It’s always nice to be prepared before arriving in a new country. Making your way through the airport is often the most stressful part of any trip. You have to make sure you have all of the proper papers and documents, things are often in a foreign language for many, and all this while hauling around heavy luggage when all you want to do is get to your hotel and sleep. This is everything you need to know for when you arrive at Indira Gandhi Airport in New Delhi, India to make sure you start your trip without a hitch!
Arriving at Indira Gandhi Airport
Make sure you have your printed visa ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) out along with your passport and whatever arrival forms they have you fill out on the plane. You will need these to get through immigration when you arrive. There will be signage pointing you towards the Immigration Hall once you get off the plane. There are almost 100 Immigration counters at the arrival section. You’ll want to pay attention to the signs to make sure you get in the correct line.
To apply for an India e-Visa, click here.
After you make it through immigration, you’ll want to head to the baggage claim (if necessary). Then, once you’ve collected your bags, you will head to customs where there are two separate channels for clearance. If you have goods to declare, you will go through the red channel. If you do not have goods to declare, you will go through the green channel.
Money Exchange and SIM Cards
I’ve had many people tell me that the exchange rates at the airport are terrible and that you should wait to exchange cash in the city but we didn’t find that to be true. The exchange rate that we were given was pretty close to the actual amount. Definitely worth it! There are actually quite a few different places you can exchange cash at the airport. There were multiple money exchange stands just in the arrivals hall. We went to the one in the photo below which you will see as you exit past immigration.
In order to purchase a SIM card for your phone when you arrive, all you will need to do is show your passport and pay the fee. You must have an unlocked phone for the SIM card to work. Airtel is the only service provider available at the airport but it’s one of the most reliable carriers in India. You’ll find the Airtel stand right when you exit into the arrivals hall. They only had one plan available but it was exactly what we were looking for anyway. It cost just over 10 USD and we received 1.4gb of data per day (refreshes every day), unlimited calls to Indian phone numbers (didn’t think we would need that but it came in super handy!), and the SIM card is valid for 82 days.
ATMs at Indira Gandhi Airport
I would recommend getting out enough cash to last your whole trip when you arrive (depending on how long it is) because we struggled to find ATMs that would actually work with our bank cards once we left the airport. There are plenty of ATMs available at the airport including a few right next to the Airtel shop where you purchase your SIM card! You shouldn’t, but if you have trouble finding an ATM, just look for the “services” signs and they will point you in the right direction.
Drinks and Food at Indira Gandhi Airport
There was definitely no shortage of options at Indira Gandhi Airport! We saw plenty of cafes and restaurants here. There are even quite a few western options like Subway, KFC, and Domino’s. Pretty much anywhere you go in the airport, you’ll have a few good options nearby. Whether you’re looking for casual dining, coffee shops, or fast food, they have it all here.
Transportation To/From Delhi
When you arrive, you likely will be swarmed by drivers asking if you need a ride as soon as you exit the airport. The last thing you want to do is agree to get in a taxi with the first driver that comes up to you. Your best option will be to go to the “Taxi Information” stand where you can get a prepaid taxi. They will give you fair prices here and you know exactly what you’ll be paying ahead of time. The price that they gave us was almost half of what other drivers were offering! Though there are other options, a taxi is your best choice of transportation leaving the airport.
When leaving Delhi I have one main thing to keep in mind. If you take a tuk tuk from Delhi to the airport, they cannot actually take you all the way to the airport. The driver likely won’t tell you this ahead of time but they will drive you to a bus stop and let you out. From there, you have to take the shuttle bus to your terminal. Luckily, the shuttle bus is free! However, if we had known this ahead of time we would have just taken a taxi.
Departing from Indira Gandhi Airport
When you arrive at Indira Gandhi Airport to leave Delhi, know that you must have your flight information printed or saved/screenshotted somewhere on your phone. They check your flight info before you are allowed to even enter the airport. This is because you are only allowed inside the airport a certain amount of hours before your flight (I think the limit is 4 hours). They will not let you enter the airport if you don’t have this information.
Indira Gandhi Airport Travel Tips
- When going through security, keep in mind that lines separate for male and female passengers. This was causing many problems for the fact that they need to see your passport and boarding pass in the security line and many women had their husband’s documents and vice versa. Make sure you have everything you need before the line separates!
- Don’t wait to exchange your cash, do it at the airport. Also, get enough cash out at the ATMs! The exchange rates were excellent and we found it difficult to find ATMs that worked with our bank cards outside of the airport.
- Take advantage of the airport facilities. We found most things (ie: the bathrooms) to be much cleaner at the airport than they were anywhere in the city. Take advantage of this before you head out! Not only are the bathrooms clean but Indira Gandhi Airport has many lounges and even spas available as well.
- Free WiFi is available at the airport. However, a one-time password will need to be sent to your phone in order to activate the WiFi. Therefore, you will need a working phone to actually access the WiFi. SIM cards in India don’t activate immediately so you may not be able to access WiFi right away. Make sure you have either a screenshot of any information you might need (hotel name, train ticket reservations, etc.) or have it saved somewhere on your phone.
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Don’t forget to check out these other India posts:
- A Sunrise Trip to the Taj Mahal in Agra
- Best Places to Visit in Jaipur
- The Best Places to Visit in New Delhi
- Agra Travel Guide
- The Golden Triangle Itinerary and Travel Guide
