India - Delhi-5 days too much? Other places to visit?

Heading out to India for the first time in early August and am ready to book five nights at a Starwood hotel in Delhi with those lovely SPG points, thus getting the fifth night as a bonus. Probably the ITC Maurya based on what I've read on FT.

But, now I am hearing that Delhi is better visited for just a day or two. Is that right? And, where else should we go in the region (Agra is already on the list). Are the Himilaya foothills within reasonable reach? Or, is there a beach or other resort we should be thinking about?

We have around 12 days in India before heading out to Bangkok, but, that could be changed.

Thanks for any info.

You can go Jaipur and Ajmer.

Heading out to India for the first time in early August and am ready to book five nights at a Starwood hotel in Delhi with those lovely SPG points, thus getting the fifth night as a bonus. Probably the ITC Maurya based on what I've read on FT.

But, now I am hearing that Delhi is better visited for just a day or two. Is that right? And, where else should we go in the region (Agra is already on the list). Are the Himilaya foothills within reasonable reach? Or, is there a beach or other resort we should be thinking about?

We have around 12 days in India before heading out to Bangkok, but, that could be changed.

Thanks for any info.

5 days is too much for tourist highlights in Delhi. 2-3 nights is more than sufficient, but if willing to use Delhi as a base and do day trips to the likes of Jaipur, Agra and the like, it could work out with 5 nights.

No beach around DEL, unless willing to fly or waste a lot of time with roads/rail-tracks.

What I normally suggest -- at least when the weather is decent -- is something like: two nights in Delhi on arrival to India and a third night in Delhi on departure to India (although that depends on flight times out of India); a night in Agra, and a few nights split up amongst Jaipur, Udaipur and a couple of other places in Rajasthan.

Some do long-weekend trips from Delhi to places in the foothills, and that works if doing some outdoorsy/nature things.

Having been to Delhi once, I'm no expert by any means, but we absolutely loved Delhi and the culture-shock it gave us, so I'd like to weigh in.

You can certainly see the tourist highlights in Delhi in 2 days, but when my partner and I travel, we like to do some good photography (which often necessitates visits back to some locations for different lighting) and also just "be" somewhere, rather than just run around somewhere. To that end, we spent about 5 days in Delhi last January and found there was so much we still didn't see, that we are going back to Delhi for a few days on our next trip to India, in February.

You can certainly hit Qtub Minar, Jami Masjid, Chadni Chowk and Lal Qila in one day, and some other sights in another. Two days is enough to hit the high-points, so you won't do Delhi injustice in 2 days.

Nonetheless, we found Chadni Chowk so mesmerizing that we went back twice to see different parts of it (the spice market is a must). We visited numerous temples, the flower market, and the Mehrauli Archeological Park. Add other secondary but really interesting sights like Gandhi Smriti, Parliament, and Jandar Mantar, etc, and you've filled 5 days without leaving the confines of the city and seeing what's on the outskirts. Add a little shopping and some yoga and/or walks in Lodhi Gardens, and you can really change your experience. Rather than running around to as many tourist destinations as possible in 2 days, you can enjoy BEING there, and come away with an understanding of the good and the bad of Delhi.

five nights at a Starwood hotel in Delhi

Agra is already on the list

We have around 12 days in India

so that's 5 days in delhi & i presume 1 day in agra....what else is on your list for the remaining 6 days????

If you're travelling June-October, have you considered Ladakh? The scenery is incredible, and it's very different from the rest of India due to the proximity of Mongolia/Tibet. Airport/airline security is very strict, and no carryons are allowed except cameras and laptops without the battery.

so that's 5 days in delhi & i presume 1 day in agra....what else is on your list for the remaining 6 days????

The rest is open depending on, among other things, the kind input of fellow FTers.

We would like to avoid too much running around, although a visit to Kashmir sounds attractive, if safe. Can we take the train there from Delhi? We expect to be in India in early August.

For some reason (perhaps too much Kipling in school) I am fascinated by the "Hill Stations" I read about. Is it practical to take the train there and is it really cool this time of year?

And, I understand Jaipur is the other must see in the Delhi area, after the Taj and Delhi itself, so we will likely visit there.

Thank you in advance for your kind thoughts and information.

The rest is open depending on, among other things, the kind input of fellow FTers.

We would like to avoid too much running around, although a visit to Kashmir sounds attractive, if safe. Can we take the train there from Delhi? We expect to be in India in early August.

For some reason (perhaps too much Kipling in school) I am fascinated by the "Hill Stations" I read about. Is it practical to take the train there and is it really cool this time of year?

And, I understand Jaipur is the other must see in the Delhi area, after the Taj and Delhi itself, so we will likely visit there.

Thank you in advance for your kind thoughts and information.

Leh/Ladakh is just about as safe as -- if not safer than -- most any place anywhere else in India.

It is far more common for foreign tourists to fly into Ladakh than take road/bus/bike/whatever transport to/from there unless some kind of ultra-budget tourist.

The weather in Leh and the rest of Ladakh is such that for most tourists the ideal time to visit it is in the spring to early fall period, so summer is just fine.

A visit to the Ladakh part of Kashmir is of sufficient safety that I can go there with former Home Ministers without needing the kind of security arrangements we get elsewhere in India and do routinely rely upon in all other parts of the Jammu & Kashmir state.

We're just starting to plan our first trip to India in January. We don't want to try to cover too much ground in too little time but we want to see what we can. We're arriving / departing DEL.

Our party will total four or five (an adult niece with whose parents we're traveling hasn't decided yet). We don't intend to drive ourselves. We realize the fifth person may complicate issues for private cars and drivers (Innovas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Innova)?), and also notice Hiltons (one of the chains where we hold status) don't seem to allow three-per-room. We can deal with that.

Between recommendations of others and our own research so far we've come up with this possible itinerary:

The morning after our arrival we go by train to tour Jaipur and Agra for three days, arranging for private guides in both places, before overnighting in DEL.

We fly to Bengaluru and spend two full days (comments on this vs. Mumbai are especially welcomed.)

We fly to Goa and spend two full days.

We fly back to Delhi and spend two full days there, including touring, before flying home.

I'd appreciate suggestions, including drastic changes or alternatives. :)

The train is a good option and I would use it over being driven. This is based on trip we made last month from Delhi to the Taj where we spent around five hours each way on the minibus due to bad roads and traffic jams, which, per the driver is par for the course. Train time each way is around two and a half hours.

The train is a good option and I would use it over being driven. This is based on trip we made last month from Delhi to the Taj where we spent around five hours each way on the minibus due to bad roads and traffic jams, which, per the driver is par for the course. Train time each way is around two and a half hours.

Thanks! ^ You've confirmed what we've read elsewhere.