Experience 10 / 12
Family journeys across India
परिवार के साथ
Toy trains, forts to run around, elephants and ice cream
Short drives, early dinners and something to climb every day. A mountain train through the Nilgiris, a jeep safari where the children spot the deer first, boats in Kerala, and a fort above Jaipur with cannon on the ridge. We plan buffers, doctors, laundry and snacks, not only sights.
- 13 of 51 places
- 4 journeys
- Best Oct–Mar
The shape of it
What a family journey looks like
यह यात्रा कैसी होती है
Family travel in India works when the days are short and the surprises are frequent. Rajasthan makes a good opener: Amber Fort in Jaipur has ramparts to run along and a mirror hall that lights up from a single candle, and the Jantar Mantar turns astronomy into playground equipment. Ranthambore or Corbett gives everyone a shared mission, and children usually read the langur alarm calls before the adults do. In the hills, the Kalka to Shimla narrow gauge climbs through more than a hundred tunnels, and in Tamil Nadu the Nilgiri Mountain Railway still uses a rack and pinion to haul blue carriages up to Ooty, a listed ride that no child sleeps through. Mysore Palace switches on close to a hundred thousand bulbs on Sunday evenings. Mumbai has the ferry to Elephanta and bhelpuri on Chowpatty at dusk. Kerala keeps the last two days easy: a slow houseboat on the Vembanad, a Kathakali make-up demonstration up close, and a flat beach near Alleppey or Kovalam. We keep drives under four hours, book hotels with pools, carry a stocked first-aid kit, and put the flexible day exactly where the jet lag lands.
Where to go
13 places for a family journey
कहाँ जाएँ
Grouped by region, north to south. Each one earns its place for a different reason — open any of them for the season, the days it needs and how to get there.
North India
Himalayas, holy rivers and Mughal splendour
CityThemes:HeritageFoodCultureSpiritualDelhi
Delhi
Eight cities stacked on one river plain, still being built
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- October to March; winter fog can delay flights in late December and January.
HeritageThemes:HeritageRomancePhotographyFoodUttar Pradesh
Agra
The Taj at dawn, and a city that outlives it
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- October to March; the Taj is closed on Fridays and open on five nights around each full moon.
CityThemes:HeritageCultureFoodPhotographyRajasthan
Jaipur
Pink-walled planned city of astronomers, jewellers and Rajput kings
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- October to March
WildlifeThemes:WildlifeNaturePhotographyAdventureRajasthan
Ranthambore
Tiger country of dry forest, lakes and a tenth-century fort
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- October to June; sightings peak in the April to June heat
WildlifeThemes:WildlifeNatureFamilyPhotographyUttarakhand
Jim Corbett National Park
India's first national park, where Project Tiger began on the Ramganga
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- November to June; Dhikala zone is open mid-November to mid-June; April to June gives the best tiger sightings; Jhirna and Dhela run year-round
LakeThemes:FamilyRomanceNatureHeritageUttarakhand
Nainital
A green lake in a bowl of hills, with Kumaon beyond
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- March to June for boating and clear peaks; September to November for the Nanda Devi fair and autumn light; December to February for occasional snow
Hill stationThemes:HeritageFamilyCultureNatureHimachal Pradesh
Shimla
The Raj's summer capital, a toy train and a cedar-scented Ridge
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- March to June for clear skies and rhododendron; late September to November for crisp air; December to February for snow on the Ridge
Hill stationThemes:AdventureNatureFamilyRomanceHimachal Pradesh
Manali
Beas river, deodar temples and the road over the passes
- Ideal stay
- 4 days
- Best time
- March to June for orchards and open passes; October to November for gold larches and clear skies; December to February for snow and skiing at Solang
West India
Deserts, forts, beaches and living heritage
CityThemes:CultureFoodHeritagePhotographyMaharashtra
Mumbai
Seven islands, Art Deco seafront and India's loudest appetite
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- November to February; the monsoon from June to September is dramatic but floods the streets
BeachThemes:NatureFoodAdventureCultureGoa
North Goa
Beach shacks, flea markets and Indo-Portuguese village lanes
- Ideal stay
- 4 days
- Best time
- November to February; December is peak and the monsoon closes most shacks
South India
Temple towns, backwaters and spice coasts
CityThemes:HeritageCultureFoodFamilyKarnataka
Mysuru
Wodeyar palaces, sandalwood bazaars and a hill of ten-day Dasara
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- October to February; the ten-day Dasara falls in September or October
Hill stationThemes:NatureRomanceFamilyPhotographyTamil Nadu
Ooty
Blue Mountain tea slopes, shola forest and a rack railway
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- March to June for clear mountain weather
BackwaterThemes:NatureFoodRomanceFamilyKerala
Alleppey (Alappuzha)
Kettuvallam nights on Vembanad and paddy below sea level
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- November to March; the snake boat race falls on the second Saturday of August
4 journeys
Journeys built around family
हमारी यात्राएँ
Take one as it is, or hand it back to us with your dates and we'll rebuild it around them.
6 days · 5 nightsThemes:HeritageCultureFood
Easy · Best Oct–Mar
Golden Triangle Classic
Delhi's tombs, Agra's marble and Jaipur's pink grid in six days
Route: Delhi → Agra → Fatehpur Sikri → Jaipur
- Group
- 2–12 (private)
- From
- ₹58,000 pp
8 days · 7 nightsThemes:NatureWellnessFood
Easy · Best Sep–Mar
Kerala Backwaters and Tea Hills
Fort Kochi to a Vembanad houseboat, by way of the high tea country
Route: Kochi → Munnar → Thekkady & Periyar → Alleppey (Alappuzha) +1 more
- Group
- 2–12 (private)
- From
- ₹68,000 pp
10 days · 9 nightsThemes:HeritageCulturePhotography
Easy · Best Oct–Mar
Royal Rajasthan Grand Circuit
Ten days from Jaipur's bazaars to the dunes and back to Lake Pichola
Route: Jaipur → Pushkar → Jodhpur → Jaisalmer +3 more
- Group
- 2–10 (private)
- From
- ₹1,18,000 pp
6 days · 5 nightsThemes:NatureAdventureRomance
Easy · Best Oct–May
Andaman Island Escape
Six days of coral, ferries and colonial ruins in the Bay of Bengal
Route: Port Blair → Havelock (Swaraj Dweep) → Neil Island (Shaheed Dweep) → Ross Island (Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep)
- Group
- 2–12 (private)
- From
- ₹48,000 pp
From the journal
Reading before a family trip
पत्रिका
· Culture · 5 min
Festivals of India: A Month-by-Month Travel Calendar
A year of Indian festivals arranged by month, with where each one is at its most vivid, how far ahead to book, and what actually happens on the ground, from Thrissur Pooram's elephants to Hornbill in Nagaland and Dev Deepawali on the Ganga.
· Guide · 6 min
Jaipur City Guide: How to See the Pink City Properly
DEVGAMAN is based in Jaipur, so this is the guide we give friends: the order to do the forts in, which bazaar sells what, the kachori and lassi worth queueing for, and the half-day drives most visitors never hear about.
· Food · 6 min
India Street Food Trail: 10 Cities and What to Eat First
A working eater's route through ten Indian cities, from Chandni Chowk at dawn to Indore's Sarafa Bazaar at midnight. One anchor dish per city, the lanes and stalls that make it, what it costs, and how to eat street food without losing a day.