Delhi to Pushkar?
 

Looking to take a tour to India and Nepal in November 2005 for the first time, in order to see the Pushkar Camel Festival. Will have about 16 days total for our visit.

Looking for recommended tour operators (leaving from NYC) and suggestions on the best way to get to Pushkar from Delhi, and highlights to see along the way. Inundated by all the guidebook recommendations and what tours list as 'must see'.

Any suggestions welcome!

First of all, don't deal with any US-based operators. All they do is sub-contact it out to Indian operators and take a large mark-up. Deal right with the operators in India. And there are a lot of them! Suggest you get your own air tix to India - good specials on Continental (from Newark) and American Airlines (via Chicago) right now.

For all your travel within the region I recommend you contact Vikas at Ashoka Holidays. His email is [email protected]. Highly reputable, attentive and ethical operator. Their website is www.ashokaholidays.com

I'm sure you will get a lot of other recos from people here. India has a very robust tourist industry.

Thanks so much! I think I really just wanted a recommended tour operator since there are so many.

Still interested in knowing the best way from Delhi to Pushkar and I guess the easiest point of interest after that.

Any thoughts?
Thanks!

Delhi to Pushkar? Lots of options none of them great. Are you planning to see just Pushkar or more parts of Rajasthan or India? How long do you have?

One idea might be to fly to Jaipur (and maybe stay a day or two to see it) and then either take a train or arrange for a car and driver to take you to Pushkar.

one of my tour guide companies (compass tours) has suggested the Shatabdi fast express train from delhi to pushkar...

just today i received a booklet from pacific delight tours on india and nepal...contact them in ny or on-line

Pushkar is about 389km from Delhi & 141 Km Southwest of Jaipur. The nearest airport is at Jaipur. Now there is nothing on the way, in terms of sightseeing to hold interest for an American tourist, except Jaipur where you may spend a couple of nights. Wherefrom, you can take a taxi cab to see the Pushkar fair, come back to Jaipur airport & be along to the next destination.
However, at this late stage I wonder whether you will get a decent accommodation in a good hotel. The only one worth is the Pushkar Palace (Heritage). Another option is to book some luxury tent. If you are planning to take a plunge, make up your mind fast. You may contact legendsandpalaces.com for further discussion.
PS. A couple of days at Hotel Vanya Vilas, Ranthambore, 185km Southeast of Jaipur is an excellent idea.

We are planning a tour for nearly three weeks in India and are flying in on Nov. 4th. We want to be able to see the Camel Fair but one itinerary we received had us driving 5 hours a day for 3 days straight and I wasn't sure if there was a all that much along the way.

Jaipur is definitely on the list of places to visit. Just trying to figure out what order of city we are sightseeing in order to spend time at the Pushkar Festival.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Mr.Singh,

This is NOT a forum for selling your personal services.

I urge all forum members NOT to deal with or patronize any of those - like Mr. Singh at legendsandpalaces - who misuse this forum for their own personal gain.

There are plenty of very reputable travel agents in India! Check for posts on this forum for recommendations.

i do not see anything being sold...he seems to be offering good info...is there any thing wrong with that??

Wunderlust, I disagree with what the travel agent above said. We went to the camel fair and stayed in the very comfortable "tent village" at Pushkar. The tents have beds, electricity, and running water (OK, the showers are not heated, but an attendant will happily bring as many buckets of steaming hot water as you want!) I would not have wanted to come all that distance just to take a cab ride from Jaipur, spend a few hours, and duck back out again. Jaipur, btw, is lovely and definitely worth spending a few days. I found that some of my most memorable images of Rajasthan were gained from driving through the villages along the way, something one would miss by hopping planes between major cities. If you look at a map, you will see Sariska between Jaipur and Delhi, and there is a wildlife preserve there. You can stay at a former hunting lodge of the Maharajah, which is now a heritage hotel. You can take a jeep tour through the preserve (my favorite part of which was a temple dedicated to Hanuman, with a resident troop of feral monkeys).
India is a fantasticall

(Accidentally hit the "reply" button)
As I was saying, India is a fantastically interesting and complex place, best seen at ground level and in the countryside as well as in the cities and tourist areas.

Not selling? I disagree. He states: "If you are planning to take a plunge, make up your mind fast. You may contact legendsandpalaces.com for further discussion."

This web address (as you can see from his email address) is his website - for a travel agency. The author of this post, Virender Pal Singh is a principal at this agency! Note the hard sell in his post of "make up your mind fast." Sounds like a late-night television commercial.

I'm all for commerce. But, not in this forum. Once the commerce starts and is tolerated this ceases to be the relatively unbiased resource and turns into a spam filled selling forum.

