Delhi to Agra - transportation options
Jan 6th, 2010, 10:33 PM
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Delhi to Agra - transportation options
My friend and I are traveling to India this November, arriving Delhi mid-morning from a long flight, stay one night in Delhi, and then plan to head to Agra the next day. We will spend the next two nights in Agra and tour the major sites--i.e. Taj, Fort, before heading on to Jaipur.
Since we are short on time in Delhi (only one night) and want to tour some of the city, we are considering our travel options to Agra.
* Instead of taking the early morning Shatabdi Express, we might take an afternoon train to Agra so we have the morning in Delhi--can anyone recommend a comfortable, air conditioned and quick afternoon train to Agra that we could consider?
* Also, we could hire a drive to take us to Agra in the afternoon. Has anyone hired a car/driver, is traffic a major issue, and what about safety issues when traveling at night?
Thanks for any and all advice!
Since we are short on time in Delhi (only one night) and want to tour some of the city, we are considering our travel options to Agra.
* Instead of taking the early morning Shatabdi Express, we might take an afternoon train to Agra so we have the morning in Delhi--can anyone recommend a comfortable, air conditioned and quick afternoon train to Agra that we could consider?
* Also, we could hire a drive to take us to Agra in the afternoon. Has anyone hired a car/driver, is traffic a major issue, and what about safety issues when traveling at night?
Thanks for any and all advice!
Jan 6th, 2010, 11:23 PM
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I have driven to Agra a few times, and taken the Shatabdi Express once. There are lots of trains to Agra during the day. Most all have AC cars. The reason most people take the Shatabdi Express is that it leaves early enough that you can do a day trip to Agra (though I don't recommend this), and it is a non-stop. It takes about 2.5 hrs each way.
Unless you are on a local that stops everywhere, the train will be much faster than driving. I have had car trips take anywhere from nearly four hours to almost eight hours. Traffic, accidents, protesters marching into Delhi, etc.
You are right to worry about traveling on the roads in India at night. This road is one of the busiest in all of India. On one of my trips to Agra, we arrived into Delhi late, so didn't leave till about 3Pm. We ended up getting into Agra about 9 pm. Even our very experienced driver was not happy to be on the Trunk road that late.
check out Indianrail.gov.in.
Unless you are on a local that stops everywhere, the train will be much faster than driving. I have had car trips take anywhere from nearly four hours to almost eight hours. Traffic, accidents, protesters marching into Delhi, etc.
You are right to worry about traveling on the roads in India at night. This road is one of the busiest in all of India. On one of my trips to Agra, we arrived into Delhi late, so didn't leave till about 3Pm. We ended up getting into Agra about 9 pm. Even our very experienced driver was not happy to be on the Trunk road that late.
check out Indianrail.gov.in.
Jan 7th, 2010, 04:45 AM
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Don't hire a driver for this trip. There are plenty of trains along this route. You can check schedules and buy tickets at www.irctc.co.in
Agra was the last stop on my trip to India. My driver and I left town at 2 p.m. and didn't make it to the Delhi airport until 9:30. While there was loads of traffic, it didn't help that the car broke down just inside New Delhi city limits. My driver found a mechanic, but this was hugely stressful on the way to get my flight back to the US. It's unlikely you'd have a similar experience, but India is full of surprises. Take the train instead.
Agra was the last stop on my trip to India. My driver and I left town at 2 p.m. and didn't make it to the Delhi airport until 9:30. While there was loads of traffic, it didn't help that the car broke down just inside New Delhi city limits. My driver found a mechanic, but this was hugely stressful on the way to get my flight back to the US. It's unlikely you'd have a similar experience, but India is full of surprises. Take the train instead.
Jan 10th, 2010, 12:23 PM
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taking the train is a great idea. A couple of years ago when I went to delhi with family, we took the very early morning shatabadi train to Agra, we got there I think at noon or late morning, got a car and driver to take us to Fateupur Sikri (ver very beautiful) and once the fog cleared up, we went to the Taj. We returned to Delhi by train the same night. Last year, I went to India again and my colleague wanted to see the Taj Mahal, so went to Agra again and stayed there one night, which was plenty. I would not stay in Agra more than one night. A couple of suggestions for your visit to the Taj Mahal, make sure you carry a bag to carry your shoes. the place were you leave your shoes is a big mess. Also make sure you have a pair of stockings you can wear, what they give you to wear is very uncomfortable. Last year the Taj was so crowded, that we could not enter the actual grave site on our first visit. We went back to the hotel and the next day, very early in the morning my colleague went back on her own and was able to enter the gravesite. (she said it was a waste of time and I agree) So go either very early in the morning (hopefully there will be no fog) or late in the evening.
Jan 12th, 2010, 07:29 PM
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<b>Gopp</b>, take a look at weatherbase.com before your rip. You will notice that in November the average daytime temp in Agra is a very pleasant 67F/19 C. It is quite unlikely that you will need an air conditioned train. (You may in fact want heat). You may want an “executive chair” or whatever is the highest class available (which may be denoted “AC 1st Class” for example to indicate price) just because they are the nicest cars, but you won’t need air conditioning in north India in November. The weather website will also help you to have the proper clothing for the weather.
An afternoon train from Delhi to Agra is possible, but check the train times, as many of the later day trains take 3-4 hours to Agra; as opposed to some of the morning trains, like the Shabtabi, which take just under 2 hours. See indianrail.gov.in for information on train times. The fastest afternoon train seems to me to be the Chennai Rajdhni which departs at 16:00 and arrives 18:00 (please confirm that these times are current.) . There is no point spending 4 hours on a local, at that point the car would be the same or even faster depending on where you are starting from in Delhi.
