Written by the TravelZeg team in New Delhi.
It is understandable. India, Nepal and Sri Lanka are far away, the flights are long and expensive, and everything looks wonderful. So the first plan often has a new city every night or two.
On the ground, that plan looks different. Distances that seem short on a map take five or six hours by road. Each change of hotel costs half a day of packing, checking out, driving and checking in. And the best moments of a trip in South Asia rarely happen at the famous sights: they happen on the second morning somewhere, when you have time to walk out without a plan.
Two nights is the minimum
We plan at least two nights in each place, and three wherever we can. Two nights gives you one full day; three gives you a day for the sights and a day for yourself.
Fly the long distances
Domestic flights in India are frequent and cheap. A flight of under an hour and a half between Udaipur and Delhi saves a ten-hour drive. We keep the road for the stretches where the journey is part of the pleasure, through villages and countryside, and fly the rest.
Choose two or three regions, not a whole country
India is the size of Europe. A first trip that covers Rajasthan and Agra, or Kerala and Tamil Nadu, will show you more than one that tries to cover both, and leaves you a reason to come back.
Our advice
A rule of thumb we use: count the nights, divide by three, and that is roughly the number of places you will enjoy.