1st timer with 7-8 days in India
 

I have been doing a lot of reading over the past couple of weeks and have unfortunately confused myself to no end. I have 7 to 8 days in either India, China or Japan. It appears Japan may be too expensive, so I am probably just looking at India or China. Unfortunately, both are so large that it is difficult to pin down prospective itineraries.

I am asking for suggestions. I am relatively well traveled, so getting around shouldn't be a problem. I would probably prefer culture over beach, but a mix would be fine. Although I am not averse to doing a few tourist oriented things, I would like to stay away from the blatant made-for-tourist types of places.

I apologize in advance that I am not giving many details, but I simply do not know which details to give. I would likely be coming in on LH, SQ or TG. Thank you.

First, what dates are you panning to go?

If you are a first timer to India, I would suggest the following:

-- stick to the north of India where the mughal empire ruled in its heyday. DEL would be you airport to land and return.

-- 7-8 days is not a lot of time as you to have to keep travel time and jet lag.

-- Agra (Taj Mahal) is a must see, and then you can either got to Rajasthan or Jaipur/Udiapur given your travel time.

I would suggest do Agra/Jaipur and Udaipur and that will take up 7-8 days of your time with no issues.

Suggest you get a travel agent to arrange all the tours as this will be much easier than trying to do it yourself.

good luck and enjoy !!

Very solid advice. We have traveled to India four times or so by now. The first time, we focused on Rajasthan - Delhi, Agra, Fathepur Sikri, Jaipur and Udaipur. The Mughul sites are fantastic. The second time, we got a pass on Indian Airlines (no idea if they still offer it) that allowed us a certain number of flights at a set price. We then did a loop that included Calcutta, Madras, Mysore, Mumbai, and Goa. Throw in a business trip or two and fast forward to our last trip. This time, we picked up the more remote Rajasthani cities of Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. We then flew down to the Kerala region of India, which we loved.

Rajasthan is awesome for culture.

Kerala is great for natural beauty.

But I have to say budget travel in India is not for the faint of heart - and western level comfort comes at a significant price. If you are finding Japan too expensive, you'd best draw up a budget for India before you emotionally commit.

As for China, beware the pollution in any large city. It's horrible. If you decide on China, Shanghai is a great place to base yourself. You can easily take the train to Suzhou and Hangzhou. Beijing has a lot to see and do. If you are redeeming Star Alliance miles, you can do a trip into Beijing and out of Shanghai, with a connecting flight between, all on the same award itinerary.

Have you been to Vietnam? I love it. You could have an awesome trip there.

I agree with the above advice. Best to stick to one region of India.
If you pick the North, then go to Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur.
If you pick the South, then go to the states of Kerala and TamilNadu (lots of places to see in both).

Also, as someone else suggested, you should get a travel agent who can organize your itinerary in India and also set up hotel/transportation, etc. It will be hard to just go there and wing-it.

Sorry! Beginning of September.

Thank you for all the answers so far!

SD1K, not enough miles for SE Asia. Removing the places I don't want to go (ie, Pakistan), I am left with India, China, Japan, and Taiwan.

In September, you will catch the tail-end of the monsoon (rainy) season. If you stick to the North region as most folks suggest, it will be a good time to visit places like Agra - nights should be cooler.

Given your short timeframe, you might want to explore the 'Palace on Wheels' - one of the greatest railway journeys in the world, which is run by Indian Railways. The train comprises of 14 wagons/salloons from erstwhile Royal kingdoms and furnished with regal elegance. This 'cruise on rails' journey takes you from Delhi to Agra (Taj Mahal) and all over Rajasthan. Though you will be treated like royalty at all stops, I must say the trip is expensive and will not leave you much time to do things on your own. Check out --> http://www.palaceonwheels.net/ for further details.

Also, if you can delay your travels a bit to say mid-September, India will begin celebrating "Navaratri" ('nine nights' in Sanskrit, starting Sept 19th thru Sept 27th when nine different forms of the Hindu goddess, Shakti, are worshipped). This is followed on the tenth day with "Dussehra" (Sept 28th) - when an effigy of Ravana is burnt to celebrate the victory of good (Rama) over evil. You can catch 'Ram Lila' (a mini-enactment of the Ramayana) leading up to Dussehra, which precedes "Diwali" (the Festival of Lights) which typically falls in late October (based on Lunar calendar). Diwali can be imagined as the Hindu-version of Christmas & July 4th rolled into one.

This will be a great time also because you can experience "Raas Dandiya & Garba" (a high-energy Gujarati (western India) folk dance with sticks during the Navaratras) and Durga Puja (where the Bengalis (eastern India) put up massive tents and have an extravagant celebration of the victory of good over evil). Delhi will be a great place to enjoy all these festivities.

Jet Airways has these passes:

http://www.jetairways.com/Cultures/e...et+Value+Pass/

And this one for a fixed price - better value!:

http://www.jetairways.com/Cultures/e...t+India+Fares/

Depending on your budget -- "palace on wheels" would be perfect giving your time constraints.

At least all of your travel issues have been taken care of and you can really relax and enjoy the trips...the Indian countryside is fascinating to look at while on a train.

This also would cover your hotel issues, domestic airline issues and everything else. Agra to Delhi is approx 1/2 day trip by car, so you land in DEL and fly out of DEL. Could not be easier !!

Agra is simply amazing, was there last month to see the Taj in all its glory, you can even make a day trip from delhi - leave at 5 am to avoid the traffic go to the taj, fateh pur sikri and then to mathura on the way back.. Rajasthan is simply amazing as well.. Mind you you will need a couple of days in Delhi to fully savour what it has to offer...

couple comments - if japan is too expensive, then "palace on wheels" is likely to be out of budget as well. last i looked it's about $250 per person per night (double occupancy). although Sept is low season - so maybe it's less?
2nd - Jet visit passes: I can't believe they are still charging $83 fuel surcharge per sector! that's on the level of transatlantic YQ! all for a max flight of 3 hrs (and most much less than that). you can but a ticket just for that price alone.

I agree on both accounts. The Palace on Wheels looks amazing. Unfortunately, I think it's for a different time in my life.

The Taj Mahal is closed to tourists on Fridays, so plan accordingly.

For the time you have available, the advice on visiting only the northern part is a good one. I would also suggest you may want slot in a day or two to see many of the interesting places in Delhi. After Agra, you should not miss Fatehpur Sikri (take a look in Wikipedia) its about two or three hours away by car. You need at least half a day for that, better still if you can stay overnight.

Try to slot in either Varanasi, or Amritsar, both are fascinating places.

I travelled around India mostly by train, I made all the arrangements myself after arrived in DEL. Others prefer to do things differently, but that was what I like to do.It was not that difficult. I loved train travel in India, even with all its shortcomings. As the train journeys were mostly over night, you also save on the hotels. I would not recommend travel around India by long distance bus, I am sure many others would, but I would not.

Have great fun in India.

Anybody know if the trains are up and running in Udaipur? My guidebook says they're converting the rails to wide gauge and that train travel is suspended but "scheduled" to be back up and running at the time of publishing.

I will be in India for about 2.5 weeks and I too will be planning on a Delhi-Agra-Jaipur-Udaipur journey. I was planning on allowing a week for that, starting and ending at my "base" with friends in Ahmedabad. I was going to fly to DEL, then train all the way back. REcommended?

You all have been a wealth of knowledge in planning my trip! Got the visa, got the shots and now just can't wait to go next month!

Check out http://www.railtourismindia.com there are a number of tours which are not expensive and might suit your budget.