In short: India costs about $35 to $50 a day on a budget, $70 to $120 mid-range, and $250+ for luxury, per person, excluding international flights. A 2-week mid-range trip is around $1,000 to $1,700 per person. India's prices rarely break a budget. Tourist prices do.
We've planned trips for 200+ international travellers, and our local buddies across India see the same pattern every week: two travellers on the same route, same comfort level, and one spends almost double. The difference is never the hotel. It's the auto ride, the "special price" shop and the agent markup. Here's what India actually costs, and how to pay what locals pay.
Total trip cost by length and style
Per person, excluding international flights.
Trip length | Budget | Mid-range | Luxury |
|---|---|---|---|
10 days | $350 to $500 | $700 to $1,200 | $2,500+ |
14 days | $500 to $700 | $1,000 to $1,700 | $3,500+ |
21 days | $750 to $1,050 | $1,500 to $2,500 | $5,000+ |
Planout estimates based on our travellers' 2025 to 2026 trips.
What things really cost in India (2026)
Item | Rupees | Approx. USD |
|---|---|---|
Masala chai at a stall | ₹15 to ₹30 | $0.20 to $0.35 |
Thali (full meal) at a local restaurant | ₹150 to ₹350 | $2 to $4 |
Dinner for two at a good mid-range restaurant | ₹800 to ₹1,500 | $10 to $18 |
1 litre bottled water | ₹20 | $0.25 |
5 km auto ride booked in an app | ₹80 to ₹150 | $1 to $2 |
Delhi airport to city centre by app cab | ₹600 to ₹1,000 | $7 to $12 |
Overnight AC sleeper train (3A), about 600 km | ₹1,200 to ₹1,800 | $14 to $22 |
Domestic flight, booked 3 weeks ahead | ₹3,500 to ₹7,000 | $40 to $85 |
Hostel dorm bed | ₹500 to ₹1,000 | $6 to $12 |
Boutique or heritage room | ₹3,000 to ₹7,000 | $35 to $85 |
Taj Mahal for foreigners, incl. mausoleum | ₹1,300 | $15 |
Prepaid SIM with daily data, 28 days | ₹300 to ₹400 | $4 to $5 |
Kerala houseboat, 1 night for two | ₹8,000 to ₹15,000 | $95 to $180 |
The hidden costs that blow foreign budgets
Foreigner monument fees. Foreigners pay many times the Indian price at major monuments. Budget $5 to $15 per big site.
The Christmas spike. Goa and Rajasthan stays can double from about 20 December to 5 January.
"Commission stops". Drivers who detour to carpet, gem or textile shops earn a cut of everything you spend. You're paying it.
Agent and package markups. Packaged tours often add 20 to 30% on top of what hotels and transport actually cost.
Airport exchange counters. Poor rates. Use a no-foreign-fee card at bank ATMs.
Tips. Not mandatory but expected: drivers ₹300 to ₹500 a day, guides ₹500 to ₹1,000 a day.
9 money hacks from our local buddies
Check the app price before any street negotiation. Even if you don't book, the Uber or Ola price tells you the fair fare.
Take trains for anything under 10 hours. Cheaper than flying, often faster door to door, and a far better story.
Choose homestays and havelis over chain hotels. Cheaper, and the host's breakfast and stories are free.
Eat where the queue is local. A ₹200 thali beats a ₹2,000 tourist buffet, every time.
Go to markets in the morning. Shopkeepers believe the first sale of the day brings luck and are more willing to deal.
Buy at government emporiums to learn fair prices, then shop around in the markets.
Book monument tickets online. Skip the queue, avoid touts, and many sites offer a small online discount.
Travel in October or March. Peak-season weather at shoulder-season prices.
Ask a local before you pay for anything big. Our travellers message their Planout local buddy before agreeing to a guide, a driver or a big purchase. One message regularly saves more than a week of Planout costs.
What does Planout cost?
Planout's Freedom plan starts at $0.99 per day and the Pro plan at $4.99 per day. Anything we book for you is at actual cost plus a transparent platform fee: no commission stops, no upselling, no packaged-tour markup. See pricing
Get a costed plan for your trip, free
Tell us your dates, route and travel style, and we'll send a day-by-day plan with realistic costs. Get your free plan →
Related: How to Plan a Trip to India · India Itineraries · First Trip to India: 21 Mistakes
Blog 4: Best Time to Visit India, Month by Month
Field | Value |
|---|---|
Post Title | Best Time to Visit India (2026): Where to Go Every Month |
Category | Travel Essentials |
Slug | best-time-to-visit-india |
Author Name | Oishi Dey |
Excerpt | When to visit India by month and region: weather, festivals, crowds and prices, plus the hidden-gem pick for every month, from locals across India. |
Read Time | 12 min |
FAQ Question 1 | What is the best month to visit India for the first time? |
FAQ Answer 1 | February or late October. The weather is good across most of the country, festivals are on, and prices are lower than the Christmas peak. |
FAQ Question 2 | Is December a good time to visit India? |
FAQ Answer 2 | Yes for Goa, Kerala, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. Delhi has winter fog that delays trains and flights, plus smog, so keep your Delhi time short. |
FAQ Question 3 | Is monsoon a good time to visit India? |
FAQ Answer 3 | Yes, in the right places. Ladakh and Spiti are at their best, and Kerala is green, quiet and ideal for Ayurveda. Avoid Goa's beaches and long road trips in the Himalayan foothills. |
FAQ Question 4 | When is Holi in India? |
FAQ Answer 4 | Holi usually falls in March, on the full moon of the Hindu month of Phalguna, so the date changes every year. Book stays 2 to 3 months ahead. |
Content (paste from here):
In short: October to March is the best time for most of India. November to February is peak: perfect weather, highest prices. October and March are the sweet spot. April to June is for the Himalayas. July to September is for Ladakh, Spiti and Kerala Ayurveda. There's no bad month to visit India, only the wrong region for that month.
