India tour

India is a country unlike another! Making way into cherished memories, the country is a bundle of life-changing experiences. For a female solo traveller there is absolutely nothing as amazing and educational at the vast and diverse country. From the snowy heights of the Himalayas to the tropical beaches, golden desert to a cold desert, lush jungles to backwaters, colourful towns steeped in history & culture, some even as old as civilization to cities matching pace with the world, there is so much to explore.

If you are making last minute plans for India then you have nothing to worry, here’s our guide. Once you are done with the visa, you need to simple book your tickets & hotels and simply get going to be amazed.

Our top three picks of India tour packages for last minute holidays for solo female travellers are:

Delhi & the Golden Triangle

The Golden Triangle is certainly the most preferred of tours of India. Arrive at the Delhi International Airport and get an introduction of India’s heritage and culture. The capital city of India has is sorted to ensure a smooth transition into the very unique culture of the country. The well-travelled itinerary is well suited for the first-time traveller in India. With well-connected roads, range of accommodation, things to and places to see, it is an absolute winner!

Delhi, the city of cities has been witness to many eras and rulers, each of the episodes having left footprints in form of monuments and culture. Delhi has eight such cities to boast of, from the first of Muslim rulers, Mughals to the British Raj. The Golden Triangle tour packages is the most popular itinerary in India, covering the cities of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. Agra is home to the ‘icon of love’ the Taj Mahal. The white-marble monument is pretty much one of the major reason to visit India. Jaipur is the land of the Kings, palaces, forts and colourful culture that is charmingly Indian!

For the girls, the itinerary has plenty to see, do and experience. The pleasure of shopping their hearts out certainly adds to the charm.

Kerala

Located in South India, Kerala is more than a destination, it is a bundle of wonderful experiences. Titled ‘God’s Own Country’ this place is actually heaven. From lush hills covered in tea gardens & spice plantations to golden beaches leading to azure waters, backwaters navigable by houseboat, traditional villages to historic towns, Kerala never fails to surprise. Arrive to the historic town of Kochi and then proceed with days and weeks of fun exploring the length and breadth of the earthly paradise.

One holiday in Kerala allow the bliss of the misty hills, romantic houseboat rides, relaxing on the beach, exploring history that dates over thousands of years, wildlife safaris, pampering Ayurveda sessions, the science of health and wellness and more. What more can a girl crave for?

Goa

The beautiful party destination of India, Goa is the land of sun, sand and sea. Goa conjures images of tropical bliss. Golden sands lead to the cerulean waters, coconut and palm groves sway in the breeze, and charming villages tucked away in the backwoods put a magical spell on visitors.  Goa has a reputation of being the hottest party destination in the country. The night-time activities include beach shacks, pubs, clubs, beach parties, casinos, cruises and more. Beyond the peppy setting, there are elegant churches intact in their olden charms, forts that withstood the changing times, spice plantations, bird sanctuaries, trekking trails, waterfalls and more. Additional delights include exciting water sports, mouth-watering food, shopping, and other thrills

Arrive at the Goa International Airport and be prepared to spend time in the tropical haven. With abundant options of stay in very budget (from villas, beach resorts, homestays to hotels), safe roads and a delightful crowd, this is got to be one of the places in India that you can visit anytime and be surprised every time. Girls got to rock their favourite beachwear lazing on the dreamy beaches.

It is certainly true that India as a tourist destination offers a whole lot more to tourists than most other destinations can, from the peaks of the Himalayas to the Tea Gardens of Assam to the backwaters of Kerala, to the white sandy beaches of Goa, and above all, monuments like the Taj Mahal, one of the wonders of the world--- India has all of this and much more , but sadly, India gets fewer tourists than most of its competing nations.

There are quite a few reasons as to why India only gets a minuscule percentage of the world’s tourists. Prominent amongst these are our lack of infrastructure, visa’s being difficult and expensive, the perception regarding lack of safety and security, etc.

When it comes to infrastructure, sadly, we are way behind our neighboring countries or other Asian destinations – the drive from Delhi to Agra has improved and is now world-class, but, when you look at other highways, it’s a sad situation. The drive from Jaipur to Delhi, a distance of about 250 kms, could take up to 7 hours! Likewise, the drive from Bangalore to Mysore, a distance of only about 150 kms, could take up to 5 hours! It is just not the roads or the lack of them, it is basic facilities like clean toilets that are lacking in most of our highways.

Then there is air connectivity – while things have improved quite a bit in the last few years, our national carries Air India, unfortunately, hasn’t done much to improve connectivity to India from major tourism producing countries. Compare ourselves to Dubai or Singapore, where the national carriers because of their strength, network, and connections, bring in thousands of tourists.

A lot of tourists intending to travel to India are deterred by the high cost and the time taken to obtain a Visa for India. With short lead times and last minute vacation planning becoming more and more common, travelers obviously choose destinations that are easy to get to in terms of the visa. Competing destinations like Thailand, Singapore, Hongkong, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc, either require no visas at all or have visas that are available on arrival. Even countries like Turkey, that are serious about their tourism, have introduced e-visa that can be obtained on the internet.

As a country, we have so much to show, in terms of history and culture, but, unfortunately, greed and dishonesty seems to have crept in, and crept in so deep, that it mars the tourist’s good experiences too! Tourists visiting the Jama Masjid (the largest Mosque in India ) are forced to pay a camera fee when there is actually nothing to be paid. Tourists traveling in auto rickshaws often end up paying 3 or 4 times the usual fare!

We really need to get our act together , and the Government needs to understand the importance of tourism, both in terms of its cultural exchange value , and in terms of its economic value, and do things that will attract visitors to our shores--- getting our act together on the infrastructure front , lowering of taxes on tourism product ( taxes in Delhi for example constitute almost 40% of the Hotel costs) , ensuring the safety and security of tourists travelling (particularly female travellers), would be the first steps towards this .

We also need to have more leisure activities for tourists, travellers are very happy to see monuments, forts, and palaces, but a lot of them even want nightlife and evening entertainment, good golfing facilities, etc, facilities which sadly, most of our tourist destinations lack. For example, Goa, India’s most sought after beach holiday destination, does not till date, have a world-class Championship Golf course something that every other beach holiday destination offers.

Having said all of this, India certainly does have lots to attract tourists, monuments like the Taj Mahal, Tiger Reserves like Kanha and Bandhavgarh, the frozen deserts of Ladakh, the pristine backwaters of Kerala, the 400-year-old temples of Southern India, the list is actually endless !!!