One week trip to India- help with Itinerary!
 

This will be my first trip to India. I am planning the following trip (though at the worst time of the year- July 30-August 1):

Sat July 30 late arrival into DEL.

Stay- either The Manor or Imperial ( though I am having trouble getting an email through to the Manor). Does anyone have any opinions abouth either of these hotels.

Sun July 31- Arga

Same hotel

Mon August 1-Wed August 3

Udaipur- Devi Garh Hotel. What do you know about this hotel?

Thur 4-Friday 5

Jaipur

Hotel ?? any ideas-

Sat 6 back to DEL, with late night departure to ICN fill in the day with DEL touring.

Is this a good introduction to India? Would I be better cutting Udaipur and having longer in Jaipur? Longer in Delhi?

Thanks for any help you can give me!

The Imperial is better located although I have never stayed there myself. The Imperial is better known than the Manor, for what it's worth.

The worst time of the year is actually now until beginning June. Hot enough to get many people sick.

I would not go to Agra on your first morning in India since all "day trips" to Agra begin early and return late. The train to Agra is much faster than the bus/cars (2.5 hours vs 4.5-6) but advance reservations are often needed and you want to be in 1st class ACC if possible. I suggest you do Agra by train WITH a tour group. And when in Agra don't get fleeced by the hawkers or taken by tour guides unless it's hotel arranged or something else official. And don't waste your time shopping in Agra (despite what tour guides say).

How are you getting between the various cities?

In Jaipur I stayed at the Trident Hilton; it's a good value (especially at this time of the year), relatively new and you need a driver to take you around Jaipur anyway. It's relatively close to Amer Fort where you can get an elephant ride up all the way (and back down if you wish).

There is a Sheraton Rajputan in Jaipur too but I've never stayed there. Both hotels are a good value at this time of year, but the Trident Hilton is newer. Only 2000 SPG points are needed for a weekend stay at the Sheraton in Jaipur and most all Trident Hiltons in India are 10,000 HHonors points. There is also a Trident Hilton in Udaipur which is quite nice.

caviat: i haven't been in a few years. but, agra, though wonderful, and as you've been told, and not to be missed, is only for visiting the taj, and is quite dangerous. pickpocket haven. be careful. the nature of all travel in india, from my experience, is that you are looked at as a fool who should be ripped off in every way humanly possible. so do the best to plan ahead and know what to expect. having said the negative, i've spent about 6 months there, and remember it most fondly. and frankly, we are a bit the same with tourists here in hawaii. i get hotels for 1/2 of what tourists pay, and golf for 10-20%, for example.

The area around Agra has at least four things that should be seen. Taj Mahal, Agra Fort (from where you can see Taj Mahal as the imprisoned, deposed-by-son Emperor saw it) and Akbar's Tomb. Then there is Fatehpur Sikhri which I recommend also.

But given the heat, it's going to be hard.

Agra is not dangerous if you stay on the tourist path, but it's a place now designed to fleece tourists.

I think that the Imperial definitely has the best location, and is an interesting old hotel that has been turned into a nice upscale place. I'd also note that LeMeridien is in the same area and a little less expensive.
My own choice would be to take the second day in Delhi to rest up, and then travel by car/driver from a Govt. approved ITDC/DTDC agency for the trip to Jaipur and Agra...
and yes, for the first visit, I think I would skip Udaipur and enjoy the other two cities. The first visit to India is always a little overwhelming on the senses.

Three comments:

1. I think your stay is way too short. At least try not to spend your brief time there by moving through so many different locations. I fear that when you leave India you won't really have had the time to understand much of what is really going on behind the scenes...

2. The horror stories about India are blown way out of proportion. Sure, public transportation is a hassle and in the touristy places the touts are a PITA, but besides that you're likely to experience a fairly trouble free time there.

3. That being said, India will definitely challenge your senses. That's why I'd recommend at least a couple of weeks to settle in.

Thanks for your advice.

The problem is that I only have 9 days to do the trip- so getting from Korea to India and back means that this is the length of time I have.

Perhaps dropping Udaipur- though Devi Garh looks really great!

Another option is heading to Sri Lanka instead....Less to see, and just head to the south coast and relax on the beach, and see the elephants.

Also post to the Forum (Asia/India) on fodors.com for additional suggestions and recommendations.

I think your itinery is a little hectic. IMO, 4 cities in 7 days is never a good idea.

With regards to hotels, in Delhi the Imperial is a larger hotel decorated in colonial style having some very classy restaurant and very centtrally located. Manor by comparison is a much smaller boutique hotel located in a posh residential colony but is much farther away from the attractions.

