First Trip To India - Thoughts As To Itinerary?
 

Hi All -

I am a long-time Fodorite but new to the India/Asia Forum, so I apologize in advance for the many newbie/ignorant questions you will be getting from me over the next few months. :)

I am planning my first trip to India this December/January. I have 14 nights and will focus on the traditional Northern India/Rajasthan itinerary. My travel companion and I are pretty active travelers, but we also don't like to feel rushed. On the whole, we avoid 1-night stays and prefer to have a little time to explore the culture of the area in which we're staying. That said, we understand that there is A LOT to see in India!

So, we need help with an itinerary. Ideally, we'd like to spend time in Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, and Varanasi. Craig recently commented that a good itinerary for a first-time visit to India would be "3 or 4 nights Delhi, 2 nights Agra, 3 nights Jaipur, 3 or 4 nights Udaipur, and 3 nights Varanasi."

Craig's itinerary sounds like a great pace for us, but it leaves out Jodhpur. So, here's my question: would you skip Jodhpur, or skip something else in favor of Jodhpur, or take a couple of nights away from somewhere else in order to experience Jodhpur? Help please!

Rushing up India is a big mistake, as already mentioned by all experienced travellers to this country. Intensive sightseeing, noise levels & other ground features / conditions tend to wear out, quickly. Ordinarily, 3 nights in Delhi to begin with will place you in the right sort of mood to explore further. Delhi itself has a lot to offer. But then Delhi accomodation is expensive. Varanasi could be cut down to 2 nights, for you will arrive there in the afternoon & will have enough time to explore the Ghats, later that evening. 03 nights in Udaipur should be fine. However, a night in Jodhpur, rooted as it is in the haory past, should be in order, for you can not miss the Mehrangarh fort, which is very photogenic & offers great views over the blue city, on the western side. The trick is to be in Mehrangarh in the morning, when the light conditions are good for taking some nice pictures. There are several good properties / routes to choose from as you move down towards Udaipur, after visiting the Ranakpur temples & Kumbhalgarh. An overnight in a village destination in this area will give you a feel of what actually the colourful Rajasthan is all about.
I also believe that you must put up for one night in a destination like the Samode Palace.
Very best for your plans!

Thanks!

So here is one alternative:

3 nights Delhi
2 nights Agra
3 nights Jaipur
1 night Jodphur
3 nights Udaipur
2 nights Varanasi

As an alternative, I could take one night away from Jaipur and stay somewhere like Samode Palace.

Thoughts?

You're spending a long time on the road for a single night in Jodphur. Take the night from Jaipur and add it to Jodphur. Otherwise you won't see Jodphur at all since you'll arrive in the late afternoon and have to leave the next morning to reach Udaipur if you're stopping at Ranakpur.

Thanks Marija. Do you think it's worth it to go to Jodhpur, or should I just eliminate it and add another night to Varanasi?

I just came upon this thread now. We've never been to Jodhpur because we could never quite fit it in to an itinerary. If you don't like to feel rushed, you will need to cut something out. Take a look at when flights are available. There are good connections between Jaipur and Udaipur, Udaipur and Varanasi but you need to decide whether the time of day is right for you. Use kayak.com to see your options. We spent 4 nights in Udaipur but we are shoppers, which takes extra time - you will need a full day to visit Ranakpur and Kumbhalgarh from Udaipur though if you are not stopping there from Jodhpur. The activities around Udaipur's City Palace will consume a full day. As for Jaipur, the Amber Fort is very impressive and takes a half day. The City Palace there is lame compared to Udaipur's - if you wanted you could limit your time in Jaipur to one full day (2 nights) and see the major attractions.

Just to complicate things a bit, we did 2 nights at Ranthambore park on our first trip to India which was a wonderful break from the chaos of the cities - if you are safari types, I would consider a stop here as an alternative to something else.

I agree with Craig that the City Palace in Jaipur is lame. I would cut down Delhi. I know that a lot will probably disagree with me, but I only spent two nights in Delhi and could have done with zero nights there if I had to cut down on any of the other cities. I think one full day in Jaipur is good, the fort is impressive. The fort in Jodphur is fantastic too.

Hey ... Delhi is a decent starting point and a good place to find your feet but there is nothing special there. May suggestion would be to go ~
Delhi - 2 nights (Find your feet)
Jaipur - 2 nights (Nice city, ride an elephant up to the fort, touristy but a must)
Pushkar - 2 nights (Relaxed and peaceful)
Jodphur - 2 nights (Personally nothing special but still a good place to visit)
Udaipur - 2 nights (Cool, relaxed city on the lake)
Ranthambore(National Park, might see a Tiger)- 2 nights
Agra - 2 nights (Not a great place to go, but still a must do for the Taj)
Varanasi - 4 nights(My favourite place in India, on the Ganges and so much to see)

This way you see lots of places, is a sensible route and not too rushed, although some of the driving distances can take awhile as indian traffic is not always great (that is putting it politely) ... Enjoy and good luck!!

