1. Don’t Be Cheap!
India is crazy cheap its true, but this does not give you chance to also be cheap. The difference between a $4 a night hotel and a $10 a night hotel is night and day! You are already saving money over other destinations by only paying $10, don’t go crazy trying to save even more. This same rule applies to food. Do you really want to be eating that $1 Veg Thali?
2. Don’t use HostelBookers or HostelWorld
This seems like crazy talk I know, 90% of my travel accommodations came from me using these two sites. So what is the deal with India? Fake reviews and photos. The hostels in India generate fake reviews like crazy. Wow, 500 5 star reviews it must be nice. Well read them over and you see the same sentences or sayings repeated way too often. Stay at one and good luck! See below $4 night room photo. That place had 2000 reviews and 4 stars! Their review system is just too easy to cheat and in India they have no problem doing so. I booked all of my hotels from Booking.com while in India and the rest of the hotels were absoutly wonderful. I even got a few upgrades for booking from Booking.com. To the hotel owners you like some sort of VIP for paying $10.
3. Use the Official Government Tourist Offices
These places are in every major city and are inside the train station. They are easy to find and usually have signs telling you where to go. You can buy train tickets from them and get the special tourist quota seating and even book sightseeing tours without the fear of the scammers. The staff speaks perfect english and are more than helpful with any questions you ask. Do not fall for all of the “government approved” places outside of the train station. They can not sell you the tourist quota tickets and you stand the chance of getting over charged or fake tickets. It’s not worth it.
4. Plan Ahead
India has holidays all of the time, and holidays mean the trains are packed. Its possible for you to get stuck in a city for a week or more with no way out. India’s train system has a main and secondary waiting list system for a reason. I know it sounds horrible planning ahead but if you don’t you stand the chance of really getting stuck somewhere you may not like. For my time in India I bought all of my tickets ahead of time the same day at the tourist office in New Delhi. For my safety the guy even booked me on all top bunks. Sure I had to leave when the time came to go, but from the stories I heard of people getting stucks for a week or more it was worth the loss of my freedom.
5. Get a Local Phone Number
Got a GSM cellphone? Head over to a VodaPhone office with your passport, 2 passport photos, and your phone (yes you need these!). It was super easy to get a prepaid sim card for my GSM iPhone, the plans cost next to nothing. I paid $15 for 2GB of 3G data and like 500 minutes I didn’t use. So why did it get it? For emergences and internet. I felt 100% better knowing that I could call my hotel if need be, tuktuk drivers also give out their numbers for repeat business. Being able to call someone you trust to help you out is priceless in India. Don’t expect to find public phones or places that will let you use their landlines.
3G Internet! Believe or not this was faster than some of the hotels internet I was getting. If you do anything online and need a stable internet this is a lifesaver. I used up my 2GB of data and even bought another 2GB before I left India. I don’t know how I used up so much data, but when the hotel has none, or when it breaks (and it will!) I was glad to have this as a back up.
Bonus Tip
Consider bring a travel sheet. Some places are not so clean, and some don’t provide mosquito nets. A good silk travel sheet is worth its weight in gold. Its protects you from bedbugs and also works like a mosquito net. I used a Sea to Summit Silk Liner and it saved me from a few nasty sheets and armies of mosquitos.
Had to laugh at that $4 hostel pic as I’ve seen comparable stuff in Goa. Absolutely make sure that you pay a bit more to stay in a clean room. Indians have a completely different understanding of hygiene and comfort, especially when it comes to sanitary stuff. If you expect lower-end western comfort, stick to international hotel chains.
If you want to save money, save on food. As long as you order veg stuff you should be good. Also make sure to eat in non-tourist places. The advantage there is that most customers of the restaurants are recurring customers, mostly locals. They can’t afford to serve shitty food, otherwise they would lose their customer base.
Great blog mate!