India - A family trip to India at New Year's: a good idea?

I'm starting to think about where I might want to take the family for next year's Christmas vacation: with a family of 5, I've learned over the years that it's better to plan in advance for busy travel periods if I want to increase my chances of getting enough frequent flyer seats. My wife and I have been all over the world, and the kids (now young teenagers) have travelled a lot too, but we've never been to India. Hence, our interest.

The first thing I did was check the weather: it does seem like December and January are considered good months to visit India. The next thing I'll have to do is decide if we want to go. I don't get the sense that many Americans of non-Indian background take their kids to India. Of course, Flyertalkers are a different breed. :) My sense is that kids (especially well travelled kids) would enjoy visiting the country as much as adults, but if there's any reason to doubt this, knowing this information now would obviously be very useful.

Once it's "a go," I have to sketch enough of a preliminary itinerary to book flights to the right gateway cities. For a first visit to India in winter, I'm thinking Mumbai is best, but I need to research that. Where is the best place to get a good quick overview for a first time visit to India (especially with children)? Once I have that, I figure I can get into the details of planning a comprehensive itinerary. I'm guessing we'll wind up with about 10 or 11 days "on the ground" (unless I pull the kids out of school for a few days to extend our itinerary).

Thanks for the help!

I'm starting to think about where I might want to take the family for next year's Christmas vacation: with a family of 5, I've learned over the years that it's better to plan in advance for busy travel periods if I want to increase my chances of getting enough frequent flyer seats. My wife and I have been all over the world, and the kids (now young teenagers) have travelled a lot too, but we've never been to India. Hence, our interest.

india is a great place to visit with family....depending on the amount of time you have, you can cover a good portion of the must-see sights around the country....

The first thing I did was check the weather: it does seem like December and January are considered good months to visit India.

december & january are terrible months to visit north india, which is where you would want to be, specially if its your first trip to india....there is a lot of fog, flights get delayed & cancelled....

The next thing I'll have to do is decide if we want to go. I don't get the sense that many Americans of non-Indian background take their kids to India. Of course, Flyertalkers are a different breed. :) My sense is that kids (especially well travelled kids) would enjoy visiting the country as much as adults, but if there's any reason to doubt this, knowing this information now would obviously be very useful.

you would be surprised....in fact, over the last few years i have noticed that teenage kids & young adults are visiting india more than families, although there are enough families visiting as well....

Once it's "a go," I have to sketch enough of a preliminary itinerary to book flights to the right gateway cities. For a first visit to India in winter, I'm thinking Mumbai is best, but I need to research that.

mumbai would definitely not be the best....there is not much to see or do in mumbai....most of the must see cities & sights are near delhi....

Where is the best place to get a good quick overview for a first time visit to India (especially with children)? Once I have that, I figure I can get into the details of planning a comprehensive itinerary. I'm guessing we'll wind up with about 10 or 11 days "on the ground" (unless I pull the kids out of school for a few days to extend our itinerary).

the usual 10 day trips normally include delhi, agra, rajasthan & the surrounding areas....if you have more time then i would suggest the south....mumbai is worth missing or just spending a day or so if you are pressed for time....

Thanks for the help!

it would be a good idea to go through the 'india' forum....there are lots & lots of threads that are very similar to yours & would answer most of your questions....

Thanks, Keyser. Ah, so this general advice in Frommer's is wrong: "You'll be better off visiting during the high-season winter months (Nov-Mar), when most of the country experiences pleasant, moderate temperatures (still hot enough to luxuriate in the pool), though cities in the north get chillier days as snow falls in the Himalayas."

What season would you recommend?

Thanks, Keyser. Ah, so this general advice in Frommer's is wrong: "You'll be better off visiting during the high-season winter months (Nov-Mar), when most of the country experiences pleasant, moderate temperatures (still hot enough to luxuriate in the pool), though cities in the north get chillier days as snow falls in the Himalayas."

What season would you recommend?

nov, feb & march would be great months....just avoid dec & jan as most of north india will be very cold & foggy....

nov, feb & march would be great months....just avoid dec & jan as most of north india will be very cold & foggy....

OK, thanks. So late March into early April would be materially better weather for a first trip to India? And look for flights into Delhi? If so, I'll do something else for X-mas and target the kids' spring break next year (already have plans for this year).

OK, thanks. So late March into early April would be materially better weather for a first trip to India? And look for flights into Delhi? If so, I'll do something else for X-mas and target the kids' spring break next year (already have plans for this year).

april starts to get hot so i would suggest march as the best time....flying into delhi would definitely be a better option....

...just avoid dec & jan as most of north india will be very cold & foggy....

