Luxury India Tour with Private Yacht and Beach Resorts

Most long-haul flights touch down in Mumbai after dark, and our representative stands at the exit of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport with your name on a placard. Your luggage goes straight into the boot of a private air-conditioned car, and the chauffeur hands you chilled water before setting off. The route south crosses the Bandra–Worli Sea Link, whose cables glow at night above Mahim Bay, and continues along the seafront to Nariman Point. Depending on traffic, the journey takes between an hour and an hour and a half, and the view of the city's lit skyline is a good first impression.

Our usual choice in Mumbai is The Oberoi at Nariman Point, subject to availability, where sea-facing rooms look over the Arabian Sea and the curve of Marine Drive. Check-in is arranged in advance so you can head straight to your room. Before leaving, your representative briefs you on the next two days, confirms your yacht timings and gives you a direct contact for our Jaipur operations team. If you are hungry, Ziya, the hotel's Indian restaurant, serves refined coastal plates until late, and room service is always available for those who prefer to rest after the flight. Overnight stay in Mumbai.

Begin with a relaxed breakfast overlooking the sea, then meet your guide for a Mumbai city tour that focuses on art and maritime history. The first stop is Kala Ghoda, the city's gallery quarter, where the Jehangir Art Gallery shows contemporary Indian painters and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly the Prince of Wales Museum, holds Mughal miniatures, Gandhara Buddhas and a fine gallery of Tibetan bronzes. The museum's Indo-Saracenic dome and gardens are worth seeing from outside even if your time indoors is short. Lunch is at The Table in Colaba, known for seasonal small plates and an excellent wine list.

After lunch, your guide leads you along the lanes of Colaba, past the old Sassoon Library and the Afghan Church, built to honour British soldiers who died in the First Afghan War, its spire once a landmark for ships entering the harbour. Late in the afternoon, step into the Taj Mahal Palace hotel for a look at its cantilevered staircase and a drink at Harbour Bar, which holds the city's first bar licence. From there, the evening is free. Many guests stroll the Marine Drive promenade from the hotel, joining local couples and families as the streetlights come on. Overnight stay in Mumbai.

Elephanta Island lies about ten kilometres across the harbour, and the public ferries are slow and crowded, so this morning a private motor launch collects you from the jetty near the Gateway of India. The crossing takes around forty-five minutes, passing oil tankers, naval frigates and the little island fortress of Middle Ground. Note that the caves close on Mondays, so the day is scheduled accordingly. On the island, a short toy train and a flight of about 120 steps lead to the main cave, where your guide explains the great Sadashiva sculpture, a seven-metre carving of Shiva with three faces representing creation, preservation and destruction.

You return to the mainland for lunch and a rest at the hotel, and at around four o'clock you board your private yacht in Mumbai at the Gateway marina. With a captain and crew, the vessel cruises slowly past the Mumbai Port Trust docks, the Sunk Rock lighthouse and the Colaba shoreline, while canapés and drinks are served on deck. As the sun sinks, the skyline of Cuffe Parade turns pink and then glitters with lights, and the boat turns back towards the Gateway in the dusk. Cruise duration is about three hours, and dinner can follow at Wasabi or Masque. Overnight stay in Mumbai.

Before breakfast, those who are up early can join your guide at Sassoon Dock, the oldest working dock in Mumbai, built in 1875 by the Baghdadi Jewish merchant David Sassoon. From about six in the morning, Koli fisherwomen in bright nine-yard saris auction pomfret, prawns and Bombay duck straight from the boats. It is noisy, wet and full of colour, and photography is permitted with discretion. Back at The Oberoi, a late breakfast is followed by packing and checkout before the drive to the airport, where your chauffeur helps you check in for the flight south and waits until you are through security.

The flight to Goa takes just over an hour, and your new chauffeur waits at Dabolim or Mopa airport, depending on the airline. The drive to Benaulim in South Goa passes paddy fields, whitewashed chapels and village houses with tiled roofs and oyster-shell windows. Our usual choice here is the Taj Exotica Resort and Spa, subject to availability, set among landscaped gardens right on the sand of Benaulim Beach. Spend the afternoon by the pool or walk barefoot along the water's edge, where fishing boats rest on the beach. Dinner is at Miguel Arcanjo, the resort's Mediterranean restaurant. Overnight stay in Goa.

Today's drive heads north for about an hour to Old Goa, once the capital of Portuguese India and said to have rivalled Lisbon in size during the sixteenth century. Your guide begins at the Basilica of Bom Jesus, a UNESCO-listed church of laterite stone that holds the silver casket containing the remains of St Francis Xavier. Across the road stands the Se Cathedral, among the largest churches in Asia, whose Golden Bell is the biggest in Goa. Shoulders and knees should be covered inside both buildings. A short walk leads to the ruined tower of St Augustine Church, standing alone above the grass.

Lunch is in Panaji at Mum's Kitchen, well known for recipes gathered from Goan grandmothers, such as prawn balchão and chicken cafreal. Afterwards, a guided walk through Fontainhas, the old Latin Quarter, takes you along narrow streets of houses painted ochre, blue and lime green, with balconies of wrought iron and hand-painted name tiles. Stop at the Chapel of St Sebastian, whose crucifix once hung in the Palace of the Inquisition, and at a family bakery for bebinca, a layered coconut pudding. Return to Benaulim in the early evening for a swim before dinner, with the drive back taking a little over an hour. Overnight stay in Goa.

