ladyrep

Thanks to everyone who have given us suggestions on our India trip for 4 women. We are going to use Castle and Kings as they have been very responsive to all of our questions, with patience and promptness. Below are the hotels and days they are suggesting. Is this to aggressive, and are we moving so fast that we will not enjoy the real India?
HOTEL WOULD BE USED: 5* LUXURY HOTELS & HERITAGE SETS

DELHI THE CLARDIGES (ELUXE ROOM) 02
VARANASI TAJ GANGES (DELUXE ROOM) 02
KHAJURAHO THE RADISSON (DELUXE ROOM) 01
AGRA THE OBEROI AMARVILLAS (PREMIER ROOM WITH PRIVATE BALCONY) 02
JAIPUR SAMODE HAVELI 02
CHATTASAGAR CHATTARSAGAR CAMP (LUXURY TENTS) 01
UDAIPUR THE LALIT LAXMI NIWAS PALACE (LAKE VIEW ROOM) 02
COCHIN TAJ MALABAR 01
KUMARKOM KUMARKOM LAKE HOUSEBOAT 01
MUMBAI TRIDENT NARIMAN POINT (SEA FACING) 02

As always we would like your honest opinion. If there is anywhere we should skip or stay longer please advise.

FromDC

Way too many stops. Skip the south and add a day each to Udaipur, Jaipur,, Chattrasagar (although I would substitute Shahpura Bagh and I think it would be on the more direct route between Jaipur and Udaipur.....I thought Chattrasagar was between Udaipur and Jodphur). Leave from Delhi rather than Mumbai.

kmkrnn

I agree with the above...too many stops. Travel in India is never smooth, even with Castle and Kings. You will be spending a lot of time in the car and not seeing a lot. No down time if someone is not feeling up to par. India is a fabulous country, big and you can't see every thing in one trip. Having said that your hotel choices sound spot on. Udaipur and Jaipur are really wonderful places. If any of you are shoppers these are the places to do it. Enjoy!

FromDC

And if you're not shoppers, 2 nights in Jaipur is plenty.

thursdaysd

Agree. I love the south, but don't count Mumbai as part of it, and it's worth far more than two nights. I would probably skip the "luxury tent" too. With the extra time I would spend longer in Varanasi and maybe add Jodhpur - or the Shekhawati area.

ladyrep

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. We have decided that adding in the South without taking anything out of the North will not work. At this point we will stay in the North. That being said every packaged tour I have looked at stays 2 nights in each place, and one in some. I understand the travel time in India is challenging, and the information that we will probably not arrive in a location until mid to late afternoon, actually means we only have one full day per location which does not feel like we will be seeing enough, or experiencing anything. If we keep this iteniary and put Jodphur back in which places truly need 3 nights and which can have 2.

Delhi THE CLARDIGES (ELUXE ROOM) 02
Varanasi TAJ GANGES (DELUXE ROOM) 02
Khajuraho THE RADISSON (DELUXE ROOM) 01
Agra THE OBEROI AMARVILLAS (PREMIER ROOM WITH PRIVATE BALCONY) 02
Jaipur SAMODE HAVELI 02
CHATTASAGAR CHATTARSAGAR CAMP (LUXURY TENTS) 01
Udaipur THE LALIT LAXMI NIWAS PALACE (LAKE VIEW ROOM) 02

Please help with the itinerary revision as we need to finalize this now.

Thanks as always.

thursdaysd

Khajuraho only needs two. I am not a big fan of Delhi, so would be OK with cutting that.

Ignore the itineraries. All they tell you is the the agencies are trying to cram in too much. Just like "it's Tuesday so it must be Belgium" bus tours in Europe. Only traveling in India is a lot more challenging.

julies

Seven stops in twelve nights is too many.

We too aren't fans of Delhi, and I think one night there would be fine.

Khajuraho is also a place I think you could eliminate to get rid of one night stays, but I assuming you are using it as a transit hub


The problem with your luxury stay in Varanasi is that it is a half an hour cab ride away from what is interesting in Varanasi--the ghats. Look for a lesser level of accommodation that is right on the ghats so you can just walk out your door to see things.

Eliminate the night in the luxury tent and add in a third night in Udaipur. Put Jodphur back in.

dgunbug

Contrary to what others have said, We really enjoyed Delhi and we are not shoppers. I think it deserves two days. We went to khajuraho and enjoyed it, but with your limited time, I think you can definitely skip it - you will see intricately carved temples elsewhere. IMO you would be better off flying to Varanasi from Delhi as the roads are extremely poor and the drive will eat into too much of your time. I too would suggest staying at a hotel on the ghats. We enjoyed strolling through the town - on the river as well as through the main shopping area and side streets. You don't want to be far from the action.

Elainee

Loved Chattrasagar, but too many places in too few days. We stayed at Nascar Taj (same grounds) and liked being in quiet calm place after Varanasi.