8 daysIndiaAges 18–40
8 days · Delhi, Vrindavan & Jaipur
Holi Festival India is an 8-day group trip for solo travellers aged 18 to 40 built around the festival of colours in the Braj region, where Holi is at its biggest and most traditional. You start in Delhi, spend three nights in Vrindavan for the Holika Dahan bonfire and Holi itself, then see the Taj Mahal in Agra and finish in Jaipur. Your Trip Host is with the group the whole way.
Updated
From, per person
$460 / £345 / €405 / A$650 / CA$650 / NZ$810 / ₹44,160
Free to reserve
Sarthak's best travel memories come from going solo: hostel dorms, a new activity most days, new cultures and new food. SoloNomads grew out of that.
Sarthak travels with every group, from the first day to the last, so there's always someone on hand to sort things out when plans change and to make sure nobody gets left out.
In every country, a licensed local agency and licensed local guides look after the ground services, so you get local know-how too.
Delhi to Jaipur, 4 stops in 8 days.
4 stops
8 days
Day 1
Arrive whenever your flight lands and check in at the hotel near Connaught Place. The Trip Host meets everyone in the early evening for introductions and a run-through of the trip, then we walk to dinner together.
Day 2
A morning in Old Delhi with a local guide: Jama Masjid, then cycle-rickshaws through the lanes around Chandni Chowk, with parathas, chaat and sweets on the way. That's lunch. In the afternoon we drive south to Vrindavan, about three and a half hours, and check in ahead of the festival.
Day 3
A quieter day before Holi: the Banke Bihari Temple in the old town, then the ISKCON temple (Krishna-Balaram Mandir), one of the calmer, more spread-out temples in Vrindavan. Banke Bihari is packed in Holi week and its queue and entry rules change often, so the Trip Host picks the time on the day. This is the eve of Holi, and in the evening communities across town light the Holika Dahan bonfires. We watch from a rooftop close to our hotel rather than in the crowd.
Day 4
This is what the trip is built around. This is Rangwali Holi, the colour day. We celebrate at our hotel, with the Trip Host and a local guide, rather than in the open streets of Vrindavan, which get very crowded and where unwanted touching is widely reported. Natural, herbal colours are provided. You can join in as much or as little as you like, and there's always a shaded spot to watch from. We wind down by early afternoon with a Holi lunch of gujiya and other festival sweets, and the rest of the day is free to wash off and rest.
Day 5
A slow morning to recover, with hot water and time to pack. After lunch on your own, we drive to Agra, about two hours. The evening is free to walk near the hotel or rest before tomorrow's early start.
Day 6
We're at the Taj Mahal for sunrise with a licensed, ASI-approved guide, before the heat and the crowds build up. After breakfast back at the hotel, the same guide takes us round Agra Fort. The afternoon is free.
Day 7
After breakfast our van heads west to Jaipur, about five hours of driving with a stop at Fatehpur Sikri, the Mughal capital that was abandoned about 15 years after it was built. We reach Jaipur in the late afternoon and drive straight up to Nahargarh Fort for sunset over the city. The rest of the evening is free.
Day 8
We walk up to Amber Fort in the cool of the morning, about 20 minutes on foot. We don't ride the elephants that carry tourists up. Back down for a late breakfast, and the trip ends after that. Jaipur airport has direct flights to Delhi for onward connections.
Prices are per person, and reserving is free. A date goes ahead once about 10 travellers have joined. You pay nothing until then. Once it's confirmed, we send you an invoice for the full price, and you have 7 days to pay it (or until the trip starts, if that's sooner).
19 Mar – 26 Mar 2027
AvailableDay 3 is Sun 21 Mar, Holika Dahan (the bonfire), and Day 4 is Mon 22 Mar, Rangwali Holi (the colours). Some towns play on Tue 23 Mar, the central government holiday, so we confirm the local date with our Vrindavan hotel.Max 16 people
Who’s joined
Price
$460 / £345 / €405 / A$650 / CA$650 / NZ$810 / ₹44,160
You reserve your spot for free and pay nothing to join. Once enough travellers have signed on, usually around 10, we confirm the departure and email you a confirmation with an invoice for the full trip price. You pay it by card or bank transfer within 7 days, in US dollars, pounds, euros, Australian dollars, Canadian dollars, New Zealand dollars or Indian rupees, whichever you choose.
Holi follows the Hindu lunar calendar, so there is one departure a year, set around the Holi dates. Holika Dahan, the bonfire, is lit on the full-moon evening of Phalguna and the colour day follows the next morning. That usually lands in March, and occasionally in late February.
Calendars can disagree by a day, and some towns in Braj play a day later than others. We check the local date with our hotel in Vrindavan before the departure is confirmed and tell everyone who has reserved if it moves.
Solo travellers aged 18 to 40. Most people come on their own, and some come with a friend. The maximum for each departure is shown with its dates, and it's never more than 16.
The Trip Host travels with the group for all 8 days, sorts out every transfer, ticket and check-in, and runs the Holi celebration with a local guide. At the monuments, a licensed guide leads the visit.
It starts at our hotel in central Delhi on the evening of Day 1, and we send the address when you book. It ends in Jaipur after breakfast on Day 8. Fly home from Jaipur, or take a short flight or train to Delhi first and leave at least three hours between landing there and an international departure.
Yes. Most nationalities need a visa for India, and most can apply for an e-Visa online on the official site, indianvisaonline.gov.in. You also have to file India's free e-Arrival card before you fly, and a health declaration has been required too. Rules change, so read our India visa guide for your passport before you book flights.
Small hotels and guesthouses with air-con and private bathrooms in Delhi, Vrindavan, Agra and Jaipur, and you share a twin room with a traveller of the same gender. Ten meals are included. A thali or a curry in a local restaurant usually costs about 200 to 500 rupees and street snacks are much less, so budget roughly 1,000 to 1,500 rupees a day for the meals that aren't included, plus drinks.
Old clothes you're happy to throw away (white shows the colour best), closed shoes, sunglasses and a scarf or bandana for your hair. Rub coconut oil or a thick moisturiser into your skin and hair before you go out so the colour washes off more easily, and bring a waterproof pouch for your phone. For temples, bring clothes that cover your shoulders and knees. Also pack layers for cool March evenings, sunscreen and a hat.
Yes, it's a condition of joining. It must cover medical treatment and evacuation.
Unwanted touching under cover of the colour play is a real and widely reported problem in crowded streets, which is why we celebrate at our hotel with the Trip Host and a local guide instead of joining the open street crowds in Vrindavan. You can watch from a shaded spot or step away at any point, and staying together as a group is part of the plan for the whole day. Bhang, the cannabis drink sold openly at Holi, is strong and slow to kick in, so we suggest you skip it.
Check with a travel health clinic or your doctor at least six weeks before you go. The NHS fitfortravel site and the US CDC keep up-to-date advice for India.
Ask here and someone on the team will email you back within 1 to 2 business days.
From
$460 / £345 / €405 / A$650 / CA$650 / NZ$810 / ₹44,160