First time in India and Nepal-HELP
 

Hi, I am planning a trip to India starting on April 5th and ending on April 21st. In total, we will be there 15 days. We (my husband and myself) will arrive at Delhi airport at mid-night and will be back from the same airport the 21st, which means we would like to be extra careful and spend the last two nights in Delhi to get on a plane very early in the morning!

Here is what we have thought so far about the itinerary (it is our first time and after reading lots of blogs, etc, we'd really like to do this)

Day 1: Berlin - Delhi, April 5
Day 2-3: Agra April 6, 7
Day 4-5-6: Varanasi April 8, 9, 10
Day 7: Transit from Varanasi to Kathmandu April 11
Day 8, 9: Kathmandu April 12, 13
Day 9-10: Bhaktapur April 14, 15
Day 11: Trekking, advises please?? April 16
Day 12: Kathmandu April 17
Day 13: Transit Kathmandu-Delhi (flying from to) April 18
Day 14, 15: Delhi April 19, 20
Day 16: Delhi-Berlin

I am not sure how much time will take us from Delhi to Agra for instance, thus, days may be shorter. We'd really like to spend 3 days in Varanasi and do some trekking in Nepal.

Also, we know it is hot this time of the year, do you believe we will be "save" from the hit by visiting these places?
Any recommendation for Asia-beginners is very much welcome.

Thank you!

Nathalie

I forgot to mention: If you have a different itinery suggestion that includes Nepal, knowing that hit and humidity can be a problem this time of the year, please let me know!

It will be very hot in India at that time of the year. Is there no other time you could go? No way will you be "safe" from the heat in India at this time of the year. Nepal temperatures will be more pleasant. Look at some of the weather websites to check temperatures in April. I use www.weatherbase.com

In Nepal, there is no need to stay in both Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, as you can easily commute from Kathmandu to both Bhaktapur and Patan. You will want to spend time in all three cities to see the temples and other World Heritage sites.

Trekking means that you walk and do overnight stays in tea houses. It looks like you were planning on hiking for a day and not trekking - is this correct?

Spend some time with good guidebooks, as it appears to me you need a lot more knowledge to plan this trip.

If you are visiting India only to transit to Nepal, consider other options. There are non-stop flights from Bangkok to Kathmandu and from Singapore to Kathmandu, and from Dubai to Kathmandu. If you cut out India, you would have time to do a trek, since you say that is a priority.

Lonely Planet and Rough Guides have good guidebooks for Nepal.

It will be very, very hot in India at this time of year. Several years ago we flew home from Delhi on April 2, and it was 40 when we left. Two weeks prior to that we'd had three nights in Varanasi, and from there we headed up into the foothills of the Himalayas with the sole purpose of getting away from the heat.

We are not fans of Delhi anyway, and I think at this time of year it would really be miserable with high heat. To us Varanasi is quintessential India, and if you can stand the heat, and still want to visit India I'd do that instead of Delhi.

I disagree with Kathie and appreciated the fact that we had time to spend several nights in both Kathmandu and Bhaktapur.

If you want to do some hiking/day walks in Nepal you could go to Bandipur and stay there. We did a great day trek with a guide from our hotel, the Bandipur Inn. We also spent time at Balthali Village Resort which is purpose built to aid local people in the small area villages. The resort itself is certainly not luxury but rooms are definitely adequate. Guides from the resort will take you on walks into the nearby tribal villages. It was a fascinating experience as was our day hike in Bandipur.

If you want to fly in and out of Delhi, depending on your flight times you could see a bit of Delhi in half day portions on your way in and out. It is very inexpensive to hire a taxi driver to take you around some of the main places you'd want to see, and then you could continue to the airport with the driver.

I don't think that 6 full days in Nepal is very long.

Bandipur is a lovely traffic free small village in the hills just off the Prihvi Highway, near Drumre. But you need to get there and back from Kathmandu. Bandipur is 2 hours by road from Pokhara, so you'd need to fly from Kathmandu to Pokhara, and then taxi to Bandipur. You'd then have to make sure that you got back to Kathmandu for your final night. That all eats up time.

You'd make better use of your time imo by staying in Bhaktapur, and doing your hiking from Nargakot down to Bhaktapur haning got to Nargakot by public bus from Bhaktapur.

From Bhaktapur you have easy days days trips to Boudhanath [very atmospheric at dawn and dusk], Pashupatinath [morbid theme park], Patan, Swayhambhu [dawn or dusk are best], and anywhere else in the Kathmandu Valley.

Bhaktapur is a wonderful place after dark when all the day trippers have left.

Yipes, LL, how disrespectful! You call Pashupatinath a "morbid theme park," but it is the holiest cremation site in Nepal. Often referred to as the"Varanasi of Nepal," many Nepalis who have lived away from Nepal for years or even decades have their bodies sent beck to be cremated there. There is nothing commercialized about the place - only the traditional stalls selling flowers and colored powders for preparing the corpses for cremation.

To the OP: the Kathmandu Valley is filled with World Heritage sites. Here are photos of all of the World Heritage sites from our 2008 trip: http://www.marlandc.com/Nepal-2008

Thank you all for your responses. They were very helpful. Unfortunately, we only have this time of the year to go and we definitely want to see Agra and Varanasi in India. We can cut out Delhi and spend one or two days at most since we will fly from Delhi to Berlin on our way back.

Do you know if there is a better way to go from Varanasi to Kathmandu?

I think the best for us is to spend more time in Nepal and only a few days in India. Renting a car from Delhi to Agra makes sense? Is it expensive?

I will read some books, and Lonely Planet is definitely a must. Than you! All tips are welcome! And yes, I mean hiking!

Perfectly good fast train from Delhi to Agra, unless you have time to stop on the way, See seat61.com for train info.

It's a longish bus ride from Kathmanduy to Bandipur, or a shorter one from Pokhara, but I an sure what shape it is in after the earthquake, it was near the epicenter.

Kathie. My comments about Pashupatinath refer to the number of tourists who daily treat the holiest cremation site in Nepal simply as an excellent photo opportunity capturing what should be private family occasions. I was appalled at how disrespectful some of these tourists got poking their cameras wherever they wanted to.

<<<It's a longish bus ride from Kathmanduy to Bandipur, or a shorter one from Pokhara, but I an sure what shape it is in after the earthquake, it was near the epicenter.>>>

Took us 11 hours by tourist bus from Kathmandu to Pokhara due to a landslide on the Prithvi Highway. The Prithvi Highway isn't for the faint hearted, mishaps are frequent.

The public bus from Pokhara to Dumre takes 2 hours, took us longer as we had to bypass an accident. From Dumre it takes about 30 minutes up the hill to Bandipur.

Bandipur got away lightly during the earthquake.

Its sounds good, hope you will enjoy your trip.

You don't mention your budget, but it is not terribly expensive in either of these countries to arrange for a driver to take you between destinations. This can be arranged ahead of time through an agency or on the ground (often at no more than a moment's notice) once you get there.

A moments notice might get you a car and driver. But beforehand, I'd want to test the driver's skill, that he understood what I wanted, what the insurance covered, and the vehicle's condition if I was thinking about hiring for a few days.

Naty--I am following your thread with interest. I am planning a trip to India also, but having a hard time with the visa application.
Did you apply yourself via the internet or you had help from some travel agency or visa agency.
Appreciate your help in the matter and any advice.
Enjoy the planning of your trip.