beamarriott

Dear All, we have 12 nights in India and plan to visit (late September/October 08):

MUMBAI 2 nights
UDAIPUR 2 nights
JAIPUR 2 nights
RANTHAMBHORE 2 nights
AGRA 2 nights
DELHI 2 nights

We will fly most of the time except between Jaipur and Ranthambhore park (car) and Agra and Delhi (express train).

I am a bit concerned that this trip might be a bit rushed.

SHOULD WE SKIP RATHAMBORE AND SPEND MORE TIME IN THE OTHER SELECTED PLACES? Any thoughts or recommendations will be MOST appreciated.

Thanks!!

Craig

We had 12 nights in India and did Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Ranthambore ONLY so yes, you are trying to do too much. You will be spending as much time flying between places as touring. Skip Mumbai if you can - its totally out of the way. Udaipur is also a bit out of the way but which is more important to you - a safari or more historical touring? We found Ranthambore to be a nice break from the chaos of the cities. I think you need 3 nights in Jaipur and more time in Delhi. 2 nights in Agra is perfect - don't miss Fatephur Sikri about 45 minutes outside Agra on the way to Jaipur.

jjkbrook

Id say the smaller places are going to be more rewarding than big cities. I would personally drop Mumbai, drop Agra (or one of the nights in Agra) as a sleeping place and add one or two smaller stops in Rajasthan that would give you a more intimate feel.

For example, after Rathambore, you could stay in Bharatpur at the Bagh, for a restful overnight. You could daytrip from there to Fatepur Sikri, which is close or see it on the way to Agra. In my opinion, it would be easy enough, with a cab, to see Fatepur Sikri and the essential sights in Agra in a day from Bharatpur, travel by train from Agra to Delhi at the end of the day, and save those days for better things, like a heritage hotel out in the countryside. where you can explore a relative unspoiled village, a visit to a pilgrimage town like Pushkar, or such.

lydie

Agra is sort of a pit so agree that 1 night is plenty. I would add to Udaipur, which I never wanted to leave.

beamarriott

Thank you all so far for the excellent tips.

Craig: I would be interested to know your itinerary and how you got from one place to the next (air, car or train).

Cicerone

With 12 nights/2 weeks, my general rule of thumb is that I try not to "do" more than 3 places, and a 4th is OK if it is very close by. You have 6 places. Agra and Ranthambore may count as "close by", but you have to work around the fact that you want be in Agra for at least one sunset and sunrise and you need to be at Ranthambore for the morning game drive which leaves at sunrise too.

If you cut out Mumbai and spend one night in Agra, the above itinerary is a bit better, but still is rushed. It does not leave a lot of time for flight delays (endemic in India).

I would really encourage you to drop Mumbai. I love the city for many reasons, but don't think it holds much for the tourist, and esp not when compared to the other cities on your itinerary. Two days in Mumbai will be nothing but a blur, mostly of time spent in a car getting from place to place, esp if you are doing the Oberoi package, as the Oberoi Mumbai, while a lovely hotel, is 2-3 hours from the airport during day traffic, and 1.5 in the night. (I know people who have missed flights coming from the Oberoi because they were stuck in traffic.) If you can arrange flights to avoid Mumbai entirely that would be best, but otherwise if you have to fly in, then stay overnight at one of the hotels at the airport and head out the next day (generally the int'l flights will arrive in the late evening, too late for you to head on to another destination).

I think you may be shortchanging Delhi a bit, another reason to skip Mumbai. There is much to see and do there, they have the largest concentration of good museums for sure. If you can fly int'l in and out of Delhi IMO that would be the best routing.

