Travel

Summary:

• You need a visa
• Fly into Jaipur (JAI) or Delhi (DEL)
• Flight should be purchased 6-8 months in advance or more, so February-April
• ONLY eat at 5 star hotels to avoid food poisoning
• ONLY drink bottled water, India does not have potable water,
• Tipping is not required
• Spend more than $150/night on hotels to have a reasonable experience
• Get the flu vaccine before you go

Visa

You will need to apply for a tourist evisa. Make sure to go directly through the Govt. of India website to obtain your visa. You must apply at least 30 days before your trip. Strongly recommend applying sooner rather than later.

Health Advisory/Vaccinations

Please take a look at CDC’s India Travel page and update your vaccination as needed and avoid touching stray animals. If you can, get the rabies vaccine before traveling.

It is advisable to carry a few things with you, such as,

• Stomach meds
• N95/KN95 masks for sightseeing days or if travelling through Delhi
• Antihistamines
• Regular pain meds

There are ample pharmacies everywhere and medical care is easily available.

Flights

If you are flying with 1 stop (our recommendation) pay close attention to layovers and times. If available you can also fly nonstop, although that can be more exhausting for people not used to long flights.

The BEST airport to fly into would be Jaipur (Code: JAI). The second option would be flying into New Delhi (Code: DEL) and then traveling to Jaipur from there. If you decide to fly from DEL to JAI keep in mind the luggage allowance can differ between international and domestic.

Please let us know your travel plans and we will coordinate picking you up from the airport, either Delhi or Jaipur, and getting you to where you're staying. Consider coordinating with others on flights/arrival times to allow for carpooling.

Getting around

We can help arrange for a taxi on per day cost. Folks can carpool. You can also use Uber or Ola app to go anywhere and it's a cheap way to get around, just make sure to set up your account before you get to India. Always travel with a companion. Share your location with someone and avoid late night hours. Once your itinerary is set, we can get in touch with a taxi service and look into the cost of renting transportation. You can decide if that matches your budget or would Ola/Uber work better for you.

If you're taking the train, we can arrange pick up and drop off from the station, and help you buy tickets.

Lodging

During the event, we invite you to stay at Diggi Palace, free of charge.

For days outside those 2 days, our recommendations for hotels are:

• Taj
• Leela
• Regular international chains such as Hyatt, Tata and Hilton.

You can also consider Airbnb, which will be cheaper than such hotels. However, good hotels will provide breakfast and may provide dinner. Airbnb likely will not do the same. Do read reviews by foreigners.

If you don't stay at the listed hotels, we recommend 4-5 star hotels costing at least $150 per night for a good experience. Spending less than that on a hotel may not be a good experience.

Food and drink

During the two days of the wedding all food will be provided.

Outside of that, if you stay at a good hotel, they should offer breakfast and dinner service. You will likely be out and about for sightseeing during lunch hours so as a rule of thumb consider eating at hotels/expensive venues for lunch too, as food stalls or cheap establishments are very likely to give you food poisoning. We can recommend good restaurants once you have your itinerary.

Note that India does not have potable tap water. So:

• only drink water which comes out of a sealed bottle
• brush teeth with bottled water
• avoid cold foods such as salads
• don't open your mouth in the shower

Culture

Tipping

Tipping is generally not expected by Uber and Ola drivers. However, we generally tip a little bit. At the end of a stay at a hotel, we generally leave a tip that is divvied up among the staff. If you’re happy with the service, feel free to tip but, unlike in the US, a 20% tip is NOT expected after a meal.

Fitting in

• We generally don’t shake hands. Greet with a Namaste.
• We generally don’t take shoes into the home but wear home slippers
• You may not always find forks in a home. Spoons do all the work.
• We always wash our hands before and after meals.

What should I wear during travel?

You won’t need any winter clothing in October. Light comfortable clothing. For women we really recommend modest clothing, so avoid off shoulder dresses, short skirts/shorts, low cut tops etc, when you are in public.

Random facts

Ticket prices for Indians and Foreign Nationals are different, e.g., at the Taj Mahal, the price for an Indian national is Rs. 50 (75 cents) whereas the cost for a foreign nationals is Rs. 1000, which is ~$14).

$1 ≈ ₹88 (Rupees/Rs.)