Americans are currently traveling in large numbers to destinations like Bali and Argentina where the cost of living is unusually low. Why? Travelers can offset high airfares with cheap hotel and food costs.

Which is why India should be considered by travelers looking for luxury, but at low cost. Its hotel, food and touring costs are among the world's cheapest. You'll gain an appreciation of that by requesting quotes from the chief Indian tour operators and travel agents.

Travel companies book travelers into elegant hotels and supply them with a car, driver and guide for their entire trip, starting when their plane touches down in Delhi or Mumbai. For this, companies like Indian Moments (www.indianmoments.com) have been quoting total prices of $3,000 for a 14-day stay in multiple destinations for two people (not including airfare to India). That outlay includes upscale hotel accommodations with daily breakfast, private car and driver/guide, gas, at least one air trip within India and numerous other features.

You travel, in effect, like a Maharajah. Though I personally feel that a less pretentious approach results in a better travel experience, it's a level of comfort that some luxury-loving Americans demand. Arriving to the bustle and exoticism of India, they take great comfort in finding their driver awaiting their arrival, holding up a sign with their name on it.

And you can greatly reduce that $3,000 charge by insisting to Indian Moments that you want a less expensive level of hotel accommodations.

Cheaper prices for your trip to India? Go to the Web site of Culture Holidays (www.cultureholidays.com) and note that the six-night Golden Triangle Tour (Delhi-Agra-Jaipur-Delhi), costs as little as $600 per person for ''economy'' hotels with daily breakfast, train transportation, private car sightseeing and more.

Note that GAP Adventures and SmarTours both operate inexpensive, small-group tours to India.

If you haven't been, you should go. India is fast developing into a super-power and yet its cost structure remains refreshingly low. Airfare? Using Etihad Airways (flying via Abu Dhabi) or Air India, you'll generally pay $940 round-trip in off-season and $1,140 round-trip in high season between New York and either Mumbai or Delhi.

One final note: Because a large percentage of the residents of India are English-speaking, you'll want to use the opportunity to converse with the people you meet and gain a valuable perspective on their views of the world.

Advance reading for your trip will be a great aid. A Salman Rushdie novel, the much-acclaimed Midnight's Children, illuminates the recent history of India in a way that can aid your conversations on a trip to Delhi, in particular. Rushdie's book is the fictional story of a young boy born on the eve of Indian independence, whose family experienced the violence between Muslims and Hindus, the conflict in Kashmir, and other key political events in the time when Indira Gandhi was prime minister, taking the story of India into the 1980s. It's a fine book for occupying the hours of a long flight to that increasingly important nation.

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