If you are based outside of India and still have family and friends in India, then you most probably travel to India frequently. Traveling to a foreign country is always expensive - and traveling to India is no exception - If you have kids then it all adds up and traveling as a family can be a huge strain on your budget. Things though have changed for better lately - there is more competition and more options - and all this is good news for the travelers.

Here are some tips to get good, cheap travel deals to India:

1. Shop around - don't stick to one travel agent - speak to a few, get quotes, compare, negotiate and get the best price.

2. Plan in advance - At least a few months in advance. If you leave it to just a month or two before travel, then you will surely miss out on the best deals.

3. There are lots of budget airlines traveling to India. You might not always find a budget airline all the way from your starting point of travel - example - if traveling form Sydney to Chennai with a stop over in Singapore then you can get a budget airline from Singapore to Chennai rather than all the way from Sydney to Singapore.

4. If you are planning to travel within India (hopping from one town to another) then consider rail travel - there are some very good train deals - and the best part is that now you can book your train tickets online - all from the comfort of your own home - booking it all online means you have your whole travel scheduled well in advance.

Once you find a good travel deal to India, you probably have to pay immediately. You can't just book and leave the payment for later - this is something you should be aware of - and obviously if you are not 100% sure if you will be traveling or not then you have to give the deal a miss.

One big word of caution - stick only to deals from reputable merchants - otherwise you will lose more than you intended to save.

The author, Vishal Gupta, is passionate about bringing the best India Travel Deals to his audience. For more of his tips, visit his website. And while you are there, you can find out more about his preferred method of booking train tickets in India http://www.giftsfordiwali.com/category/india-travel-deals.