IMHO the last thing you need to do is add places. Are you driving, except for the Udaipur to Varanasi leg? Figure out how long the drive is between your destinations. You'll see the time rapidly dwindling. Go slow.

Marky83 - looks great, but it's 4 more nights than I have, unfortunately. :)

live42day - you are not the first person that has said that about Delhi. I am torn about it, as we tend to like big cities (we loved Cairo, for example).

Marija - I would like to do a combination of driving and flying (or train travel) depending on what makes the most sense for the itinerary. There are places I'd like stop between Agra and Jaipur and between Jodhpur and Udaipur, so it seems likely that the only flights will be Udaipur/Varanasi/Delhi (or however we end up doing that combo). I really want to avoid adding places, as I feel that we're already pushing it.

If you are going to be in Delhi, two places I really liked were Rajghat (Mahatma Gandhi's memorial) and the Lotus Temple (Baha'i).

Actually Delhi has its problems like pollution and horrendeous traffic but there is a ton to do there. Attractions include;
1. The Red Fort.
2. Quatab Minar.
3. Jama Masjid.
4. The aforementioned Lutus temple and Gandhi's tomb.
5. The home of Indira Gandhi which is a moving monument to her life and her tragic death.
6. Shopping in Connaught Place and if you are really adventerous try Chandi Chwok.
As for Agra besides the obvious, the Taj there is also Agra fort and Fatepur Sikri.
Pushkar relaxing??? Well for us it was like this. As soon as we got out of the cab and I took my wallet out I sensed a man coming towards me like a predator to prey. Instinctively I gripped my wallet and looked to see his narrowed eyes, the eyes of a man who had bad intentions on his mind, like robbing me. Once he saw I was on to him he veered off. Later we went to a temple and were met by a man who id'd himself as a student there who said he would give us a tour but wanted NO money. After the tour he began to argue loudly about his tip. Yes, the money he said he did not want. My BIL gave him some money but that wasn't enough and there was a scene. Then we went to temple next to the lake. A man stopped us and again said he wanted no money ("I have my own money") but wanted us to take our shoes off. OK. So then we walked towards the lake to take a pic and another man dressed like a priest began shouting and waving us off. No pics unless we gave him a donation. I took a pic or two anyway and he was not pleased but at this point I really didn't care. So I say be very careful in Pushkar.
BTW I did ride the elephant to the fort in Jaipur. Never again. Pretty boring. Actually very boring.
This is another POV and I hope it helps.
Namaste, Larry :-)

Typical India IMO, Larry.

I have maintained from day 1 there is nothing in Pushkar for an American or a Brit! It is worth an overnight only during the Pushkar cattle fair!!

Craig: Yep, I agree and VP I also agree w/ you entirely!

Hi Abby,

I have NOT been to India, but have spent the past few months working out our itinerary for our 17-day on the ground trip in November/December. We have selected a very similar itinerary, also didn't want to jump around, and after FINALLY resolving that we wouldn't be able to spend time in Kumaon, in the Himalayan foothills, came up with the itinerary below. (We're using Ajay at Yatrik, an agency that several Fodorites have used and recommended highly). Once we finally got the itinerary in place, several of the experienced India travellers and regular contributors to the forum commented very nicely on the pace and hotel choices, etc. I've copied it below in the hope that it may prove helpful. Good luck! Doing the research is part of the fun, we always find.




11/27--29--Delhi/The Imperial--went back and forth between it and the Shangri La, and chose The Imperial mainly because it's not a chain hotel and seems to have a very distinctive character. (I've read the many comments about saving one's splurge for the Agra Oberoi Amarvillas) but we're only staying one night in Agra and it's way too high.)

11/29--drive to Agra/ITC Mughal

11/30--drive to Jaipur/Samode Haveli

12/1, 2--Jaipur--one full free day

12/3--Jaipur/Chhatra Sagar

visit villages/settlements around area--and there's supposedly abundant bird life around the reservoir

12/4--drive to Jodhpur/ratan vilas

12/5--Jodhpur

12/6--Jodhpur/Udaipur/Leela Kempinski

12/7, 8, 9--Udaipur

12/10--Fly Udaipur/Delhi/Varanesi/Taj Nadesar Palace--two nights

12/12--Palace on the River or Palace on the Ganges or the Alka Hotel so that we have at least one night on the river--

Apparently the rooms in Palace on the River start on the 3rd floor and the restaurant is on the 6th, and my dh although quite fit isn't supposed to do a lot of stairs; there was a very specific description on Trip Advisor about this, while none of the reviews for other hotels/guesthouses on the Ganges included that information. We decided it probably wasn't a good idea to risk trying any of the hotels/guesthouses along the river for the three nights we're in Varanesi...but a one night stay should be all right.

