India for Russian-speaking travellers: what to change

Most Golden Triangle itineraries are sold to travellers arriving from London or Frankfurt on a short holiday. Our clients from Minsk, Moscow and Almaty arrive with more days, less heat tolerance and a different set of expectations about how a guide should behave. Four changes fix it.

1. Slow it down by a third

Six days for Delhi–Agra–Jaipur is standard. We run seven and drop a city rather than add one. Nobody has ever complained about having an afternoon in Udaipur with nothing in it.

2. Book the guide in Russian, months ahead

There are good Russian-speaking guides in Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Kochi, and there are not many of them. They are booked by November for the season. This is the single thing worth deciding early.

3. Move the food conversation to the start

Spice tolerance varies enormously and restaurants will happily cook to order if asked in advance. We brief every hotel and every driver; nobody should spend an evening negotiating.

4. Do not fly domestic before nine in the morning

North Indian winter fog cancels early flights routinely between mid-December and mid-January. We schedule midday departures in those weeks and accept the shorter day.