🇮🇳 20 life hacks for a comfortable trip around India

Last updated Jan 26, 2025

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While the country has not yet been renamed Bharat, I am sharing with you Indian life hacks and features of the region. Moreover, now you can fly to this picturesque place even directly from your country. India is a fairly budget-friendly destination, but only if you don’t get scammed.

I'm sure you've heard all the stories about Indian mutations, human trafficking, deadly diseases, unbearable filth and abject poverty – but almost all of it is gross exaggeration and obsessive clickbait. So if you still want to see this original, vibrant and unique India, start hunting for cheap flights and go ahead.

To the question: when to go there? I will answer you this way: India is beautiful at any time of the year, but it is best there from October to March. In summer it is very hot, and you should not count on air conditioning.

Preparing for your trip

You do not need vaccination certificates to enter the country, but it is better to get vaccinated for your own health, at least against hepatitis, cholera, smallpox, malaria and plague.
Bring light, light-colored clothing, but make sure it covers your shoulders and elbows. Long dresses and trousers are required to visit temples. They are unlikely to let you in in shorts and minis. Temple centers in India are major attractions regardless of the city, so make sure you wear appropriate clothing in advance.
In India, street shoes are considered dirty in every sense, so locals always take off their shoes when entering a room. This applies not only to housing or temples. Take with you shoes without inconvenient fasteners and laces that can be easily and quickly removed. People walk around barefoot in the building, sometimes wearing flip-flops or slippers. Or they stay in clean socks.
Take with you several photographs of yourself as for a passport or visa; they can be useful at customs control and when checking into a hotel.
Hygiene in India is a sore subject. Therefore, be sure to stock up on antiseptics, dry and wet wipes, a first aid kit, especially medications for indigestion and poisoning. And always drink only unopened bottled water, and rinse your mouth with it after toothpaste. In addition, we recommend avoiding ice in drinks.
It is not possible to pay with a bank card or find an ATM everywhere, so take cash in dollars, it is easier to exchange it for rupees.
To use the Internet, the easiest way is to buy a local inexpensive SIM card right at the airport.

Cultural features

The people of India are friendly people, but this does not prevent them from making extra money from tourists. Therefore, try to bargain everywhere, especially in popular places, taxis, rickshaws, bazaars and souvenir shops. Prices there are usually already inflated. Fixed rates are only available in large stores and shopping centers.
There are many beggars on the streets of India who do not let any traveler pass. You can give something to several, but there are so many of them that you won’t have enough money for them all. Therefore, try to walk past such people with a calm and indifferent look.
When people ask you who you are and where you’re from, it’s not always idle curiosity. Often the same merchants in this way determine your social status and how they can make money from you.
If you find yourself visiting locals and sitting at the table with them, then use only your right hand, even if you are left-handed. the left is considered “unclean”.
Do not show feelings in public, do not hug, do not kiss, even with your husband or wife in public.

Transport

The most popular form of public transport in India is rickshaws. They can be easily ordered on the street or through apps. Yes, yes, Indian Uber (or its local equivalent, Ola) will bring you a rickshaw.
Train tickets throughout the country should be purchased in advance on the railway website or snatched up the last ones from the tourist quota already at the stations.
Don't discount buses, especially night ones. They can be quite comfortable: the seats fold out and turn into full-fledged sleeping places.
Traffic in India is chaos in its purest form and a blow to the nervous system. Therefore, if you are an inexperienced driver, you should not rent a car. There are alternatives, for example, renting a car with a driver or renting bikes and mopeds.

Nutrition

European spicy food and Indian food have completely different degrees of “severity”. I advise you to always clarify before ordering how “spicy” your dish is and immediately ask for mercy, in the sense of making it less spicy.
For vegetarians there is a paradise – a huge selection of meat-free dishes. But try to choose good places with clear sanitary treatment of everything. Street food in India and for locals can be fraught with consequences, let alone unprepared Europeans.
They hardly drink alcohol there, and in some states the sale of hard liquor is prohibited. It is clear that somewhere in super-touristy Goa they will sell you a beautiful cocktail, but you should not hope for the same approach in the poorest regions.
Sugar is added to drinks by default, so if you need tea or juice without sugar, ask about it in advance.

Useful applications

Ola Cabs – search for taxis and rickshaws.
IRCTC Connect – train ticket booking.
Zomato – food delivery from restaurants.

When you are planning to go and immerse yourself in some culture that is too exotic for you, be prepared that things may not go according to plan. You may be disappointed with the trip or vice versa, but it will definitely be a vivid and unforgettable experience.

In India, it is important to remain attentive, but it is impossible to think through everything. Therefore, sometimes let everything take its course and enjoy the unique atmosphere. People don’t go to this country for comfort, they go there for adventure. So let them be dizzying, but safe!

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