India family holidays and breaks

India is becoming a much easier place to visit with kids – as long as you don’t attempt too much, or go too far off-the-beaten track, especially on your first visit, it’s a wonderful destination for family holidays. The people are endlessly delighted to see children, the hotels have improved exponentially over the last decade, and the sights and sounds are simply extraordinary. Take your choice from a multitude of family-friendly accommodation and activity options, including staying in a beautiful eco-retreat on the beach in Goa or in a hill station in Kerala, and taking elephant rides through wildlife reserves.

Plan carefully, go at the right time of year, and you’ll probably end up giving your kids the holiday of a lifetime, as long as you’re prepared for the culture shock. India can take a while to get your head round, and that goes double for kids. The sight of beggars, particularly malnourished children and severely deformed people can be very upsetting, while the begging itself can be persistent to the point of harassment. Foreign visitors often get openly stared at away from the main tourist sites. Then there’s the dirt, the pollution in cities (something to consider if travelling with asthma sufferers), the noise, and the crowds. All can seem overwhelming at first, so warn your kids and/or break them in gently.

Capital City	New Delhi
Flying Time	8.4 hours
Timezone	GMT +5.30
Local Currency	Indian Rupee

What to Do

One of the most popular and rewarding trips in northern India is around the ‘Golden Triangle’ of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. Delhi is not a place you’ll easily forget, and you need to prepare for serious sensory overload – our advice is to stay somewhere a bit cushy for a few days until you acclimatise. Then take a deep breath, flag down a rickshaw and throw yourselves into it. New Delhi is full of grand avenues, embassies and monuments. Old Delhi is the place to go – cheerful chaos reigns in its labyrinthine bazaars and wonderful relics, which include the Red Fort or Jama Masjid. Take train-mad kids to the Rail Transport Museum, where they can climb all over mighty steam engines and the skull of an elephant who charged a mail-train and lost.

The chief attraction of Agra is the Taj Mahal, a white-marble memorial built in the 17th century by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for one of his wives, Mumtaz Mahal; it took 20,000 labourers 22 years to complete. Not far from Agra is another Mughal masterpiece, Fatehpur Sikri, an ancient royal city guarded by massive gates, while at Bharatpur, on the edge of Rajasthan, you’ll find a wonderful bird sanctuary in a royal hunting reserve.

Within the colourful state of Rajasthan, famous for its bright-hued jewellery and handicrafts, visit the lovely capital Jaipur, known as the ‘Pink City’ since being painted this colour to mark a visit by the Prince of Wales in 1876. It’s surrounded by rugged hills and forts you can visit on the back of an elephant. Make sure to seek out the City Palace, full of regal costumes and weaponry, and the Palace of the Winds, an extraordinary and evocative place with 953 pink windows that make the air around it shimmer.

Also in Rajasthan are the ‘Blue City’ of Jodphur, so-named because of its indigo-tinged brahmins' houses, and the ‘Golden City’ of Jaisalmer, built on a yellow sandstone ridge and topped by a fort. The latter has some lovely havelis or private mansions, and you can ride a camel out into the Thar desert and then eat dinner under the stars and sleep on a sand dune. There’s also Udaipur, famed for its lake palace (now a luxury hotel) and for being where some of the Bond movie Octopussy was filmed.

In southern India, the beaches of Kerala and Goa are the best places for family holidays. But you’ll probably arrive first in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), which is well worth exploring, although it’s a good idea to take it easy for the first day or two to help your kids acclimatise to this extraordinary place. Then take them to see the Sassoon Dock, where colourfully dressed Koli fisherwomen sort out the day’s catch, and to Colaba market, full of dazzling sights and sounds. Swim off famous Chowpatty Beach and hang around to watch the sun set, when hundreds of snack-sellers converge on the shore to catch the evening crowd.

Goa is basically a 130km string of beautiful palm-fringed beaches, although it pays to venture inland and explore the wildlife sanctuaries and temples that dot this lovely region. If you do stay on the coast, steer clear of the overdeveloped spots and seek out the quieter eco resorts. Some of the best beaches are Morjim, a turtle nesting site, Colva, the longest beach in Goa, and Calangute, particularly good for watersports. 

Kerala also has beautiful beaches, including Kovalam, although the highlight of this state is a trip through the Malabar backwaters, a tangled maze of canals and rivers best explored by houseboat or even canoe. Go to Cochin to see the Portuguese fort, and to Periya National Park to see the elephants.

Where to Stay

India is very cheap for Western visitors – the upmarket Western hotels in the major cities and resorts still charge prices approximating their native equivalents, but there are some wonderfully atmospheric high-end options such as old maharajahs’ palaces that are well worth the splurge. Check out our recommended hotels including Taj Exotica Goa, Park Hyatt Goa Resort & Spa and The Leela Kempinski Goa.

