Hi Melia – unfortunately, I think your airfare is going to be around $1000. You might try flying out of Vancouver? Also, another suggestion I have is to call a travel agent that specializes in India travel. I know that in New York City and DC there are many of them who get better deals than those found on the internet. Are you going alone? I went to Delhi by myself a couple of years ago, so if you have any other questions, let me know.

i went to delhi last febuary, i left from portland, or….the fare altogether was just over $1000…i flew to bangkok, then baught another ticket to india from there…..
unfortunately, you are not going to find anything under $1000…..but, i think your airline ticket will be your biggest expense….food is really cheap…most of the meals i had on a daily basis were about $0.50-$1.50…there are plenty of cheap places to stay too……..i spent about mabey $35 a day including food, hotels, and extras….$40 at most…not including train tickets though, but they too are cheap…
it seems as if everybody wants to sell you something, taxi drivers will always try to get you to go to a carpet shop or gift shop ( you should visit some of these shops though )…or if you visit sites, ignore people that come up to you and start talking to you…they will try to be your tour guide and then demand money…sometimes you will have to be persistant and keep saying no several times…

but i found india to be a good value…..definately one of my favorite countries….people are very friendly….very safe…….just stick to your itinerary if you want to save money….

TAKE YOUR ANTI-MALARIAL PILLS EVERYDAY…doxycycline worked pretty well for me…spray your clothes with permathin, and wear deet ( %35 is best )….just to be on the safe side….you will have a great time!!!!!!!!

if you have any other questions…..e-mail me at:

chuckpatterson66@yahoo.com

tripadvisor brings up some good site, here’s one of them. i found what you mentioned on it – Air India at $1160 from SEA to DEL. Another thing you might thinkn about is flying Jetblue or some other low-cost carrier, or else using frequent flyer miles to fly to JFK or an east coast hub, and trying to get a flight from there.
http://www.makemytri…

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll most likely end up going alone, not sure yet. Is it a good idea if I wait to buy the tickets 3-4 weeks in advance?

hope – I’ve heard conflicting stories from friends about girls traveling alone to India. Some say not a good idea, some say it shouldn’t be a problem, what do you advise from your experiences? I want to visit Jaipur, Varanasi and Delhi, w/ a daytrip to Agra (via train between each city). Is that do-able within ~2 weeks of time or am I pushing it?

chuck – did you book your hotels in advance or found them when you got there?

quote:
Trying to find a ticket from Seattle to Delhi..

Melia
Have you ever used[url=‘http://www.travelteam.com/’]TravelTeam[/url]?
They are based in Seattle. They once helped me get a really good fare to Greece.

melia, i booked my hotels in advance before i left….i think it is a good idea to do that…when you land in delhi and exit baggage claim, you will encounter many people who will try to get you to go to the hotels of their choice ( usually someplace expensive ) so they can get their commision……its best to pre book so you can be prepared for this….just to be on the safe side

i also booked my train tickets in advance as well….and picked them up at the train station the day after i arrived…..you can take overnight trains from delhi to cities in rajasthan….pretty cheap as well…….

Hey Melia,

Traveling alone in India was amazing but terrifying – definitely ran into a lot of probs. but the rewards were great. I think 2 weeks ia fine for a little rajasthan tour, a few days in Delhi, and a few days in Varanasi. I have some tips listed here, including how to buy train tix and visa and accomodations etc.
http://www.chatarea….

also my blog while i was there (erm, don’t let the first India entry deter you! haha)
http://www.kahunna.n…

thanks for the tips y’all!

(hope, had fun reading your blogs and insightful tips!)

I may have to go with a fare that arrives in Delhi @ 2am. That’s awfully early… should I just take a nap at the airport & wait till daylight or risk getting into a taxi at that time of the night?

most flights into delhi arive around that time…..TAKE A TAXI…..do not hang around the airport….not the most comfortable place to sleep at..plus, there were people ( claiming to be airport officials )trying to con me out of money there when i was waiting for a departing flight really late one night………..

with taxi drivers….make sure you agree on the fares going into delhi…AND BE PERSISTANT…TELL THE TAXI DRIVER WHERE YOU WANT TO GO….they will usually try to get you to go someplace else, a hotel in which they will get a commision for bringing you to….you may encounter people, taxi drivers telling you that the hotel you are staying at is closed, burnt down, or is in a very bad area…BULLCRAP!!!! BE PERSISTANT with the driver….

how did you differentiate the real officials from the cons?

there were four guys claiming to be airport officials who were hanging around the entrance to this waiting area….none of them had any ID…when i got there, they started harrassing me for money in order to enter, but letting other people go by, i left….walked around about 10 minutes then went back….i told them i didnt believe they were who they claimed to be and told them i had contacted security….they left me alone after that…..

melia….if you are interested,i found an india travel forum site that has information posted by other india travelers on many topics, ranging from airfares, hotels, health and travel advice….it is called indiamike and can be found at www.indiamike.com