Travel India Info

Touring India trip planning Questions/Answers Question Hi! I had a question that I couldn't see answered on the site, but if it is then sorry! I will be in India for about 3 weeks next Fall and am trying to figure out how much I need to plan in advance. I'm a pretty spontaneous person and don't like booking internal travel too far in advance... is that a problem for India? More specifically, this is in reference to flying and trains.. can I just go into an airport and get a ticket or is that completely unrealistic? THANKS! Ingrid  Getting tickets on short notice in India is not completely unrealistic. However in such cases there is always the possibility of not being able to buy a ticket due to flights being full. Here are some points to consider: AIRLINE TICKETS ON SHORT NOTICE   ▪ You may end up paying more for airline tickets. Most discounted tickets are sold at least seven days ahead of the travel date. So if you bought your ticket at the airport then you would not get a discounted rate. This can sometimes be almost double the price of a discounted ticket. ▪ There is also the possibility that tickets may not be available for the economy class fares and you would have to purchase a higher class fare. Then again no seats may be available and regardless of cost you may not be able to purchase a ticket. TRAIN TICKETS ▪ Train tickets are easier to get on short notice. The reason for this is that Indian Railways has a priority quota for foreign tourists and they can reserve train tickets even for travel the same day. ▪ While on trains there is a good chance that you would get reservations on the foreigners quota, you cannot ignore the fact that sometimes the volume of tourists are high and seats are not available for all of them. Good luck with your visit to India.   We are planning a visit to India this year and have been told that an Aids test is required by foreigners who visit India. Where I can I get more information and confirmation? By the way excellent website, very informative with loads of information on India. (Jackie C.)  Tourists visiting India for less than one year are not required to get an Aids test. Only long term visas (for a period of more than one year) have the requirement of an Aids test if the applicant is staying in India for more than one year. For complete information check with the Indian Consulate in your country. Glad you find the website informative. Hi, I have a GSM Triband mobile- Unlocked(international version) from USA. Will it work in India for postpaid services like BSNL, Airtel etc? Thank you. (thomas thekkel)  Since you have not mentioned the make and model number of your phone I am unable to precisely answer your question. Popular Tri- band phones are usually capable of working on 900-1800-1900 MHz's. If you have such a phone it should work in India. If on the other hand your phone is set to work on 850 MHz and not 900 MHz then it will not work in India. The most common frequency used in the United States is 1900. In UK it is 1800 and in India 900. I've recently been considering getting dreadlocks. However, I'm also forming plans to study abroad in India next year and I understand that in Indian Hinduism dreads are often reserved for holy men. Do you think my having dreads as a 20 year old traveler and student in India would be in any way offensive to anyone? Thanks! Lukas Anderson  Sorry, its difficult to say how people would react. I am not even sure that dreads are reserved for holy men in India. hi v, this is amar..i am from Australia but originally from Nepal i will be leaving for Delhi with my aus family members 8 of us and we r doing a 10 days tour in Delhi Agra and Rajasthan and will be leaving for Nepal after the the tour for my wedding. we will be bringing five or six jewellery ornaments (earrings, chain etc)as a gift from my laws to my family members along we will also be having camera everyone will have one ..one lap top two video cameras and these items we r taking it back to Nepal n from Nepal goes back with s to aus as they are our used goods..am not sure which channel to go in..in the airport red or green...as many ppl say many things am confused so i was thinking u might be a great help..will i b paying lot of money for the gifts which channel do i use. I had sent an email to the respective person in Delhi airport haven't heard from him. i hope you will be able to help me and give me hints. thanking you sincerely amar  Any items that you will be taking back to Australia should not be charged customs duty provided you notify the customs officer on arrival in India. In such cases the items you will be taking back are recorded on your passport and when you leave India the officials will ensure that you have these items with you. So keep them in your hand baggage when leaving India so that they can be examined. In case you loose any of the items that are recorded on your passport, you will have to pay customs duty for them. In case they are stolen, you must report the theft to the local police and take a copy of the police report to the customs authorities. It would depend on the customs officer at the point of departure to charge you the customs duty on the stolen items or not. Incidentally a laptop and a camera are no longer considered a big deal and normally allowed duty free. However you should check with the authorities as many other factors come into play when accessing customs duty. The jewelery items you are bringing as gifts of course will have to be declared if they exceed your duty free allowance and you should use the red channel. Hello: Myself and my two brothers will be arriving in India on March 3, 2008 for a 3.5 week stay. I've planned out our itinerary which requires about 9 railway trips. I know all my train numbers, dates of