Originally Posted by Keyser (Post 25203205)

its manageable in a week but i would personally exclude vns....

Originally Posted by FlyEveryWeek (Post 25203267)

Could you please share why you would avoid VNS? Is it not worth visiting? It's mentioned often as the holiest city in India.. We are thinking about flying in there late afternoon to watch Agni Pooja and then leave the next morning after watching sunrise..

Originally Posted by Keyser (Post 25203286)

how many days are you planning on staying in bom????

as i said before, the itinerary is doable but you won't have time to visit any of the cities properly if you fit too much in....i would personally pick delhi, jaipur & agra over varanasi....not that varanasi is not worth visiting but i find the others better....

Originally Posted by FlyEveryWeek (Post 25204162)

Staying in BOM the first night and then the last day full day as flight is at late night.. I do feel like this itinerary seems to be only able to cover the touristy spots but not really VISIT the cities.. Have you been to the Golden Temple? Is it worth flying in there just to see that? It looks so majestic and gorgeous from the pictures..

Originally Posted by Keyser (Post 25204609)

any particular reason why you are flying in & out of bom????usually people who attempt this sort of itinerary fly in & out of del....

i've been to the golden temple & would pick it over a trip to varanasi....

Originally Posted by FlyEveryWeek (Post 25214516)

Yea.. We wanted to fly in and out of Mumbai just to see the city (as Bombay always sounds so mysteriously magical in novels)..

What do you think of Jaipur? Is it a must-see in the Golden Triangle? I'm debating whether we should do the triangle or go on a day trip from Delhi to Agra just to see the Taj Mahal..

Thank you!

Originally Posted by FlyEveryWeek (Post 25201758)

Originally Posted by FindAWay (Post 24697969)

In case it helps others...

My wife and I spent a week in India (our first trip there) in November 2013. Our itinerary was as follows:

DELHI (1.5 DAYS): Sun., Nov. 24, 2013 (arrive 7:45am) until Mon., Nov. 25, 2013 (depart 2:05pm)
Hotel: Radisson Blu Marina Hotel Connaught Place [2 nights] (38,000 Goldpoints & $0.00 per nt.)
[Hotel reservation began Sat., Nov. 23, 2013 so our confirmed room will be ready upon arrival]

DEPART NEW DELHI & ARRIVE AGRA: Mon., Nov. 25, 2013
2:05pm-5:10pm - NDLS-AGC -- NDLS Jabalpur “Superfast” Express #12191 (Class: First AC (1AC)) [3h 05m]
(1,228 INR Rs. aka $19.50 per person)

AGRA (2 DAYS): Mon., Nov. 25, 2013 (arrive 5:10pm) until Wed., Nov. 27, 2013 (depart 4:20pm)
Hotel: Radisson Blu Agra Taj East Gate [2 nights] (28,000 Goldpoints & $0.00 per nt.)

DEPART AGRA & ARRIVE JAIPUR: Wed., Nov. 27, 2013
4:20pm-7:50pm - AF-JP -- Shatabdi Express #12036 (Class: First AC (1AC) Exec. Chair) [3h 30m]
(1,024.5 INR Rs. aka $16.27 per person)

JAIPUR (~1 FULL DAY): Wed., Nov. 27, 2013 (arrive 7:50pm) until Fri., Nov. 29, 2013 (depart 6:00am)
Hotel: Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Jaipur [2 nights] (28,000 Goldpoints & $0.00 per nt.)

DEPART JAIPUR & ARRIVE NEW DELHI: Fri., Nov. 29, 2013
6:00am-10:30am - JP-DEE -- DEE Double Decker #22985 (Class: First AC (1AC) Exec. Chair) [4h 30m]
(1,085.5 INR Rs. aka $17.24 per person)

NEW DELHI (2 DAYS): Fri., Nov. 29, 2013 (arrive 10:30am) until Sun., Dec. 1, 2013 (depart 9:30am)
Hotel: Radisson Blu Marina Hotel Connaught Place [2 nights] (38,000 Goldpoints & $0.00 per nt.)


We really enjoyed taking the trains - seeing the countryside (especially sunrise on our way back to Delhi) from the train was enjoyable; so, I recommend daytime trains. However, it is pretty annoying to purchase train tickets for Indian trains in advance without an Indian mobile phone from abroad; but, I used the email work around.

DELHI - there are a lot of attractions to see; so, our ~3 days was pretty filled (especially because traffic can be pretty bad at peak times).

AGRA - we really enjoyed being able to visit the Taj at dawn (and linger for a couple of hours afterwards as the sun lit the building and it looked like it changed colors). Also, more time gave us the opportunity to visit Fatehpur Sikri (which one could do along the way if one took a driver from Agra to Jaipur instead of the train).

JAIPUR - we probably could have used more than a single day to explore; but, we packed-in what we could.

Originally Posted by FindAWay (Post 25255265)

I think it is probably too ambitious if you want to see much at the destinations, especially if this is your first trip to India. My wife and I travel with aggressive scheduling (feel free to look at some of the itineraries of my TRs linked in my signature as examples) and we wouldn't try to squeeze in all that you propose. In fact, as I posted in another thread, below is what we did with an identical amount of time in India (flying in Sun. morning & out Sun. morning - both from DEL):




In the end, it is up to you whether to attempt fitting in all you propose in 7 days on the ground. And, you know your travel abilities and limitations more than anyone else.

Originally Posted by FlyEveryWeek (Post 25277519)

Thanks so much for providing your thoughts and sharing your itinerary!

I don't think we will go to Varanasi anymore.. It doesn't seem like the most pleasant place to visit or to squeeze into our schedule..

What did you do or see that you like the most about Delhi? Any fav spots?