ken27

Hi all,
Am planning to travel to India in late December. We have some business to do in Mumbai but will be free afterward from about Dec. 25 to Dec. 31, when we'll fly home from Delhi. In that 5-6 day period would like to visit Jaipur, Ranthambore and Agra in that sequence. Question is: what's the most efficient way to accomplish this itinerary? I know we can fly Mumbai-Jaipur on Kingfisher. But after that, not sure what combination of plane/train/car to use to accomplish the rest of the trip. We're particularly keen to have sufficient time to enjoy the Ranthambore park and Agra/Taj. Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.

rhkkmk

that's a lot to do in a week...

fly to jaipur and hire a car for the remainder... personally i would skip R and spend a couple of days in delhi instead..

Craig

Assuming you take a morning flight to Jaipur, you could easily cover the highlights on that afternoon and the next day (2 days, 2 nights) Then on to Ranthambore the next morning arriving in time for lunch and an afternoon game drive. Stay another day and do one or two more game drives or do a morning game drive and visit the fort in the afternoon (2 days, 2 nights) - no guarantee that you will see a tiger. Head to Agra the next morning, stopping at Fatephur Sakri on the way. See the Taj in the afternoon and at daybreak the next day. Visit the fort and the mini-Taj and then head to Delhi in the afternoon. (2 days, 1 night). Your flight departure time will determine whether the last night is spent in Delhi.

Hope this helps.

ken27

Thanks to you both. I think we would minimize our stay in Delhi, since we've already visited there. Any recommendations on a driver at Jaipur and where to stay in Ranthanbore and Agra?

Craig

For a splurge, the Oberoi's - Amarvilas in Agra and Vanyavilas at Ranthambore are the best.

CarrieT

You may want to wait until after the 22nd of August before making any final plans that involve Ranthambore (assuming you are going for game drives). There is a temporary ban on tourism in the parks now. The decision as to if this will become a permanent ban on tourism in the core areas of the parks will be revealed on August 22nd. Unfortunately for Ranthambore, it seems the entire park acreage is dedicated as a core zone. Here is an article on how the ban might impact some of the parks: http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2...s-tiger-parks/

vp_singh

From Jaipur you can take a cab to Sawaimadhopur. From Sawaimadhopur you have two options: a. drive to Agra by doing one overnight at Fort Ramathra or b. Take the morning superfast train at Sawaimadhopur, detrain at Bharatpur & continue onwards to Agra. I am sure by that time the new express highway between Agra & Delhi will be inaugurated, making Delhi a good two hours closer.
The fate of Tiger tourism will be decided on 22 August. Well since we have a lot of big names involved like the Oberois, The Sujan's & Aman-I-Khas, apart from the state govt, a battery of best brains will be arguing in the supreme court.
Happy travels!