moetjabi

Just made an account for Flyertalk but I have been lurking for a while. I am trying to plan a trip to India for December 2019/January 2020. The trip is for 6 people, my wife and I, our two kids, and my wife's parents (ages 15, 17, 47, 49, 73, 75). My wife is of Indian heritage but hasn't been to India in almost 30 years, I have never been, and nor have our kids. I have our trip mostly planned out but I have a few questions.

To start, here is my plan:

Arrive in Delhi on December 16
Delhi December 16-19. Hotel: The Lodhi (3 nights)
Agra December 19-21. Hotel: Oberoi Amarvilas (2 nights)
Rural Rajasthan December 21-23. Hotel: Amanbagh (2 nights)
Jaipur December 23-26. Hotel: TBD, possibly Fairmont Jaipur (3 nights)
Central Punjab December 26-31. Staying with family (5 nights). Flying into and out of Chandigarh, likely a day trip to Amritsar.
Mumbai December 31-January 4. Hotel: TBD, was previously thinking Four Seasons or Oberoi, currently looking into Taj Mahal Palace. (5 nights).
Leave India from Mumbai January 4

1. With 6 of us, transportation is our biggest trouble. Flights (into DEL, out of BOM, between JAI and IXC, and between IXC and BOM) are straightforward, but ground transportation is where I'm having some troubles. We're covered in Punjab as we'll have family there with cars and they can show us around. I'm also anticipating we will be covered from Agra to Amanbagh and from Amanbagh to Jaipur through Aman. What I'm struggling to find a solution for is how to get from Delhi to Agra. I thought briefly about a train but I hear train stations are absolute chaos and we'll have likely 3 suitcases for the 6 of us + backpacks, so it would be a bit much. We need a car and a driver with enough room for our luggage and 6 of us (so it needs to seat 7), and we would like something spacious and with air conditioning. The perfect car would be a 7 seater Bentley Bentayga, but I cannot find any agency in Delhi that offers a driver service with it. Does anyone have any suggestions as to a company to look into for the Bentayga or a similar car?

2. Is 2 nights at Amanbagh enough, or should we opt for 3? We are fairly tight on time in terms of when we arrive and depart from India, but our itinerary for our time there is somewhat flexible. If we added a third night to Amanbagh, we would need to remove one night somewhere, either Mumbai or Punjab.

3. We would all really enjoy a tiger safari but because we have 6 people and a limited time, Ranthambore and Aman-i-Khas are out of the picture. Sariska National Park has tigers and is close to Amanbagh. What is the likelihood of seeing tigers in Sariska in December? If it is at all likely, I would strongly consider staying 3 nights at Amanbagh (instead of 2) and spend 1 day on a tiger safari. I will definitely get in touch with the Aman team about the matter but I thought I would ask here first.

4. Any restaurant recommendations? Already aware of Indian Accent in Delhi (at The Lodhi) and will definitely have a dinner there.

5. Hotel recs in Jaipur or Mumbai? Oberoi Rajvilas and Rambagh Palace are out of the question as neither can accommodate 4 people in a room and at the price point we don't want to pay for 3 rooms each night. The Raj Palace would let us do 2 rooms with 3 people each, also a configuration none of us would be keen for. Therefore, Fairmont Jaipur seems like our best option, allowing us to do 4 people in one room, 2 in another. I was pretty set on Four Seasons Mumbai until I read some awful reviews here on FT and decided against it in favour of Taj Mahal Palace. Are rooms in the tower the best rooms (if we want a great view)?

6. The only activity fairly set in stone (not booked, but we are guaranteed to do it) is waking up before dawn on December 20th to be at the Taj Mahal as the sun rises. Are there any other absolute must-do experiences that you would recommend? Anything special for New Years Eve in Mumbai?

Thank you!

RichardInSF

Welcome to Flyertalk! As I was recently in India, I have a few comments. The Oberoi Amarvillas is well setup to get you to the Taj Mahal early. Just remember that it is closed on Friday when you are planning your trip.

Amanbagh is somewhat remote to get to, it seems a shame not to spend two full days (three nights) there if it's your only Aman. However, there still aren't that many tigers in Sariska so your odds are better in Ranthambore. Tiger safaris in India can be crowded, by the way. Your car might be competing with trucks full of people. Despite that, we saw a tiger on each of our two safaris in Ranthambore.

Transfers through Aman are quite expensive, you can save a lot using other, still reliable, services. Sounds like two cars is best for the 6 people, although there ought to be van rental services.

moetjabi

Thanks. I will try to rearrange things so our Taj visit falls on either the Thursday or the Saturday.

I really looked into Aman-i-Khas but because it is only 2 people per tent, we would need 3 tents. It would end up being $3600+ per night which isn't good considering we might only be able to fit in 1 or maybe 2 nights (instead of Amanbagh). I will definitely keep i-Khas in the back of my head and maybe it's a possibility if I really enjoy India and decide to return in the future. We're missing Kolkata, Goa, Chennai, Hyderabad, Udaipur, Jodhpur, and Bengaluru this time so there would be lots to do on a return trip.

I was reading a few trip reports for Amanbagh and saw prices at US$130ish for a transfer from bagh to Jaipur. Has that gone up?
The vans you're mentioning, would they have A/C and room for 6 + a driver? Any specific companies you recommend?

MicSanToro

2 things

1. The Golden Temple in Amritsar is a must. It's magical around the clock, but it's extra special at night when the lights reflect in the water and the temple shines gold against the black of the night.

