10 days in India

A 10-day tour of India is the ideal length for a first immersion — provided you don't try to see everything. Our local-agency advice: focus your trip on a single region, so you can take the time to savour the country rather than race across it. Set your sights on Kerala and its backwaters, Tamil Nadu and its temples, little-known Karnataka, or the Rajasthan of forts and palaces. Based in Pondicherry, we craft your tailor-made itinerary, at your own pace and to suit your wishes, with a private driver and accommodations we've tested for you. Discover our ideas for tours of around ten days below, followed by our tips for planning your trip: day-by-day itinerary, budget and best time to go.

Tour ideas for 10 days in India

North India or South India: which tour to choose for 10 days?

Rather than pitting North against South, two practical questions almost always settle the choice: when do you want to travel?, and is this your first trip to India? The season, in particular, shapes the decision far more than people expect — India is a subcontinent, and two regions just a few hundred kilometres apart can experience opposite climates at the very same time.

First, the season: each region has its window

Broadly speaking, India is best visited during the northern-hemisphere winter, from November to March: this is the dry, temperate season across most of the country. But two major exceptions are worth knowing before you choose.

In the North, the logic of the plains and that of the Himalayas are reversed:

• Rajasthan, like Delhi, Agra and the Ganges valley, is best enjoyed from October to March. The heart of winter (November to February) offers mild, luminous days; from April, the heat becomes overwhelming, and summer ushers in the monsoon.
• Ladakh and the high Himalayan valleys follow the opposite calendar: they are only accessible from June to September, once the passes have cleared — precisely the season when the plains swelter. For a high-altitude tour, summer is therefore the only real window.

In the South, the nuance plays out between the west coast and the east coast:

• Kerala is at its best from December to March, once the rains of the summer monsoon (June to September) have passed. Worth noting: this same monsoon is traditionally considered the ideal time for an Ayurvedic retreat.
• Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, on the east coast, receive a later monsoon (October to December): it's better to travel there a little later, from January to March. In other words, a December that's perfect for Kerala may still be rainy on the Coromandel Coast.
• Inland Karnataka — Mysore and its palace, the iconic landscapes of Hampi, the coffee hills of Coorg — is best visited from October to February, before the intense heat of spring.

In concrete terms: if you can only travel in July–August, Rajasthan and part of the South are in the thick of the monsoon or the heat — Ladakh then becomes the obvious answer. If you travel between December and February, both Rajasthan and Kerala welcome you with open arms.

Then your profile: is this your first trip to India?

For a first discovery, it's best to favour "easy" regions, where you acclimatise gently.

• Kerala is arguably the gentlest introduction: generous nature, the soothing rhythm of the backwaters, reasonable distances and comfortable logistics.
• Rajasthan is the other great classic first trip: it's picture-postcard India — forts, palaces, colours — on a very well-honed route. The one caveat: the distances between the major stops are quite long and the roads slow, so you spend more time on the road than in Kerala. Nothing prohibitive, especially since with a private driver the journeys become part of the trip — but it's worth knowing so you can set a realistic pace over 10 days.
• Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are also very well suited to a first stay, with a slightly more pronounced cultural change of scene, carried by the great Dravidian temples and the royal cities.

For travellers already familiar with India, we tend to reserve the more intense or more demanding regions: the fervour of Varanasi and the Ganges, the isolation and altitude of Ladakh, or long-haul itineraries. Whatever the region, we adapt the pace and the stages to your experience of the country.

South India in 10 days: Kerala, Tamil Nadu or Karnataka?

South India is our home ground, and arguably the finest gateway to the country.

Combining Tamil Nadu and Kerala in 10 days is feasible, but we advise against it over such a short span: it would boil down, roughly, to two two-day stops per state — too little to fully appreciate what makes each of the two regions distinctive. This deserves rather a two-week trip, which we'll be delighted to put together with you.

Over 10 days, the most harmonious solution is instead a loop starting from a well-connected major city — Bangalore, Chennai or Cochin. Mumbai is also a fine gateway to the Deccan and its wonders (Ajanta, Ellora, Hampi, etc.) or to the beaches of Goa, easily reached by a domestic flight that avoids the long roads.

In every case, when you have only 10 days, the most pragmatic solution remains to call on a driver, possibly combined with a domestic flight to absorb the longest distances.

Rajasthan in 10 days: forts, palaces and desert

Rajasthan is the India of the Maharajas — that of fortresses rising over the hills, palaces set on the water and towns in vivid colours. In 10 days, the key is not to try to embrace everything: the state is vast and the roads slow, so it's better to delve into one fine itinerary than to multiply stops.

The most natural route extends the Golden Triangle southward. You begin in Delhi, then Agra and its unforgettable Taj Mahal, before entering Rajasthan via Jaipur, the pink city, with its Amber Fort and its Palace of Winds. The route continues to the sacred lake of Pushkar, then Udaipur, the romantic City of Lakes — often the highlight of the trip. Depending on your pace, you can add Jodhpur, the blue city dominated by its majestic fort, or an immersion in the dunes of the Thar Desert.

Rajasthan's far west, however, such as Jaisalmer, requires more time: we tend to reserve it for two-week trips, so as not to turn your tour into a race against the clock. That's the whole point of a tailor-made itinerary: setting just the right number of stages so you can enjoy the journey rather than endure the road.

What to do in India in 10 days?

Beyond the sites you tick off on a map, a trip to India is lived through its experiences. In 10 days, here are the ones we love to share with you, whatever the region.

• Sleep somewhere with soul: a maharaja's palace, a colonial residence or a houseboat.
• Take the train, an immersion in its own right.
• Attend a ceremony or a performance: an evening aarti, kathakali, or a Theyyam ritual in northern Kerala.
• Take an Indian cooking class in a local home.
• Watch wildlife on a safari in the Kabini region.
• Hike in the tea hills of Munnar, or mountain-bike in Thekkady.
• Visit artisans' workshops: block printing, weaving or votive pottery in Rajasthan.
• Meet tribal communities, such as the Toda of the Nilgiris.

That's the whole point of tailor-made travel: putting together the experiences that suit you.

What budget for a 10-day tour of India?

For a 10-day tour of India in the comfort category, budget between and per person per day, i.e. around to per person based on two travellers. This rate covers the land portion — accommodations, transport with a private driver, guides and visits — excluding international flights.

Several factors cause this budget to vary:

• The accommodation category: from a charming guesthouse to a maharaja's palace, the gap can be significant.
• The region: Rajasthan, with its palace-hotels, often sits above Kerala.
• The season: rates climb in high season, in January and February, and during festivals.
• The number of travellers: with a larger group, the cost of the driver and vehicle is shared, which brings down the price per person.

Because each tour is tailor-made, the most accurate approach is to talk it over with us: we'll draw up a free, detailed quote based on your wishes and your pace.