We usually travel independently (i.e. we arrange all lodging, transportation and activities ourselves), but after nearly 8 months traveling full-time, we were a little tired and a lot ready to pay for the convenience of someone else planning our trip! Our visit to India was our first time in South Asia, and we had heard the region can be quite a culture shock from the U.S., so we decided this would be the perfect time to try a group tour.
We settled on Intrepid Tours because we liked their mission (they focus on “sustainable, experience-rich” travel and also have a Foundation for “community-led sustainable development”) and the variety of India tours they offered. Originally, I wanted to do their Indian Getaway tour but the dates we wanted sold out, so we chose India’s Golden Triangle instead. This 8-day tour was slightly shorter and a little more expensive than the Indian Getaway, but it was also a slightly nicer tour (“Original” instead of “Basix” travel style) and still hit the main sights we wanted to see: Delhi, Jaipur (which I was personally most excited to see) and the Taj Mahal.
Because we booked a group tour, India actually ended up being the most expensive country we visited on our trip by daily average cost (yes, even more expensive than Switzerland and Singapore), but that’s not the norm for most travelers. Let’s see how our travel costs in India broke down….
Tour Cost
Our 8-day tour cost $935 USD each and included lodging, transportation and activities. It did not include food, tips or extra activities. When you book a trip with Intrepid, they include the option to “donate 1% of your trip cost to the Intrepid Foundation to support life changing projects empowering local people.” We accepted this option, so our total base cost for the tour alone was $118/person per day, which is already more expensive than any other place we visited on our RTW trip.
Food & Drink
Most meals were not included on our tour, though there were a few exceptions (our gorgeous heritage hotel in Karauli included two meals). We had a really fun group and so we ended up having most of our meals together, which is not required. Because we had a large group, I felt like we usually ended up at more touristy restaurants, so you can certainly save money by venturing out on your own. (For example, one day Jonathan and I decided to get lunch with just one other traveler from our group. We visited a food counter in Delhi and paid only $1.43 USD – for both of us!) Speaking of a fun group, we also usually had a cocktail (or two) at each dinner, so keep in mind that this total includes food and alcohol: $16.42/person per day. (Wow, that number is actually much lower than I expected.)
I tracked our “treats” (i.e. dessert/coffee/drinks/snacks/street food that were not purchased as part of a meal) budget separately, which adds on another $5.38/person per day.
Extra Activities
All the admission fees for the various attractions we visited were included in our trip cost, so we only had a few extra expenses here, including $4.22 for a photo permit at a mosque in Delhi and $3.87 each for a yoga class at our beautiful hotel in Jaipur. We also took a rickshaw to a bar one night with some other travelers for $2.82, so I’ll throw that in this category. Our “extra activities” costs were very minimal, but I’m sure this varies widely depending on where you go and how many optional activities are offered on your tour (and how much free time you have). Total = $0.92/person per day.
Note: If you’re considering India’s Golden Triangle tour, there’s also an option for an early-morning hot air balloon ride in Jaipur from September 1 – April 30 for $260/person. We opted out because we had been fortunate to do a budget-friendly hot air balloon ride in Egypt ($80/person), so we thought this was a bit expensive. However, our fellow travelers said it was absolutely gorgeous, so definitely consider it if your budget allows (especially if you’ve never done a balloon ride before).
Tips
Intrepid offers the option to do a “tip kitty” with your tour group so you don’t have to worry about individually tipping for each service. This was a really convenient option that made me feel confident we were tipping appropriately. Our tour suggested we contribute 1500 INR each, which at the time was around $21 USD per person. At the end of the tour, we tipped our Intrepid guide directly. Intrepid recommends tipping your guide $3-5 USD per day per person if you enjoy their service (which we absolutely did!), so expect tips to cost at least $6-8/person per day. (Expected tip kitty contributions for your tour can be found in the “Essential Trip Information” on the Intrepid website.)
Gifts & Souvenirs
We bought the most expensive souvenir of our trip in India: a rug from a carpet factory we visited in Agra (a little under $400 USD including shipping to the U.S.). Gifts and souvenirs vary widely by traveler, so I won’t make a cost recommendation here, but think about how much you can spend before you arrive and want to buy all the things. We also visited a jewelry shop and various markets on our tour, so there are ample opportunities for shopping if you want to buy souvenirs and/or gifts. (If we had been heading home after India, I think I would have bought a lot of spices in Old Delhi!)
Travel Insurance & Visas
Don’t forget about travel insurance! We purchased third-party coverage from World Nomads for $2.97/person per day. (Travel insurance costs will vary depending on chosen plan, length of travel, location, etc.) If you are traveling for a shorter amount of time, check to see if your credit card includes any travel insurance. For example, our Chase Sapphire Reserve card includes travel insurance but some benefits are only available for trips less than 30 (or 60) days. Confirm any benefits with your card provider before your trip to avoid unpleasant surprises.
We also needed tourist visas to visit India, which cost us about $25.63 per person in 2019. This was one of the most involved visa processes we encountered on our trip (but as U.S. citizens, we recognize we hold a lot of passport privilege). If you don’t feel comfortable getting your visa on your own, you can enlist the help of an agency like iVisa.com for an additional fee.
Conclusion
We spent about 26% more than the base cost of our trip (excluding gifts, souvenirs, travel insurance, visas and transportation in and out of the country), so hopefully that will give a good indication of how much you can expect to spend on a group tour. Remember that India is a relatively inexpensive country, so scale accordingly. For example, we spent about ~$22/person per day on food, but if you’re traveling in Colombia you could manage with closer to $15/person per day, or if you’re traveling in Slovenia you should probably budget closer to $30-$40/person per day (especially if you drink alcohol). Also keep in mind if you want to do any extra activities; Intrepid is pretty good about listing optional activities with prices on their website so you can plan your budget accordingly. And don’t forget to tip!
Total: $2,469.39 = $308.67/day = $154.34 pp per day
Featured image: View of the Taj Mahal from the end of the reflecting pool (December 2019)
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