My travel Advice
This is really just bits and pieces that might be useful, based on my 25 years of visits.

VISAS. These should be applied for well in advance. The usual advice is that your passport should be valid for at least 6 months from your application date. It should have at least 2 blank pages [preferable adjacent]. The system for application has changed over the years so it is best to go to the Indian Government sites: Advice on application;   Authorised portal. Some companies will do much of the work for you: for example VisaHQ.

MAPS and GUIDES. Maps are rarely used in India even for long distance driving.  For my list of good sources go to Guides. I recommend the Lonely Planet travel atlas and guides. Maps in Lonely Planet and Rough Guides are of course useful. One of the best places to buy maps in UK is Stanfords. A good website for maps is The mapshop which has a range of maps for or purchase. As websites like this are subject to frequent change it is probably sensible to start from scratch hunting on line.
      If you need maps of villages, towns, cities other than the major places then the obvious place is Google maps. For an example of the quality look at a map of 'my home town', Tirupati. And of course you can see the terrain and general appearance of the region in Google earth.

Booking flights.  My main experience has been with British Airways to Chennai. It is always cheaper to book direct with BA [their stated policy].

Travel by Car and auto.  I would not recommend driving yourself; to see why not then Click Here. Hired cars come with drivers. It is usual to pay for their food but they usually find their own overnight accommodation. I usually offer in advance a higher tip if they drive more slowly and considerately, especially through villages. It is more difficult to get them to give up the pleasure of hooting their horns randomly every few seconds. The autorickshaws [tuk tuks in Thailand] are often the best way of travelling shorter distances in towns. It is usual to haggle over price. It is often so low that you think haggling is not needed but still best to do so. If you find being driven in an auto is nerve-wracking you should consider how much you would have to pay for such excitement in a fairground. I love them.  

Travel Links