You obviously know India weather much better than I do, but when we visited the Golden Triangle late last December the weather was glorious. Sunny and low 70s during the day. It was ideal. Guess it pays to be lucky. :D

You obviously know India weather much better than I do, but when we visited the Golden Triangle late last December the weather was glorious. Sunny and low 70s during the day. It was ideal. Guess it pays to be lucky. :D

you are bound to find a couple of good days in dec & jan but the majority will be cold, gloomy & foggy....resulting in lots of delayed & cancelled flights & due to bad visibility a lot of hours on the road if you want to drive to agra & jaipur....

you are bound to find a couple of good days in dec & jan but the majority will be cold, gloomy & foggy....resulting in lots of delayed & cancelled flights & due to bad visibility a lot of hours on the road if you want to drive to agra & jaipur....

Actually we spent eight days in the area and they were all glorious. Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur.

Although we then spent several days in Tokyo and noted DEL started canceling flights due to fog two days after we left. As I said, it pays to be lucky. ;)

I'm starting to think about where I might want to take the family for next year's Christmas vacation: with a family of 5, I've learned over the years that it's better to plan in advance for busy travel periods if I want to increase my chances of getting enough frequent flyer seats. My wife and I have been all over the world, and the kids (now young teenagers) have travelled a lot too, but we've never been to India. Hence, our interest.
It's never too early to start planning a trip :D

The first thing I did was check the weather: it does seem like December and January are considered good months to visit India. The next thing I'll have to do is decide if we want to go. I don't get the sense that many Americans of non-Indian background take their kids to India. Of course, Flyertalkers are a different breed. :) My sense is that kids (especially well travelled kids) would enjoy visiting the country as much as adults, but if there's any reason to doubt this, knowing this information now would obviously be very useful.
Well, some of the conveniences that are taken for granted might not be easily available. If they are the type than can put up with a little adversity for the sake of doing something new, then they should be fine.
As for weather, I would say the good months are late Oct, early Nov, late Feb, March for north India. If you are travelling elsewhere, like East or South, then Dec-Jan can also be good months.

Once it's "a go," I have to sketch enough of a preliminary itinerary to book flights to the right gateway cities. For a first visit to India in winter, I'm thinking Mumbai is best, but I need to research that. Where is the best place to get a good quick overview for a first time visit to India (especially with children)? Once I have that, I figure I can get into the details of planning a comprehensive itinerary. I'm guessing we'll wind up with about 10 or 11 days "on the ground" (unless I pull the kids out of school for a few days to extend our itinerary).
The first place I usually consult for some place I am not familiar with is wikitravel. Gives a nice starting point for planning trips into the region, and possible activities. Since this is your first visit, I assume you will want to see the Taj, etc., which are easily accessible from a DEL base. If you are more of the trekking type, I guess you could visit the Eastern Himalayas (Darjeeling, Sikkim, Sunderbans - possibly spot a now rare Bengal tiger) from a CCU base. BOM has some nice activities in the immediate area as well, but should be do-able in 2-3 days; then you would most likely have to travel somewhere else. For a 10-11 day trip, I would suggest North (DEL) or East (CCU) for a first time visit.

Thanks for the help!
No problem! Enjoy your visit :)

As a person who moved to New Delhi this fall, and has had several groups of family visitors already, I'm going to disagree with some of the replies to this post.

Granted, in a perfect world unconstrained by any other factors Oct/Nov (were very nice) and Feb/Mar (I expect to be good) would probably be the best months from the perspective of weather. But with a family traveling and probably having to work within school holidays there are other constraints.

My sister just visited over Christmas/New Years (because that's when her teenage kids had a long enough school break), and they had a great time. The weather was cool, but not so cold to be unpleasant. Yes there was fog some mornings, and the air quality is worst during the coldest months, but if this is the only time you can travel it's a very reasonable time to see North Central India (around Delhi).

As some posts have said, first time travelers to India can't go wrong basing themselves out of Delhi and doing Agra and Jaipur (the Golden Triangle). The minimum for that loop is 4 days. add in 3 days in Delhi and the minimum ground time you need is 7 days. The Golden Triangle trip can be extended arbitrarily to turn into a loop around Rajasthan as long as you want. We've had visitors go from 4 days to 2 weeks, and they all loved it. Similarly you can add a couple of days in Dehi if you have time.

For a two week trip I would recommend (and in fact am planning this exact trip for my sister and family with 2 kids) 3 days in Delhi to acclimate, 10 days around Rajasthan (Delhi --> Neemrana --> Pushkar --> Jaipur --> (could add in Ranthambor) --> Bharatpur --> Agra --> Delhi), 1 day in Delhi before catching the plane. It will be a fabulous trip that teenage kids would enjoy.

As was stated in some posts, the fog does tend to cause flight delays/cancellations (for domestic flights within India) in Dec/Jan. But if you stick to central India around Delhi/Rajasthan you won't be flying internally anyway. This is all doable as a car/train trip. It wouldn't be worth it to fly, especially with a bigger family.

Good Luck.