2. Marine Drive in Mumbai is going to be your best bet for taking in fireworks on NYE. Adlabs Imagica has a big New Years party if that's your thing. Don't think your wife's parents would be up for it (it's not aimed at seniors), but your kids would probably enjoy it.

Have a great trip

uclabruin82

I would highly recommend 3 nights at Amanbagh. You can cut one night out of Agra I think. Agra has great sights, but I think you can do it them in one day
Not sure about transportation from Delhi to Agra. We drove and had the hotel organize it. Worst case you can take two cars down?

Pausanias

The train from Delhi to Agra is no problem, though it might help if you have someone who knows the ropes at the station. You will find driving around in India is just as much hassle, perhaps more, and dangerous.

A Bentley Bentayga? Seriously? They are OK for Knightsbridge, Moscow and Dubai but touring India in one would be inviting incessant mobbing, begging, robbery and probably damage. The only serious choice here is a Toyota Land Cruiser.

moetjabi

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll look into both the NYE options for Mumbai and give the kids the choice later on.

After thinking about it for a while I realized we were better off with 2 nights in Agra so we could see everything we want. Now that you mention cutting out a night, I went back to my plan and realized one night actually does look completely doable if we;

Arrive in Agra mid-day, visit Agra Fort for a few hours, check into hotel, kids can go for a swim, then we can eat dinner. The next morning we wake up early to see the Taj Mahal, then we walk the streets of Agra for an hour or two, before checking out of the hotel and heading for Amanbagh. Perfect!

I will need to see whether The Lodhi will be able to drive us to the station and ensure we get on the train, and that my wife's parents would be able to navigate for us.

This seems like a bit of an exaggeration, at least based on what I've read and what I've heard from my father-in-law (who lives in India for 1/4 of the year). He says he sees Bentleys driving around from time to time and while people check out the car, he has never seen or heard of anything bad happening. There are lots of high profile Indians who drive Bentleys and they seem to do just fine. My wife's cousin (who lives in Bangalore) drives a Rolls-Royce Wraith on a daily basis; no issues. Plus, if all we were doing was driving down a highway for a few hours between Delhi and Agra, our speed would prevent people from even approaching the car. I'm not proposing to cruise at 1km/h through a slum in a Bentley.

All that being said, I can't find any rental agency (outside of one that serves the Mumbai area) that offers Bentleys for rent with a driver, so I may just have to look into a Toyota Land Cruiser or a 7 seater Land Rover.

RichardInSF

There is an Oberoi in Ranthambore. It's not as close to the park gate as Aman is, but it still looked nice and might meet your needs over Aman-i-khas.

Now, speaking as moderator, this thread is verging off of luxury hotels so it might be best in the India forum. Will see how it goes before deciding whether to move it or not.

DavidO

Don't underestimate the logistics of travel in India — dealing with crowds, knowing which trains to take, having dependable drivers and guides, etc.

I would personally never try to undertake all of this by myself. Any of a number of TA's on this board can make the hotel reservations for you with amenities ... but you should really consider working with someone who can liaise with a good tour company in India who can make the trip go as smoothly as possible for you. (I personally like to use Banyan Tours, but there are other good Virtuoso tour companies as well).

SojournsOf

Why don't you contact someone like Peirce & Leslie Luxury Tours to India- Luxury Travel Packages- India Tour Itinerary A good friend of mine went through a local operator like them and had a driver and a Range Rover for a two week trip from Delhi through Rajasthan. A Bentayga does seem rather ostentatiously nouveau riche on a holiday though. Surely a Q7 or something would do the trick.

uclabruin82

One other thing to consider is that the air quality in Delhi can be absolutely terrible the time of year you are going. If that is a concern, you can cut out time there.
Yes, 3 nights in Amanbagh is worth it!

moetjabi

I thought the Audi Q7 was a 5 seater! Just googled it and saw there are 7 seaters too. Thanks! I'll look into it.

I've been really worried about air quality in Delhi. All my googling about whether it's really a lot worse in December than the rest of the year resulted in a ton of articles about Delhi's awful air quality but nothing that it is annually a lot worse in December. I realistically could cut a day from Delhi and it would solve the problem with the Taj Mahal being closed on Friday. With that day cut from Delhi, as well as the 2nd day in Agra I decided to cut, I could do 4 days at Amanbagh. Would you recommend that, or should I just do 3 days at Amanbagh and add an extra day elsewhere (Jaipur/Punjab/Mumbai)?

Kagehitokiri

i was curious (luxury hotel can source)
3rd row legroom inches , USA price
36>41? 73>101 lincoln navigator
35 70>126 benz gls (is available)
34 91 lexus lx570
34 53>69 audi q7
34 53>67 land rover discovery
+ 'jetvan' custom benz sprinter
+ benz v xl: 2nd & 4th row, no 3rd
(rolls SUV seats 5 vs bentley 7)

passionforhotels

Another logistical problem: how mobile and energetic are your wife's parents? It sounds like a fabulous trip, but are you sure they're up for daily full-day site-seeing as well as changing hotels and cities every couple of days?

Also, they may want some spare time to just be. You don't mention if they're regular visitors to India, but if not, they may just want to find a place they used to go to when they were young and sit and take in the sights, sounds and smells and reminisce a little. May not be at all relevant but thought I'd mention it.

uclabruin82

I cannot speak to Punjab or Mumbai. 3 nights is plenty in Jaipur IMO.