Travel & Visas

Travel & Visas.Important information for your trip to India.

Visas

You will require a valid Tourist Visa to enter India. To obtain this, you will have to contact your local Indian High Commission. Then you will have to fill out the necessary applications; these are usually downloadable. You are then required to send it in along with the required fee. This procedure can take up to 10 days. Your visa would be activated from the day you receive it, not the day you enter the country. When stating your purpose of visit, it is recommended Tourism rather than Yoga.

On your visa application, you will be asked to give references in India of where you are staying; you can use the following:

• Mr. Michael, Retreat Owner, Natural Paradise Ayurclinic.

Travel

To get to Natural Paradise, you will need to fly into Goa Dabolim airport, which serves international charter and domestic flights. Our company taxi will be waiting for your arrival and will take you directly to Natural Paradise. This service comes with an additional charge that includes both pick-up and drop.

Charter Flights

Many charter flights fly direct to Dabolim from European cities.

From the UK, try Monarch airlines at www.flymonarch.com.

Scheduled flights

You can fly a scheduled airline to a gateway city such as Mumbai, New Delhi, or Bangalore. it will change to a domestic airline for the journey to Goa Dabolim, which is a 1hour flight to Mumbai and 2.5 hours from New Delhi & Bangalore.

Domestic Airlines

There are great domestic which you can book online, try the following, making sure you are paying the fare for a non-resident of India. You can book using a  travel agent to book the flight for you.

Jet Airways: www.jetairways.com

Air Deccan: www.airdeccan.net

Spice Jet: www.spicejet.com

Already in Goa?

If you are already in Goa, you can make your way here by taxi. We are on google maps, and you can easily use the navigation app to find us. Natural Paradise is located canal road. There are ample signs that will make your journey even more stress-free.

Travel Insurance

As with any holiday, it is always better to have travel insurance.

Vaccinations

We recommend you take a visit to your GP, personal physician, or a travel health clinic 4 to 8 weeks before your departure to India. Recommended vaccinations often include hepatitis A, polio typhoid and tetanus. Goa is a low-risk area for malaria, and medication can be easily obtained. We recommend you do some research and make your own decision on this.

What to bring

Most of these items can be purchased locally in Goa and cheaper than in the West, but you may want to have them with you if you don’t want to spend your first couple of days shopping.

• Yoga mat: We have loan mats that you can use; however, it is always nice to have your own.
• Warm yoga clothes: If you are visiting in December and January it is hot once the sun comes up and you can spend all day on the beach but the mornings can be chilly during practice, so its best to have a tracksuit or something warm
• Money: Cash and traveler’s cheques can be exchanged to rupees, the Indian currency, and there are also some ATMs within a 10 to 15-minute taxi ride. You would want to have some funds on your arrival, which you can purchase at your airport of departure. However, rupees are not to be taken out of India on your return. For the up to date exchange rate see www.xe.com
• Electrical adaptors: Goa operates on 220V, the same two-prong plugs as Europe, which are different from North America.
• Driving license: If you plan on hiring a car or scooter, you will need your home country driving license.
• Torch/flashlight: Power outages are frequent in India and part of the charm, but you might want some help seeing in the dark.
• Earplugs: If you are a sensitive sleeper, India is noisy, even with the jungle noises at Natural Paradise.
• Mosquito repellent: Although an excellent version called Odomos is available widely.
• Sunscreen: You will need to take care of against the intense sun, especially when arriving from winter.