21 daysIndiaAges 18–40
21 days · Delhi, Agra, Goa & Kerala
India North to South is a 21-day group trip for solo travellers aged 18 to 40 who want the whole country in one go. You start in Delhi, see the Taj Mahal and Rajasthan's forts and lakes, then fly to Mumbai. From there you ride the coast train to the beaches of Goa, explore the boulder-strewn ruins of Hampi, and finish on a houseboat in the Kerala backwaters. Your Trip Host is with the group for all three weeks.
Updated
From, per person
$1,400 / £1,050 / €1,230 / A$1,990 / CA$1,980 / NZ$2,470 / ₹1,34,400
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 Alleppey, 11 stops in 21 days.
11 stops
21 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 three weeks. 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. After a rest we visit Gurudwara Bangla Sahib and its free community kitchen, and finish at Humayun's Tomb in the late-afternoon light.
Day 3
The Gatimaan Express leaves Delhi at 08:10 and reaches Agra in about 1 hour 40 minutes, with breakfast served on board. A licensed guide takes us round Agra Fort, and the afternoon is free. At sunset we go to Mehtab Bagh, the garden across the Yamuna, for a first look at the Taj.
Day 4
We're at the gate when it opens, 30 minutes before sunrise, and walk in with a licensed, ASI-approved guide before the crowds arrive. After breakfast our van heads west, with stops at Fatehpur Sikri, the abandoned Mughal capital, and the Chand Baori stepwell in Abhaneri. We reach Jaipur in the late afternoon.
Day 5
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. Then back into the old city with a licensed guide for the City Palace, Jantar Mantar and the view of Hawa Mahal. The afternoon is free, and at sunset we drive up to Nahargarh Fort above the city.
Day 6
A three-hour drive to Pushkar, arriving for lunch. The Trip Host walks us down to the lake and explains how the ghats work: shoes off, no photos of people bathing, and a polite no to anyone offering flowers and a blessing for money. Late afternoon, we take the cable car or walk up to Savitri Temple for the sunset over the town and the desert.
Day 7
After breakfast we drive five to six hours south to Udaipur, with stops for chai and lunch. We check in near the lake in the afternoon, and in the evening walk over the footbridge at Gangaur Ghat as the lights come on around Lake Pichola.
Day 8
A licensed guide takes us through the City Palace, the huge complex of courtyards and mirrored rooms above the lake, and the Jagdish Temple next door. The afternoon is free for the old city's rooftop cafes and art shops. In the late afternoon we take a boat out on Lake Pichola, past the island palaces, as the sun goes down.
Day 9
A morning cooking class in a local home, where you learn a few Rajasthani dishes and eat them for lunch. In the afternoon we fly from Udaipur to Mumbai, about an hour and a half, and the flight is included. We check in near the Gateway of India in the evening.
Day 10
A morning walk through the old Fort district with a local guide: the Gothic railway terminus, Kala Ghoda's galleries and the Art Deco blocks along the Oval Maidan. Late morning we watch the dabbawalas sort thousands of home-cooked lunches for delivery across the city. The afternoon is free. At sunset we walk Marine Drive to Girgaon Chowpatty beach for pav bhaji and dinner.
Day 11
An early start for the 05:25 Vande Bharat from Mumbai's CSMT station, with a packed breakfast. The line runs down the Konkan coast through tunnels, over rivers and past paddy fields, and reaches Madgaon at about 13:10. A 40-minute drive later we're on Palolem beach, in time for a swim and the sunset.
Day 12
We drive north to Old Goa, the former Portuguese capital, to see the Basilica of Bom Jesus and the Se Cathedral. Then on to Panaji for a walk through Fontainhas, the old Latin Quarter of yellow, blue and red houses, and a Goan lunch of fish curry rice or vindaloo. We're back on the beach by late afternoon.
Day 13
Nothing is planned. Kayak along the coast to Butterfly Beach, walk round to Patnem, take a yoga class or just stay in the shade. In the evening the group meets for sunset drinks on the sand.
Day 14
The 07:00 train from Madgaon climbs through the Western Ghats past the Dudhsagar falls and across the Deccan plateau, reaching Hosapete at about 14:30. We bring a packed breakfast and lunch. It's a half-hour drive to Hampi, and we end the day on Hemakuta Hill, watching the sun set over the temple towers.
Day 15
An early start with a licensed, ASI-approved guide at the Vittala Temple, with its stone chariot and the roped-off "musical" pillars. Then the Royal Enclosure, the Lotus Mahal and the Elephant Stables. After a thali lunch and a rest through the heat of the day, we take a round coracle boat on the Tungabhadra river and visit the Virupaksha Temple, which is still in use.
Day 16
If you're up for it, climb Matanga Hill for sunrise; it's a steep scramble. Otherwise sleep in, hire a bicycle, or cross the river to the villages around Anegundi. After an early group dinner we board the Hampi Express at 21:10, in 2nd-class AC, where each berth has a curtain.
