Cheap flights to New Delhi, India from $330

Getting to and around the city of Delhi

The Indira Gandhi International airport is just 10 miles from the center of Delhi and transportation is readily available to help you with the transition to your hotel. The best thing to do once you have booked your flights to Delhi and you’re comparing different hotel options is to see if they offer a transfer service. You’ll more than likely need to pay for it but it’ll save you worrying about how you’ll get to Delhi. Failing that, you can opt for the train. The Delhi Metro line connects the airport to the city and runs from Terminal 3 for most of the day (it finishes at 11pm and resumes again at 5am). A ticket will set you back about £1. Delhi Transport Corporation buses are another option you can consider. They run at half hour intervals and can be found outside of Terminal 3. The last option you can look at is a taxi, however there are many tales of scams that happen, so if you decide for a taxi you’ll want a prepaid one as opposed to one of the unofficial ones you can find outside.

Stick to a car in Delhi if you want to avoid getting run over. Traffic is hectic, drivers have little patience with pedestrians and the few sidewalks that exist are poorly maintained and crowded. Avoid travelling in rush hour like the plague.

Old Delhi has winding, narrow streets that could be considered walkable, but beware of handcarts and people with heavy loads. They stop for no one. Your best bet for getting around is via taxi or by hiring a car and driver.

If you’re hailing a cab, always negotiate your fare before you board. You can ask to see the fare chart that drivers carry with them. It’s also a good idea to carry some change, since most drivers don’t carry any with them. If you’d rather hire a car and driver, check with a travel agency.

Tips for your stay in Delhi

• The months of May through July are the hottest.
• One of the most beautiful parks to take a stroll in is Lodi Garden. Early morning is the best time to take in the well-manicured lawns and shady trees. The park is dotted with medieval monuments, the ornate tombs of the Lodi and Sayyid Era.
• Eat and drink on the go: breakfast will typically cost a couple of dollars and consist of idlis (rice cakes), vadas, dosas (crepes), salty pongal, chapatis with sambar (dhal and vegetables) and coffee. Snack on stuffed parathas from a cart-vendor and wash down with Jal Jeera, a lime, cumin and mint drink. Lunch might be Mughlai chicken or goat curry.
• Almost everything is for sale in Delhi. The Central Cottage Industries Emporiumin Connaught Place is the must-go-to market for traditional Indian craftsmanship including rugs and jewelry. Baba Kharak Singh Marg stocks regional handicrafts. For cheaper, Western, thrills, check out Sarojini Nagar Market for the cheap clothes and fabrics.
• To really get a taste of Delhi, visit Chandni Chowk. It means Moonlit Avenue, which sounds romantic, but there’s little room to stroll around. It’s one of the most congested places in Delhi, where you can sample a mouthwatering array of authentic Indian food, delicacies and sweets, rummage through book shops, clothes, shoes and leather goods stores.
• About 9 miles south of Central Delhi is the Qutub Minar Complex. The Qutub Minar is the tallest brick minaret in the world. The Quwwat ul-Islam Mosque, the Alai Gate, the Alai Minar and the Iron pillar are other important constructions. The story goes that anyone who can circle the 1,500-year-old iron pillar with their hands behind their back will be granted their wish.
• Twenty-five is the legal drinking age in Delhi and cocktails are the grown-up drink of choice. Hotel bars and lounges attract the moneyed young, but outside the hotels, bars and restaurants are attracting more and more revelers.
• In New Delhi, near Humayun’s Tomb, is the dargahof Hazrat Khawaja Nizamuddin Auliya, a famous Sufi saint. A settlement, known as Nizamuddin, has grown around the dargah. The shrine also contains the marble tomb of Amir Khusro, the great Persian poet of Delhi, and a number of fine Mughal buildings. On Thursday evenings Qawal (devotional music) is sung, from about 6-7:30pm.
• To see the city at its most colorful, visit around Republic Day (January 26), Independence Day (August 15) or Gandhi Jayanti (Gandhi’s birthday, October 2). Delhi-ites celebrate with speeches, military parades and great pomp.
• The Crafts Museum contains a collection of traditional Indian crafts in textiles, metal, wood, and ceramics. The museum is part of a village-life complex where you can visit rural India and see skilled artisans at work.
• Entertainment is easy to come by in Delhi. There are frequent performances by well-known dancers and musicians and lots of Indian and Western films. To find out what’s going on, check with your hotel and any of the daily or weekly newspapers.
• The Delhi Golf Clubis a 220-acre golf course on the 15th-century estate of the Lodi dynasty. The estate has over 200 types of trees and is a bird sanctuary. Nowhere else can you golf with monuments and mausoleums next to the greens and watch peacocks performing the rain dance. Temporary memberships are available.
• Indians love to eat out and Delhi has a large variety of restaurants and cuisines, with something for every budget from snacks at roadside stalls to celebrated restaurants.
• Indian people dress conservatively. Women are expected to cover their legs and shoulders. Trousers are acceptable, but shorts and short skirts are not. Men should always wear a shirt in public and wear shorts only at the beach. These rules are mandatory in temples and mosques. When entering a Sufi shrine or Sikh gurudwara, cover your head with a cap or cloth, women are required to cover their limbs, and men are expected to also cover their legs. Religious institutions usually have caps available, often for free, and sometimes cloth wraps are available for covering your arms and legs. You may also be required to remove your shoes when entering a religious institution or private home. It is illegal to give money to a beggar at a traffic light. If you do decide to give alms, do it somewhere other than at a traffic light.

New Delhi, India airport overview

Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) is just 10 miles (16km) outside of New Delhi. The airport opened the dazzling new Terminal 3, which handles all international flights, in 2010, but there are also a number of other terminals still in use at the airport. Passengers who used the airport prior to the opening of Terminal 3 might remember a dank and dirty affair with little to offer travelers, but all this  changed when the airport was privatized and revamped.

New Delhi’s airport is well connected to cities across the world and serviced by a large number of international and national carriers. There are also quite a few low-cost carriers in residence and it’s a hub for ten Indian carriers including Jet Airways, Kingfisher and Air India.

Indira Gandhi International Airport is a natural gateway to northern India. As one of the largest and busiest airports on the Indian subcontinent, it’s a great introduction to a country full of delights, adventures and surprises.

Airport staff are friendly and always willing to assist passengers or dispense the best bargain-hunting advice for the markets of New Delhi. It has loads of facilities and shopping opportunities, and its clean interior offers an ordered, calm introduction or conclusion to a trip to New Delhi. However, if you do have to spend a lot of time at the airport, make sure you spend it in the modern Terminal 3.