India is so big that while Rajasthan is baking at 45°C in May, Ladakh's mountain passes are just opening, and while Goa's beaches are empty in the monsoon, Kerala is at its greenest. Our local buddies live across all of these regions, so here's the honest month-by-month view from the people actually there, plus one hidden gem for every month.
India month by month
Month | Weather (north plains) | Go to | Avoid | Festivals and events | Hidden gem of the month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
January | Cool, foggy mornings, 5 to 20°C | Rajasthan, Kerala, Goa, Tamil Nadu | High Himalayan treks | Republic Day (26 Jan), Pongal | Rann of Kutch's white salt desert under a full moon |
February | Pleasant, 10 to 25°C | The plains and the south | Nothing major | Jaisalmer Desert Festival | Hampi's boulder landscapes before the heat |
March | Warm, 15 to 32°C | Rajasthan, Varanasi, tiger reserves | Late-March heat in central India | Holi | Holi in Mathura and Vrindavan, where it began |
April | Hot, 22 to 38°C | Darjeeling, Sikkim, Meghalaya | Rajasthan, Delhi, Agra | Rhododendron bloom in Sikkim | |
May | Very hot, 26 to 42°C | Himachal, Uttarakhand, Kashmir | All the plains | Tirthan Valley, Himachal: trout streams, no crowds | |
June | Hot, monsoon arrives in the south | Ladakh, Spiti | Kerala and Goa beaches | Hemis Festival (Ladakh) | Spiti's monasteries as the roads open |
July | Monsoon | Ladakh, Spiti, Kerala Ayurveda | Hill roads in Himachal and Uttarakhand | Monsoon Ayurveda retreat in Kerala, the traditional season for it | |
August | Monsoon | Ladakh, Western Ghats | North-east hill roads | Independence Day (15 Aug) | Valley of Flowers in full bloom (Uttarakhand) |
September | Monsoon easing | Ladakh, late-month Rajasthan | Goa's beach shacks still closed | Onam (Kerala), Ganesh Chaturthi (Mumbai) | Kaas Plateau wildflowers near Satara |
October | Warm and dry, 20 to 33°C | Rajasthan, Varanasi, Himalayan views | Navratri, Durga Puja, Diwali (some years) | Durga Puja in Kolkata, the city's biggest street festival | |
November | Pleasant, 12 to 28°C | Almost everywhere | Delhi if you're sensitive to smog | Diwali (some years), Pushkar Camel Fair | Orchha's riverside palaces in perfect weather |
December | Cool, 7 to 22°C | Goa, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu | Delhi fog delays | Hornbill Festival (Nagaland, 1 to 10 Dec) | Hornbill Festival in Nagaland |
Temperatures are typical daytime ranges for Delhi and Rajasthan. The south stays around 25 to 33°C all year. Many festivals follow the lunar calendar and change date every year.
Best time to visit by region
Region | Best months | Why |
|---|---|---|
Rajasthan, Delhi, Agra | October to March | Dry, warm days and cool nights |
Kerala | September to March | Green after the monsoon, then dry |
Goa | November to March | Shacks open, calm sea |
Ladakh | June to September | The only window when passes are open |
Himachal and Uttarakhand | March to June, September to November | Clear skies, no monsoon landslides |
North-east | October to April | Dry season and festival season |
Andaman Islands | November to April | Calm sea, good diving visibility |
Tiger reserves | February to May | Dry forest, animals come to water |
Peak, shoulder and low season
Peak (mid-December to January): perfect weather, prices up to double, big crowds at the Taj Mahal. Book 3+ months ahead.
Shoulder (October, November, February, March): our favourite. Great weather, fair prices, fewer people.
Low (April to September): cheapest flights and stays. Brilliant for the mountains, Ayurveda and monsoon landscapes.
Why India's festivals change date every year
Most Indian festivals follow lunar or lunisolar calendars, not the Gregorian one. Diwali falls on the new moon of the month of Kartika, Holi on the full moon of Phalguna. That's why Diwali can land in October one year and November the next. Always check the year's dates before you book flights around a festival.
Local hack: in festival weeks, trains and stays sell out first, not flights. Book trains the day the 60-day window opens.
Tell us your dates, we'll match the region
Got fixed dates? Tell us when you're coming and what you love, and we'll suggest the regions, festivals and hidden gems that are at their best that month. Get your free plan →
Related: How to Plan a Trip to India · India Trip Cost · India Itineraries
