The Republic of India is the seventh-largest country in the world, with a coastline of over seven thousand kilometres. It is the country's vastness that challenges the imagination. The sub-continent, 3,200km (2,000 miles) from the mountain vastness of the Himalayas in the north to the tropical lushness of Kerala in the south, is home to one sixth of the world's population, a diverse culture and an intoxicatingly rich  history.

India's population, wildlife, geographical terrain and climate system are among the most diverse in the world.

One of the fascinations of India is the juxtaposition of old and new.  Colonised as part of the British Empire in the 19th century, India gained independence in 1947 as a unified nation after an intense struggle for independence. Nowadays, centuries of history rub shoulders with the computer age.  Bangalore's 'Silicon Valley' is as much a part of the world's largest democracy as the remotest village is. 

The most frequently visited part of India is the Golden Triangle - Delhi and the magnificent monuments of Agra and Jaipur, a legacy of centuries of Muslim rule ~ but there is much more besides. The unfairly maligned great cities of Mumbai (Bombay) and Kolkata (Calcutta) have a bustling, colourful charm, while the holy city of Varanasi or the awe-inspiring temples of Tamil Nadu are worthy objects of pilgrimage.

India is without a doubt one of the most fascinating places we have ever been to ~ it is like nowhere else.  "Incredible" and "unbelievable" are two extremely strong adjectives which aptly describe the beauty, the buildings, the sights, the richness and the poverty of this diverse nation. 

Tourism is developing rapidly to India and so are your flight options. Recently, we saw the appointment of Virgin and bmi to fly non-stop from the UK to India to compete with British Airways on a non stop basis. British Airways are invariably our preferred option as they have developed an excellent sports product which few can rival. But, we are very conscious of price. There are two local carriers - Air India and Jet Airways - both of whom are good operators, as are the Middle Eastern airlines, who operate on a two-flight basis, travelling via their hub.

The following are the flight schedules to India:

• British Airways ~ Direct from London Heathrow to Mumbai and Delhi, twice daily, and Calcutta, three times weekly, departing on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
• Air India ~ Twelve flights per week, four non-stop services to Mumbai, six via Delhi and two via Ahmedabad, in the state of Gujurat.
• Virgin Atlantic ~ Direct to Delhi and Mumbai once daily from London Heathrow.  
• bmi ~ Direct to Mumbai once daily from London Heathrow.
• Jet Airways ~ Direct to Delhi and Mumbai once daily from London Heathrow.
• Emirates ~ Offer a daily service from London Heathrow and London Gatwick via Dubai. 

As there are currently no non-stop scheduled service flights from the UK to GOA, we use the best available package holiday companies to offer our customers value for money products. This means you fly on charter flights who operate on different standards to schedule services. You'll notice specific differences e.g. you will probably have a little less leg room than you normally get on a scheduled service, but the value for money is excellent. Inflight catering might be of a lesser standard.  You'll probably fly via an intermediary airport e.g. Dubai, which will at least give you the opportunity to stretch your legs and help you adjust to the length of your travelling. The charter airline we prefer to use is Monarch as we believe this is the closest to schedule services. 

Internal travel is by air, bus and train - the mode of transportation that keeps India on the move. The choice depends on the type of tour you are doing, and the distances you are travelling. Should you be doing multi-city, Indian Airlines is the best option.

We try to avoid travel by bus at night time. It is breathtaking but not for the right reasons. If you are not travelling by train, include a station in your sightseeing. It's different. Very different.

 

As the weather varies from region to region, season to season, it is difficult to give a definitive answer that covers the whole country in relation to when the best time to play cricket is!  Ian Barton, our Operations Manager for this region, will be able to discuss your requirements in detail.

I don't believe I have ever come across a country so cricket mad. And I do mean MAD. When you travel there, if it is during a test series, you will see hundreds of people outside each TV shop watching it ball by ball. Some test grounds hold more than 100,000 people. This will give you the intense commitment Indians have to cricket. You'll probably have read about riots at Indian test grounds when England were due to play and different games were cancelled primarily because of the weather.

We're lucky to have such an excellent fixture organiser in Naresh Savaria.    India is a difficult country to tour because of very many reasons. Firstly, the size ~ it is a massive country. Secondly, the population ~ over one billion. Thirdly, the food ~ Even the most careful tourist is likely to get 'Delhi Belly'!

India has several independent schools which are based throughout the country. We also seek to include as many of these as possible in our school tours. We have access to some test grounds for cricket tours, and equally, there are a number of astro pitches but be ready to accept hockey matches on grass.

 

All the accommodation we use in India is a minimum 4*. I know from personal experience that anything less is simply not good enough for our customers.  You are inviting trouble if you insists on anything less. Indian accommodation  is particularly good at 5*. Two of the world's best hotel groups, Oberoi and Taj, operate in this sector, and are extremely good.

India is not an easy country to travel in. Chaotic at best, there are difficulties you'll encounter there you won't have anywhere else. Hence it is important to stay in the best category of hotel you can afford. As tourism develops, so the standard of 4* accommodation continues to improve. A great benefit to tourists is that hotels in this category are very cost effective.

There can be no doubt that in future years, there will be a development of reliable 3* hotel accommodation but, until it arrives, we strongly suggest you resist all temptations to use anything less than 4* hotels. Anything less is simply not geared to overseas tourists.