12/13--fly to Delhi/London/New York

Ideally I would skip out Jodhpur if you are short on time because getting to Jodhpur just adds a lot to the traveling time. If you are doing Jaipur and Udaipur then you'll be fairly covering quite a bit of what Rajasthan has to offer..On my trip I did about 3 days in Delhi stayed at this Indian Luxury Hotel ITC Maurya , thoroughly enjoyed the food & shopping.. went to Agra , saw the Taj and spoilt myself silly at a spa called Kaya Kalp .. n then moved on to do Jaipur & Udaipur ..one thing that i really liked about Rajasthan was the high quality of the road network..drastically cuts down on the travel time.

Thanks for all the feedback!

520 - Thanks for posting your itinerary. It looks nearly identical to what I'd like to do! I too was thinking about using Ajay at Yatrik. I'm probably going to email him in the next week or so, once I've done a little more research. Did you pick the hotels, or did Ajay suggest hotels for you?

Dreamcatcher, thanks for your mention of ITC Maurya and ITC Mughal. We have reservations (cheap-o, courtesty of Starwood Points) arrive in a few days and plan also to "spoil ourselves silly" at Kaya Kalp to recover from the long plane trips...and stay out of the midday outside temperatures!

Hi Abby,

Picking the hotels was a combined exercise between Ajay and me; when I first contacted him I was fairly detailed about what kind of travellers we were (mainly independent, pretty experienced, and had done both high and low)and he was very helpful in planning an interesting itinerary and giving a selection of hotels in each place. Initially I was much more focused on figuring out our itinerary than the hotels. Once we finally decided on the itinerary that would work for us, I started focusing on hotels. By this time I had read many many of the Fodorites trip reports, read Trip Adviser fairly obsessively, checked out the Rough Guide, and Eye Witness, plus India Mike and the Lonely Planet sites, and, of course, several of the regular and quite knowledgeable contributors to the India forum were helpful in their comments and feedback.

We wanted to stay in hotels that seemed right for us in terms of cost and character--and comfort and I hope our choices prove out. Above, I explain why we chose the Imperial in Delhi, and if you check out our choices on Trip Advisor, you'll get a better idea of the different hotels.

I think the only two that weren't on any of the various suggestions Ajay made were Ratan Vilas in Jodhpur and the Palace on the River in Varanesi, but Jaipur turned out to be one of the more difficult ones to work out. Samode Haveli was on the original list that Ajay sent, but for various reasons, we did go round a bit on figuring that one out. Ajay has consistently been helpful and pleasant. Some of the back and forth on the choices is all part of the process, I figure.

Hope this has been helpful. Look forward to hearing what your choices are.

Abby, you may also find it helpful to read my original post and the thread November/December-17 Days in Northern India; the las post on it was 5/23. Dogster's comments were particularly helpful and fun!! (As from what I've seen, they just about always are!)

Bless you 520. But I've removed the specific links from the website, tho. I just put them in for you a few weeks ago. The site is clogged up enough already.

Hmmm--can't you just put in India in the search menu and previous threads come up? That's what I do....

So, based on all the incredibly helpful input I've received on this thread, and after having read a bunch of other threads, here's my latest thought:

December 18/19 -- Depart LAX for Delhi; arrive late Sunday, Overnight Delhi Bed and Breakfast
December 20 – Delhi; overnight Delhi B&B
December 21 – Train to Agra; overnight Amarvilas
December 22 – Agra; overnight Amarvilas
December 23 – Drive to Jaipur; overnight Samode Haveli
December 24 – Jaipur; overnight Samode Haveli
December 25 – Drive to Jodhpur; overnight ???
December 26 – Jodhpur; overnight ???
December 27 – Drive to Udaipur; overnight Jagat Niwas
December 28 – Udaipur; overnight Jagat Niwas
December 29 – Udaipur; overnight Jagat Niwas
December 30 – Fly to Varanasi; overnight Palace on the River
December 31 – Varanasi; overnight Palace on the River
January 1 – Varanasi; overnight Palace on the River
January 2 – Fly to Delhi; overnight Delhi B&B
January 3 – fly home

The alternative is to skip Jodphur and add those two nights to some combination of Delhi, Jaipur and/or Varanasi.