It's one thing to recommend a site or a agent on this forum if you have no financial interest. I believe it is very different matter when people like this guy obviously refers people to his own commerce site - for his own financial gain.

Personally, I'm against that. But, that's just my opinion. I'd prefer this forum not to go in this direction.

Avoid and don't patronize these people. Let's start with Mr. Singh!

I agree with Kenstee. vp_singh was pushing his services/wares/whatever. The posting wasn't in his capacity as a disinterested party simply offering advice. Per my understanding, Fodor's frowns on advertising of this kind. Occasionally people do volunteer advice or recommend things in which they may have some connection. If so, propriety requires that one fully disclose such a link.

Ladies & Gentlemen,
I consider it below dignity to respond to the slanderous campaign as above. The members of this valued forum are at a liberty to visit my website or to give tour operators like me a wide berth! While reading the terms of this forum, I did not come across anything that forbade tour operators joining the esteemed forum.

Like I said, this Mr. Singh is bad news.

As Tanuki pointed out in an earlier post this guy is already giving bad, biased advice based on his own sales needs - not the needs of forum participants.

Let's not patronize Mr. Singh and his type who are here to ruin our forum with their sales pitches. There are many, many reputable and honest travel agents in India you can use.

It is not slanderous when you are telling the truth about someone!

This Mr. Singh clearly has not read the rules as he claims he did.

He seems to have "overlooked" the part which states: "no advertising or commercial promotion are also requested."

Stay away from this guy.

if you don't lie it just ignor him....don't be rude and make a big deal out of it and ruin everyone's day!!!

I'm with Kenstee. The value in this forum is the traveler to traveler communication. No room for sales agents plying their wares here.There is a place for that,but this is not it.

Thanks all of you and Kenstee for all your valuable advice!! It is precisely these tactics that make me leary of contacting random travel operators online without any recommendations. As I think there are many legitimate businessmen, I am inundated with the robust tourist industry in India.

As such, I have compiled an itinerary that will no doubt prove to be exhausting and as I hope interesting. Please review as I would like some input and also what you would recommend for booking such a tour! (As I want to avoid what is happening merely in this forum!)
Also the other couple traveling with has one itinerary that we weren't too keen on and would love some advice on that as well...
Tickets from US are booked so dates are final
Day 1: 11/4-Arrive Delhi
Day 2: Delhi
Day 3: Delhi-Udaipur
Day 4: Udaipur
Day 5: Udaipur-Ranakpur-Jodhpur
Day 6: Jodhpur-Pushkar (11/10)
Day 7: Pushkar
Day 8: Pushkar-Jaipur
Day 9: Jaipur
Day 10: Jaipur-Fatehpur Sikri-Agra
Day 11: Agra-Jhansi-Khajuraho
Day 12: Khajuraho-Varanasi
Day 13: Varanasi
Day 14: Varanasi-Kathmandu
Day 15:Kathmandu
Day 16: Kathmandu-Delhi (home)

The alternative places to see were Mandawa and Bikaner prior to Pushkar, but I am under the impression that Udaipur and Jaipur are going to be much more stimulating in terms of landscape and local color.

Also, other itinerary has us arriving on the first day of the Pushkar festival and leaving the next morning. We thought it would be better to arrive the second day and spend one full day there before leaving the following morning?

Advice is MUCH appreciated so far as we want to finalize our plans soon!
Thanks again for all your help!

Wow! Personally, I think you are being way too aggressive with your schedule. You need to slow it down and focus. The distances are large and the car travel legs - while facinating and not to be missed - are slow. You want to savor the trip and India not rush through it bagging sites.

You will also be dealing with jet lag which believe me will seriously effect you, your touring ability and schedule the first few days.

I'd cut out Khajuraho-Varanasi and focus on Rajasthan. That will buy you a few more days. Save those other destinations for another trip.

You could either do Delhi>Agra>Jaipur>Pushkar>Jodhpur>U daipur and fly back to Delhi for you Nepal leg or fly right to Udaipur and do it in reverse. Read some guide books and decide which places you'd like to linger and explore. Everything takes longer to do and accomplish in India. That's not a negative - and to me is part of the beauty of the country.

Thanks for the concern! Our only issue is that we want to arrive in Pushkar either on the first or second day of the festival(Nov. 9th or 10th) and so we thought that might limit us in terms of the route through Agra first (and going counterclockwise). We hear such wonderful things about Udaipur we are not sure we want to miss it. Is there an easier way to Pushkar from Udaipur? I think we all would be remissed if Varanasi was not included.

I must say, I find the promptness of your responses entirely helpful! It is very difficult to eliminate places when they all sound so interesting! I must say, I'm not too keen on the trip from Delhi through Mandawa and Bikaner prior to Pushkar as was suggested on one itinerary when Udaipur and Jodhpur sound more interesting. Any thoughts? This route seemed to be a lot of driving which we were hoping to cut down.

