How much does a trip to India cost?

India has the widest spread between budget and comfort of anywhere on this list: the same route can be done for under $25 a day or over $300, and the gap is mostly accommodation and how you cover long distances.

A typical 18-day trip works out at roughly $1,080–$2,700 at a mid-range standard, or $60–$150 a day. That excludes international flights, which vary far too much by origin to average usefully.

Daily cost by travel style

Backpacker

$25–$50 / day

Hostels and guesthouses, local transport, street food

18 days ≈ $450–$900

Mid-range

$60–$150 / day

Private rooms and 3-star hotels, the odd taxi, restaurants

18 days ≈ $1,080–$2,700

Comfort

$180–$400 / day

4-star and up, private transfers, guided activities

18 days ≈ $3,240–$7,200

What actually moves the budget

  • Train class changes the transport line item several times over on the same journey
  • Monument entry fees for foreign visitors are a real, repeated cost on a heritage route
  • Domestic flights are cheap when booked ahead and punishing when not

Where these numbers come from

These are ranges read off published travel-cost guides, not figures measured from DollarBuddy trips. They are shown as ranges because the range spans the figures given by the guides cited below, which do not fully agree with one another, and because a single number distilled from that spread would imply a precision nobody has. Last reviewed 19 September 2026.

There is no category breakdown on this page for the same reason: no source publishes a split that adds up to its own headline figure, so any breakdown here would be invented. Breakdowns appear on destinations where we have enough real logged trips to measure one.

Sources

Costs are per person and exclude international flights. Local prices are shown in US dollars; on the ground you will be paying in INR.

Common questions about India travel costs

How much does a 18-day trip to India cost?
Budget on roughly $1,080–$2,700 per person for 18 days at a mid-range standard. Travelling as a backpacker brings that down to about $450–$900, and a comfort-level trip runs $3,240–$7,200. All three exclude international flights, which vary too much by origin to average usefully.
How much money do I need per day in India?
Per person, per day: $25–$50 as a backpacker, $60–$150 mid-range, and $180–$400 at a comfort standard. Travel style moves the daily figure more than any other single decision, which is why it is shown as three bands rather than one number.
Is India expensive to travel in?
At a mid-range standard India works out at $60–$150 a day per person, so a week costs around $420–$1,050 before flights. Whether that reads as expensive depends mostly on style: the gap between the backpacker and comfort bands here is about $155 a day.
What currency is used in India?
INR. Every figure on this page is converted to US dollars for comparison, but on the ground you will be paying in INR. If you log spend in DollarBuddy as you go, each expense is recorded in INR and converted at the rate on the day you spent it, so the trip total stays accurate as the rate moves.
What drives the cost of a trip to India up or down?
Train class changes the transport line item several times over on the same journey. Monument entry fees for foreign visitors are a real, repeated cost on a heritage route. These are the line items that move a India budget most, and they are the reason a single daily average is a poor planning tool on its own.

Compare with other destinations

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