Good budget-conscious options can be found, but mosquito bites and hence the risk of malaria (see above) can be lessened by choosing accommodation with air-conditioning and sealed windows. Cheap hotels also tend to have frequent power blackouts. Many areas have dak bungalows, run by the State for travelling officials but usually taking in tourists when they have room. These are good ways of meeting Indian travellers.

India is also a destination where you might think about being particularly sensitive to the effect of tourism on local communities and the environment. It can be far better and more rewarding to stay in a local family guesthouse than in a Western-style resort using obscene amounts of water. We list several eco-friendly options in Green Places to Stay in Asia feature.

Parents may be tempted – especially on first family holidays in India – by an organized family adventure run by our partner The Adventure Company. Their Indian excursions include the Mountains & Tigers Family Holiday, which takes in Old Delhi and the Taj Mahal before heading into the Himalayan foothills and Corbett National Park for the chance to spot tigers. White-water rafting is optional, and you can visit a school in Betalghat that is funded by The Adventure Company. The minimum age is five. Other trips are Tiger Trails & Taj Mahal, Spicelands & Elephants, and Essence of India.

When

The winter season, October to February, is the most pleasant time to schedule family holidays here — it's not too hot, even in south India. Winter is also dry in the northeast, which is monsoon territory in the summer. Summer (March to May) is unpleasantly hot and humid unless you retreat to one of the scenic hill-stations.

Most of the well-known Indian festivals also take place in winter. November alone sees Dussehra, Durga Puja, Diwali, and Rajasthan’s Pushkar Fair, the country’s largest camel fair. Then in January comes Republic Day and the Punjabi festival of Lohri, while March sees Holi, the festival of colours.

It’s essential to go to a travel health clinic or your GP at least 4–8wks before departure. Essential vaccinations are hepatitis A and B, typhoid and rabies (especially if your kids love playing with animals). You should make sure all other childhood vaccinations are up to date. Your clinic will have the latest health information and advice regarding travel to India, including the malarial medication specifically recommended for the area you are to travel to. Be aware that malarial medications – Mefloquine (Lariam), Atovaquone/Proguanil (Malarone) or Doxycycline – usually need to be started a couple of weeks before travel. 

As a number of malarial drugs cause unpleasant side effects, some people contend that the best approach to tackling the risk of malaria is to take preventative measures while you are there. These include covering up fully to protect from insect bites – if you take your children out in the evening, make sure they wear socks, long sleeves, high necks and hats, and cover them liberally in an anti-mosquito treatment such as Deet or the gentler Jaico anti-mosquito milk. Many seasoned travellers also swear by eucalyptus oil, although it would need to be watered down for younger children. Make sure kids always sleep under a mosquito net, even in better hotels (ie ones with air conditioning and sealed windows), and for added precaution make sure the net is impregnated with Deet. You can also burn mosquito coils or carry an electronic mosquito repellent with you to plug in.  

Even if you are taking anti-malarial medication you should still take all these precautions.

How

All travellers need a visa to enter India. For further details, see VFS Global.

The main airports for travellers arriving from the West are Mumbai and New Delhi, and then also Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. In recent years other airports have opened to international flights to cope with increased traffic, including Jaipur in Rajasthan and Cochin in Kerala. British Airways flies to India from major UK airports. Prices fluctuate but a sample price from London to Mumbai (about 9hrs) with British Airways in Premium Economy is £420. Indian airlines operating internationally are Air India, Jet Airways, and Kingfisher Airlines.

The same national carriers operate within India, and if you’re travelling a great distance between destinations, this is your best option with kids. Indian roads are diabolical and should be avoided wherever possible. Trains are a great way to get to know the country and its people — they’re slow but atmospheric, and an interesting option with older kids, who will be entertained by sleeping on board, and by the hawkers selling food and drinks at stations, including chai, an incredibly sweet tea made with condensed milk.

Within cities or between sights, family holidays in India aren't complete without at least one or two rides in a rickshaw.

Eat

Indian cuisine is superb if not immediately child-friendly – if you're worried that eating out might be an issue on family holidays here, be reassured that anywhere tourists go there'll be cafés and restaurants offering Western 'travellers' favourites'.

Before you go, be aware that ‘Delhi belly’ is so-named because traveller’s diarrhoea is a considerable problem in India, so pack supplies of an anti-diarrhoeal drug such as Imodium (not to be used for under-2s) or Lomotil. If your children get very bad diarrhoea accompanied by vomiting or blood in the stools, you could be offered Ciprofloxacin or Levaquin by local doctors – these medicines are unsuitable for children, so bring an alternative, such as Xifaxin, with you.

Cost

With return flights to India costing from £400 or less, and – unless you stay in a five-star resort – the cost of food and accommodation being very low, India can be a very affordable long-haul destination for family holidays and a winner for those looking for some winter sun on a budget.

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