Follow your team

Being a fan is hard work. It means notching up the same air miles as the team you follow, but without the perks. It means booking tickets, making hotel reservations, wondering where to grab a meal that's authentic but won't adversely impact your health, planning your schedule… wait, that's something we can do for you.

No matter whether you follow New Zealand or Sri Lanka, there's a basic customised itinerary for you that accommodates the most competitive matches. Armed with this basic framework, trawl the internet or find a friendly travel agent who'll help you tailor your subcontinent sojourn to your needs best.

Oh, another point: we want your team to go all the way (yes, really), but since the only certainties in this tournament are limited to the group stage, we've limited our itineraries to the period between February 19 and March 15.

Any fan of the England team had better be prepared for a lot of cross-country travel during the group stage.

February 26: Fly into Kolkata.

February 28-March 1: Take advantage of the awesome weather to walk around the Central Business District, home to some gracious colonial buildings. Schedule lunch at the off-Park Street restaurants Peter Cat or Mocambo, which still serves '60s-style sizzlers, beat the afternoon sun browsing in the Oxford Bookstore. For a sundowner, wangle an invitation to one of the city's old clubs.

Fly to Bangalore either late on March 1 or early on March 2.

March 3: Explore Bangalore. Start with a walk down the arterial MG Road. Stop by at Cauvery, the state government emporium, which is a great place to pick up giftables. Wet the throat at one of the many pubs that line the street or lie just off it. Grab some fresh air at the sprawling, silent Cubbon Park, followed by a cuppa at Koshy's, where the atmosphere is vintage Bangalore.

March 4-5: Head out. Drive an hour to eco-resort Our Native Village or two hours to Mysore for some heritage and history. Spend the night there and return in time to catch an evening flight to Chennai.

March 6: Day match against South Africa in Chennai Spend the evening getting to know the city. Head to the beach for a sea-and-sand experience like no other, or to T Nagar to browse through some of India's best silk shopping. A visit to Nalli is highly recommended, even if buying sarees is not high priority.

March 7-9: Make the most of the interlude by hiring a car to visit Pondicherry and Mahabalipuram.

March 10: There are no direct flights to Chittagong from Chennai: You'll need to fly to Kolkata to catch a flight to Bangladesh. Pondicherry-Chennai-Kolkata-Chittagong will take the better part of the day.

March 12: No subcontinental city is a replica of the other, but we'd advise skipping a walkathon around Chittagong and instead, heading out to Cox's Bazar.

March 13: Fly back to Kolkata and onward.

Presuming you don't have a month to spare, you could follow the Aussies over a fortnight - but also enjoy a seven-day break in between.

February 19: Fly into Mumbai.

February 20: Fly to Ahmedabad early in the day. Explore the city. On foot is the way to go, especially if you find the traffic unnerving. Go for a walk in the Old City to see how a modern city co-exists with ancient monuments - especially the awe-inspiring Tree-of-Life marble filigree jaali at the Sidi Sayeed Masjid. Or head to Rani no Hajiro, for some enchanting displays of block-printed textiles.

February 22-23: Drive to Rann Riders, a safari resort in Dasada, a couple of hours north of Ahmedabad, or to Vadodara, an erstwhile princely city that clings to its heritage, about the same distance away south.

February 24: Fly to Nagpur via Mumbai. There are no direct flights from Ahmedabad to Nagpur, so travel could take up to half a day.

February 26-March 4: Six days for virtually anything you'd want to do. There isn't much to see around Nagpur, frankly, so we suggest you head south, detouring and halting where you will. Consider spending time in Mumbai, Bangalore or Chennai (if you like big cities) or fly down to Colombo and do a trip around Sri Lanka, packing in golfing or wildlife or just some sun and sea. If you opt for the first, you could watch England take on Ireland in Bangalore on March 2. But either way, keep aside a day for travel to the Sri Lankan capital.

March 6: Embark on a Sri Lanka tour. Or return to Mumbai to catch your flight back.

Give the first match (against Kenya in Chennai) a miss, and plan a fortnight-long trip that embraces Sri Lanka as well.

February 23: Fly into Mumbai. Before catching your flight to Nagpur, ensure you have enough time to acquaint yourself with India's biggest city, the destination of dreams. If Bollywood fascinates you, sign up for a studio tour (try Bollywood Tourism . To get within striking distance of the Mumbai of Slumdog Millionaire, contact www.realitytoursandtravel.com.

