Visiting India after 54 years: Tourist locations, travel & stay options

Will be spending 2 weeks & planning between Delhi and/or Mumbai.

BHPian Indian2003 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

This year-end, I will be travelling to Malaysia. I am thinking of a 6-week holiday and spending 2 of those weeks in India. It should be Delhi or Mumbai. It has been 54 years since I was there last and it will be a whole new world for me.

1. What are hotel prices like? What about Airbnb?
2. I am not used to the standards in India but a clean place should be good enough. There will be no cooking. Are there possibilities to rent an apartment for 2 weeks? - Can someone help me with that?
3. What would be best - flying to Delhi or Mumbai? I will fly out from Singapore with either Air India or Singapore Airlines

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Welcome back! Yes, the landscape has significantly changed since your last visit and I'm sure you will have a heck of a trip.

• Considering your seniority, I would suggest well-rated hotels only. Airbnbs can be a hit or miss. The security, services & 24x7 food of hotels cannot be beaten. In Mumbai, you can get decent hotels even at 3 - 4k per night (of course the sky is the limit upward).
• Do all the touristy things. Whenever I am visiting a city, TripAdvisor's city-specific lists work well for me. E.g. in Mumbai, you just have to visit the Gateway, Marine Drive, local Mumbai food etc. Depending on your tastes, there is so much more you can do (e.g. if you are into the arts, there is Ambani's impressive new cultural centre). Since you are a car guy, you can rent a self-drive and make it a day trip to Lonavala.
• Since you have approximately 14 days, I'd suggest making it 15. 5 days in Delhi (1 day mandatory for the Taj Mahal), 5 days in Mumbai and 5 days in either Goa (my favourite) or any other holiday destination you prefer. 5 days is enough to see Bombay & Delhi as a tourist.

Here's what BHPian libranof1987 had to say on the matter:

Depends on your budget. In Mumbai and Delhi, you'll find something quite cheap (1-2k INR/day) stretching to luxury (40-50k/night), but a healthy no. of options of 3* and 4* (which could be anywhere from 5k - 15k/night).

Look at MakeMyTrip / TripAdvisor: these two websites should have almost every property available listed.

There is a good no. of Airbnb as well - you could find a lot of options that allow you long-term rentals.

Try to look at what you want to do, and then finalize the type of stay and area.

Here's what BHPian Axe77 had to say on the matter:

Both Delhi or Mumbai work equally well for flight connectivity from anywhere, including SE Asia.

Pound for pound, I’d say for a tourist, Delhi will offer far more any day than Mumbai. It has equally good if not superior culinary options. It has absolutely fantastic monuments and whatnot to see - it's a great blend of the old and the new. What’s more, the few touristy sights are also less crowded than your typical day out in Mumbai. Just sightseeing at some of the tourist hot spots in Mumbai can be off-putting enough, including places like Gateway, Haji Ali etc given the large throng of crowds.

I would suggest making Delhi your destination and from there there are a range of things you can add. One is an overnight trip to see the Taj Mahal. You can also combine this holiday with say an offshoot of a week or so to Rajasthan. All these places will offer uniquely “Indian” experiences.

I’d say Mumbai can be skipped entirely as can other places which are ex - Mumbai as you’ll have enough access to great beaches in other parts of the world.

I’d also suggest decent hotels - 3, 4 or 5-star maybe depending on budget just for predictability and safety (I'd recommend 4* at least for a better experience), rather than Airbnbs. Delhi also has a number of fairly decent “guest house” style access that are not bad. Research a bit and you should find options. But diligence in their quality care. (An example is Sherwani Sundar Nagar) - there are lots of other similar options as well as clean, decent rooms and places to stay.

Here's what BHPian noopster had to say on the matter:

I would only beg to differ in one respect: DO NOT DRIVE! After 54 years away, it is an experience can do without. Instead, hire a chauffeured Innova with captain seats, it should not cost you more than 5K a day (that's 60 dollars, a steal!)

Rajasthan will be wonderful during winter. Do one of the Palace on Wheels train trips if you can.

I wouldn't say skip Mumbai completely but do try and limit it to about 2 full days. And stay in South-Central Mumbai so you don't waste too much time stuck in traffic.

Stay in a 5* hotel, nothing less. My visiting friends prefer Marriott and Taj/Vivanta- you may be surprised at the quality of rooms and service for the price! My only advice is don't eat all meals there- there are wonderful speciality restaurants in Mumbai & Delhi, elsewhere as well. Do your homework (Zomato has fairly reliable reviews, as does Tripadvisor).

If you can cut some days from Mumbai, try and hit Kerala as well. A Houseboat in Alleppey plus a couple of nights at The Taj Kumarakom may be just what the doctor ordered!

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