Christmas/New Year delays?

guerik

I'm going to be travelling before, between and immediately after Christmas and New Year.
I'm planning to book my trains in advance, but will there be any other problems with travelling during that period?

Also: will things close down over Christmas? Not many people are actually Christian here either, and yet the whole country shuts down..

albaruni

what things?

it's the busiest travel season in India, most shops/ markets are open.

depends where you are going to also. the eastern seaboard can have rains in november.

guerik

Will the rains have stopped by December? I arrive December 8th, was planning to jump a train down to Mumbai almost immediately, and make my way back up via Gujarat. Hadn't even thought about the weather yet.

albaruni

yes. (you're going to gujarat , so that shouldn't affect you anyway)

The weather in gujarat should be very temperate about that time.(between 40 and 70 F .)

SHIMLA

If you're planning the Delhi-Mumbai-Gujarat-Rajasthan-Delhi route in December, then there'll be no threat of rain. In fact, December is one of the best months to cover this track. As you've already decided to book your train tckets in advance, I do not foresee any problems other than your having to book hotel accomodation in advance too, for the period Dec.24 to Jan.1, if you're planning to be in Rajasthan then. This applies particularly to mid-range hotels.

__________________
Whoever said money can't buy happiness didn't know where to shop !

tstan

Hi Guerik

Dec 25 is on Saturday this year and I very much doubt whether you would notice any difference. I was in Chiang Mai last Christmas Day and there, the banks and schools were open. It is an official public holiday in India but it is only observed by government departments and banks.

It is always difficult to decide whether to lock yourself into an itinerary but there are lots of advantages - you free yourself from having to worry about queues at railway stations and no vacancy signs on all the hotels and guest houses - and, as Shimla suggests it would be prudent to book your accommodation at least for the peak period.

steven_ber

Unless your used to being away from home at Xmas, it can be a very strange day, it's the only day I've spent in India when I wanted to be home instead.

A good hotel and a long walk to nowhere helped me.

__________________
.
How to get helpful replies to your transport/Itinerary questions.


Train information.


RAC & Waitlists explained.

guerik

Thanks for your help everyone!

It will be weird to be away from home at Christmas, but it worked out almost equally expensive to either buy a ticket that left after christmas/NY or to come to India early and travel around for a bit.
As it means I can spend a bit more time and money in India, it was a pretty easy choice

Looks like (at this very early stage) I'll be in Diu for Christmas and Delhi for NYE, so if anyone's around drop me a line