help: planning my first trip

tinkerbel

Hello everyone,


i've been dreaming of travelling in India for years, but there was always something keeping me from actually doing it... One of the reasons is my job; i'm a teacher and, although i can't complain about the lack of holidays , i always need to plan my trips in july/august, and this is about the worst period to go to India...

So this is my question: do you think it's possible to go there in the beginning of july and come back somewhere end of august; and where would you advise me to go to avoid the worst weatherconditions?

The main goal of my trip is to expand my horizon ( learn about Indian culture, meet people, visit historical and religious sites, attend festivals and hope to learn about classic and contemporary Indian art and music...) but i will definitely need to relax too (preferably in nature or at the beach) and i also wouldn't mind a goa-style party

I have to admit; I'm quite a laidback tourist - i don't want to climb the Himalaya or walk 7 kilometers a day... Ofcourse i want to travel around, but i'm the kind of person who doesn't like tight travelling schedules because, when i like a place, i really want to SEE it and take my time for it. So i don't want to be stressed and forced to take a bus or a train every other day...

Can you help me please? All advise and remarks are more than welcome and will be appreciated a lot!

namaste,
tinkerbel from Belgium

freemanx

hi tinkerbel,

if you have followed the weather news about mumbai and the north of india in the gone by weeks you could easyly see that there was A LOT of rain there. it wouldn´t have been fun being there and i would say you wouldn´t have enjoyed it. i also wouldn´t advise you going to kolkata or the nort-east.


but india´s a huge country and there are parts which get less or no rain at all at this time of year.

best bet would be tamil nadu and the east coast. i was in TN last year in july and there was hardly any rain. but it´s quite hot, up to 40°C.
also the inland in the south can be good if you are a bit lucky.
if you go to the western part of rajasthan there might also be no or just a bit of rain.
also the very north of india( leh ) normaly doesn´t get any rain at all.

you can also be lucky and the monsun´s not heavy next year so that it´s possible to go to some other parts as well, but who knows?

just watch the weather news and adjust your plans and you´ll be fine i think

martin

iyou

I might be wrong about this, having no experience to base this on, but wouldn't the Himalayas be a nice place to be this time of year? Or are they being drenched in rain, too? You're wise to be cautious about taking too many bus and train trips. It's much more rewarding, IMHO, to visit fewer places. You spend much less time travelling, and you get the benefit of getting to know a spot really well.
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biswajit_27

Tinkerbell,

Yes its possible to visit India at this time of the year. the temperature wuld be more bearable for you. But in light of the fact that monsoons would start very soon, I wud suggest you visit the North-indian plains. Though it rains, it does not rain as heavily as in the south and east. Nor will it be as dry as the west. (talk abt taking the middle-path) ...
You can plan ur travel like
1. Delhi (Do NOT stay in Paharganj)
2. Gwalior
3. Jaipur (though it is a veryyyy touristy place)
4. Agra
5. Haridwar

Keep it short and straight, the path I describe is roughly a triangle, a patch of Northern India.

Hope your travel is good.

freemanx

the himalayas get lots of rain. and it´s not realy fun sitting in a restaurant all day waiting for the rain to stop. but it doesn´t rain all of the time, so if you don´t mind waiting some days till the sun comes out again than go for it.
only if you go as high up as leh you are safe

freemanx

why not? it´s the best part of it!

tinkerbel

thanks everyone for the suggestions and advise, it's really encouraging! I'm going to buy me some decent maps and some books for a start, and look up some stuff on the net... hoping to have a rough idea around december about where i'll end up, so i can buy a ticket... (maybe i'll start working on my condition too, who knows i'll end up in the Himalaya after all :-))

By the way, nobody mentioned Kerala, but i was talking to some people the other day and they said it'll rain but not all that hard?

beach

By august-september, rainy season sort of comes to and end in kerala. And this is the festivel time in kerala. The harvest festivel Onam of this state. Also they organise a lot of tourism programs (culturals,processions... ) during this season.This is a 10 day festival with a grand finale.

Type Onam in Google and click on the Images above the search bar. You can see a pictorial display of what I mean...

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GoanCanuck

Hi Tinkerbel! Considering the fact that you want to go to India in the month of July, I would recommend Himachal Pradesh and Leh as the best places to visit climate wise.

Goa is not a great place to visit at this time of the year unless you don't mind sitting in your room reading a book.
No parties whatsoever in July or August.

Kerala does not get too much rain towards the end of August but the humidity can be very oppressive.

indianovice

We just returned from India - Delhi and Agra and in spite of people telling us we were nuts to go in July (15-23) we did not have a drop of rain. The weather was hot and humid (30-33C) but certainly much cooler than we were led to believe. Keep in mind that any decent hotel is air conditioned and you will be on vacation rather than in business clothes. Go for it the heat is intoxicating and you wouldn't want to forgo In dia. It is spectacular.

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