As a person who moved to New Delhi this fall, and has had several groups of family visitors already, I'm going to disagree with some of the replies to this post.

Thanks for the additional perspective, jar. To take my kids, I am "hostage" to the school calendar. But since I could postpone my trip from Xmas to late March, it still sounds like that's the best thing to do.

Thanks for the additional perspective, jar. To take my kids, I am "hostage" to the school calendar. But since I could postpone my trip from Xmas to late March, it still sounds like that's the best thing to do.

march would be much better than december....

What's wrong with coming down south? It is very pleasant rather than cold - so fly into say BLR or MAA, and take your pick of great diving, beaches, culture (temples / forts etc) within 45 minute flights from there.

Kumarakom houseboats, diving in the andaman or lakshadweep islands, a weekend in a tea / coffee / spice plantation + resort with trekking etc laid on .. great seafood and food that's well .. lots different from the never ending "tandoori masala" type stuff you'd get used to in north india ..

And did I mention no fog delays in winter?

What's wrong with coming down south? It is very pleasant rather than cold - so fly into say BLR or MAA, and take your pick of great diving, beaches, culture (temples / forts etc) within 45 minute flights from there.

Kumarakom houseboats, diving in the andaman or lakshadweep islands, a weekend in a tea / coffee / spice plantation + resort with trekking etc laid on .. great seafood and food that's well .. lots different from the never ending "tandoori masala" type stuff you'd get used to in north india ..

And did I mention no fog delays in winter?

if you just want to visit beaches then there are many better places in the world....

Without going into much details, anytime between mid Nov to mid Feb is the best time anywhere in India. Granted DEL has fog, but that can be accommodated for in a schedule. Sadly many many many Indians living abroad want to come home during the school vacation season in the western world so award and low fares availability is patchy.

For someone used to PHX weather, DEL will be cold during winter. This surprises a lot of people, since when you think of India, you think of burning hot temperatures.

In the past, coming from PVD, DEL wasn't cold at all. But I recently went from HYD, and I actually was shivering for a bit...

If you want to visit beaches, go to either Goa or Port Blair. The beaches in the rest of the country quite frankly suck.

The South is much less touristy than the North, but if you are really interested in learning about Indian culture, history, and tradition, the south is the place to do it. Most school-aged kids will not find this interesting enough to warrant giving up the touristy comforts that you can find in the north.

In the north, the "must see" attractions can be listed all over the place. Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, etc. Personally, I love the Northeast - Gowhati, Shillong, etc. It is by far the most beautiful part of the country. However, I think there are security restrictions on non-Indian citizens/PIO holders/OCI holders, so I would do some research...

Thanks for all the tips. It certainly sounds like you COULD happily visit northern India at X-mas, but if you have a choice, it's not the best time to go. Given that information -- and the fact that X-mas is a generally difficult time to get award tickets -- I plan to delay my trip until March (the kids' Spring Break).

Given that information -- and the fact that X-mas is a generally difficult time to get award tickets -- I plan to delay my trip until March (the kids' Spring Break).

good call....

if you are planning to visit in end march, i would definitely also advise you to look at 1st week of April, you will see an substantial difference in pricing of hotels.

in April hotels would be discounted 30-40% as compared to march.

do you research, let me know if you need more information.

if you are planning to visit in end march, i would definitely also advise you to look at 1st week of April, you will see an substantial difference in pricing of hotels.

in April hotels would be discounted 30-40% as compared to march.

do you research, let me know if you need more information.

april would not be a good idea....end march is also pushing it, weather wise, so april would be quite hot....

april would not be a good idea....end march is also pushing it, weather wise, so april would be quite hot....

Seems like the optimal weather period is quite short! :)

Seems like the optimal weather period is quite short! :)

i agree....:D

april in india is hot....its not a time i would suggest for a visit....

i agree....:D

april in india is hot....its not a time i would suggest for a visit....

Unless you want to drop by IXE. Mangoes everywhere ^

Unless you want to drop by IXE. Mangoes everywhere ^

mmm mangoes....:)

Keyser has done a good job mentioning problems one could encounter in Dec and January, although they are not an absolute certainty. I have flown into Delhi in December and January many times without a glitch, that doesn't mean it can't happen. If your flight arrives before midnight, which when all my flights have arrived, your flight will most likely evade fog completely. My brother and arrived on the ssame day, I before midnight while his Lufthansa flight was scheduled to land around 1:30 a.m. I landed without a problem, while his flight was diverted to Bombay. If your incoming flight is delayed due to fog, it's not the end of the world.
November is a time of festivities, but December will not be without its charms also. Foggy mornings in Delhi are surreal-- good photography opportunity. Some days in January will be cloudy and gloomy, but over all, you will have some for more hours than is the average in northeastern U.S. There are lots of exhibitions, trade fairs, and other fairs between Oct and February, including December and January.
Overall, you will have a good time in December and January also.