I am going to be traveling in India for 12 days in April with my husband and another couple. Here is our tenative itinerary:

Itinerary to India # 2

Day 1 Arrive in New Dehli and stay overnight

Day 2 & 3 to Udaipur - Udaipur Fly from Dehli Many things to see and do including Deogath Mahal

Day 4 on way to Jodpur possibly Udai Bilas Palace near Dungarpur Palace see Ranakpur Temples and Kumbhalgarh Fort.

Day 5 & 6 Jodpur Mehrangarh Fort, Umaid Bhawan Palace

Day 7 Jaipur

Day 8 & 9 to Ranthambhore National Park Safari

Day 10 ( Agra Taj Mahal at day break, Agra Fort, Itimad-ud-Dulah’s tomb, Fatehpur Sikri, and perhaps Akbar’s tomb.


Day 11 & 12 Train to Varanasi??? See Varanasi

Day 12 Thursday April 20th fly to Dehli


Perhaps we should go to Brundi to see Garth Palace & Raniji-ka-Baori


Several questions:

1. Any ideas or suggestions will be appreciated.
2. Perhaps we should skip some of Rajastan and instead go to Nepal from Varanasi and fly from Katmandu to Dehli.
3. Is it worth it to spend time in Ranthambhore. I hear very conflicting reports on game and tiger sightings. I was in Botswana last year and I have seen a lot of big game.

4. any suggestions on hireing a car and driver?

5. Suggestions about places to stay and how long to stay in a given area.

Many thanks!

i am working on an 11 day trip to india and i will only be doing delhi, agra and jaipur....and i think that is tight scheduling....yours looks way too tight to me...

we had planned on an additional 4 days in kathmandu but cancelled that portion last week after the latest flare-ups there... will do it another time..

Looks like a good but hurried trip, something like we'd do!!! However Nepal is unstable right now. Think about Sikkim as an alternative. You can fly from Delhi for US125 return on www.airdeccan.net-check them out.
April will be very warm in Rajasthan. Days can go up 40 degrees C. You might get away with it if you go early April. Otherwise see Darjeeling, Sikkim & some of the hill stations. We'll be up in Sikkim early April & expect it to be fabulous. Anyone whose been says it's very beautiful in Apr & May. Also check out www.indiamike.com for some suggestions under the itinerary banner. Good luck.

Karen,
You may find my trip report useful for the Rajasthan section of your trip. You can search for it by name -

Long India Trip Report---Rajasthan Nov/Dec 04

On your current itinerary I'm a little confused by the places mentioned. In Udaipur you have Deogarh Mahal...this is a hotel we stayed at and I recommend however it is BETWEEN Udaipur and Jodhpur.

This would be a good place to stop off. Allowing you to leave Udaipur visit Ranakpur Temples and Kumbhalgarh Fort and stop off at Deogarh for one night.

If I remember correctly - and I could be wrong on this the Udai Bilas Palace near Dungarpur is in the opposite direction from Jodhpur...I think it's south of Udaipur.

I definetly recommend driving but I'd suggest making the most of the drive and staying overnight at some smaller properties where you can make some fascinating village visits.

In the trip report I have links to lots of sites with hotel revies which may be useful.

I highly recommend the Parul Tours which we used to hire a car. We met the owner Mr Dashora when we arrived in Udaipur and found him both pleasant and knowledgable without being either pushy or smarmy. He's a very nice man and has a few drivers working for him. bear in mind you will pay extra to go one way in a car because you're charged the mileage for the driver to return home.

His website is http://www.rajasthantravelbycab.com/

I had made all my hotel bookings directly but he seemed very knowledgable about some of the heritage properties.

Hope this helps!

Comments:
1. Too tight a schedule -- everything in India works on Indian time, not yours.
2. The more you drive, the less you see.
3. Indian roads range from OK to awful, all crowded with trucks, pedestrians, cars, and animals.
4. Have you been to India before? April can be like a furnace.
5. It's Delhi, not Dehli.

Ditto to USNR response. You have way too much crammed in there and haven't considered a) the heat b) getting sick d) no interruptions (getting lost, wallet stolen, etc.) c) travel times

Transportation is NOT dependable in India - planes, trains, buses, taxis...as someone said things run on India's time.

Just to share a quick story when I was Delhi. We had hired a driver for the day for a set price but he started taking us to shops where he got commission even thugh we hadn't asked to go there and when t I refused to go, he no longer wanted to drive us and demanded more money and wouldn't leave us alone. That forced us to change our scheduled.

We then got bus tickets and were told that the buses leave every hour. We get on the 5 pm bus and it didn't leave until 8:30...until every seat was full! There wasn't a bus every hour, there was only one bus. On top of that, he told us it was a luxury bus but instead if was a crappy bus w/ broken seats and no A/C (this was in April) and broke down on us twice. We got back half the money the charged us. A journey that should've been 8 hours took about 12 hours. I'm of Indian background and I was travelling with family who have lived in India all their life. So just imagine what it would be like for 4 non-Indian tourists.

Stick with Delhi, Jaipur and Agra. Jaipur was one of my favourite places, it would be a shame to rush through it.

India is a country that you should see small regions at a time...each region is like a country onto itself b/c of the different language, religion, cultures, food, etc.

Many thanks for suggestions. We will be in Delhi for 5 days at a meeting that will allow us to see the city. Therefore I didn't include Delhi. I think I will not go to Ranthambhore National Park Safari. I am also wondering about going to only two or three cities and the 3 days in Napal.
Thanks
Karen

Suggest you familiarize yourself with the troubles that have occurred in Nepal; see State Dept. advisory.

Thanks I am looking into State Department pronouncements on the subject.

I agree with the postings suggesting you take things a little easier, obviously this is an itinerary "in progress" and I'm sure you'll end up with fewer destinations.

However, I have to say that though some people have had bad experiences with drivers we found that having a car and driver vastly reduced our hassle factor.

We were NEVER taken to shops by the driver and always left when and at our convenience. travelling overland gives one the opportunity to stop where you like (at any one of the small temples you see from the road or markets etc) and to pick more out of the way overnight stops.

Although this does entail long periods in the car we found that it was less hassle than coming and going to the airport/bus station or worrying about delays. That having been said it's all a matter of time. My husband spent 2 months in India a few years ago and loved the backpacking experience hassles and all - but it's not something that will work with only 2 weeks.

For this trip I'd reco focusing on india. 2 reasons. nepal is currently uncertain and the last thing you want is to have to last minute cancel. Even if the political situation improves Nepal flights are always a challenge - they run late at the best of times. Not worth the effort for just 3 days IMO. I'd advise booking a car and driver - with 4 of you it will be the most cost efficient. Also bear in mind that April is getting HOT. We did something similar in April 2004 and it was very hot. We were 4 people. We had a great TA and he booked us a mid sized SUV so we had loads of leg room. Our driver picked us up in Ranthambore (we transferred Delhi ranthambore by train) and was with us from Ranth to jaipur then to Agra and finally back to Delhi. Ranthambore closes down mid April. One other comment - chances of seeing tigers are highest in April when they are near the watering holes and not camouflaged. I would highly reco my TA who will work around your budget eg we wanted 1 night at Amar Vilas within an overall $100/nigyht budget so he found us cheaper hotels in Ranth and Jaipur and we managed our 1 night at Ranth. Also they are Delhi based so you could also cosnider booking a couple days Delhi sightyseeing with them. Pasting details :
PresTrav india
1011-C, Indraprakash Building
21, Barakhamba Road
New Delhi-110 001.
Phone: 91-11-51533631/32;
E-mail: [email protected]