First trip to Delhi
May 17, 2024, 12:12 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: East Sussex, UK
Programs: BAEC Gold, Marriott Bonvoy Platinum (+LTG)
Posts: 202
First trip to Delhi
Any advice for first time trip to Delhi (From LON) ? I see BA has 2 flights a day - any preference on best one to take ? See stopping options via HEL on AY or DOH on QR…. Travelling early October out Sunday, back Friday in BIZ. Makes a change from NYC and back !
many thanks
BBF
many thanks
BBF
May 17, 2024, 12:24 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 10,967
Any advice for first time trip to Delhi (From LON) ? I see BA has 2 flights a day - any preference on best one to take ? See stopping options via HEL on AY or DOH on QR…. Travelling early October out Sunday, back Friday in BIZ. Makes a change from NYC and back !
many thanks
BBF
many thanks
BBF
There are LOTS of people to meet family and friends - more than I have witnessed in other parts of the world. Plus a ton of drivers with pax names/hotel names on a placard. My personal preference is to arrive in India in the daytime as you will not have to book a hotel night to guarantee you can go straight to the room. If you arrive in the wee hours, there are many European and North American carriers with flights arriving, so it's more chaotic, and your hotel may not let you check-in straight away.
Have fun.
May 17, 2024, 1:10 pm
#4
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: All over the place often South Wales and Lake District
Programs: BA Gold for Life Accor Platinum
Posts: 4,603
Old club world isn't all bad, in some ways it is better than CS. Could be worse you could be on the business class on the 747-8 on Lufthansa where not only do you have an immediate neighbour, but they face towards you with little or no screen...
May 18, 2024, 6:11 am
#7
Join Date: Jun 2023
Location: London - LHR
Programs: BA GGL, Hilton Honours Diamond
Posts: 408
May 18, 2024, 6:17 am
#8
Join Date: Jun 2023
Location: London - LHR
Programs: BA GGL, Hilton Honours Diamond
Posts: 408
1. Check whether you need a visa for India.
2. Check if you need certain vaccinations
3. Only drink bottled water
4. Take some precautionary medicine for stomach upset
5. Avoid salads
6. Avoid Taxi touts at Airport
7. Takeout travel insurance
Have a safe and enjoyable trip.
2. Check if you need certain vaccinations
3. Only drink bottled water
4. Take some precautionary medicine for stomach upset
5. Avoid salads
6. Avoid Taxi touts at Airport
7. Takeout travel insurance
Have a safe and enjoyable trip.
May 18, 2024, 6:49 am
#9
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: London
Programs: MUCCI; BAEC Lifetime Gold; Marriott Bonvoy Emeritus Titanium; Hertz#1, Avis President’s Club
Posts: 3,229
May 18, 2024, 6:51 am
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: SE1, London
Posts: 23,601
8. go vegetarian unless you are very very confident about the restaurant
9. do NOT eat fish and seafood unless you are at the coast, and even then…
9 is informed by 2 old colleagues getting stuck into shrimp on a hotel buffet in Delhi. Ended up in hospital for a few days.
Enjoy the trip nonetheless. It’s a truly fascinating place.
9. do NOT eat fish and seafood unless you are at the coast, and even then…
9 is informed by 2 old colleagues getting stuck into shrimp on a hotel buffet in Delhi. Ended up in hospital for a few days.
Enjoy the trip nonetheless. It’s a truly fascinating place.
Last edited by Swanhunter; May 18, 2024 at 7:05 am
May 18, 2024, 7:50 am
#12
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: PDX
Programs: AS/UA/DL
Posts: 52
1. Great city with interesting people and history.
2. There is incredible food!
3. The first step outside the terminal is can be overwhelming — have hotel send a driver to mert you inside or take Uber.
4. Flights arriving and departing during day are better — waiting for a 3 am departure is not fun.
5. Plan to visit the outstanding BA contract lounge on departure (Encalm Prive up elevators behind pharmacy).
6. Pay attention to the predicted and actual air pollution in Delhi.
2. There is incredible food!
3. The first step outside the terminal is can be overwhelming — have hotel send a driver to mert you inside or take Uber.
4. Flights arriving and departing during day are better — waiting for a 3 am departure is not fun.
5. Plan to visit the outstanding BA contract lounge on departure (Encalm Prive up elevators behind pharmacy).
6. Pay attention to the predicted and actual air pollution in Delhi.
May 18, 2024, 8:22 am
#13
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: London
Programs: BAEC, AA, Emirates, Hilton, Hyatt, Taj Hotels
Posts: 2,358
I have been many times to India - mostly Mumbai and also to Delhi last year.
