First(!) trip to India
 

Hi all
So I am having fun with this-it will probably start in mid September (we cannot leave earlier)
and we would like to take advantage of the Oberoi package which ends September 30
Probably we will go for about 3 weeks

Whether we fly into Mumbai or New Delhi, the arrival is around 11:00pm-
Not sure yet whether to fly into Mumbai and leave from ND or do ND round trip
That is my question

In any case, to maximize the package. the next stop will be Udaipur, and then on to......Jodpur-Jaipur.-.Agra...............Varanasi (the.......means that we are on the road with some overnights in between)............... finally .end in New Delhi
Should we forget Mumbai (is it worth doing), and do the round trip. so that after Varansi we will have a few extra days at the end to maybe do 4 days in the mountains or something else?
The flight home leaves at midnight from ND

Thanks-

many suggest mumbai is not a tourist city??

ND in and oyut makes sense to me.. you could do a circle fr ND-Agra-Udaipur-jod-Jaipur-ND and fly to varanasi and back..

that way you could do it all by car which i feel is preferable..

i used castle and king in delhi to assist me... driver---some hotels--an occasional guide..

i have used finn air and korean air with good results in the past... read my trip reports

I would take advantage of the Oberoi hotels in the mountains (Shimla)for the last few days. It may be hot in September and going to the mountains would be very nice.

We went in mid-September and took advantage of many bargains. We flew into Mumbai and out of Delhi because those were the only award flights available. Didn't spend time in Mumbai (other than the night we arrived) because we only had 11 days and we had been warned that the monsoon would be worse there.

In fact, the weather the one morning we were in Mumbai was pleasant - high humidity but not unbearably hot. So, if it's a weather concern, I would not eliminate Mumbai. But if you feel you'd rather spend more time in rural areas (which is my preference), then in and out of Delhi will work. Flight time to Udaipur is the same.

Hi rhkkmk

We will go from Agra to Gawlior Orcha Khuajurho by car and from there fly to Varanasi
(Also Udaipur onward will be by car)

From Varanasi, we have to fly, no matter where we go

And yes, it is a circle

So pretty much a road trip-which we prefer

We can spend 2 (minimum) I think in ND maybe 3 -better
and then fly to Udaipur, where I am thinking of spending 4 or 5 nights and then start our mostly 2 nighters onward
Am thinking, maybe to fly from Varanasi to Katmandu, and then retrun to ND

By the way,is it imprudent to leave Katmandu in the am to catch a midnight flight out of ND?

Yes. Both the Kathmandu airport and the New Delhi airport can have problems with fog. Maybe save your New Delhi time for the end of the trip. I wouldn't add Kathmandu to this trip unless you can spend at least 5 days there. Remember you also have to show your itinerary when to leave and return to India within such a short time. Your passport will be stamped "no re-entry for 6 months."

Glad to hear you are going to Gwalior, one of the surprises on our trip. The road between Agra and khujaharo (sp?) is awful and so going, although interesting. I would strongly suggest flying between khujaharo and Varanasi as the drive can get wearisome.

That would be "slow going"

personally i would leave kth one day early

dgunbug- we will definitely fly from Khujarharo to Varanasi

I think it was because of your report that we decided to visit Gawlior-if not we would take the train from Agra to Orchin and on to Khujarharo

rhkkmk- I think that we will fly into New Delhi(not Mumbai)-we had originally thought that we would go to Audergebad and visit the caves-but too much running around for a short 3 week trip
I think that after Varanasi, we will go back to New Delhi for a night or 2 -and tbat will be the trip-

If I do not use the oberoi package, my dates become more flexible, and then, in fact I will be able to add 3 nights to the itinerary-and then maybe we could add one other destination area for 4 nights.........oh .....such problems!!!

I don't think there are fog issues in September in Delhi, not sure about Katmandu. Rain yes, fog no.

We found the road from Khajuraho to Orchha to Jhansi (where we got the train to Agra) to be absolutely fine, not even slightly bumpy or uncomfortable. Wonderful, rural scenery and a fairly quick trip (under 4 hours with a stop). I'm wondering if it was repaired since djunbug was there. (We were there a few months ago.) Or maybe it was the Gualior-Orchha road that was awful...we didn't go to Gualior.

Flying from Khajuraho to Varanasi is super easy, less than a 1/2 hour flight, modern airports on both ends.

We have made the decision to extend the trip a bit and to visit Kathmandu after Varanasi-this has been a fantasy since the late 60's for me!!
We will spend 5 nights-I was wondering where we could include some nice hikes (not treks!!) of 2-4 hours in areas that are not difficult to get to.
Thanks

Hello!
if y want to give some more time then y can prefer all these places r cheap and best
1. Khajuraho
2. Orchha
3. Chitrakoot
4. Agra
5. Mathura & vrindavan
6. kalinjar
all these places r cheap and best for tourist

We did Kolkata, Varanasi, Delhi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur and Mumbai last month. Mumbai was only added as we were flying out of there but we didn't have any real interest in seeing it. I am so glad we did! Absolutely loved the place - so different from any other place we visited. We had 2 nights there and could have spent longer, so my advice, weather permitting - don't skip Mumbai. With regards to Delhi - we were totally underwhelmed, and if we hadn't been staying at the truly amazing Imperial Hotel, would have been happy to miss it. When I go back I will try and fly in/out of Mumbai or Kolkata rather than Delhi.