If you only experience one festival in your life, make it Holi.
I have never felt joy quite like the moment the first handful of color hit me. Bright pink, then orange, then green, until I could not tell where I ended and the crowd began. Holi marks the arrival of spring and the triumph of good over evil, and the story behind it (the demoness Holika, the devotee Prahlad, the bonfires lit the night before) is worth reading up on before you go. But standing in the middle of it, what you really feel is pure, unfiltered celebration.
When and where it happens
Holi falls on the full moon of the Hindu month of Phalguna, which usually lands in late February or March. The date moves every year, so check before you book anything.
Where you celebrate changes everything. In Mathura and Vrindavan, the towns associated with Krishna, celebrations stretch over a week and get intense. Barsana even has Lathmar Holi, where women playfully chase men with sticks. Jaipur and Udaipur are more manageable for first-timers, and many hotels host their own courtyard celebrations if a street party in a crowd of thousands sounds like too much. Delhi and Mumbai fall somewhere in between.
I did the street version. I would do it again in a heartbeat, but I understand anyone who starts with a hotel party.
Planning your Holi trip
Holi rewards a little forward planning. The festival is one of India’s biggest travel moments, so trains, domestic flights, and hotels in the popular Holi towns fill up weeks — sometimes months — ahead. Book early, especially if you have your heart set on Mathura or Vrindavan, which draw pilgrims and photographers from everywhere.
Arrive at least a day or two before the main day. The build-up is half the experience: markets piled with pyramids of colored powder, sweets frying in vats, and the Holika Dahan bonfires the night before. Plan a quiet day after, too — you will want it, and so will your skin.
India remains a wonderfully affordable destination. Simple guesthouses can be found for the price of a nice lunch back home, comfortable mid-range hotels sit in a modest nightly range, and food costs very little if you eat where locals eat. Expect prices in the festival towns to rise around Holi itself, and budget a small premium if you choose a hosted hotel celebration.
Getting there is straightforward: Mathura and Vrindavan are a few hours from Delhi by road or rail, Jaipur and Udaipur are well served by trains and domestic flights, and the big cities need no introduction. Whatever you do, arrange your transport for the main day in advance — many drivers, quite reasonably, take Holi off.
What Holi is actually like
Loud. Joyful. Completely overwhelming in the best way. Strangers become friends in seconds. Music pours from every direction, water balloons arc over rooftops, and by early afternoon everyone, grandmothers, toddlers, tourists, is the same rainbow shade. There is a phrase people shout as they smear color on your face: “Bura na mano, Holi hai.” Don’t mind, it’s Holi. That is the spirit of the whole day.
The evening before is Holika Dahan, when bonfires are lit to burn away the old year’s evils. If you can, go watch one. It is quieter and more moving than the day itself.
The deeper meaning, and the unwritten rules
Holi is often described as the day India’s social rulebook takes a holiday. For a few hours, age, status, and formality dissolve — the boss gets colored by the intern, grandmothers ambush grandchildren, strangers embrace. In the Krishna towns it also carries the playfulness of Radha and Krishna’s legend, which is why the celebrations there feel like a flirtation the whole town is in on. Underneath the chaos is something genuinely moving: a spring festival about letting go of grudges and starting the year lighter than you ended the last one.
That said, joyful chaos still has etiquette. Not everyone plays — people heading to work, elders keeping to the edges, anyone who signals no. Respect that; the phrase is an invitation, not a license. Use dry gulal on faces rather than dumping water on strangers, ask before photographing people up close (especially during the religious moments), and accept with grace whatever colors find you. Go in with that spirit and Holi will hand it back to you tenfold.
Tips before you go
- Wear white, or clothes you will never wear again. The colors pop against white and nothing survives the day.
- Oil your hair and skin beforehand. Coconut oil works. The color washes out in one shower instead of five.
- Buy your own gulal (color powder) from a shop and check it is herbal or natural. Cheap industrial powders can irritate skin and eyes.
- Protect your camera and phone in a sealed bag. A zip-lock is fine; you can shoot through the plastic.
- Sunglasses help keep powder out of your eyes.
- Be careful with bhang, the cannabis drink sold openly during Holi. It is traditional and it is also much stronger than people expect.
- Women travelers: crowds get grabby in some places. Go with a group, or choose a hosted celebration.
- Say yes. To the dancing, the sweets, the strangers. That is the whole point.
What about Coco?
Coco sat this one out. Color powder and pups do not mix, and the noise would have scared her anyway. She was waiting at the guesthouse at the end of every magical, messy day, deeply unimpressed by my pink eyebrows.
Holi questions, answered
When is Holi celebrated?
On the full moon of the Hindu month of Phalguna, which usually falls in late February or March. The date shifts every year, so confirm the current year’s dates before booking flights or hotels.
Is Holi safe for tourists?
Broadly yes, with sensible precautions: celebrate with a group, keep valuables at your hotel, choose natural colors, and go easy on the bhang. Women travelers may prefer hosted celebrations in Jaipur, Udaipur, or hotel courtyards, where crowds are smaller and calmer.
What should I wear for Holi?
White cotton you are willing to sacrifice, closed shoes with grip, and sunglasses. Oil your hair and skin first, seal your phone in a plastic bag, and leave anything precious behind. Nothing you wear that day comes home the same color.
Planning a festival trip? Try my free Travel Budget Calculator to plan your trip with confidence.
— Lina