When I first went about 10 years ago I was terrified of the food and water (and I'm a lover of Asian food) as historically this was cause for concern. In all those years I have never - touch wood - had a problem. A colleague of mine was laid low eating street food and someone else got a bug eating seafood from a buffet. These are two areas therefore to approach with caution, but generally speaking staying/eating in good hotels should keep you out of trouble. Good restaurants in Delhi are in abundance outside of the hotels and are perfectly safe. Many Indians are vegetarian either permanently or at certain times so vegetarian food is great - if occasionally a bit bland - but if you have concerns, you should be on safe ground there.
If you are going frequently, I found that joining one of the hotel schemes (I'm with Taj for example) often gets you perks such as a pre-booked pick-up at the airport. When you come off a long flight it's a great relief not to have to haggle over taxis and end up in a small Suzuki with no discernible suspension. Other alternative used to be to go on Emirates via Dubai. Limo on arrival was baked into the ticket. Never had an issue booking into a hotel at odd hours - possibly another upside of being in the club so to speak.
Delhi International Airport is relatively new - there was still considerable construction going on exactly a year ago. Arrivals hall was very quiet compared to the zoo at BOM. The downside of that is that BA didn't have a proper lounge - I think the lounges were a work in progress - so you ended up in a dreadful sports bar with thumping music. Hopefully that's changed.
Both my flights to DEL were CS last year - I took the overnight in both directions and slept very well. I don't sleep well in CW but there are those here that will argue the toss on that all day long! Catering out of Delhi was pretty 'meh' so I would plan on sleeping all the way given the departure time and eat in Arrivals back at LHR.
But yes, unless you have been to other parts of the developing world, it can be a bit of a shock to the system at first. Hopefully the Monsoon season will be over by October - we usually go in January when the weather is ideal - especially coming from gloomy London (a definite perk). When we were in DEL in May it was ferociously hot.
When I first went about 10 years ago I was terrified of the food and water (and I'm a lover of Asian food) as historically this was cause for concern. In all those years I have never - touch wood - had a problem. A colleague of mine was laid low eating street food and someone else got a bug eating seafood from a buffet. These are two areas therefore to approach with caution, but generally speaking staying/eating in good hotels should keep you out of trouble. Good restaurants in Delhi are in abundance outside of the hotels and are perfectly safe. Many Indians are vegetarian either permanently or at certain times so vegetarian food is great - if occasionally a bit bland - but if you have concerns, you should be on safe ground there.
If you are going frequently, I found that joining one of the hotel schemes (I'm with Taj for example) often gets you perks such as a pre-booked pick-up at the airport. When you come off a long flight it's a great relief not to have to haggle over taxis and end up in a small Suzuki with no discernible suspension. Other alternative used to be to go on Emirates via Dubai. Limo on arrival was baked into the ticket. Never had an issue booking into a hotel at odd hours - possibly another upside of being in the club so to speak.
Delhi International Airport is relatively new - there was still considerable construction going on exactly a year ago. Arrivals hall was very quiet compared to the zoo at BOM. The downside of that is that BA didn't have a proper lounge - I think the lounges were a work in progress - so you ended up in a dreadful sports bar with thumping music. Hopefully that's changed.
Both my flights to DEL were CS last year - I took the overnight in both directions and slept very well. I don't sleep well in CW but there are those here that will argue the toss on that all day long! Catering out of Delhi was pretty 'meh' so I would plan on sleeping all the way given the departure time and eat in Arrivals back at LHR.
But yes, unless you have been to other parts of the developing world, it can be a bit of a shock to the system at first. Hopefully the Monsoon season will be over by October - we usually go in January when the weather is ideal - especially coming from gloomy London (a definite perk). When we were in DEL in May it was ferociously hot.
May 18, 2024, 9:47 am
#14
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: All over the place often South Wales and Lake District
Programs: BA Gold for Life Accor Platinum
Posts: 4,603
I have been many times to India - mostly Mumbai and also to Delhi last year.
When I first went about 10 years ago I was terrified of the food and water (and I'm a lover of Asian food) as historically this was cause for concern. In all those years I have never - touch wood - had a problem. A colleague of mine was laid low eating street food and someone else got a bug eating seafood from a buffet. These are two areas therefore to approach with caution, but generally speaking staying/eating in good hotels should keep you out of trouble. Good restaurants in Delhi are in abundance outside of the hotels and are perfectly safe. Many Indians are vegetarian either permanently or at certain times so vegetarian food is great - if occasionally a bit bland - but if you have concerns, you should be on safe ground there.