I have been to Ranthambore 3 times, I think it is a great trip, even if you don't seen tiger, which I have only seen on one drive on one of my three trips. There is lots of other wildlife. You will be hitting the park just at the end of the monsoon, so that should be an interesting time and may be somewhat active. However, this is your trip, and you may also enjoy just slowing down and spending a bit more time in each place, esp Udaipur and even Jaipur (you could get out into the desert). If watching wildlife is not especially interesting to you, then do not feel that you "have" to go to Ranthambore, as there is not really anything else to do there. You will go on two drives a day, one at 6:30 am and the other at about 3 pm, they will last about 3 hours. The rest of the time you will be at your hotel, as there is not much in the area. If you don't think you would enjoy this, then you should skip it. You could also conceivably get away with one night there if you left Jaipur in the morning, arrived for an afternoon game drive, stayed the night, and did two game drives the next day, driving back up to Jaipur after that. This would give you three drives at Ranthambore. The road between Jaipur and Ranthambore is good, and I would not be too worried about doing it in the dark, although it is not the most fun thing to do. It is about a 2-3 hour drive. (I would not do the drive between Ranthambore and Agra/Bhartaphur ever again, the road is horrible (and I spend a good bit of time on Indian roads, so for me that is really sayng something). It is a dirt track in most places. If this road has been paved recently and is good, someone correct me, but I don't believe that this is the case. The drive takes about 7 hours but is only about 300 kilometeres (about 180 miles), that should tell you something about the road condition... )

I am one of the few people who like Agra, but then again, I have spent more than one night there and have actually seen more of Agra than the Taj, the 100 yards around the Taj which is loaded with touts, the "Baby Taj" and the Red Fort. There are many interesting areas of the old city that most tourists don't see, but you have to make the effort to seek them out, most people on a 2-week tour cannot do this, and so they don't like Agra. Up to you whether you want to spend more time there, if you do, get into the old city and walk around, you will be pleasantly surprised. Some of my best Indian memories have been made in Agra.

Craig

Bea - our itinerary was as follows:

Day 1 arrive Delhi Airport early AM - drive straight to Agra

Day 2 Agra

Day 3 Drive to Jaipur via Fatephur Sikri

Day 4 Jaipur

Day 5 Jaipur

Day 6 Drive to Ranthambore

Day 7 Ranthambore

Day 8 Train to Delhi

Day 9 Delhi

Day 10 Delhi

Day 11 Delhi

Day 12 Depart Delhi Airport

beamarriott

Thank you everybody. I have already cancelled Mumbai (managed to find suitable flights into Delhi instead) and I will try to slow down a bit. Thanks Cicerone for the very valuable insights into the roads and Agra. Thanks Craig for the itinerary - very helpful.

MELANIETRAVEL

We were in Ranthambore in late January, 2007, to see some tigers. After 3 safaris, the only evidence we saw were 2 footprints. Definitely skip Ranthambore, we wish we had.

Ericka

I don't think anyone should expect to see tigers in Ranthambhore after only 3 game drives. IMHO, you have to be prepared to give it time. This is true of any safari experience.

Craig

We went on three game drives although we had signed up for four. We spotted a tiger on our second drive. Its all in the luck of the draw. The drives are very long - usually about 5 hours. If you are keen on visiting the fort (recommended) or the few shops in the area you won't have time to do two game drives that same day.

geribrum

We saw three tigers on our second tour of the day. The first was in tall grasses a long way away and really only the naturalist could see her--with strong binocs she was very visible. Then as our ride was drawing to a close, all of a suddon there appeared two tigers, sort of sauntering out of the forest, crossing the road and coming to rest in a grassy area not far from us. Was getting too dark for decent pictures, but we felt as if MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

beamarriott

Craig,

We will most probably go to Ranthambore for two nights. I noticed you took the train from Ranthambore to Delhi - please let me know how that trip was, how long, what time of the day and if you recommend this route. Please bear in mind we are experienced and adventurous travelers, but my husband is 70 years old and some comfort is needed.

One more (basic) question to all: how do we book the safaris? Do we have to do it well in advance? Are there different private companies or is it goverment driven?

Thanks again.

Craig

Bea, the train left at around noon and the ride took almost 7 hours. We rode in first class and had a compartment to ourselves. The train was clean and comfortable but it looked like it had been built in the 1950's. I would recommend going this way - by car the trip takes at least 10 hours. We were able to send our luggage on ahead with our driver so we didn't have a lot to deal with on the train. We were met at the train by representatives of our tour company - they had made the reservations for us.

