nilouc

My daughter and i planning to travel to India in jan need some help with the planning here are the places we are planning to go please make recommendation to add or avoid any location. also please let me know how many days on each places
thanks
Delhi
agra
ranthambhore
jaipur
Jodhpur
udaipur
varanasi
also do you recommend to see the Haridwar or Ranthamhore? thanks for your help.

mikebalfanz

Hi Nilouc

All the destinations as you mentioned are the best destinations and i will also recommended to you to visit either Haridwar or Varnasi. Because both the cities are holy cities of India. I will suggest you to visit Ranthambhore National park.

Delhi (2)
Agra (1)
Jaipur (2)
Jodhpur (2)
Udaipur (2)
Varanasi (2)or (1) Depand on your travel durations
Ranthambhore (2)
Haridwar (2) and also visit the Rishikesh 24 Km away from Haridwar.

Can you tell me how many days you have in your hand? so that i can suggest you better way. We traveled last year with the simmilar itinerary but we visited khujra and from udaipue we fly to Goa.

Thanks

Mike

nilouc

thanks MIke we will be there 13 nights and 14 days. also do you have any recommendation for local travel agency which they are reasonable i have a price quote for around $2700 pp not including the local air fair, that is only land does it sound too high? thanks for your help

lcuy

I've gone to India on two week trips four different times. The most you can comfortably do in fourteen days is five places.

Delhi
Agra
ranthambore
jaipur
Delhi

or

Delhi
Udaipur
Varanasi
Agra
Delhi

are two I've done in 14 days and felt like we just barely had enough time in each city.

Keep in mind it takes most of a day to get from one city to another.

Paulo59

There are numerous posts about great itineraries in India on this site. Just put India Itinerary in the search field.

Here's the travel agent I used in India: Arvind at Castle & King. He was great so feel free to ask him for his advice. He will make the plan totally individualized for you. Then you can decide if the price is right. Arvind's email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Good luck.

CFW

I agree with lcuy and Paulo. We visited

Udaipur
Jodhpur
Jaipur
Agra
Varanasi
Delhi

and it was quite rushed. I would have cut out one place, but not sure which one as we loved every place we visited! Wish we had more time. Arvind at Castle & King was great. Say hello from Rob & Carole.

vp_singh

There are several questions arising out of your plan. a. Ranthambore is a great destination for people of all age groups. It breaks the monotony but also adds to the adventure of watching a tiger & various colourful birds & animals, from an open jeep. Two nights are good. But how do you commute between Agra & Ranthambore? Not by road, it is difficult.
b. Jaipur > Jodhpur is 212 miles, give a night halt in one of those lovely properties on the way.
c. Since you are doing Varanasi, you need not visit Haridwar.
Happy Hunting!

nilouc

which city you recommend Varanasi or haridwar

cmenoni

We did not visit Varanasi, but we did visit and loved Haridwar and Rishikesh.

vp_singh

Your question is fairly difficult to answer. If you are constrained on time, Haridwar is much closer to Delhi & can be done by car. It all depends how your itinerary develops naturally.
You may also consider Rishikesh just 28 miles to the north-east, for a couple of days. Rishikesh is much cleaner & the evening 'aarti ceremony' on the river Ganges, at Parmarth ashram is very well conducted, sometimes by the chief pontiff of the ashram or his deputy, amidst chants & singing. The milling crowds that you see in Haridwar or Varanasi are missing at Rishikesh. You therefore feel that you are part of the ceremony itself & not a witness. The market, which is very colourful, is right on the banks of the river. If you are young & looking for a bit more eventful holiday, Rishikesh offers river rafting which can be organised through a very meticulous out-fitter as well. It will depend on your time of travel though. If you are simply looking for a boatride, take a speed boat from the foot of the laxman jhula to the first rapids & ask the pilot?? who will explain to you the surrounds, take your tea & sandwiches on the silvery beach where he will stop for a while (Rs. 1200/-). Rishikesh is surprisingly very clean. You may stay at Neemrana Glass House, amidst mango & leechi groves. It is 23km ahead but the road has been redone recently. You could spend the early mornings on the private beach on the Ganges, very placid at this point. The well wooded hills in front & across the river give it ethereal ambience. If I am to chose between Haridwar & Rishikesh, I would go in for Rishikesh & while on my way back, will go to visit the Kankhal Ghat where the Hindus & some Sikhs immerse the ashes of their dead. Incidentally, it is here that Lord Shiva's wife committed self immolation, giving religious sanction to the practice of 'Sati', banished in 1829 & making headlines once in a while in world press, even today!
Varanasi ofcourse is Varanasi, with it's long waterfront, various ghats including a burning ghat, temples & shrines, narrow alleys, colourful markets, etc. Already a lot has been said on Varanasi to warrant a repetition.
Happy Travels!

nilouc

thanks for your advice also do you recommend visit Manvar or eliminate that from the trip?

vp_singh

Manvar has two places to stay, one the ethnic hotel with a swimming pool & another about 5 miles away which is a camp site. Travelling from Jodhpur you shall arrive at Manwar in One hour and a quarter. May as well drive directly to Jaisalmer for the traffic is but a trickle & you are there early evening, as the road for miles is dead straight. This is one long drive which I would recommend that you do directly with out wasting any time. Conversely, if you are travelling from Jaisalmer, better hit Jodhpur.
As for staying in a campsite, you could do that in Jaisalmer, right about a 150 yards from the dunes & the chinkara sanctuary!
Happy Hunting!

nilouc

thanks for your advice but my question is if it does even worth seeing Manvar or shall we escape it and add an extra day to another location?

vp_singh

It all depends on your itinerary / interests. There may be times that you have to perforce take it as a stop over. Otherwise it should be given a skip for it does not compliment sight seeing. I also notice that you are travelling in January so give the tented accomodations a skip as well. if you are doing Jaisalmer from Jodhpur, give it a skip. And if you are not taking Jaisalmer, going a good 75 miles for a jeep or camel safari at Manwar, to me, does'nt make sense. Use this one night elsewhere, there are plenty of exciting destinations in Rajasthan.