I will be working in Bangalore for two months in August / September. I am looking for information about weekend tours I can do. I don´t drive and probably I will be alone.
I also would appreciate to have a contact of a travel agent in Bangalore. I am considering spend 1 week visiting India after I leave Bangalore. Any suggestion will be appreciate.
Thanks a lot
Claudia
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Hey Claudia,

Oh Bangalore is a lovely city to be in, though traffic has got hell like. There are are some lovely weekend tours that you can do like Coorg, Ooty etc.
I will give you a contact of an agent in Bangalore who has an head office in Delhi/ Mumbai
I have their email address
[email protected]
The contact person is Rajesh and they have been in the travel industry for the last 50 odd years.
Enjoy yr stint in India.

First of all don't worry about the not driving, you would not be driving yourself in India in any event. You would, however be able to hire a car WITH a driver quite cheaply and should bear this in mind for short weekend trips of the train will not work.

Secondly, get the Lonely Planet guide to India, it is IMO the best guide for India in terms of detailed itins for things to do and see, esp off the beaten path and esp in Bangalore which is not heavily touristed. (Sorry Fodors)

For sure Mysore would be a place to include for a weekend to see the fantastic palace.

Bangalore is very well connected by air to many places so you could certainly go to Delhi for the weekend if you wanted or possibly to a beach place. As you may know, August and September will be very hot, so the Ooty recco or other hill stations are a good suggestion, as temps will be quite cool. Bangalore however is not quite so hot as other places due to its elevation. The Taj in Agra would be hard to do for a weekend, IMO, because there is no air service and also in that heat may not be worth it. I would save that for your week trip perhaps.

It is hard to tell you where to go for a week; if it were not August I would say the Golden Triangle of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, but look at weatherbase.com for temps and see if those are uncomfortable for you. I would reccon Varanasi. You might want to consider hill stations like Darjeeling or Himalaya areas like Ladakh or going to Bhutan (check rain for Ladakh for August, I think it is OK, check rain for hill stations too, not sure about Aug/Sept).

You really don't need a travel agent IMO, and you could easily wait until you get there and ask colleagues for reccos. Those would be better than anything you would get off the web, this site included.

I am traveling today and so do not have my Bangalore info accessible, but will post later with it; there is an aryuvedic spa outside town that would make a good weekend retreat, IMO.

For a very good hotel source of interesting hotels in India, search for Allistar Sawday (don't have site name with me). He also has a book, but the website is most useful. Other good hotel operators are Oberoi and Taj, don't know what your budget would be, but if you can go with the vila brand Oberoi hotels, they are lovely. There are some Aman Resorts recently opened as well. Neemrana hotels runs some interesting properties also.

Bangalore is a great place and you will enjoy it, a very green a pleasant city. Traffic is not really bad compared to places like Mumbai (also Mumbai is a thought for a weekend, esp if you can arrange to be there for the Ganpati festival which if I recall correctly is generally in Aug or September, I will check on this).

I am pleased to see Cicerone's take on Bangalore. I have just moved here after 6 months in the horrible Delhi region (Gurgaon, especially, is a nightmare, an urban slum in the making) and hope that my next 6 months in Bangalore are much more pleasant. The weather certainly is.

Bangalore has a great walking tours service - www.bangalorewalks.com - on Saturday mornings. Write to the owner Arun for the contact of a good travel agent and for weekend ideas - he's a font of info.

OK from my Bangalore file (still a work-in progress):

The aryuvedic resort is Soukya, take a look at http://soukya.com/

About a half hour outside the city is Nrityagram village, housing a classical dance academy. Take a look at http://www.nrityagram.org/village/sponsors/sponsors.htm. I have not been to the village, but have seen a troupe of the academy’s dancers perform in Delhi some months ago, they are excellent.

Whitefield Ashram, and ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) Temple Complex are important spiritual centers not too far outside the city, worth paying a visit.

Agtou, I would think Bangalore is a great place to live. Hope you enjoy it! Hobbes, the walking tour sounds very interesting, it is hard to find those in India.

Thanks so much for all the information. It will help a lot.
What about the safety in Bangalore and other regions in India ? For a woman travelling alone.

India, by and large, is safe for the solo woman traveler. Indians may not meet with your appropation as regards male chauvinism but you will comes to no physical harm. Violent crime is rare. You will get stared at so be prepared for that. If someone starts to get overly friendly a firm rebuke will usually work. Use your common sense and keep your wits around you. Don't wander alone in lonely or dark areas. Dress modestly (read no cleavage, no shorts, no short skirts).

Nice to see someone recommend the Nrityagram Dance Village. Even if you can only catch a rehearsal it's well worth the visit.

Mysore is a short train ride away.

Coorg is good.

Belur, Halebeedu, Sravanabelagola are a must visit if you're in the Bangalore area. I have pics of these places here:

http://mrs-h.smugmug.com/India

Bangalore is well located so there are many destinations that can be reached via overnight train. The 6592 HAMPI EXP is excellent for an excursion to Hampi (a world heritage site).

I have been in Bangalore for two weeks. I am having fun !! Thanks for all the info you sent me guys.
Cicerone, can you send me your Bangalore info ?

Thanks

Claudia

I will be in Bangalore on the first week of October. Shall we meet for dinner??? (Você fala Português?)

Claudia, one opportunity you should not miss while you are in Bangalore is to make a trip to Hampi.