February 24: Fly to Nagpur

February 26-March 3: Six days is enough to pack in the India you want to see. We'd recommend going north to see the Golden Triangle (Delhi-Agra-Jaipur). The Taj Mahal is spectacular prepares you for it. Fly to Ahmedabad from Delhi on the evening of March 3.

March 4: Day match against Zimbabwe in Ahmedabad Spend the evening exploring the city, not forgetting a visit to Law Gardens for some bargain shopping and street food.

March 5-7: Fly to Mumbai and catch a flight to Colombo. Spend a day or two shopping or exploring the region. The Taj resort at Bentota is a good high-end option for some quick R&R. Set aside plenty time for the drive to Kandy: the Colombo-Kandy highway passes through some of the prettiest Sri Lankan country. Kandy itself also has plenty to see and do.

March 9: Explore Sri Lanka further. Or head back to Mumbai to catch an onward flight.

Start from the word go and catch the team's first match through to the fourth. Be ready, though, for some cross-country travel - but also remember to pack in some R&R between matches.

February 23: Fly into Delhi. Squeeze time out to walk around Connaught Place, in the heart of town, or get an eyeful of the city's grand architecture, from India Gate to Parliament House.

February 25-March 2: There's no way you can go back home without doing the Golden Triangle, comprising Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. We recommend two days for each city, returning to Delhi on March 2 and catching the fast Shatabdi Express or a flight early in the morning of March 3 to Chandigarh.

March 4-5: Spend a day and a half mooching around Chandigarh's Sector 17 (generic shopping, but a lovely plaza), sampling its delicious dhaba cuisine or packing in a short trip to the hills.

Catch a late afternoon flight to Delhi and from there to Chennai on March 5. There are no direct flights between Chandigarh and Chennai.

March 7-11: Travel around Chennai for a flavour of an India that's vastly different from what you will experience in the north. Alternatively, head to Kerala for a round of backwater rides, Ayurvedic massages and delicious coconut-based cuisine. But remember to keep the good part of a day for travel: you'll need to fly to Mumbai and catch a connecting flight to Nagpur.

March 13: Fly to Delhi and homewards.

Pakistan play all their group matches in Sri Lanka, as do the home team, with the exception of one last group match in Mumbai. In contrast to India, whose vastness severely limits the amount of ground you can cover, it's possible to "do" the island nation as thoroughly as you wish, without sacrificing any matches you may want to watch. Also, this programme allows you to pack in the most cricket if you explore Colombo and its outskirts in the first half and focus on Kandy and its environs subsequently.

February 25: Fly into Colombo

February 27-28: Explore Colombo and its outskirts. If you want to spend an evening pub crawling, this is a good place to do it in.

March 2-4: If you aren't too keen on watching Pakistan play Canada on March 3, take off for the ancient holy city of Anuradhapura, 200km north of Colombo. Return early on March 5.

March 6: Go shopping. Colombo offers some of the cheapest (and best) bargains in Asia, which is saying a lot. Recommended stops: Odel, Barefoot and Paradise Road.

March 7: Drive to Kandy, through some of the prettiest scenery on the island.

March 9: Swing a club at one of the two golf courses close to Kandy.

March 11, 12, 13: Unfortunately Kandy doesn't offer too many options as a base for short trips. Two ideas: Go trekking in the Knuckles range. Or go rafting in the Kelani.

March 15: Return to Colombo. You could either stay on in the city for the March 19 D/N match between Pakistan and Australia or proceed homewards.

Visiting India fans have a bit of a job on their hands, since there's no convenient cluster of matches for them to watch based out of one or two cities. This schedule would be your best bet - but be prepared for plenty of cross-country travel.

February 25-26: Fly into Mumbai or Delhi and then down to Kolkata.

February 28-March 5: Spend at least a couple of days exploring Kolkata. Then you could either visit the university town of Shantiniketan, founded by India's Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, four hours from Kolkata, or go down south to Bangalore and drive down a couple of hours to Mysore, for a glimpse of remarkably well-maintained and gracious princely India. Either way, keep a day aside for travel.

March 7-8: Spend a day exploring Bangalore. On day 2, fly north to New Delhi (you could even opt for an early-morning flight on March 9, should you wish to squeeze out more time for Bangalore). Or, if you wish to "do" at least two angles of the Golden Triangle, catch a flight on March 7 and spend a couple of days in Delhi.

March 10-11: Drive down to Agra. Totally worth it. Catch an early morning flight on March 12 from Delhi to Nagpur.

March 13: Fly back to Mumbai or Delhi and onwards.