Delta + HH = India?
 

I have about 180K Delta Skymiles and 280K HH points. One possibility my wife and I are entertaining is a trip to India sometime in January-Feb 04. Problem is, we can only take two weeks vacation. She is of Indian descent and still has relatives in Bombay and Goa. We would depart from Philadelphia area.
1) Can we get a good trip planned with only two weeks to work with?
2) Would this be a good use of points?
All opinions welcome!

Rasputina and I took a 2 week trip a few years back and the timing was indeed tight -- Really you need 1.5-2 days on each end just to do the flying, and then there are the inevitable train delays etc. (I would have retained a car and driver, which is really inexpensive - maybe $40/day including tip - if I had to do it again.) My suggestion -- stick with a very confined area and try to do it well -- i.e., Rajasthan, Maharastra (where Mumbai is) or Goa & Karnataka -- rather than rush about and try to see "everything" like we mistakenly did. You'll see more, get a better feel for the country and people, and actually have a "vacation" rather than a hectic holiday. India isn't going anywhere -- the Taj Mahal will still be there, god willing, in 10 years, so if you don't see it this time, you can catch it on your next visit. If you and your wife are anything like us, you'll be planning of going back to India on the plane ride back to the U.S.

I just used about 160,000 delta miles for travel to India on dec 5 - Jan 4 , 2004 return by Korean Air first class. I am travelling to Bombay from Los Angeles. Dont miss Kerala ( southern state ) when you travel to India. Great place ..It was even mentioned as Top 50 destinations of all times.

http://www.kerala.com/
http://www.traveljini.com/
http://www.keralatourism.org/
http://www.keralatourism.com/
http://www.ktdc.com/

PS: I was born in Kerala but lived most of my life in Bombay and Los Angeles.

[This message has been edited by debo_nair (edited 09-16-2003).]

Short answer - yes and maybe. You can have a memorable trip with just 2 weeks. It may or maynot be a good use of points (you can get fairly inexpensive mileage earning coach tickets on Delta or other airlines for under $1000 per pax from the East coast to BOM). Premium travel is a different story - mileage awards are usually a much better option (except on BA).

India is usually considered a longer duration vacation destination. YOu can however do a lot in 2 weeks (as Rasputin suggested count on losing about 3 days in travel and keep goals practical). The key is to prioritize based on your objectives and give time to relax and enjoy rather than experience it all (even after 6 months of touring friends have returned to say that they did not get enough time).

I am assuming that this is your first trip to India and your wife has possibly been there before. Jan/Feb is a good time to travel to India but Jan is a peak travel season (busy towards early Jan and harder to return from India than go to India). Try to work with award availability dates (it is particularly hard to leave and return on weekends in early Jan).

It is very hard for working couples (in our case with children) to find enough time to take a long vacation. We have learned to trim our expectations but get a lot our of just 10 days to 2 weeks. My advice is to choose the balance you want between visiting any family/friends, checklist items (Taj Mahal, Jaipur/Jaisalmer, Kashmir, Konark/Khajuraho, south Indian temple/architecture, Darjeeling/Kulu/Rohtang, etc.), resorts (Goa, Kerala Beaches, A&N, etc.), nature, cultural experiences (rural areas, backwaters in Kerala, poverty and hope, Calcutta, Bangalore/Mumbai/Delhi urban chic, etc.). Try the TravelBuzz threads.

Thanks for your input everyone.

One additional question: with all the codeshare marriages and divorces of recent months, is Korean Air the only way to India via Delta reward? Are there alternative carriers that make more sense departing from East Coast US?
P.S. My wife has been to India before but always stayed with relatives who were quite protective when it came to her venturing out by herself as a tourist!

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Delta Silver Medallion
HH Diamond

No. Korean is not the only airline. Dec being peak season for travel to India I didn't get award tickets in any other airline partner except Korean. Being from LA , Korean just works fine with me. Check for more partners at
http://www.delta.com/skymiles/use/pa...ards/index.jsp

DL has a few flights to Mumbai on their own metal - one routing leaves out of ATL/CVG and stops in CDG with a change of planes, the other leaves JFK also stopping in CDG (not sure if you change planes on this one or not).

I personally think that the BizE award for travel to Mumbai is the best deal in the system - it feels like you're on the plane forever if you ride in the back.

If you leave out of JFK, you may end up on Delta metal all the way through or transfer to AF metal at CDG. Depends on what your timing is.

Well, Delta, proper, sounds like it may be an option...what are the chances we could get a 24 hour layover in Paris/CDG?!
Re: the BizE way...could you describe a little bit more? Not sure if it would be applicable in my situation...

Forgot to include the following: I can't find a Hilton anywhere in India (not that I would necessarily stay at one), but does anyone have experience with Hilton Maldives as part of an India itinerary?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum57/HTML/008656.html

There is one hilton hotel in India. It is however, quite some ways from the city of Bangalore in south india and not very convienient. There are good Sheraton hotels in most major Indian cities.

Economy class to Mumbai from the US is 80,000 miles, Business Elite is 100,000. For the additional 20,000 you get a great product for almost 16 hours of plane time. Obtaining seats might be tough, depending on when you fly. Obtaining the extra 40,000 miles you need could be done rather quickly if you sign up for the DL amex card, switch cell phone service to AT&T, and find a few other bonus offers that are floating around, or move miles from an amex account.

Here again, my personal opinion, but I really think this flight is worth the miles.

Delta,Air France,Alitalia,Korean Air all fly into Mumbai.

Northwest also flies into BOM. KLM can take you up to DEL.