The highlight of your time in Goa begins at the marina near Dona Paula or Britona, where a crewed private yacht charter in Goa is waiting for you. Departure is around nine in the morning, while the sea is calm. The yacht sails out of the Mandovi estuary past Fort Aguada, whose seventeenth-century lighthouse guarded the river mouth against Dutch raiders, and turns south along the coast. On the way, the crew keep watch for Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, which often surface in small groups near the bow. Soft drinks, fresh fruit and snacks are served on deck throughout the morning.

By late morning, you anchor near Grande Island, where the water is clear enough for snorkelling among small reef fish and coral formations. Snorkel gear, life jackets and a trained crew member are provided, and non-swimmers can stay on board with a book in the shade. Lunch is served on the yacht, usually grilled kingfish or prawns cooked by the crew, with Goan salads and chilled drinks. The return sail in the afternoon follows the line of beaches back to the marina, where your chauffeur meets you. The rest of the evening is yours to relax at the resort. Overnight stay in Goa.

The forested hills of Ponda, about forty-five minutes inland from Benaulim, hold a different Goa. During the Portuguese period, many Hindu temples were moved into these hills for safety, and your guide starts at the Shri Mangueshi Temple, with its seven-storey lamp tower, and the nearby Shri Shantadurga Temple, whose roof shows a curious mix of Indian and Portuguese design. Both are working temples, and you are welcome to watch the morning rituals from the courtyard, where priests ring brass bells and offer marigolds and coconuts to the deity. Your guide explains the difference between the Saraswat temple traditions of Goa and those you might see elsewhere in India. Shoes are removed at the entrance, and modest dress is expected inside.

Next comes a working spice farm, where a plantation guide leads you along shaded trails among cinnamon trees, nutmeg, cardamom shrubs, black pepper vines and the betel nut palms that farmers climb by hand. You will smell crushed leaves, taste raw cocoa pods and learn how vanilla is pollinated by hand. Lunch is a buffet of Goan vegetarian dishes served on a banana leaf, with a cup of local feni offered to those who would like a taste. In the afternoon, return to the resort for a spa treatment or a beach walk as the sun drops behind the sea. Overnight stay in Goa.

Rural Salcete is dotted with grand Portuguese-era houses, and the village of Chandor holds the most famous of them. Braganza House, more than three hundred years old, is divided between two branches of the same family, who still live there and open their rooms to small groups. Inside you will see a long ballroom with Belgian glass chandeliers, rosewood furniture inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and a private chapel that holds a fingernail of St Francis Xavier. A donation to the family is customary rather than a fixed ticket, and visits are arranged by appointment. The elderly owners sometimes show guests around in person, sharing stories of the house's past and the long effort of keeping its fragile roof and furniture in good repair.

In the afternoon, a Goan family welcomes you into their home kitchen in a nearby village for a hands-on Goan cooking class. Your host shows you how to roast and grind coconut with spices for chicken xacuti, how to balance tamarind and kokum in a classic fish curry, and how to fry rava-crusted mackerel. You then sit down together to eat what you have cooked, with steamed rice and sol kadhi, a pink drink of kokum and coconut milk. The class lasts about three hours, and you take home printed recipes along with a small packet of your host's own xacuti masala to try in your kitchen at home. Overnight stay in Goa.

A leisurely morning drive of about an hour heads south to Cabo de Rama, a cliff-top fort that, according to legend, sheltered Lord Rama during his exile. The walls you see today were built by the Portuguese, and inside stands the small whitewashed Church of St Anthony, still used for services. Walk to the ramparts for a sweeping view of the Arabian Sea, and if the tide is low, take the path down to the small cove below. Few visitors make it here, and the silence is part of the appeal. Your guide will share local stories as you walk, including the fort's later use as a prison.

Continue south to Palolem, a curved bay framed by palm trees and calm water, ideal for swimming. Lunch is at a beachside restaurant serving fresh catch of the day, perhaps tiger prawns in garlic butter or a whole red snapper grilled on charcoal. In the afternoon, you can hire a small fishing boat for an hour's trip to Butterfly Beach and Honeymoon Beach, reachable only from the sea, or simply rest on a sunbed in the shade. Return to Benaulim before dark for a farewell dinner by the sea, with candles on the sand and the resort's chef cooking your choice of seafood on the grill. Overnight stay in Goa.

The final morning is unhurried. Take an early swim, order breakfast on your balcony or walk the beach one last time while the fishermen pull in their nets. Late checkout is requested where flight times allow, and the resort concierge can store luggage if you wish to use the spa or pool until the last minute. If you have room in your suitcase, your chauffeur can stop at a cashew factory on the way to the airport, where roasted and spiced cashews are sold fresh by weight, along with kokum syrup, jars of recheado paste and Goan sausages vacuum-packed for travel.

At the agreed time, your chauffeur collects you from the lobby and drives you to Dabolim or Mopa airport for your onward flight, or to connect with an international departure via Mumbai or another hub. The representative helps you through check-in and makes sure your luggage is labelled correctly. With a full itinerary of yachts, beaches, churches and kitchens now behind you, we hope the western coast of India has left you rested as well as inspired. Our team will be in touch afterwards to hear how the trip went and to help with any return visit, perhaps to the palaces of Rajasthan next time.