India Tours with Flights from €640

The Golden Triangle is the default first India trip, and for good reason. You fly into Delhi, drive 3-4 hours to Agra for the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort, then 4-5 hours on to Jaipur for Amber Fort, the City Palace and Hawa Mahal, and loop back to Delhi. The shape of the trip is a triangle, the drive times are manageable, and you see three of India's most recognisable sights in under a week.

A 5-day version is the entry point. Swastik India Journeys runs a top-selling 5-day Golden Triangle with meals and a sunrise Taj visit around €380 land price. Taj Tour Trips offers a 5-day private version from Delhi for around €550. Those are land-only — add flights from Europe and you are at €800-€1,100 total.

The 7-day version is where the trip actually breathes. Golden Triangle India Tours runs a 7-day Delhi-Agra-Jaipur at around €850 that adds a half-day in Fatehpur Sikri and a second Jaipur day. The 8-day upgrade with Ranthambore tiger safari from World Travel Experiences sits around €1,430 with 4-star hotels. If you want the Taj at sunrise (you do — the light is the whole point), make sure your itinerary has two Agra nights, not a day trip.

Budget around 8-12 km of walking on big sight days, temperatures of 25-32°C October-March, and heavy traffic that adds an hour to every drive.

Three regions stack neatly onto the Golden Triangle once you have 10-14 days. Rajasthan adds Udaipur (lake palaces), Jodhpur (the blue city and Mehrangarh Fort) and Jaisalmer (desert fort and Thar camel camps). Swastik's 14-day Taj Mahal plus Rajasthan with royal castle stays runs around €1,360 land and is the single best value on the longer itineraries.

Varanasi is the spiritual add-on. Two nights on the Ganges ghats at sunrise and sunset, a dawn boat ride past the burning ghats, and one evening aarti ceremony. World Travel Experiences runs an 8-day Golden Triangle with Varanasi at around €1,600. It is intense. It is also the single most Indian experience on any tour list.

Kerala is the South, and the opposite in rhythm. One or two nights on a houseboat in the Alleppey backwaters, Munnar tea plantations, and Fort Kochi colonial quarter. Most travellers fly from Delhi to Kochi rather than driving — distances are too big otherwise. Kerala adds €400-€700 to a North India tour and switches the whole energy from dust and forts to water and green.

Himalayan add-ons are Rishikesh (yoga, Ganges rafting, 5-6 hour drive from Delhi) or Ladakh (altitude, monasteries, only open May-September). Mumbai plus Goa is the third option, better for repeat visitors — Mumbai's colonial architecture and street food, then 3-4 beach nights in North Goa.

India has three tour styles that behave very differently, and picking the wrong one is the biggest regret travellers report.

Small-group tours with Intrepid, G Adventures or Exodus sit in the €900-€1,800 land-price range for 8-12 days. Groups are 10-16, hotels are mid-range 3-4 star, transport is private AC bus or train. You get a single tour leader for the whole trip plus local city guides. This is the best option for solo travellers, nervous first-timers or anyone who wants the social side.

Private driver with a local operator is extremely common in India and often cheaper than you expect. Swastik India Journeys, Taj Tour Trips, Golden Triangle India Tours, Crystal India Holidays and Joyful Holidays all run private Golden Triangle and Rajasthan trips where you get a dedicated car, driver and English-speaking guide at each city. Prices run €300-€700 per day for two people sharing a room, hotels 3-4 star. You set wake-up times, you skip what you want, you stop at the roadside dhaba when you want chai. For couples and families this is the sweet spot.

Budget backpacker style with TruTravel, G Adventures 18-to-Thirtysomethings or small local outfits strips the hotel rating to guesthouses and sleeper trains. Eight days from €500-€700 land price. Honest take: this works if you are under 35 and want the social energy. It does not work if you want a quiet evening and a clean shower at the end of a long day. Greaves India and Trafalgar's India range sit at the premium end, €3,500+ for 12-14 days with heritage hotels and boutique camps.

India has three seasons that matter for tours, and they vary sharply between North and South.

October to March is the main tourist window for the North. Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Rajasthan sit at 20-28°C during the day, cool at night, low humidity, and zero rain. November-February is peak: Christmas and New Year fill Udaipur and Jaipur heritage hotels, and operator prices lift 20-30%. October and March are the smart months — near-peak weather, no crowds.

April and May bring serious heat. Delhi and Agra regularly clear 40°C by mid-April and push 45°C in May. Temple and fort visits become a 6am affair, and honestly most travellers will not enjoy it. Tour prices drop 25-35% for a reason.

June to September is monsoon across most of India. Rajasthan gets short heavy bursts, the hills stay lush, but the North gets humid and sticky. Not peak tour season, though mid-September is a quiet shoulder with good prices if you tolerate occasional wet days.

Kerala runs on a different calendar. Monsoon arrives in early June and lingers into September, so the South peak is October to March with December-February the sweet spot. Kerala in monsoon is not unpleasant if you are there for Ayurveda retreats, but houseboats run less reliably.

For Ladakh, the road and flight window is May-September only. Outside those months roads close and flights are weather-dependent.

Delhi (DEL) is the main gateway for Golden Triangle, Rajasthan and the Himalayas. Mumbai (BOM) makes more sense if you are heading straight to Kerala, Goa or West India. Kochi (COK) direct flights from Europe are limited; most travellers route via Delhi or Mumbai.

Direct flights: Air India flies Delhi direct from London, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, Copenhagen and a few others, typically 8-9 hours. Vistara (now merged into Air India) runs the premium end on the same routes. Fares from London to Delhi direct run €450-€750 return in shoulder season (Oct, Mar) and €700-€1,100 in December-January peak.

Gulf carriers — Emirates via Dubai, Etihad via Abu Dhabi and Qatar Airways via Doha — are usually €100-€250 cheaper than direct, with 11-14 hour total travel times including the layover. They all run multiple daily flights into Delhi and Mumbai, and the connection experience is properly comfortable. Turkish Airlines via Istanbul is the other strong option and often the single cheapest.

Return fares from most EU capitals run €500-€750 in shoulder season via the Gulf and €700-€1,000 in peak. Book 3-4 months out for the best prices. On Multiday.tours the flight price is priced live via Kiwi alongside the tour, so you see the full trip cost in euros before you commit to either booking. Multi-city tickets (Delhi in, Mumbai out, for example) are usually priced the same as a round-trip and save a long internal leg.