How much spending money should I bring for a 15Day trip to India??

So you are of Indian descent? One thing you should be aware of is that the price for Indian citizens or NRIs for things like museum admission is often much, much less than for more easily identifiable tourists. Furthermore, if you are taking any side trips and are thinking of buying train tickets or plane tickets, get one of your relatives to book them from within the country, also much cheaper that way. I think you could easily travel in India for $20 a day per person if your lodging is taken care of. The thing about India is, if you spend a little bit more, your comfort level increases *a lot*. Things like air conditioned taxis vs. auto rickshaws, 1st class train tickets, having a guide to take you through temples -- these things don't cost too much, maybe another $20 a day, but might really improve the quality of your trip. If you spent $75 a day, you'd travel like royalty. If you haven't been before, I'd also recommend having a shopping budget for yourselves and for gifts to bring home to friends. PS. I am a honkey who married an Indian woman. The first time she took me to meet the family in India was an absolute thrill, one of the highlights of my life. You say you're just doing it for the parents, but I do hope your spouse gets a chance to have her mind blown.

Bring or budget? You'll be able to get money out of ATMs in India, so you don't need to bring more than an emergency amount of cash. As for budget, that depends on what level of luxury you're accustomed to. I think $15-20/day per person should more than cover meals at restaurants, taxis, tourist site entry, etc, even in Mumbai which I gather is more expensive than the rest of the country. Despite the decline of the dollar, India is still quite cheap compared to any where in North America or Europe.

Justkevin, thanks for your input... Shows just how little I know about international travel: Don't international ATM's carry charges which aren't inconsequential? My parents suggest that we bring cash and not deal with ATMs and the like... so in that respect, any further advice would be great! On the conservative level, if we bring $20/day would you mean $20 for the both of us = $300US for the two of us? We're not accustomed to luxury, nor are we expecting any degree of luxury apart from western toilets (which are at the family houses we'll be staying at). :-)

Oops... $600 for the both of us, not $300...

There is (usually) a charge to take out money via the ATM, but I'd recommend doing that over the hassle and stress of physically bringing large amounts of cash, and you'd probably take a hit exchanging your dollars into rupees anyway. I went budget traveling in India 18 months ago, and without having to pay for lodging would be able to get by handsomely on $20 a day per person (~800 Rs), and with budget meals etc on $20 for both of you.

Don't international ATM's carry charges which aren't inconsequential? The charges are primarily set by your U.S. bank, so you can call them and ask what it is. It'll probably be less than what you'd lose exchanging cash.

Maybe not helpful, but the charges for taking US$40 (1600 baht) out in Thailand was about 10 baht, or 25 cents. So I just used my debit card everywhere I went there - I got a better exchange rate when using it than I would have at any moneychanger.

I think $15-$20 a day is a good estimation, but your question makes me think you need to set a budget... so I think you may be better off figuring out how much you CAN spend per day, and shooting for that. Because India can be a very, very cheap place, but it can also get "expensive" if you want it to. When I was there, I was eating two meals a day for probably $4 total, and they were great meals each and every time. And ATMs are EVERYWHERE, so don't worry about that. Just make sure you tell your bank that you'll be in India, because they might freak out and lock your account if they see withdrawals from another country. Mastercard/Visa charge 1% for foreign charges no matter what, and your bank may or may not tack on another 1-2%. Even so, worth it for the convenience, in my opinion. Prices for tourists attractions will vary, but if my memory serves me correctly, a trip for five adults to Elephanta Island (highly recommended, beware of monkeys), there-and-back, was something like $10USD total. If you're not Indian, you will be charged more to visit tourist attractions... but it's really not all that much.

Remember to let your bank know you're leaving the country and will be using foreign ATMs. I got locked out of my bank account attempting to use ATMs in Colombia a few years ago. My bank already knew I would be out of the country, but my trip just so happened to coincide with the theft of my debit card number and the forging of a fake card used in multiple locations in Canada the very same week. When the bank noticed the transactions coming from Canada after being notified I would be in Colombia, the bank froze that card number, locking both the thief AND me out.