Must-Haves For Traveling To India With Kids

November 2015, was our first multicultural family trip to India. It was the first time that my 2-year-old daughter and I got to meet my Indian husband’s extended family in India. It was a phenomenal trip, and in the course of writing about the trip, we have gotten questions about what are some India must haves?  Outside of a camera and/or phone to take pictures of your India adventure here are our top 15 must-haves!

Top 15 Must-Haves For Traveling To India

1.) A Steripen!  This little pen is perfect for “killing anything and everything” that may be looming in the water that you are drinking. Although most hotels in India have filtered water this pen comes in handy when traveling with a child.  We stayed at our family’s homes and in hotels during our trip to India. Our daughter had just turned two and we used it daily for her drinking and bathing water, and no she did not get sick!

2.) The recommended vaccinations per the CDC: Hepatitis  A and Typhoid Fever.  Rabies is recommended if you are traveling to rural parts of India (we did not).

3.) Malarial Pills!  Malaria is quite rampant in India.  And anti-malarial pills are recommended by the CDC. We all took Anti-Malaria Pills prior to our trip to India and after our return to the U.S.

4.) Bottled water from a secure source in India.  Unfortunately, if you do not get bottled water from a secure/reputable source it will just be resealed tap water… see Slum Dog Millionaire.

5.) A bag pack with hand sanitizer/baby wipes and toilet tissue when traveling to the different cultural sites in India.  There is tons of walking and site seeing to be done in India.  And most cultural sites don’t have toilet tissue or soap dispensers so bring your own!  A backpack easily conceals these must-haves.

6.) Food and snacks that you love.  We packed weeks of our daughter’s favorite foods just in case she shunned any of the food we ate while in India.

7.) DEET spray. We purchased Sawyer Products Premium Permethrin Clothing Insect Repellent.  It lasts for 6 weeks and up to 6 washings. We sprayed it on all of our clothing prior to placing it in our luggage.  We also brought along Ben’s wipes that we used daily on any exposed skin. No one in our family got bitten by a mosquito–highly recommend!

8.) Comfortable shoes or sandals.  I saw tons of notices and articles online that recommended no open toe shoes/sandals.  However, everyone was wearing open toe shoes/sandals wherever we went including my Mother-In-Law.  Thus wear whatever is comfortable for you and no need to not bring sandals if you want to wear sandals.

9.) A first aid kit and/or passport office medicine kit for relieving diarrhea, food poisoning, and cold and/or flu remedies etc.

10.) Sunscreen. The heat and humidity can soar in India. Make sure you bring plenty of 50+sunscreen.

11.) Lots and lots of Patience.  Traffic and the pace of life is slower in India. Seeing that there are no rules of the road in India you will need tons of patience if you are driving or being driven in traffic. And yes the grocery store is on the side of the road/ that is not a farmers market!

12.) A mask if the air pollution in India becomes unbearable.  The pollution did not affect us the first week we were in India but by the second week, all the adults from the U.S. were coughing due to the pollution.

13.) Cash! Make sure you convert to Indian currency(rupees) because the majority of the vendors in India don’t have credit card machines.  Convert to Indian currency at a bank, airport, or if you are visiting with family in India have them convert it for you.

14.) Plastic bags or Ziploc baggies for feminine products!

15.) Hair products, make-up, and toiletries that work for you.  You will more than likely find that the products you are used to using in the U.S/ your home country are not available in India.

***Bonus- You will need a visa for travel to India from the U.S. E Visa’s can be obtained online.

https://goindiavisa.com/page/visa-for-India-for-us-citizens?gclid=CKSa1_Wv5tICFUkbgQodTqENxQ

Have you been to India? What was your experience like? Do you have other must-haves to add to this list? Comment below! Like our content subscribe! Feel free to share this post!  Find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest @growingupguptas and on Twitter @growingupgupta.