Explore
INTERNAL FLIGHTS
They are the most practical and fastest way to change the scene in the vast Asian subcontinent. The routes are constantly increasing and increasingly serve the four corners of the country at prices that compete with a series of new ones. low-cost made it very affordable.
The main airlines are:
Air India (the national company); Go Air; IndiGo Airlines; Jet Airways; SpiceJet
You can find plane tickets up to €10 but these are discounted prices for limited seats that sell out in a flash. The longer you buy in advance, the more you'll be able to save. Please note that some airlines charge more for tickets to foreign passengers. Others do not accept foreign credit cards.
TRAIN
Introduced in 1853 by English settlers, they developed into one of the densest railroad networks on Earth. The system is functional, not necessarily punctual. Traveling by train in India quickly proves to be a true ethnic and cultural experience and still allows you to enjoy the country's exotic scenery with relative tranquility. Indian trains give visitors the choice of the level of comfort they want for their journeys, from the pure refinement of luxury trains to the wooden seats in filthy and overcrowded carriages of conventional trains.
The classes of Indian trains are several, gradually distinct and also identified in English, which facilitates the purchase of tickets by foreign passengers. You won't find all the ones listed below in a single train:
Long Distances: AC First (1A); AC 2 Tier (2A); AC 3 Tier (3A); First Class (FC); Sleeper Class (SL)
Short Distances: AC Chair Car (CC); Second Class Chair Car (2S)
No reservation: General compartments (GS)
India has 1.300 billion inhabitants. So don't be surprised if the train you plan to travel on the next day is already full. Fortunately, as a rule, the day before a train departs, a quota of available tickets, the Tatkal tickets, is posted. Sales for that train open at 12am. In this way, some tourists were able to buy tickets little by little, paying agents an additional amount that gave them priority. In 2012, however, authorities responded to this scheme and decreed that agents could only start purchasing tickets 2 hours after sales began.
It is supposed to be possible to purchase tickets for this quota online at IRCTC. However, the huge influx of potential buyers to the site causes the site to become dysfunctional during sales hours.
In conclusion, if you cannot find an agency to guarantee the purchase of tickets or buy them online, the only solution will be to dispute them patiently at the ticket offices of Indian railway stations. Or choose to buy a pass IndRail.
TRUCK
Consider this option to reach places not covered by the vast Indian rail network. Keep in mind, however, that in terms of peace of mind, bus travel has little to do with train travel. Drivers often drive at high speed and make countless seemingly suicidal overtakings in one trip. It is also common to honk almost all the way, sometimes with deafening horns. Popular buses also fail to circulate too often overcrowded and the total lack of comfort. The main advantage of being subjected to possible railway tortures of this type is the very low cost of travel. A journey of 5 or 6 hours can cost as little as €2.
Some Indian companies try to solve the quality road travel gap with modern and comfortable buses. These include: Raj National Express and KPN.
CAR RENTAL
Partly because of what is described in the field above about bus drivers, but mainly because traffic is chaotic in cities and extremely dangerous on rural roads. It is not at all safe or advisable to explore India by rental car.
Although there are some highways, roads in regions further away from cities are often unpaved or paved but cratered and drastically muddy during monsoons after prolonged rains. Even some city roads can have these same problems.
That said, few visitors dare to drive their own car. Instead, the most common practice is to hire a car with a driver/guide. You might even want the car to be an Ambassador, the elegant 1958 classic model inspired by the British model Morris Oxford III. If you succeed, your trip will have an additional strong Indian charm.
For shorter distances you can also use taxis and rickshaws, three-wheel motor vehicles, with a separation between the driver's station and the passenger cabin. Rickshaws are noisier and quite possibly more polluting than most cars, but they are also cheaper than taxis. Expect to pay €0,20 for the first km of the journey. From then on, the normal thing will be to pay €0,15 per next km.
Many rickshaw and taxi drivers claim that their meters are not working in order to try to profit more from the journey. When it happens to you, you have two choices: either you are uncompromising and look for another one, or you negotiate as best you can with the driver before leaving.
SHIP
Ferries with a regular service connect different ports in India – for example, Chennai and Calcutta – to Port Blair, the main city of the Andaman Islands. The trip takes around 60 hours. From October to May, there is also a ferry service that connects Cochin to the Lakshadweep Islands in around 20 hours.