Hi I would love to go to India next year for many months and wonder if any one recommend a goo comprehensive guide book that can help me think of where I want to .

I'm a big fan of the Bradt Travel Guides. Rather than compiling information from various people and sources, they specialize in hiring travel writers who really, really know the country they specialize in.
Unfortunately, it appears that for India they haven't yet found a writer who is up to their standards.

My next choice is the DK Eyewitness guides. I am a visual person and I really relate to the layout of these books.

However, they sometimes don't update their guides every year, so you have to really be careful and check the copyright and revision dates to make sure they are timely.

The important thing is to pick a guide that matches your travel philosophy and budgetary style.

thanks for the information...will check it out...

There's a website called Indiamike.com that I used extensively for my trip. It's like this forum only it specializes soley in India. It was invaluable. I don't know how old you are or what type of travel you want to do, but we hired a driver who took us all around Rajasthan plus Varanasi and Agra, as we had five weeks. At the time, 2005, this was surprisingly economical, but I'm sure prices have gone up. Our driver, Krishan, was wonderful, and if you want his full name and contact information I'll be happy to provide it as he now works independently. Indian travel is, shall we say, very unusual and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask me. Also, please read my trip report.

We didn't eat in many non-tourist restaurants as we were terrified of getting sick. Friends told me than EVERYONE who goes to India gets sick but, again, perhaps this is no longer the case. We did the safe water thing (only capped bottled water entered our mouths in any form)and never had even one slight touch of digestive problems. We stayed almost entirely in Heritage Hotels (converted castles and forts)so had some great experiences that way. We chose to visit and stay in lots of small towns rather than just the large cities like Jaipur and Delhi. That was interesting except that crowds would form around us of curious people wanting to practice English or just look at the strange people (I'm a 5'8" redhead). After awhile it got old, but was OK. Krishna took good care of us.

Sharonov...thanks for this info...not sure what are plans are at this time but thi is a trip i really want to take...so I will check out the website and also contact you if I need more info...the reason I wanted a good guide book was that I am not sure of where I want to go...or how I want to do it...we are retired so hostels are no longer our thing....

I understand perfectly. We did have a Frommers India (and maybe a Fodors, which has more pictures) but one thing we did was to concentrate just on the north. We still missed northern areas that I would like to have visited (Ladakh, for one) and I would like to have gone into Nepal, but India is just so huge and varied it's impossible to see everything without rushing. And everyone said that Varanasi was the quintessential India so we just had to go there, which was a bit out of the way. And how could you go to India and not see the Taj Mahal??

We're saving the south (Kerala etc.) for another trip. When I think of what's there that we DIDN"T see, such as Mumbai, Calcutta, and most of all the little towns that are so fascinating, I salivate. How much time will you have?

But, we leave in a few weeks for southern Africa, so we'll get to see interesting places on yet another continent.

dont' forget the old Lonely Planet and Rough Guide favourites, although nowadays they can be very samey. Having said that, they are excellent for good background knowledge about the places you are visiting, but would always recommend talking to people when it comes to good hostels, restaurants etc as these places change all the time, usually for the worse once they've been featured in any guidebook!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kim,

I've found Lonely Planet are great for planning & background info for countries I haven't visited before. Their web-site is also fairly user-friendly.

Enjoy the planning!

Lonely Planet's India Survival Guide has good background to help you with laying out and planning your trip. These days, the higher end hotels are completely equipped to cater to western travellers and bottled water is provided as a matter of course in restaurants as well (ask them to open the bottle at the table). At the Hilton in Mumbai (Marine Drive) they have signs assuring you that the tap water is completely safe to use for brushing your teeth, etc. We've made several trips to India on business in the past few years and have not become sick. We have not eaten street food or unpeeled fruits and vegetables. Spend a little more to stay at a better quality hotel. Low end is not a good option in India. Take hand wipes and use them constantly.

JJ

As your first tour of India, I would suggest Rajasthan & the foothills of North India. For this trip, the timimg of your tour will be of critical importance. October shall be wonderful for the hills when the monsoons have died away, leaving the hills green everywhere & with little rills flowing down the mountains. After doing the hills you could move on to Rajasthan, where you will notice that the weather has become excellant. November is also peak time in Rajasthan, so you got to plan well in advance.
If you do decide to reverse the order, than start with Rajasthan in February.
India is not like Paris or London or Berlin, which are a breeze through. It is a bit difficult to negotiate & at your age, you need a hassle-free holiday. So get a competant operator to organise it for you.
We do have excellant small & medium hotels in the foothills. The roads are good & at some places there are also beautifully located colonial rest houses & an abundance of sight seeing. Dharamsala, Pragpur, Manali, Shimla, Mussourie or Rishikesh etc. make excellant destinations for a discerning traveller.
In Rajasthan, apart from the much advertised destinations like Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer or Udaipur, you may want to see the countryside in all it's pristine ambience, as well. The opputunity to match your interests with sight-seeing are simply immense. I often see such ordinary itineraries trotted out on the various forums, trodden for a quarter of a century, it is time to look for something different. A little imagination can transmute these into something extraordinary!
Happy travels!!

thank you everyone....