If you are going frequently, I found that joining one of the hotel schemes (I'm with Taj for example) often gets you perks such as a pre-booked pick-up at the airport. When you come off a long flight it's a great relief not to have to haggle over taxis and end up in a small Suzuki with no discernible suspension. Other alternative used to be to go on Emirates via Dubai. Limo on arrival was baked into the ticket. Never had an issue booking into a hotel at odd hours - possibly another upside of being in the club so to speak.
Delhi International Airport is relatively new - there was still considerable construction going on exactly a year ago. Arrivals hall was very quiet compared to the zoo at BOM. The downside of that is that BA didn't have a proper lounge - I think the lounges were a work in progress - so you ended up in a dreadful sports bar with thumping music. Hopefully that's changed.
Both my flights to DEL were CS last year - I took the overnight in both directions and slept very well. I don't sleep well in CW but there are those here that will argue the toss on that all day long! Catering out of Delhi was pretty 'meh' so I would plan on sleeping all the way given the departure time and eat in Arrivals back at LHR.
But yes, unless you have been to other parts of the developing world, it can be a bit of a shock to the system at first. Hopefully the Monsoon season will be over by October - we usually go in January when the weather is ideal - especially coming from gloomy London (a definite perk). When we were in DEL in May it was ferociously hot.
When I first went about 10 years ago I was terrified of the food and water (and I'm a lover of Asian food) as historically this was cause for concern. In all those years I have never - touch wood - had a problem. A colleague of mine was laid low eating street food and someone else got a bug eating seafood from a buffet. These are two areas therefore to approach with caution, but generally speaking staying/eating in good hotels should keep you out of trouble. Good restaurants in Delhi are in abundance outside of the hotels and are perfectly safe. Many Indians are vegetarian either permanently or at certain times so vegetarian food is great - if occasionally a bit bland - but if you have concerns, you should be on safe ground there.
If you are going frequently, I found that joining one of the hotel schemes (I'm with Taj for example) often gets you perks such as a pre-booked pick-up at the airport. When you come off a long flight it's a great relief not to have to haggle over taxis and end up in a small Suzuki with no discernible suspension. Other alternative used to be to go on Emirates via Dubai. Limo on arrival was baked into the ticket. Never had an issue booking into a hotel at odd hours - possibly another upside of being in the club so to speak.
Delhi International Airport is relatively new - there was still considerable construction going on exactly a year ago. Arrivals hall was very quiet compared to the zoo at BOM. The downside of that is that BA didn't have a proper lounge - I think the lounges were a work in progress - so you ended up in a dreadful sports bar with thumping music. Hopefully that's changed.
Both my flights to DEL were CS last year - I took the overnight in both directions and slept very well. I don't sleep well in CW but there are those here that will argue the toss on that all day long! Catering out of Delhi was pretty 'meh' so I would plan on sleeping all the way given the departure time and eat in Arrivals back at LHR.
But yes, unless you have been to other parts of the developing world, it can be a bit of a shock to the system at first. Hopefully the Monsoon season will be over by October - we usually go in January when the weather is ideal - especially coming from gloomy London (a definite perk). When we were in DEL in May it was ferociously hot.
May 18, 2024, 10:13 am
#15
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Cheshire / Wherever they send me
Programs: BA Blue, Marriott Plat Life, UA Silver (thx Marriott), IHG Gold, Accor Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 945
Just to add to this, although my info may be slightly out of date, do have a pen ready when you get to arrivals. In theory it is more electronic now, but don't be surprised if you need to fill out a form.
I personally always liked the flights that got in at midnightish (I often did Emirates from MAN). Usually meant I was in bed by 2am, latish start (if you are visiting a company where they mainly work with the UK, they don't start early, so that they align better with the UK). All depends on how well you sleep on flights.
As others have said, get a car booked. Certainly with the company I used to travel with, the hotel included a car transfer - but I had to reach out to them to get it booked.
Also worth you getting a local driver booked for the entirety of your stay. I used to use Avis through work - never a great car, but having someone to drive you around was great. You just phoned / texted them.
T
I personally always liked the flights that got in at midnightish (I often did Emirates from MAN). Usually meant I was in bed by 2am, latish start (if you are visiting a company where they mainly work with the UK, they don't start early, so that they align better with the UK). All depends on how well you sleep on flights.
As others have said, get a car booked. Certainly with the company I used to travel with, the hotel included a car transfer - but I had to reach out to them to get it booked.
Also worth you getting a local driver booked for the entirety of your stay. I used to use Avis through work - never a great car, but having someone to drive you around was great. You just phoned / texted them.
T
