Costs and Money in India

India is a place that suits all budgets but is well known for being a ridiculously cheap place to travel. Obviously, the more touristy places are more expensive but your money can still go a long way if you are careful.

Exchange Rate

What you get for your money

Wherever you are in India, always expect to be charged a little more than locals, it is pretty standard and I think it gets to the point where merchants don't even realise they are doing it!

It is possible to get a cup of Chai (tea) or coffee for around 5 Rupees on the street or 20 in a cafe. You can get a good plate of food from as low as 60 Rupees and snacks on the street for 5 or 10. At around 80-100 Rupees a Thali (rice, namm, pickle, ...............offer the best value for money and are usually all you can eat.

Taxi and Rickshaw drivers can be a bit hard when agreeing a price so ask a few to see what the going rate is, then half it! You can get a 15 minute rickshaw ride for about 60 rupees if you bargain hard. Some states require rickshaws to use meters but even then they just take you around the long way. Always agree a price before getting in taxi or rickshaw! Buses are the cheapest mode of transport. In towns you can hop on and off buses for as little as 2 rupees. For longer distances use sleeper buses or trains, a 15 hour sleeper bus can cost anything from 300 to 700 rupees and for the same journey on a sleeper train costs about 500 but varies depending on the route. See the transport section for a more comprehensive report on getting around.

Bartering

Bartering is commonplace and expected except in restaurants, bars etc. and you can sometimes be seen as rude if you don't do so. When buying things in a market or taking a taxi/rickshaw always offer half of what they have offered and take it from there. Never seem too desperate to buy something and it never hurts to walk away to get the price lower. I never liked to push too hard unless I knew someone was trying to take me for a ride; they don't have as much money as we in the west have and I often felt a little cruel grinding prices down as low as I could.

Changing money

Changing money in India is easy and convenient unless you are in some rural village or high in the mountains so just make sure you change enough to last you. Watch out for con men who hang around outside exchange shops offering better rates. This happened to a friend of mine and he ended up with a bundle of blank bits of paper wrapped in Rupee notes. Also it is worth looking around for a better rate as they will not be so good in popular tourist spots, it maybe worth heading a bit more out of town.

Cash machines (ATM's)

Cash machines are not new to India and you can find them pretty much everywhere you go with thousands of new ones emerging everyday. Most banks usually offer quite good exchange rates but may charge you a fortune to withdraw cash. Check with your bank to see how much they charge (Nationwide offers free cash withdrawals in India) and maybe get in a prepaid travel card which is what I do.

Travellers Cheques

Travellers cheques are safer than cash, if they are lost or stolen you can get replaced pretty quickly and you feel a lot safer than if you were carrying around bundles of cash. However, I don't really like them, I seem to leave them hanging around as they don't seem like real money! When you do want to get them cashed you may struggle to find places to do so and if you do, you may have to wait in a queue for hours!

For the best security use a combination of the above methods, never keep them all in the same place and use a travel belt.

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Palolem beach in Goa. I know it has nothing to do with cost and money but it's such a beautiful photo I took and I wanted to put it up somewhere!