You do have to book the safaris in advance. I believe you need to do it at least two months ahead of time. You can book them through your hotel and or through your travel agent. You can book a semi-private jeep or an open bus-like canter. I strongly recommend that you go with the jeep. The safaris are government-run.

If you are following our itinerary, you would get an early start (8 AM) from Jaipur, arriving at Ranthambore in time for lunch and an afternoon game drive. The following day you could do 2 game drives or do what we did and do a (very) early morning game drive, lunch and then local touring in the afternoon. The following morning you could do one more game drive and be back in time for a late breakfast and the train to Delhi.

When doing your planning, note that the park is closed during the monsoon months July 1st to September 30th.

lcuy

We took 3 safaris. Got very close to a tiger once, but couldn't see it. it was in a culvert, all the monkeys were barking and there were footprints in the road, but it was dark (our driver was unwilling to let us go without a tiger). Other guests that same day had seen a mother tiger and cubs though, so it is just chance.

At Sher Bagh, you can reserve the jeep tours for 4 people in advance. WE had reserved two of our rides and the third was arranged after we got there. It is all done by lottery, but Sher Bagh seemed to always get teh jeeps if a customer wanted one. The tours on the bigger vehicles are easier to get on, but with about 12 people each.

We took the train from Udaipur to Sawai Modhopur (sp?, the town near Ranthambore and back to Delhi from there. Sher Bagh picked delivered us in both directions, despite our pre-dawn arrival.

There are several trains SM to Delhi trains each day. We took an early one, as we had plans in Delhi that day. A Sher Bagh driver took us to the station and found us our seats. They had packed some sandwiches and fruit, so we didn't eat on the train.

We had 2AC seats...big comfy leather seats with plenty of room for our suitcases overhead and underneath. The train and seats were clean. As on any train, the bathrooms were pretty marginal. I take latex gloves and handi-wipes just for this purpose!

It was about a 6 hour ride, if I remember correctly. Depending on the car, you may or may not have a clean view out the windows, but there is lots ot look at...many villages or emcampments along the rails.

In 2AC you get some foreigners and a lot of Indians. Indians are very friendly on the trains, and there is a constant parade of vendors selling tea, chai, and food up and down the aisles.

Our train arrived at Nizzumundin (sp?) station in Delhi and we had arranged for an earlier taxi driver to pick us up. There were tons of available taxis outside the station too.

Here is my trip report frp, November 2005:
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34726851

The Ranthambore stuff will be near the end.

lcuy

Hi Craig...Didn't realize we were posting at the same time! Hope your SL planning is going well.

beamarriott:I copied much of Craig's trip. He travels in a style like mine, so I was not disappointed!

hawaiiantraveler

bookmarking

dreaming

Just following up on Cicerone's comments about the road from Agra to Ranthambore. We traveled by road from Agra to Ranthambore last month (mid October). It took about 7 hours, excluding the stop at Fatephur Sikri. The roads have been undergoing improvements and the improvements are still in progress, but a good 2 1/2 and 3 hours of travel was on some pretty bad roads.

We met some other people who had traveled the same day from Agra by train. They had arrived late, but seemed to have a better experience than we did.

Ranthambore was wonderful and seeing a female tiger marking her territory was one of my trip highlights. That said, we were quite lucky. We saw a tiger on our first drive out, whereas others at our hotel didn't see any tigers during their stay.

The Ranthambore fort was also well worth the visit.

The drive from Ranthambore to Jaipur took us 5 hours (including a tea stop). There was a good deal of road construction on the way as our driver said they were widening the road. The roads were significantly better for this leg of the trip.

Good luck with the travel planning!

waynehazle

OK, I will be late contributor and say the same thing everyone else has been saying.

Glad you are dropping Mumbai!

Yes see Ranthambore. But be prepared to see nothing more than a footprint of a tiger. But it is worth it for even a chance.

And the drive from Agra through Fatehpur Sikr is long, but it is worth it also. You get great views of the Indian countryside

beamarriott

I just wanted to thank everyone who contributed to this thread. I have carefully read each entry and I have made changes to my plans accordingly. This is a most helpful site and the people who participate in it are awesome. Thank you!!