So my baby brother (ok so he's 22, he's still younger than me) is flying into Mumbai on the 12th of Dec and will be alone until he (somehow) joins me in Bangalore for a friend's wedding on the 22nd.

This is his first time really traveling alone - much less to a place like India. He's also traveling on a somewhat truncated budget (ideally ~$500, but maybe up to $1000).

So I was hoping some of you would have suggestions of places for him to stay, visit, and get around safely. I was thinking he could hang out in Mumbai the 12th-14th, then perhaps a 2-3 day trip somewhere else, then a third city, then back to Mumbai to take the train down to Bangalore (he REALLY wants to ride the train). At the latest, he has to arrive in Bangalore by 11am on the 22nd.

So, thoughts? Should I try to convince him to join some kind of organized tour? What hotels have a safe? Should he bring a CC &/or debit card or just get cash before he leaves Atlanta, Georgia? I have told him to only take a carry on as it's easier to travel with but I don't know if he'll listen to me on that so assume he might have a rolling suitcase as well.

He's a very social guy and is learning Hindi so he can communicate with everyone but he's also not the most...street smart person.

Thanks for the help everyone!!

if its possible for him to change his flight details to delhi then he would have a lot more to do here....he could go to agra to see the taj mahal, go to 2-3 places in rajasthan or to see the ganges in varanasi....

while there are things to do near mumbai as well, i would pick delhi & the nearby cities over mumbai any day....

taking the train would take him a long time....if he is traveling for the first time & is not too street smart (as you stated) then i would suggest traveling in either the ac second or third class section....ask him not to get a general ticket....

$1,000 for a 10 day trip should be sufficient....

If he's on that kind of a shoestring for 10 days he'll have to live local - not the usual hotels americans tend to stay in, especially in places like bombay and delhi (I've stayed in hotels in san fran and tokyo that were cheaper than equivalent hotels in these two cities)

Look for homestay (aka "paying guest") acco / youth hostel / ymca type places would be my advice, in each city. As he'll join you in bangalore have him come down south too - plenty to see and do out here, beaches / temples etc. So maybe fly into Chennai (MAA) or somewhere rather than BOM. Then spend time doing stuff he likes (that is - "culture stuff" like old forts / tombs etc like in north india or south india? beaches like goa or kerala? a wildlife sanctuary type place with cottages?)

$500 USD for 10 days is definitely doable, especially if he doesn't mind backpacking it.

I do agree that accommodations will be higher priced in Mumbai. A decent value place I can recommend is the YWCA but you need to make reservations ahead of time.

If its his first time in India i'd recommend a trip down to Goa for a few days. Think of it as kind of India-lite. Lots of foreign people and food, lots of english spoken, comforts of home etc. Then he can dome back and tackle Mumbai properly before catching the train to Bangalore. If he's a real train fanatic (as I am) he can't go past the train journey from Mumbai to Goa in terms of scenery; its fantastic and quite cheap too.

As suggested earlier it's better if he flies into Delhi and sees Rajasthan or Agra.

From Mumbai I would suggest going down to GOA, it's an overnight train journey. DEC is peak season for travel to GOA so better to book train tickets in advance. From GOA he can take VOLVo buses to bangalore or the train.

For train and buses in India he can visit the website www.makemytrip.com

He can also consider going to the backwaters in kerala they are also an overnight journey by train from Bangalore.

If he decided to come to DELHI he can take the Rajdhani express train to BLR as they provide food in that train.

Hope this helps

If he's on a budget then get out of Mumbai as soon as possible... it can be as expensive as London or New York.

Train down to Goa... then fly to Bangalore (one way flights are pretty cheap in India)?

Or Fly to Kerala (Cochin) and then train to Bangalore?

I'd imagine a 22 year old on their first big solo international trip is going to have fun where ever!