Originally Posted by mikeef
Greetings all,
My wife and parents and I are thinking of going to Delhi, and we definitely want to see the Taj Mahal. We would be coming in from Delhi, which we are told is about 200km from the Taj and are trying to figure out the best way to do it. We would be arriving in Delhi on a Friday night, so we thought about going to the Taj Mahal on Saturday morning, spending the day in Agra and then coming back to Delhi on Sunday morning. Then, we have a flight back to ORD on Monday morning at 12:15 am. A couple of questions:
1) Is this doable? What is the travel like between the Taj Mahal and Delhi? Are we putting ourselves at risk of missing our flight Monday night in case of a delay on the way back to Delhi?
2) Does anyone know of a tour guide/private driver, etc. (a bus tour would be just fine) that could take us to the Taj and walk a bunch of clueless tourists around?
Thanks!
Mike
1. Timing would work for a whistle stop visit to Agra.
2. Given the short stay - you could hire a car for the 4 hour drive each way - the highway is decent, and in an air conditioned SUV, will be comfortable. ITDC (the government tourist agency) can arrange drivers from their desk at the airport, or your Delhi hotel can easily arrange one for you. Failing that, you could take the 30 minute flight, and if you are at a decent hotel in Agra, they will arrange transfers. If you are worried about making your connection on the return, I think it would be better to do it by road.
3. There is no shortage of touts pretending to be guides in Agra. Even your driver may be in on the action, so don't let him make any "useful" suggestions. My favorite was our driver who, upon reaching Agra, claimed he didn't know where the Oberoi Amarvilas was, and wanted his guide buddy to hop in the car and show us an alternative(as always in India, keeping cool and being politely firm will get you through these irritants). My advice would be that you get the hotel you plan on staying at in Agra to arrange a guide for you. The better the hotel, the better the guide will be).
4. Don't let the tourist crap in Agra scare you off - the Taj is one of the few world monuments that actually exceeds its reputation when you see it in person. Try and see it twice during your stay at different times, if possible.