Again, thanks so much!

Spent 3 weeks in raj travelling last november with my partner. We arrived in Delhi with a rough itinery and ended up hiring the driver whom picked us up at the airport to commute us to the hotel. The car/driver cost us $25 a day and that covered his accom, food and fuel..bargain. I can give you the name of the hotel and the drivers name if you want it, he was great, spoke excellent english and didnt take the micky. If you take this option expect to travel at least 6 hours a day as the roads are slow.
Our schedule was:
Day 1 and 2 Delhi
Day 3 Agra (taj does close for tourists on one day of the weekbut cannot remember which one...sorry)
Day 4 Jaipur (amazing fort)
Day 5 Pushkar
Day 6 Pushkar (loved this place, i wish we had stayed here longer.)
Day 7 Udaipur (when we were there the lake was empty but according to the papers the monsoon rains arrived a month ago)
Day 8 Jodhpur
Day 9 Jodhpur
Day 10 Jaisalmer
Day 11 Jaisalmer..(camel ride in vogue here...would recommend
We then drove back via bikaner which was ghastly and i would fly back next time...mixed views on whether the airport is working in Jaisalmer but there is an airport at Jodphur if you wanted to dispatch the driver on his own...more expensive but the drive back was a pain as the northern route wasnt that interesting (in my opinion)
india is amazing, i wish we had spent longer in each place. Enjoy

FYI, Jaisalmer airport is NOT open for commercial flights. Military only.

Personally, you could certainly skip Jodhpur as well. No need for more than one day here if that.

Also, would think twice about an independent or non-travel agency car and driver. Yes, cheaper. But, what if his car breaks down or there is some other problem? Then what?

I am definitely most leary of hiring anyone who is independant and non-travel agency! Particularly because of the 4 of us, 2 are female photographers and although we will limit the amount of equipment we plan on bringing, safety is of utmost importance!

However I am very open to recommendations for agencies who can help me further recommend a trip! Although not solicitations from random agents who are just trying lure me for their business...

Oops, hit post, seems to be a common problem.

In any case, reconsidering the trip as Jodphur sounded interesting, as well as Jaipur, but how much more time would you recommend total in Udaipur? Are the day trips to visit the crafts/cultural cities nearby interesting and worth a trip? Is there enough to do in Udaipur if we say for longer prior to going to Pushkar (and theoretically skip Jaipur and Jodhpur) And how could I get from there to Pushkar? Also will the lake be full by the beginning of November?

\.

I think you will really enjoy the Pushkar camel fair. Like Kashgar it is a unique experience and it is great that you have been able to tailor an itinerary around it. For the rest of your trip some comments. First a radical one. Any chance you are willing to drop Kathmandu this time? Nepal is great but the realy beauty lies outside Kathmandu IMO. Also, it will reduce your travel time as Delhi-Ktm is an international flight and often over booked so you have to reach hugely in advance, etc. Then u could focus on Rajastha, Delhi and Varanasi this trip and do Nepal, maybe with some other part of North India on a later trip. Jaipur makes sense with this itinerary. On the Jaipur-Agra drive FS is en route. IMO 2 nights in Udaipur if this gives you 2 full days is ample. Re the lake being full, were you planning to stay at Lake Palace? Again, IMO, there are far better options. In Pushkar stay at the tents - tho you need to book them soon. For a travel agent you could look at www.presidenttravels.com, email - [email protected]. IT is best to deal with an India based agent - esp as you are a small group so need a tailor made itinerary. What kind of budget/night for hotels are you thinking of?

Wunderlust, if you haven't already contact Vikas at Ashoka Holidays. His email is [email protected]. Class act in my experience. Highly reputable, attentive and ethical operator. Their website is www.ashokaholidays.com. They have offices in New Delhi and Jaipur and have expertise with Rajasthan travel. And no I'm not "pushing" them! In fact, talk to at least two agents to see what they have in mind and the costs. But, make sure you are doing an apples-to-apples comparison. Read all the specifics and see what is included and what isn't.

I'd second the vote for eliminating Nepal this time around. Check-in for international flights can be quite chaotic and you need to be there 3 hours before departure or so. Security and screening is MUCH more rigid and time-consuming than in any other country I've ever been to. Why waste your time doing this when you have some a limited amount of time? I'd concentrate on India and go s-l-o-w enough to enjoy it. As a photographer you know how important it is to have plenty of time to revisit places if necessary to get a shot with the best light.