At Jaipur, Oberoi Rajvilas is the top hotel though its not too conveniently located. Other option is Taj hotels' Rambagh Palace, which is much more conveniently located.

Devigarh is fantastic. IMO, the best hotel in India in terms of design. We stayed at the Devigarh Suite, which is their top suite and it was very spacious and luxurious with a huge bathroom and a open air jacuzzi and swimming pool shared with one other suite.

I live in Delhi and have stayed in both Rajvilas and Devigarh, so if there are any other questions please ask

I'd just like to point out that you barely seem to have any time in DEL itself. Delhi is itself a city of significant historic importance in India. There's plenty to see - buildings from the Delhi Sultanate, Mughal, and modern-day India. Consider adding a day to spend in Delhi.
Here's another suggestion: You can base your entire trip out of Delhi and do a series of day-trips or overnights. That way you also get to travel to the foothills of the Himalayas if that's something that interests you. Check out places like Dehradun which are very pretty and not too far from Delhi. These areas also tend to be better choices, weather-wise than the searing desert.
I think you'll be happiest with your trip if you can identify the aspects you're interested in. If it's the geography (Himalayas, Rivers: Ganga, Yamuna (many more), Thar Desert, Forests of Kerala, ...), wildlife (many National Parks with treats including Lions, white Tigers, Rhinos, ..), history (ancient period, mughuls, british era), or religion and culture (hindu, budhist and jain temples and holy sites, muslim shrines and mosques and some prominent churches)
Most big cities in India provide a good mix of history, culture and contemporary influences.
Hope this helps

Spend more time in Delhi and Jaipur -- cut Udaipur
 

I agree with the others that your trip is too hectic at present -- I would suggest spending the first day in Delhi, then Agra the next day --- cut Udaipur and spend more time in Delhi and Jaipur. The Golden Triangle (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur) is probably the number one itinerary for visitors and is easily manageable in the time you have.

For accomodations in Jaipur, for a diiferent expeience, I suggest the Raj Palace (http://rajpalace.com/index.htm) --- haven't stayed there myself but it seems to be as far from the cookie cutter Sheratons as you can get.

Good luck and enjoy the trip.

Trying to decide which of the numerous Golden Triangle threads to bump...figure this one is the closest to my own potential itin and duration in India.

I believe we will end up doing the Golden Triangle...maybe with a one or two deviations. My question is the order in which to do it, time in each spot, and the modes of transportation to use.

It will be my wife and I, both physically fit and the types who tend to move through a tourist spot more quickly than average. If it's a museum where the books tend to say "Spend 4 to 6 hours there", that tells us we're likely to spend 2 to 4. On the flip side, we're likely to slow down and spend extra time in a place with good food, nightlife, outdoor activities, or other cultural activities beyond the standard tourist fare. (I think this is a long-winded way of saying we aren't going to spend a long time in Agra, even though we know we must go and see the Taj Mahal.)

We fly into DEL from KTM on a midafternoon. We are on the ground 7 nights, departing DEL at 6AM. Therefore, our final night will almost certainly be spent at DEL in the terminal (I understand there is at least one hotel in the airport itself). This leads me to believe that we might want to fly straight onward to one of the other cities, saving Delhi for last, simply because it seems more efficient. But I don't have a big preference beyond that.

In general, we'd opt for the most efficient intercity transportation - cost is a secondary concern, within reason. If traveling by car is slower, then I'd only want to do it if the journey itself involves some interesting off-the-beaten-path stops that only a driver could get us to. Main point is that we don't like to waste time.

For hotels, I'd prefer to either go Starwood or go something completely non-chain where my lack of elite status at that location won't hurt us. Reading about staying on a houseboat or at a monastery is interesting...but staying at one of the Indian hotel chains really isn't.

Thoughts?

I'd recommend train when you can take it. That's the real Indian experience, and can be very affordable as well.

Traveling by car gives you the opportunity to do interesting off-the-beaten-path stuff. However, you probably would have to do the legwork yourself. If you find off-the-beaten-path things which you want to do, drivers are usually very flexible and willing to take you there. However, I would not take a car with the expectation that the driver has interesting things to show you - you have to figure that out for yourself beforehand.

delhi & jaipur have a number of spg options while agra just has one spg property....

in delhi i would suggest the le méridien if you want to be in a more touristy area or the sheraton if you want to be surrounded by malls & restaurants & night clubs, etc....

in jaipur i would recommend the itc rajputana over the four points & the le méridien....although you can usually get the four points for some throwaway prices....i recently had a stay there for under $60 a night....

in agra the only starwood property is the itc mughal....i have had many stays here & its my property of choice whenever i'm in agra....

India has 29 states and many historical places to visit. One week may not be enough to visit all places in India. :p