As I mentioned on another post yesterday, sunset at the Taj is very lovely, so there may be some reason to get down to Agra in time to see sunset. (But if you stay two nights you may have time anyway.) Whether you want to pay the admission price twice (if you want to also go for sunrise the next day) may be another consideration.
I would never recommend doing this drive at night, other than perhaps the first or last hour when you are in the city environs of Delhi or Agra. You could take an evening train like the Mewar Express which departs at 7 pm and arrives at 9 pm. I would not recommend driving long distances on most any Indian road or even highway at night, it is too dangerous IMO.
If you are not already aware of it, the Taj is closed on Friday, so hopefully your trip there does not include a Friday.
I have also seen your other post on your very short time in Delhi and if I may offer a suggestion, as you have the luck of landing in Delhi during the day (as opposed to many people who land in the wee morning hours), you might consider skipping Delhi and simply hop in a car from the airport and go straight to Agra. This may be exhausting after a long flight, but you would seem to have the daylight for it. (A train might also work, but you would be looking at about an hour and perhaps more to get to downtown train stations, so all in, a car would take about the same time.) From Agra, you could drive to Jaipur, stopping at Fatephur Sikri on the way. You could then fly or train to Delhi and if time permits, you could see Delhi or just arrive in time for your departing flight.
As you seem to have a very short trip, 5-6 hours in Delhi seems rather silly. Would you recco that someone try to "see" London in 5-6 hours? You might enjoy having more time in Jaipur and Agra to explore areas around there. I don’t know your whole itin, but that is just my thought. I think Delhi is a very interesting city, and actually deserves <i>more</i> time, not less, so if you can’t do it, then skip it. (I am actually one of the few people who like Agra, but that is because I have spent more than 24 hours there, and have wandered the back streets of the old town which are very interesting. But you need time for this which most tourists to Agra do not have.)
There is an 11:40 am Kingfisher flight from Delhi to Agra, if your arrival time into Delhi airport would permit you to make this flight, that might be something indeed to consider. This would require going over to the domestic airport, but just take a pre-paid cab as it is a few miles (there is a free shuttle bus but IMO is not worth the wait and hassle with luggage). I would leave about 2 hours between flights to have adequate time.
Another thought if the schedules work is to just continue on from your international flight onto a flight to Jaipur. There are several flights on Kingfisher and Jet, both excellent airlines. The flight only takes about an hour. (You could also use Indian Air if you had to.) Again this would This would require going over to the domestic airport.
An afternoon train from Delhi to Agra is possible, but check the train times, as many of the later day trains take 3-4 hours to Agra; as opposed to some of the morning trains, like the Shabtabi, which take just under 2 hours. See indianrail.gov.in for information on train times. The fastest afternoon train seems to me to be the Chennai Rajdhni which departs at 16:00 and arrives 18:00 (please confirm that these times are current.) . There is no point spending 4 hours on a local, at that point the car would be the same or even faster depending on where you are starting from in Delhi.
As I mentioned on another post yesterday, sunset at the Taj is very lovely, so there may be some reason to get down to Agra in time to see sunset. (But if you stay two nights you may have time anyway.) Whether you want to pay the admission price twice (if you want to also go for sunrise the next day) may be another consideration.
I would never recommend doing this drive at night, other than perhaps the first or last hour when you are in the city environs of Delhi or Agra. You could take an evening train like the Mewar Express which departs at 7 pm and arrives at 9 pm. I would not recommend driving long distances on most any Indian road or even highway at night, it is too dangerous IMO.
If you are not already aware of it, the Taj is closed on Friday, so hopefully your trip there does not include a Friday.
I have also seen your other post on your very short time in Delhi and if I may offer a suggestion, as you have the luck of landing in Delhi during the day (as opposed to many people who land in the wee morning hours), you might consider skipping Delhi and simply hop in a car from the airport and go straight to Agra. This may be exhausting after a long flight, but you would seem to have the daylight for it. (A train might also work, but you would be looking at about an hour and perhaps more to get to downtown train stations, so all in, a car would take about the same time.) From Agra, you could drive to Jaipur, stopping at Fatephur Sikri on the way. You could then fly or train to Delhi and if time permits, you could see Delhi or just arrive in time for your departing flight.
As you seem to have a very short trip, 5-6 hours in Delhi seems rather silly. Would you recco that someone try to "see" London in 5-6 hours? You might enjoy having more time in Jaipur and Agra to explore areas around there. I don’t know your whole itin, but that is just my thought. I think Delhi is a very interesting city, and actually deserves <i>more</i> time, not less, so if you can’t do it, then skip it. (I am actually one of the few people who like Agra, but that is because I have spent more than 24 hours there, and have wandered the back streets of the old town which are very interesting. But you need time for this which most tourists to Agra do not have.)
There is an 11:40 am Kingfisher flight from Delhi to Agra, if your arrival time into Delhi airport would permit you to make this flight, that might be something indeed to consider. This would require going over to the domestic airport, but just take a pre-paid cab as it is a few miles (there is a free shuttle bus but IMO is not worth the wait and hassle with luggage). I would leave about 2 hours between flights to have adequate time.
Another thought if the schedules work is to just continue on from your international flight onto a flight to Jaipur. There are several flights on Kingfisher and Jet, both excellent airlines. The flight only takes about an hour. (You could also use Indian Air if you had to.) Again this would This would require going over to the domestic airport.
