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

Keyser, would you say there are any pros or cons to the order we visit the cities, based on the fact that we'll be arriving into DEL in the afternoon?

Now that I look at a few websites, it seems you can't fly Delhi-Agra, but can fly Delhi-Jaipur. Leads me to think we should think about doing them the opposite order from what I suggested above. Grab bags from our KTM flight, head straight to a Jaipur flight. Spend 2 days Jaipur, take a car or train to Agra for 2 days, then train to Delhi for a few days before departing out of DEL.

i would go with this itinerary....a few friends of mine visiting from france did the exact same thing last month....

Are you sure? A couple of those states have gotta be like "Indian Arkansas", right? Maybe knock out 20 in a week and call it good? :p

Not really. Every state has an Arkansas part, and a Colorado/California/New York part as well. State lines aren't drawn on how boring the area is ;)

You doing a disservice to Arkansas, man. :p

Honestly though (and no offense to anyone), there is not much reason to tour states like Bihar, Jharkand, West Bengal (ex-Darjeeling, unless you're planning to join the Maoist insurgency :confused:); Andhra Pradesh, Orissa (unless you want to temple hop); or Haryana (don't bother, just get on a flight to Singapore :D).

You're underestimating these places.
Bihar has really interesting ancient buildings like Mahabodhi Temple, Vishnupada Temple, Sasaram, Patliputra, Maner Sharif (and this is just off the top of my head)
Jharkhand has Khandoli Dam and Latehar, although I agree that there is much less to see than a lot of other states. I've heard that it's a really good place for adventure tourism..
West Bengal has not only Darjeeling, but also Calcutta. Calcutta is a very historic city, and it's called "city of palaces" for a reason...
Andhra Pradesh has Tirupati, Hyderabad. Even Vishakapatnam (Vizag) is a nice city... Vizag has an ancient Simhachalam temple, Totlakonda (Buddhist site), the beaches are really nice, and to my great amusement, they even had a submarine museum.
Orissa has plenty of temple hopping opportunity :) It also has the nicest beaches I've seen in India, and lots of interesting birds for bird watchers.
I will admit that there is nothing to do in Haryana...

Y'all took me seriously. ;) I realize it'd take years to properly visit an entire large country like India.

We're probably going to visit 4-5 total places, none of which are really all that far from Delhi. Three states maybe? I imagine we'll be back some other time to visit other parts. :)

One week can be enough for a quick visit to Delhi - Agra - Jaipur if you have a well planned itinerary with a driver...It will be quick...and a little hectic...but OK

You can see culture, heritage of Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur if you do a Golden Triangle tour.

India is not so homogenous that there is only 1 culture and heritage - the India you find in Tamil Nadu is different from the India in Gujarat, or the India in Mizoram.

14 days in Northern India
 

Hi,

I am planning a 14 day trip to Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur. The suggestion of leaving Agra at the end is a very good one. I have a few questions:

1. How easy is it to connect at DEL from a UA flight to a domestic flight? Since the domestic flight will likely be on a different ticket, what are possibility of miss connect?

2. What is the way to sequence the cities considering the easy of travel. I understand Jaipur and Agra should be left as the last two cities due to lack of air travel in/out of Agra.

3. Are there an advantages in using local agents for hotel, train and air ticket booking? If yes, does anyone have agents they an recommend.

which airline will you be connecting to????if its jet, kingfisher or air india then it will be from the same terminal....if its one of the lcc airlines then you will have to change terminals....

no real advantage but let me know if you are interested in a local agent & i'll pm you the details....

How much time should I allow between, UA flight and a Jet Or AI flight?

it all depends on the time of day & how busy the airport is....

i've done an international to domestic transfer in a little over 30 minutes but i would not recommend doing it unless you have a couple of hours....3 to be absolutely safe....

Thanks. Would you PM a couple of agent? I am hoping their services can save time for making taxi, hotel and train bookings.

After going through your post I will say it is very difficult to visit India in one week. But you can visit some part of India. In one week North India region is suitable for you. you can easily spend time in the states like Rajasthan, UP, Himanchal, etc, but before that you need to book flight according to your time.

It is also difficult to travel without help of tour operator. so you need to take suggestion from a travel agent and they can help you.

I have a quote for a Golden Triangle driver/guide of 17,000 INR. That covers all expenses for the driver(s). 5 days, pickup/dropoff at DEL with visits to Jaipur, Agra, and Delhi. Looks like a modern and air-conditioned car.

Does this seem reasonable to people here who've done this trip in the past? (It seems quite reasonable to me but I just wonder what others think...)

Would it be customary to tip at the end to make it a flat 20k?

Do you know which car it is?

Rs. 17,000 isn't bad if it's an innova. It's on the higher side if it's an Indigo. If he does a good job I'd say Rs. 3,000 is more than adequate. If he's only average I think Rs. 1,200 - 1,500 is a sufficient tip.

Car type is a Mahindra Verito. There are two of us with one bag each. Images on Google look "good enough" - a basic midsize sedan. Do you think there's a good reason to pay a little more for a van or SUV?

It should be fine unless you are tall (over 6 ft). Three of us did a similar trip in a sedan and it was fine.

You can definitely get a better deal if you try... That said, what your quote is not completely outrageous, and it's your call as to how valuable that 1 or 2k rupees is to you... I'd suggest trying to negotiate down to 13 or 14k, and seeing how far you get.

1k to 1.5k is a sufficient tip, but you can give more if you want.

For the Verito i'd say it's on the higher side. You should probably be looking at about Rs. 12,000 or so. Having said that if someone you know has used him and he has good reviews then go for it. The Verito is a comfortable car and more than sufficient for 2 people with one bag each.

Did you book a driver/guide for this amount? If so and you were happy with him, please advise the name of the agency and website or email address. Thanks.

India by Car and Driver. I think it's the first thing that pops up when you Google it.

Had a nice new Toyota van until we got into our first wreck 2 hours into the trip. The back end was trashed pretty good so we had to switch cars. Had an old Tata car (small!) for the remainder of the trip. That car got bumped a couple times here and there but nothing serious enough to knock it out of commission. Good thing about India by Car and Driver is that they seem to be a larger firm - big enough to have backup vehicles if yours gets wrecked during your trip. (Sidebar: bodyshop owners in India must do an awesome business!!)

You must be FIRM with the driver when about where you want to go and where you do NOT want to go. If you don't want to buy a carpet or a bunch of fabric, you will probably need to firmly state this a few times. If you do not want guides at the tourist sites (the driver's buddies), you will also need to be firm about this. The guides were competent and inexpensive...we accepted them in some places...but sometimes we just wanted peace and quiet.

I'm definitely glad we hired a driver...not sure how else we could have seen the things we saw without spending more money on cabs and more time on the intercity travel. The car allowed us to hit some secondary sites on the way into and out of each city - places with no large bus tours. It's not for the faint of heart though. Fascinating at times. Terrifying at others. But probably the best way to do this trip all things considered.

Thanks for letting me know their name and for the other advice as well.