Day 17
The train reaches Bengaluru at about 06:00, and we transfer to the airport for the short flight to Kochi, which is included. We're in Fort Kochi by early afternoon. After a rest we walk down to the beach to watch the fishermen work the giant Chinese fishing nets at sunset.
Day 18
A morning walk with a local guide through Fort Kochi's mix of Portuguese, Dutch and British history, from St Francis Church to Mattancherry, with its palace murals, spice warehouses and the old Jewish quarter. The afternoon is free. In the evening we watch a Kathakali performance, arriving early to see the performers paint their faces.
Day 19
A 90-minute drive south to Alleppey, where we board our houseboats at noon. We cruise the canals and lakes of Kuttanad with a Kerala lunch cooked on board, and moor for the night by late afternoon, because houseboats aren't allowed to cruise after dark. Dinner is on board too.
Day 20
Breakfast on board, then we switch to small paddled canoes that slip into the narrow canals the houseboats can't reach, past village homes, churches and rice paddies. We settle into a lakeside homestay, and the afternoon is free. For the farewell dinner, our hosts serve a Kerala meal on banana leaves.
Day 21
The trip ends after breakfast. Kochi airport is about two hours away by road, so book flights leaving from about 14:00 onwards. Staying on? Varkala's cliffs are three hours south, and the Trip Host can suggest where else to go next.
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).
23 Nov – 13 Dec 2026
AvailableBefore the Christmas surge in GoaMax 16 people
Price
$1,400 / £1,050 / €1,230 / A$1,990 / CA$1,980 / NZ$2,470 / ₹1,34,400
11 Jan – 31 Jan 2027
AvailableGoa after New YearMax 16 people
Price
$1,475 / £1,106 / €1,295 / A$2,100 / CA$2,090 / NZ$2,600 / ₹1,41,600
8 Feb – 28 Feb 2027
AvailableBest all-round; Hampi before the heatMax 16 people
Price
$1,475 / £1,106 / €1,295 / A$2,100 / CA$2,090 / NZ$2,600 / ₹1,41,600
You pay nothing to reserve your spot, and reservations close 7 days before departure. Once enough travellers have joined, usually around 10, we confirm the departure and email you a confirmation with an invoice for the full trip price, paid by card or bank transfer within 7 days. You can pay in US dollars, pounds, euros, Australian dollars, Canadian dollars, New Zealand dollars or Indian rupees, and the price shown for each date is what you pay.
Solo travellers aged 18 to 40, most of them on their own and some 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 21 days, sorts out every flight, train, ticket and check-in, and is the person you go to if anything goes wrong. At the monuments and on the city walks, 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 Alleppey, in Kerala, after breakfast on Day 21, so book your flight home from Kochi (COK) for about 14:00 or later. Kochi has direct international flights to the Gulf and Southeast Asia, and connections everywhere else.
Without them, getting from Rajasthan to Mumbai and from Hampi to Kerala takes several days and at least two more nights on trains. The flights let us spend three weeks on the places rather than between them.
From November to March, when the north is dry and the south is past its monsoon. We don't run it over Christmas and New Year, when Goa is packed and prices jump. December and January mornings can be foggy and cold in the north, and by late March Hampi gets hot in the afternoons. The air in Delhi and Agra is often poor from November to February, so if you have asthma or a heart or lung condition, talk to your doctor before you travel. A well-fitting N95 mask for the first days is a good idea. The air in Goa and Kerala is usually much cleaner.
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 online e-Arrival card within 72 hours of landing and, for now, a health self-declaration. Rules change, so read our India visa guide for your passport before you book flights.
In small hotels, havelis and guesthouses with air-con and private bathrooms, a beach guesthouse on Palolem, one night on a houseboat and one in a family homestay on the backwaters. You share a twin room with a traveller of the same gender. The one night on a train is in 2nd-class AC, where each berth has its own curtain, and sheets, a blanket and a pillow are provided. It saves a full day of driving.
Twenty-nine meals are included. A thali or a curry in a local restaurant costs about 200 to 500 rupees, and a Goan beach-shack meal a bit more. Budget roughly 1,000 to 1,500 rupees a day for the meals that aren't included, plus drinks.
A soft bag or backpack rather than a suitcase, because of the trains and the houseboat. Clothes that cover your shoulders and knees for temples, mosques and churches, and a scarf. Swimwear, reef-safe sunscreen and a hat for Goa and Hampi, a warm layer for northern mornings, shoes that slip on and off easily, and a small padlock for the sleeper train.
Averagely fit. There's plenty of walking, a 20-minute climb to Amber Fort, uneven ground in Hampi and the heat of the south. Matanga Hill at sunrise is an optional scramble.
Insurance is a condition of joining, and it must cover medical treatment and evacuation. For vaccinations, 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
$1,400 / £1,050 / €1,230 / A$1,990 / CA$1,980 / NZ$2,470 / ₹1,34,400