali and the Himalayas.
Mobile Phone Provider App - This is useful for keeping an eye on your mobile phone plan as well as topping up data as necessary. Bear in mind that you cannot always use non-Indian credit/debit cards to top up on these apps. If you cannot top up with the app just go into the mobile providers store and they can top up for you. Airtel won’t allow the use of foreign cards but the staff were very helpful and actually advised us on a cheaper rate when we visited their store in Shimla. Once in a store, you can top up in cash.
Tips and Tricks for your Indian Adventure
Airport ATMs
When you land at Delhi International Airport, make sure you withdraw your money before you leave the terminal. Outside it is a feeding frenzy of taxi drivers, families bidding relatives goodbye and rickshaws. There are no ATMs outside and you’re not meant to come back into the terminal once you leave. There are multiple ATMs inside, some will charge you an additional fee and in case you weren’t already aware, you should always decline the ATMs offer to do the currency conversion for you.
Getting a Bus in India
Private Buses in India -If you have booked your bus online, pay attention to where the boarding point is. It will almost certainly not be the normal bus station. It will frequently be a seemingly random roundabout on the far side of town. Triple check where it is, and be prepared to wait on the side of the road with no indication that this is even a place that buses stop! If you can, contact the bus service provider to confirm the pick up point. Most of the bus operators will text you a contact number and may even have a live location tracker.
If you’ve booked your bus through a tour agency, they usually will take care of this for you. If the pick up point is not outside their office, they’ll certainly help you get to the right place.
Overnight buses are great, both to save money and to get you to where you want to go. Be aware that the “two berth seats” is one double bed and not two separate seats. For solo travellers, make sure you book the solo seat! The sleeping berths have a curtain or screen for privacy as well as lights and USB charging points. We took multiple overnight buses and found them to be extremely comfy. Pro tip, the bottom bunks are more stable and less bumpy than the top bunks.
When you board the bus, the conductor will either put your large backpacks under the bus or show you where they can be stored. Usually underneath your berth.
For ladies, there is a toilet on board, usually behind the driver. Guys, just ask the driver and utilise the great outdoors!
Both overnight buses and long buses during the day will stop for food/toilet breaks. We even had one bus in the mountains that stopped three times in the space of four hours as the driver was especially hungry!
One final note, your drop off point may not be exactly where you think it is. Triple check with your provider where you’re actually going to get off the bus as sometimes it may not be the obvious place. For example our bus to Rishikesh actually didn’t go to Rishikesh, but dropped you off on the side of the motorway near the turning to the town. We knew this was going to happen but there was a very angry French man aboard who was not aware that this was the case.
Local Buses in India - If you’re getting a local bus, the main bus terminal will take you almost anywhere in the country, just be prepared for a long ride! Just get on and the conductor will let you know where to put your bags and how much the tickets will cost you. There is usually space for your bags at the front near the driver or in the engine compartment.
Some of our most fun journeys in India were on the local buses. We met some absolute characters, shared some great food and saw some incredible scenery. And of course, they are super cheap! If you’ve got the time to spare, we can’t recommend them enough.
Health, First Aid and Emergency Telephone Number
Medicines - As a traveller you should always carry a small First Aid kit with all the essentials. Wherever you are in India, you’re never far from a pharmacy to restock. We found rehydration sachets to be lifesavers, especially if you’ve had a slight case of the Delhi Belly!
We’d also recommend carrying around a pack of tissues and hand sanitiser with you at all times. The public toilets in India come in various degrees of cleanliness. If you’re lucky, they’ll be Western style, but you may have to get your squat on!
Sanitary Towels and Tampons in India - Pharmacies seemed to be the best place to stock up on period products. However, during the whole four months we did not see any tampons on sale, only pads and cups.
Emergency Number - In an emergency, hopefully this is never useful, call 112 from an Indian sim. This number can be used for ambulance, police or fire service. You can also download the 112 India mobile app.
Arriving at Night - This is a general point and applies to anywhere you travel, if you can, avoid arriving at a new place in the middle of the night. Nothing looks its best when you’re sleep deprived, keyed up on travel anxiety and everything is shrouded in darkness. We always find that you jump to conclusions and judge things prematurely when you arrive in the middle of the night. That scary alleyway you have to go down at midnight will be full of school children, laughter and light in the morning sun. We know with travel planning you can’t always arrive when you want to, but always make a point that if you do arrive at night, reserve all judgement until you’ve spent a full day there.
Selfies - You will very quickly be aware that you are a curiosity in India, especially if you are pale and blonde/light haired. You will frequently be asked for selfies. These snaps are, in the vast majority of cases, harmless and honestly kind of cute, for the first 80 times at least.. If you are a girl expect the number of selfie requests to sky rocket, again this is usually fine but be aware as sometimes people can be quite…handsy (both men and women). Stand your ground and walk away if you feel threatened or uncomfortable. Also, babies, be prepared to hold a lot of babies…
The selfie requests will vary wildly from place to place but expect more of them at attractions that bring in lots of Indian tourists. For those Indians not from the big cities you may be quite the oddity! We had the most selfie requests at Delhi’s Red Fort - Ellie beat John finishing with 56 selfies - 20 selfies.
So
many
Selfies!
Final Thoughts
India is an amazing and exciting place. It is more of a challenge to travel than the banana pancake trails of southeast Asia, but it is also incredibly rewarding. Armed with the above, it should go that little bit smoother, but be aware India will always surprise you!
Don’t be scared, be prepared! Get out there and explore India!
Thanks for reading,
John & Ellie x
#adventuresofjellie
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