We welcome you to Incredible India! This checklist will help you with all aspects of your visit to India – arrival, stay, and departure. Our goal is to make this a safe and enjoyable experience for you.
Detailed information is available on various pages of this site and you can always send a mail to help@comped.acm.org and get a prompt response.
Checklist
- Registration: If you have not registered, please do so right away on the registration page.
- Visa: All international attendees require a visa for their travel to India. If the primary purpose of your visit is the conference, you need to apply for Conference visa. If the primary purpose of your visit is leisure, you can apply for visitor visa. Please visit the visa page for more details and prepare for your visa, the most important step is to complete the Google form on that page.
- Vaccines: Check with your primary care provider if you need vaccine or any other preparation for your travel. Do check for COVID-related requirements for your country as well as for India.
- Cash: Will your debit card work with ATM machines in India (all of them take Visa and Mastercard logo cards)? In some cases, your bank may have disabled this access for security purposes. You can visit your bank to ensure this is setup properly. This is the most efficient way for you to access cash in India if you need.
- Credit Card: Will your credit card work in India? In most cases, you should be able to check using your bank portal whether international transactions and foreign currency transactions are allowed, and enable if needed. Most businesses in India will accept credit card, so this is a big convenience if you can use your card here.
- Flight to India: Make your flight booking early. If you need help in figuring out right flight or destination for your travel, please write to us at help@comped.acm.org and we will connect you to the travel desk which can help you plan your flight.
- Airport to Hotel: Depending on where you are staying, your hotel may be able to pick you up, let them know your travel details. We will also setup a helpdesk at the airport for any support you need.
- Local Travel: If you use Uber for your local travel in your home country, you should be able to use the same here. For that, the card on file should be enabled for foreign currency transactions (see the point above about Credit Card). Ensure that your card is setup for it, and you can have a seamless local commute in India.
- Voice calls: If you want to be able to call home or receive calls on your number, you can enable international roaming calls by visiting your local provider. However, this is likely to be expensive. See local SIM card and messaging options below.
- Data network: Does your mobile plan support data in international roaming? If it doesn’t, you can get a plan enabled for a few weeks. Having data on your mobile will be very helpful in India. However, depending on your provider, this can be expensive. You can also get a local SIM card on your arrival.
- Messaging: Do you have WhatsApp on your phone? WhatsApp is the single most popular messaging app in India, and you will see the benefits of being on WhatsApp at least for the duration of your stay here. Install the app before you travel.
- Local SIM card for voice and data: Usually getting local SIM card will be cheaper (about $10-12 for unlimited calls and 2.5GB/day data for 90 days) than using your roaming voice or data. However, you need an unlocked phone which can take a sim card. If you plan to procure a SIM card here and you don’t carry an unlocked phone, make sure you visit your local provider and get it unlocked. These links (here and here) have good details. Carry a few passport-size photographs of you, you may have to fill a paper form to get the SIM card (or you can visit a local shop to get this done).
- Accommodation: Review the accommodation choices we have curated for you. Make your booking early. If you make your own accommodation arrangements at places not listed on this page, do let us know so that we can vet it for you.