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India is such a culturally rich country and there is no better way to experience it, than by staying at home stay. When you stay at a home stay in India, you are hosted by a local family and have much more opportunity for cultural interaction, try local foods and to experience the real India. In India, guests are treated like royalty and the warm hospitality of a home stay beats a hotel any day.
Home stays can vary widely with some being more of a guesthouse with minimal interaction with the family, but more commonly consist of a few rooms near the family house. You will have your own room and bathroom and the family will cook meals for you.
After two trips to India, here are 6 home stays we recommend to see India authentically.
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Sai Home Stay, Agra, Uttar Pradesh
When visiting the Taj Mahal, there are hundreds of accommodations to choose from. We loved our stay at Sai Home Stay where we were treated to delicious and inexpensive home cooked meals, took home some homemade clothing made by our host and had all of our travel plans organized for us.
Royal Mist, Munnar, Kerala
This was our favourite home stay we visited on our trip to Kerala. The hosts at Royal Mist are such a lovely family and they went out of their way to accommodate our family. We had a beautiful balcony overlooking the gardens and tea fields of Munnar, where we ate Jeeva’s delicious food.
Badal House, Khuri, Rajasthan
This very simple home stay lets your experience the difficult life of people in the Thar desert of Rajasthan. Badal has been hosting visitors for over a decade and you can observe and help him care for his animals, or he can organize an overnight camel safari to the nearby sand dunes.
Enteveedu, Wayanad, Kerala
The setting of this home stay is fabulous among the coffee and spice fields. We enjoyed sitting on our balcony sipping chai and watching rural life unfold. Our son celebrated his birthday while we were here and our hosts organized an incredibly thoughtful candlelit party for him.
Ezhara Beach House, Kannur, Kerala
What makes guests love Ezhara Beach House so much is the lovely host, Hyacinth. This heritage guest house right on the ocean is the perfect place to do nothing and soak up Hyacinth’s warm hospitality. The food is incredible, the views sublime and many guests return over and over to EBH. Hyacinth can organize outings to the local market or to see a Theyyam, a local ritual dance.
Meditation Palace, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh
You might not think of staying in a home stay in India’s largest city, but Abhi’s place is an excellent respite from the chaos of Delhi. Tucked away in a residential neighborhood, all the big sites are still easily accessible. When you check in, Abhi thoroughly goes through all of the most popular things to do and offers excellent advice.
Booking Your Home Stay
Next time you visit India and are searching hotels near me, try expanding your search to include home stays. You can filter your selection to just show home stays. Many of our best memories in India are from the unique home stays we have experienced, where we celebrated local holidays, ate delicious foods and got great local recommendations.