India is a huge country with many different cultures and places to visit, which makes it one of the world’s most traveled to tourist destinations.
Tens of millions of tourists come to India to take in the beautiful sites and experience the incredible mix of traditions, beliefs, festivals, and architecture each year. If you’re looking to travel to India, then you should do some research beforehand to learn what places to visit and which you may want to avoid.
We’ve compiled a list of the most important things we think all travelers to India should know before visiting the country. Keep reading to learn these three useful tips that will enhance your trip to the country of India.
1.Travel Insurance
If you find yourself injured, public hospitals in India are not in good condition and are recommended by many to be avoided. Many travelers and Indians themselves opt to use private hospitals, which do require payment ahead of treatment.
That’s why you should look into your insurance plans to make sure you are still covered if something were to happen on your trip in India. If you don’t have a plan that would cover your trip, then you can easily get travel insurance at a variety of insurance companies.
You can learn more about the India-based insurance company GIC, for example, in this article by The Economic Times.
2.Malaria
It is important to know that malaria is present throughout India. You may want to consider taking some precautions before traveling to ensure you don’t contract the very unpleasant disease.
If you are traveling to a large city such as Bombay or New Delhi, then you need to take proper precautions to avoid infection.
In more remote areas of the country, such as the Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, or Sikkim where the elevation is above 6,500 feet, there is no malaria transmission.
Read more about what medicine to bring and how to best protect yourself from malaria on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website page on malaria prevention information by country, which can be found here.
3.Avoiding scams
There are a lot of different types of scams to watch out for when traveling to India, and they are more common than you may think.
One scam, for example, is when a driver pretending to be your taxi will inform you that the hotel you booked is closed and that you have to stay elsewhere. They will drive you to another hotel where he gets a cut of the money you spend to book your new hotel room.
Another taxi scam can happen when drivers will charge you more than the fare. So be sure to double check upon arrival that the price you are being charged matches the taxi fare. If a taxi driver ever tells you that you can pay however much you want, it is almost always going to be a scam.
There are dozens more types of scams, including people posing as poor students who cannot afford their books, frauds, street scams, and more. If you want to avoid getting swindled on your trip to India, check out this guide on all the different types of scams prevalent in the country.
If you follow these three tips, we are sure your trip will be a lot more enjoyable. We definitely recommend doing additional research, however, before embarking on your journey to the country of India.