Some notes for prospective visitors to India

I provide personalized introduction and orientation tours of south India for Western visitors as a hobby. I've been living full-time in India for the last five years after retiring from UBC, and have chosen to spend the rest of my life here. I love to show people around India.

Costs will depend on the level of comfort you would like in terms of accommodations and modes of travel. I don't charge anything for my services as a guide; I just ask that you pay for our travel, accommodation and meals. If budget is an issue, and you don't mind "roughing it" a bit, you could manage on Cdn$50/day (total for both of us). Or we could travel in splendid style on $100/day. Airfare (from Canada) is about $1,500 return, so you could do a month-long trip in comfort, and spend less than $5,000 for everything. I'd suggest a minimum of a month; six weeks or two months would be better still.

The best season to visit India is December through March. Plan to fly into and out of Chennai (Madras) in Tamil Nadu. Here is a suggested circle tour: Mamallapuram, Mysore, Ooty, Kochi, Alleppey, Varkala, Madurai, Pondicherry, Auroville, and back to Chennai. But that's only a preliminary suggestion to get the juices flowing. If you have some special place you have read about or had recommended, we can include any part of India you like. I specialize in south India (Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Goa) because that's where I live, but I have been to northern India several times and would be glad to travel there if you like.

Health concerns should not be an issue, as long as you are in generally good health, and are careful about what you eat and drink here.

Please, fire away with questions. I'd be delighted to help you plan your trip and travel with you.