While we've attempted to suggest the kind of sums you can expect to pay for varying degrees of comfort, it is vital not to make a rigid assumption at the outset of a long trip that whatever money you bring to India will last for a certain number of weeks or months. On any one day it may be possible to spend very little, but cumulatively you won't be doing yourself any favours if you don't make sure you keep yourself well rested and properly fed. As a foreigner in India, you will find yourself penalized by double-tier entry prices to museums and historic sites as well as in upmarket hotels and air fares, both of which are levied at a higher rate and in dollars.

What you spend depends on you: where you go, where you stay, how you get around, what you eat and what you buy. On a budget of as little as $8/?5 per day, you'll manage if you stick to the cheapest of everything and don't move about too much; double that, and you can permit yourself the odd splurge meal, the occasional mid-range hotel, and a few souvenirs. If you're happy spending $20-30 (?15-20) per day, however, you can really pamper yourself; to spend much more than that, you'd have to be doing a lot of travelling, consistently staying in the best hotel in town and eating in the top restaurants. At the top of the range expect to pay international prices for food and accommodation.

Accommodation ranges from a basic $2/?1.50 per night upwards, while a vegetarian meal in an ordinary restaurant is unlikely to cost even that much. Rice and dhal can be had for well under 50?/30p, but you wouldn't want to live on that alone. Transport in town costs pennies (even by taxi), while a twelve-hour train journey might cost $5 (?3) in second class, $20 (?15) in first.

Where you are makes a difference: Mumbai is notoriously pricey, especially for accommodation, while tourist enclaves like the Goa beaches will not be cheap for things like food, and there will be more souvenirs to tempt you. Delhi, too, is substantially more costly than most parts of the country. Out in the sticks, on the other hand, and particularly away from your fellow tourists, you will find things incredibly cheap, though your choice will obviously be more limited.

Some independent travellers tend to indulge in wild and highly competitive penny-pinching , which Indian people find rather pathetic - they know how much an air ticket to Delhi or Mumbai costs, and they have a fair idea of what you can earn at home. Bargain where appropriate, but don't begrudge a few rupees to someone who's worked hard for them: consider what their services would cost at home, and how much more valuable the money is to them than it is to you. Even if you get a bad deal on every rickshaw journey you make, it will only add a minuscule fraction to the cost of your trip. Remember too, that every pound or dollar you spend in India goes that much further, and luxuries you can't afford at home become possible here: sometimes it's worth spending more simply because you get more for it. At the same time, don't pay well over the odds for something if you know what the going rate is. Thoughtless extravagance can, particularly in remote areas that see a disproportionate number of tourists, contribute to inflation, putting even basic goods and services beyond the reach of local people.