travel, etc. from the IR web-site. I have registered with IRCTC and used their e-ticket system to book and print my e-ticket for two of my journeys. However, for the last 2 days, I've been trying to book the 3rd journey and each time, I get an error message at the very last step (Amex or Mast Card payment) step of either Communication Failure or Communication Problem. Numerous emails and even a telephone call to IRCTC has not resolved the problem. I want to get as much of our travel trips, reservations, etc., confirmed before we go to India. I know we can get Foreign Tourist Quota tickets in India but there is chance that they could be sold out for the train we want. Assuming IRCTC still does not work for me, can you recommend a secure and reputable agent in India that can make my reservations for me (i.e. I give them all my train requirements on-line, they do the reservations, and send me an invoice that I can securely pay online by credit card, and then they send me links to my e-tickets. Thank you. Amarjit Sandhu Kingston, Ontario, Canada  The IRCTC website may be experiencing some kind of problem. Looks like you have already tried everything possible from your end. There is also a possibility that your credit card may be causing the problem. Since you have already used it to reserve a few tickets your credit card may have been flagged and not authorizing the payment. There are several agents who do such bookings and many of them are located outside the Delhi railway station. I would not recommend any of these guys. Many agents do advertise on the Internet but you would have to shop around and make your own decision on which agent to use. Since you already have the first two journeys booked, you may have sufficient time to do the reservations for other trips in person by availing the Foreign Tourist Quota. I travel frequently in India and usually buy tickets about a day in advance and have never been faced with a situation where there were no seats available on the foreign tourist quota. By the way, now you can even pay for your railway tickets bought on the foreign tourist quota in Indian Rupees. If you are still worried about the chance of not getting confirmed tickets from India and would like to do this from Canada then my suggestion would be to contact a travel agent approved to sell Indrail passes. They may be able to help you. I am not sure about Kingston but in Toronto there is a travel agency called Hari World Travels who I believe are authorized agents to sell Indrail passes for Indian Railways. You should be able to find them on the Internet. Thank you for your reply and you will be pleased to know that you were 100% correct that my failed bookings were caused by Amex who had flagged my card as possible fraudulent use - this despite the fact that I had phoned them in advance and told them what I would be doing. On top of that, they did not even contact me. All my bookings are as complete as I can get at this time, and I'm very happy to have printed e-tickets. I will hope for the best on Foreign Tourist quota when I get to Delhi. May I ask another question: I would really like to ride the Kangra Valley Railway, NG (Kangra Queen) from Pathankot to Palampur. Many tourism web-sites feature it but I have not been able to find anything reliable as far as reservation facility, fares, timings, classes of travel and condition of train. The scenery I am sure is breathtaking. Can you offer any light on this? Thanks again and my compliments on an excellent Q&A section. Amarjit  Kangra Valley train tickets are to the best of my knowledge available only from stations serviced by these trains. You should be able to buy them from Pathankot station. I don't think you can make on-line reservations for these trains. Kangra Queen train timings and fare WERE: Dep: Pathankot (8.20 AM) hr: Palampur (12.15 PM) Dep: Palampur (1.45 PM) Arr: Pathankot (6.45 PM) Fare: Ist Class Rs.330/- Chair Car Rs.310/- 2nd Class Rs.190/- I have used the word 'WERE' above because some time back I had heard that this train was cancelled. So you will have to confirm with the Railway authorities. The best place to confirm would be from Pathankot Railway Station Tel 91-186-2222502. There are other trains that do run the same route and to help you plan a schedule is provided. Hi, We will be arriving in Ahmedabad from Australia on 05/11/07 mid-day and wish to travel by rail (Saurashtra Express - 9215) the same evening departing at approx. 8.00pm to arrive the following morning in Porbandar. I would be happy to forward our passport details (or copies) and pay by credit card. I would be grateful if you could kindly guide me in this matter. I will require 3 tickets. Thanking you, Neena. Tanna  First I would like to caution you that in order to reserve railway tickets do not mail out your passport details. Normally the only time you need to show your passport for purchase of train tickets in India is when you personally purchase train tickets using the foreign tourist quota. Even in these cases the authorities do not take a photo copy of your passport but just look at it to confirm that you are indeed a foreign national and hence entitled to purchase railway tickets on a priority basis. These days of one should be careful not to freely give out personal details and safeguard themselves against identity theft. The train you mention, Saurashtra Express - 9215 starts out from Mumbai. From Ahmedabad this train leaves at 8 pm and reaches Porbandar at 6:05 am. The first class fare is Rupees 620 (approximately 18 Australian dollars) Ahmedabad also has an International Tourist Bureau where foreign nationals can purchase train tickets on a priority basis. You may be able to purchase tickets for the same day personally by showing them your passport. Travel India Smart is an