Thanks for the recommendation, I will definitely contact them for assistance. I very much want to book through an Indian travel agency and do not intend to try to book this tour through the US. As we already have our tickets from the US to Delhi, we were hoping to do the rest of the tour for about $1500 for all internal transit, hotel accommodations, etc. We're not looking go first class but rather safe and comfortable (western toilets requested)

As far as Udaipur is concerned, we haven't thought of staying in the palace, although Jag Niwas Guest House seems quite appealing (I'm sure there are many other places to stay and am open to suggestions). I'm reconsidering staying at Udaipur a bit longer in order to make the trip less hectic, visit the 'arts and crafts' outside the city (if anyone has done this please let me know), so how would you recommend doing the Jaipur lag? Jaipur sounds interesting and would love to see Jantar Mantar and Amber Fort if we are there(Hawa Mahal, a sure thing if we end up in Jaipur).

Nepal is a sure thing, as the couple we are traveling with want to go but do not want to spend too much time there. As my partner and I are staying on for 5 more days that could theoretically give us a full week in Nepal. (3 weeks overall for total trip).

Thank you, Kenstee, I did in fact shoot an email to Ashkora Holidays today! I sent an email both to their general site as well as directly to Vikas. I really do appreciate the personal recommendations most! Thanks again!

The itinerary that you have given above is Ok keeping in view your keenness to be in Pushkar on the first or second day. I would like to add, as hereunder:
a. Udaipur is a must see as we have one of the best city palaces in north of India & do not miss the Meera Kala Academy for a classical dance & song programme.
b. The Mehrangarh Fort at Jodhpur is a photographer’s delight (I am a keen photographer myself apart from a golfer & a shooter!!). If photography is not of paramount importance than stay at Ravla Jojawar & have a glimpse of some tribal life as well.
c. On way to Fatehpur Sikri drop in at Keoladeo sanctuary as in November the migratory birds start coming in.
d. How do you propose to do Agra – Jhansi – Khajuraho (over 400km by road?) & the road beyond Jhansi was not very good when I last traveled in that sector.
e. The sound & light programme held on the Gwalior Fort, every evening, is a powerful comment on the socio-political scene in medieval India. Don’t miss it.
f. Visit the western group of Khajuraho temples.
g. The road to Varanasi is very bad & over 11hours of bone breaking journey. Don’t miss the view of the ghats from a boat early in the morning. Do not forego Varanasi, it is the oldest living town!
h. I have bad reports from Nepal with the Maoists breathing down the throat of govt. troops.
I am glad we are discussing something substantive on this august forum, eventually!
HAPPY HUNTING & BE SAFE!!

Ok, I am definitely getting nervous about coordinating this trip with regard to driving time,etc. I'm beginning to consider flying between some of the places in order to avoid problems via traffic as well as reducing overall travel times between destinations. As such, I'm trying to pare down the trip a bit so we aren't so rushed.

Based on lots of advice, what if I flew from Delhi to Udaipur. Drove from Udaipur to Pushkar (seeing Ranakpur along the way). Drive to Jaipur. Flew from Jaipur to Agra (skipping Gatehpur Sikri which sounds lovely but could possibly still drive) And just flew from Agra to Varanasi (skipping Jhansi and Khajuraho), then flight to Kathmandu

Is our cost going to go up exponentially? Of course I know it will increase compared to driving but I'm beginning to think this might be a preferred method of travel vs. all the driving. I am well aware of the benefits of driving through the country in order to see more of it but just want to consider all my options.

Also, I know I asked this before but has anyone done day trips outside of Udaipur? Would 3 days be too much? We still prefer to get to Pushkar on the 10th but could go earlier I suppose.

Thanks to everyone!! You are all really getting me to think about how best to plan this trip which is what this site is all about!

Cheers!

have you checked the pushkar date...for instance for next year it is nov 2-5, 2006...are you too late??

In all my research I have seen 2 dates. First one is a start date of 11/8-11/12 for the camel trading and 11/12-11/15 for the 'cultural fair'. So I feel comfortable that these are the correct times to be there.

Since the fair follows the lunar calendar it is no wonder that the dates would differ from year to year.

Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!

Sorry to say Agra is not a major airport. I don't think you can fly Jaipur to Agra and Agra to Varanasi directly. Hope I'm wrong but I believe you will need to stop and change planes in Delhi on both of these legs. This will seriously impact your latest scenario.

This was definitely a concern..thanks! I don't think I might doing the extra drive from Jaipur to Agra but if there was such a thing as a connection to Varanasi from Agra that might help...

Kenstee is right. Jaipur Agra driving is the most efficient and then Fatehpur Sikir is en route. Agra Varanasi you can take a train. Your travel agent should be able to point you in the right direction for all this. Did you write to the one I suggested?

Yes! Thank you! I have been in touch with them since yesterday. . . I have to review the newly revise itinerary they sent me based on the latest questions that I had.

Thank you!