Getting There

By Plane

Most major airline carriers have flights to India. It's a good idea to shop around for fares or make use of a consolidator that hunts for the cheapest available seats on your travel dates.

From North America -- Count on spending between 18 and 22 hours traveling if you fly directly to India; you'll have to touch down at least once in Europe, the Gulf, or an Asian destination. With flights from the U.S. or Canada, the following airlines all offer service to India:

British Airways (tel. 800/247-9297; www.british-airways.com); Virgin Atlantic (tel. 800/821-5438; www.virgin-atlantic.com) via London; Air-India (tel. 800-223-7776; www.airindia.com); KLM/Northwest (tel. 800/447-4747; www.nwa.com); Lufthansa (tel. 800/645-3880 in the U.S., 800/563-5954 in Canada; www.lufthansa.com); and Air France (tel. 800/237-2747 in the U.S., 800/667-2747 in Canada; www.airfrance.com). Air Canada (tel. 888-712-7786) flies directly from Vancouver to Delhi with a touchdown in London. From other Canadian hubs, you'll fly to London or Zurich, where you pick up the connecting flight to Delhi.

From the U.K. -- Flights are usually cheaper if you're prepared to change to a connecting flight in continental Europe or in the Middle East; a number of European airlines (such as KLM and Alitalia) will get you there affordably if you don't mind a change of planes.

British Airways (tel. 0870-850-9-850; www.ba.com) has daily direct flights to both Delhi and Mumbai, and occasional direct flights to Kolkata and Chennai. Air-India (tel. 0208-745-1000 or 020/8560-9996; www.airindia.com) is the national carrier operating regular nonstop flights to Delhi and Mumbai. Virgin Atlantic (tel. 0870-574-7747) operates nonstop flights to Mumbai three times a week, while British Midland (tel. 0870-6070-222) offers them four times a week. India's best domestic carrier, Jet Airways (tel. 0870-9101-000; www.jetairways.com), has also recently introduced daily nonstop flights between London and Mumbai.

Emirates (tel. 0870/243-2222; www.emirates.com) flies to Mumbai, Delhi, and Cochin, via Dubai. KLM UK (tel. 0870/243-0541; www.klmuk.com) operates flights from all over Britain to Amsterdam, where you pick up your connection with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (www.klm.com) to Delhi.

Lufthansa (www.lufthansa.co.uk) has flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, and Amritsar through Frankfurt.

From Australia & New Zealand -- You can't fly directly to India from either Australia or New Zealand, and you will more than likely be offered a flight package that incorporates more than one airline. The majority of touchdowns and changeovers are in Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore.

The following airlines offer service to India: Singapore Airlines (tel. 13-1011 in Australia; www.singaporeair.com); Qantas (tel. 13-1313 or 29-691-3636 in Australia, 0800/80-8767 or 09/375-8900 in New Zealand; www.qantas.com).

From South Africa: South African Airways (tel. 0861-359-722; www.flysaa.com) flies nonstop to Mumbai several times a week from Johannesburg.

International Airports

India has several international airports: Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta), Chennai, Trivandrum, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Amritsar, and Cochin. Mumbai (Bombay) receives the greatest amount of international traffic and is the best point of arrival for onward travel to Goa, South India, or Gujarat. Be warned, however, that Mumbai airport facilities are poor. Most Mumbai flights arrive late at night, so be wary of booking "immediate" onward domestic flights; you don't want to spend any significant amount of time waiting at the airport. Delhi's international airport -- the principal starting point for journeys throughout North India, including the Himalayan regions and Rajasthan as well as east India -- is substantially better. Only fly in to Kolkata (Calcutta) if you plan to explore east India exclusively.