How should I do this trip?
 

Hey guys, I think I'm almost settled on an itinerary in India. I'll be there from January 13, 2011 to January 26, 2011. I'm planning to go to New Delhi, Amritsar, Agra, Varanasi, Jaipur, Udaipur, and Mumbai. Will this all be possible in the time that I'll be there? I'll arrive on the 13th and leave on the 26th from Mumbai for HK. I intend to do things in that order, but I don't know how to go from Udaipur to Mumbai. Are there express trains that goes from Udaipur to Mumbai? If so, how long does that take? Another way that I was thinking of saving time is instead of taking the train from Amritsar back to New Delhi, is it possible to fly for under US$100 from Amritsar to Varanasi and or Agra?

If you guys don't think I can squeeze in this many places in the time that I got, which place should I take out? How would you guys spend 12-13 days in India?

Thx guys!

given that you have only 13 days, i would avoid train journeys unless they are less than 5 hours long....

there is not much to do in mumbai & i would cut it out of the itinerary if i were you....if you can fly in & out of delhi instead then you would be saving yourself a lot of time....

if you can't change your flights then just use mumbai for transit....all the other places have much more to offer....

I'd fly from Udaipur to Mumbai. Both Air India and Kingfisher have 1.5 hr nonstop flights on that sector. Train is difficult. But just for reference you can make train bookings using www.irctc.co.in and use an online booking engine like yatra.com or makemytrip.com to find flights and then book them directly on that airlines website.

I've already cut out Amritsar. I have to fly back to HKG from Mumbai and the flight have already been booked. I think I'm going to take that other guy's advice and go from Udaipur to Mumbai by plane. I think I can get a flight from Expedia or Orbitz for well under US$100.

Use the .co.in variants of those sites (expedia.co.in, orbitz.co.in, travelocity.co.in .. better still, kayak.co.in lets you book direct from the airline). You'd get a cheaper rate than being quoted dollar fares.

as a tourist, if i had a chance between amritsar & mumbai then i would pick amritsar any day of the week....like i said before, just use mumbai for transit....there is not much to do there....

yup.. amritsar has lotta historical importance and the golden temple is worth visiting.. Also try and do the trip to the wagah border between india and pakistan during the evenings..

i crossed the border by foot earlier this year to go for my cousin's wedding....great experience....

oh.. tht should hv been great..
I believe u require a visa (ofcourse) but also special permissions for crossing the wagah border is it ??

yes....special permission is required....like i said before, it was a great experience....