informational website and does not make reservations. You will have to contact a travel agent to make your reservations or make the reservations on-line, print your ticket and pay by credit card. Check the on-line train reservation pages on this website. Would you please be kind enough to help me? I am going to be traveling to India and am trying to book a first class with air conditioning train ticket from Chennai to Bangalore 28 Sept, 2007. I have reviewed the train schedule and wish to be on the listed train: 6023/6024 Chennai - Bangalore Exp 13:00 14:45 Daily I have attempted to use your "railway reservations.php" site. I HAVE A USER ID AND PASSWORD and am able to successfully login. When I try to book my rail ticket, I receive two messages: "Only confirmed RAC ticket only up to the time of charting." Then "You entered more than 4 characters." I have read your directions with care, but find no suggestion how to proceed. Further, would you please be kind enough to explain the different "FIRST CLASS" categories and HOW MUCH BEFORE the train departure I should arrive? I have been told - by Indians - that I should make sure to reserve my train seat NOW (actually, they say I am late). I will await your reply before proceeding. I would like to purchase my train ticket tomorrow morning -before MIDNIGHT your time. I am on West Coast (Pacific) Time in the USA. Thank you for your thoughtful assistance. (Nancy)  I logged on to on-line Indian railway reservations and found that the service is presently not available until 5 AM Indian Standard Time. I am presently in Canada and will try to log on later to try and figure out the error message you are receiving. I do have some suggestions for you though on your Chennai to Bangalore train travel. 1. Travel only by Shatabdi Trains. There are two trains that run from Chennai to Bangalore every day except Tuesday. I would recommend the Shatabdi 2007 which leaves Chennai at 6 AM and reaches Bangalore at 10:50 AM. The second train is Shatabdi 2027 which leaves Chennai Central Station at 5:30 PM and arrives in Bangalore at 10:30 PM. The railway travel distance between Chennai and Bangalore is 362 Kilometers (225 miles). Shatabdi trains are faster; fully air- conditioned and meals are included in the ticket price. The price of a first class ticket from Chennai to Bangalore is Rupees 970 (about US$24) 2. You have mentioned ' RAC ticket' in your email. 'RAC' means Reservation Against Cancellation. If someone with a reservation does not show up, then that seat is then given to those holding RAC tickets, this is done just before the train leaves. So don't bother with an RAC ticket. You need a confirmed ticket. 3. In case you are unable to reserve online. Don't worry as you can get a ticket from Chennai on the foreign tourist quota. To get tickets on the foreign tourist quota you will need to show your passport and pay in US dollars or legally exchanged Indian Currency. 4. No security checks are involved for boarding a train so as long as you give your self sufficient time to board the train you should be fine. I would reach the station about half hour before train departure to get to the correct platform the train is arriving at. I hope some of this information will help you. My website is not a government website so I am unable to identify all the error messages generated on their website. Thanks for visiting Travel India Smart and have a safe and enjoyable trip. Thank you for your thoughtful advise, all of it! Yes, I must make reservations before 9am my time in order to have access to the website which closed at midnight, Indian time. I wonder what you think. I have the train schedule located on "chennaionline.com/essential/traintiming.a sp." Their schedule reflects: 6023/6024 Chennai - Bangalore Exp 1300 1445 Daily Given that it is an "express," it arrives in two and three-quarters hours, and the timing is ideal for me, I thought this train might be the best option. The Shatabdi trains take longer and the timings are not as helpful for me. I tried purchasing the ticket again - during the correct time period. I have no problem with my login or entering data - but I cannot get the website to "list trains" so that I can "select the train from the list." Any advice? Thank you. Nancy   The train schedule you located is probably out of date. The site that you got this train timing from probably has not been updated recently. Also, if the train leaves at 1300 and arrives at 1445, then the total time is only 1 hour and 45 minutes and I find this hard to believe. The word ‘express’ or ‘superfast’ trains does not mean much when it comes to Indian railways other than the train is slightly faster than some trains. The Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains are much faster than express and superfast trains. Regarding the error messages mentioned in your first email: 1. When I try to book my rail ticket, I receive two messages: "Only confirmed RAC ticket only up to the time of charting." This is not an error but just an information box that tells you that only confirmed RAC tickets can be reserved up to the time the railway authorities prepare the final reservation chart. Just click OK and the message should go away. 2. "You entered more than 4 characters." The reason you get this error is because the website is expecting you to fill in a station code which is of three letters. Next to the box where you fill in the station name is an icon (If you move your mouse over this icon it should display "Fetch Station Code"). Click this icon and it opens a small window showing the station name and code. Select the station you want and then click GO. Do this for both the To and From stations. The error should not occur and you will see a list of the available trains. Continued on Next Page: >>