India: Pre-trip Information – Private Tour

INDIA
Michael, Claudia & Jake Freeman
February 2020

PRE-TRIP PREPARATION…

Passport:

You need a passport to travel to India! Your passport should be valid for 6 months after your planned arrival date and needs to have 2 full empty pages. If you don’t have enough empty pages or your passport will expire too early, please let me know and I’ll send you instructions for getting a new passport in time for the tour.

Visas:

Every traveler to India needs a visa, however, you may now obtain an “E-Visa” online. As a result, you don’t have to go through the process of obtaining a tourist visa from the Indian Embassy in your home country and you can simply take care of the procedures online.

There are currently 3 types of e-Visas:

• One month (valid for 30 days from the date of your arrival, must be applied for 30 days before your trip, not earlier than that)
• One year (valid for 365 days from the date of application, can be applied for up to 120 days before your trip)
• Five years (valid for 5 yers from the date of application, can be applied for up to 120 days before your trip)

E-Visa application

For citizens of the USA, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand, please follow the below steps:

1. Visit this website: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/tvoa.html
2. Click on “Apply here for e-Visa” and follow the instructions

**Important:

When completing the online E-Visa application, it might ask for the below information:

• Itinerary – Simply list the cities you will visit on your itinerary.
• Hotel in Delhi – In this section, add the name, address and phone number of the hotel you will stay at in Delhi.
• Contact in India – Simply put the hotel details in this section once again.
• Reference in your home country – Add the details of any friend or colleague at home.

Packing:

You’ll receive more information about what to pack soon!

Travel/Health Insurance:

In order to participate in this tour, you will have to provide proof of travel/health insurance. Travel insurance is not expensive at all and is absolutely worth it as you will be able to travel with the peace of mind that, in case something happens, you don’t have to worry about paying for any health care you may need or about being reimbursed for any travel expenses in the case of flight delays or trip cancelation due to unforeseen reasons. It will also cover your possessions in the event that they are misplaced during the trip.

My personal favorite travel insurance provider these days is SafetyWing. They offer affordable, reliable coverage and high-quality customer service for travelers of all ages.

Airport Pickup

Upon arrival in Delhi (and again in Mumbai for Jake), a driver will be waiting for you with a sign once you exit the airport and he will take you straight into the city to your hotel. Specific airport pickup instructions will be sent as the trip gets closer.

Guides and Drivers – Contact Details

You will also receive the names and contact information for all of the drivers and guides that will be a part of your India experience. This will be sent to you one month before your trip start date.

That’s it for now…I hope you are getting truly excited about your trip and I shall be in touch again soon with even more details!