Welcome to India

"This is India; the land of dreams and romance, of fabulous wealth and fabulous poverty, of splendour and rags, of tigers and elephants, the cobra and the jungle, the country of a thousand nations and a hundred tongues, of a thousand religions and two million gods, cradle of the human race, birthplace of human speech, mother of history, grandmother of legend, great-grandmother of tradition — the one land that all men desire to see, and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for the shows of all the rest of the globe combined." Mark Twain

In one word, India is ‘diversity’; glamorous and beguiling, splendid and romantic, energetic and colourful, the entire country is awash with colourful travel experiences for the daring, the cautious and the luxury traveller visiting India. She lays claim to the soaring snow-capped Himalaya mountains, the sleepy rhythmic Kerala backwaters, the cultural Golden Triangle and everything in between, not to mention the splendid Mughal architecture of the infamous Taj Mahal, Humayun's Tomb and Agra Fort, and some of the world’s most outstanding luxury hotels – from historic havelis to royal forts and palaces of the maharajas. Whilst on a luxury India holiday you will find remarkable history and culture, sumptuous food, spectacular scenery, effervescent metropolises, inherent kindness, unsurpassed luxury and infectious happiness that is prevalent throughout the country.

Luxury India trips offer experiences for every kind of traveller. Rajasthan is the ideal region for romantic honeymoons; discreet and fairy-tale palaces, candlelit dinners under the stars of the Thar Desert and private boat trips on the serene Lake Pichola. Family tours in India turn the country into an adventure playground just waiting to be explored and discovered, particularly the temple scattered sites of Tamil Nadu, where our expert guides can bring the history and magic alive. India is also perfect for adventure holidays and has some of the best wildlife and birdlife viewing opportunities in Asia. Head to Central India, to the wildlife rich state of Madhya Pradesh, where leopard, sloth bear, sambar deer, langur, wild boar, wild dog, jungle cat and many more species abound, including hundreds of resident and migratory birds. One might even be lucky enough to see a majestic tiger in its natural habitat in rural Rajasthan, especially in the renowned Ranthambore National Park. That’s the beauty of luxury tours of India, they can be tailor-made to one’s exact requirements. 

The sheer size of the country means that the weather patterns are extremely varied, and we can advise the best region for whichever month you choose to travel to India. But generally speaking, the best time to visit India is between October and March for warm, dry and sunny weather. In December and January, and from June to September marks the largest contrast between the climates of northern India and southern India; in mid-winter icy winds from the snowfields of the Himalayas chill the north, whilst the Tamil plains and coastal Kerala, bask under the sultry sunshine. While visiting Kerala during the summer, monsoon season breaks on coast before working its way northeast across the country, whilst Ladakh juxtaposes the rest of the country with the most fabulous sunshine weather. 

When planning a trip to India, we often speak to clients who feel they can only do the country justice if they travel for a long period of time, but we couldn’t disagree more, and believe sometimes, even a week is enough time to visit India. Our personal travel advice for a luxury holiday to India would be to cover less ground in detail on shorter Indian tours, and then return to explore different regions. The joy with travelling across India is that there are endless parts to discover; the vast size and dazzling regional array of languages, cuisines and religions means that one can almost experience a collection of countries when touring India. Travelling to India is straightforward, with varying flight times from London; the capital of India, Delhi is approximately eight hours flight, the buzzy Mumbai nine hours, and Chennai in the south is a ten hour flight.

We have recently launched Ampersand’s Unusual Escorted Journeys, a selection of small group tours that delve into our favourite destinations, under the chaperone of our charming, diverse and distinctly different guides. We have created two escorted tours to India: Rajasthan for Diwali Festival and Punjab & Kashmir for Holi. For more information, speak to one of our India travel specialists.

To help you decide where to travel in India, click on one of the below icons to explore suggested itineraries, luxury hotels and locations of either North India or South India, and then speak to one of our destination specialists who will be happy help you plan your bespoke Indian getaway, complete with our best travel tips and expert travel guides…