Thoughts?

This looks like a good trip now, although I think you have one night too many in Varanasi. I'd go back to Delhi a day earlier and have time for shopping and sightseeing. One full day at the beginning would not be enough for me. Over five different trips, I've probably had at least 15 days in Delhi and only duplicated the shopping - Khan Market, Dilli Haat, and Haus khas, and Cottage Industries Emporium.

Abby, great minds think alike! Your itinerary looks almost identical to my upcoming trip - same path except I'm attending the Pushkar fair, and some extra nights thrown in here and there.

Lcuy, you made Asi Ghat sound so good I was convinced I'd want to stay a third night! Also to the detriment of Delhi or another night somewhere else. I was hoping that some of the shopping in Delhi (Fabindia, Anokhi, etc) would be duplicated in other cities.

Not that Varanasi is bad...I love the city. But I love Delhi as well. So much to see and do, and I find it makes traveling easier if I do my shopping at the end of my trip.. You'll not have time to do much on Jan 2 (doesn't the Varanasi flight get into Delhi about 4?, and even if you are on a night flight on the 3rd, one day is so little time to try and enjoy Delhi's sights. I know you have a day at teh beginning, but i find I need one day to just get oriented in India, so the first day is kkind of a haze.

Just something to think about...You will have a great time either way!

Fabindi and Anokhi store locators:
http://www.anokhi.com/anokhi/our-shops.html
http://fabindia.com/storesfront.asp

Both are at Khan market in Delhi.

I agree that it's best to shop at the last stop - but I'd pass up shopping for more time in Varanasi. But I'm not a shopper, and I was disappointed with Delhi. The museums and sights were badly maintained, and (with the exception of the Qutb Minar and Baha'i Temple) I was more impressed with the sights elsewhere.

I would keep three nights in Varanasi too. Like Thursday I did not like Delhi,and did lots of shopping in Jaipur at the markets. The prices were as good or better than Delhi. The only difference was that the shop keepers were much more aggressive in Jaipur than Delhi. If there was one thing I did like about Delhi it was the lack a daisy attitude of the shopkeepers compared to everywhere else. You could look without being overwhelmed with the merchants thowing fifteen scarves around your neck.

That being said, I would still take shopping in Jaipur over missing a day in Varanasi (which had good shopping too).

Your itinerary is very close to ours also; it'll be interesting to hear what we both (all four) thought of our experience when we return. Are you doing everything on your own or have you decided to work with an agent--or driver? If agent, did you go with Ajay at Yatrik?

Also JUST realized in reviewing last post by Dogster that it was HIS not YOURS about removing the specific links that I suggested checking out. Too often I read the forum in the wee hours--not always the best time!

The suggestions about saving a day in Delhi at the end for shopping made me wish we had one day more--and then, perhaps, be thankful that we don't!!!
ic

Thanks so much for all the feedback -- I really appreciate it.

520, I haven't decided yet what to do about agents/drivers. We'll definitely want a car/driver, but I don't think we'll want/need a guide, per se. And although I feel comfortable booking hotels online, I'm curious if someone like Ajay can get us better deals on hotels. When we went to Egypt, having our guide book the accommodations was A LOT cheaper than doing it ourselves, but I don't think we'll want someone accompanying us 24/7 the way we did it in Egypt (we hired a private guide).

Thoughts on this?

The itinerary looks good. I too would opt for more time in Delhi where we thought the shopping was far better than anywhere else (just depends what you like to shop for). It seems like you have almost no time in Delhi at all and, even without shopping there is a lot to see.

As for guides, I'd give 'em a pass if you feel comfortable not using them. In India they are often more trouble than they are worth.

Ajay did get us better deals than what was posted on the various hotels websites; we're not going to have anyone w/us 24/7. We have a driver and what looks like a balance of local guides and free time everyplace we stop.

The only other time we've traveled with a driver and guide was in Vietnam/Cambodia and we did it much the same way, but and also didn't have a guide the entire time we were in HCMC as it was really unnecessary.

You probably need to work out the way you want to travel with whoever you decide to go with.

Thanks so much for the feedback! 520, it sounds like there's a lot of flexibility with Ajay/Yatrik, so we'll probably go with that, and I'll make sure to tell him we wants lots of flexibility/free time.

Still pondering how to get additional time in Delhi. I'd love to just add an extra day to the trip, but I already snuck an extra day/night in there, and unfortunately, we really can't miss additional work.

Abby, are you flying home on Jan 3rd, or the 4th after midnight? If the latter, it looks like you have the entire day of the 3rd in Delhi to spend all those leftover rupees :)

Excellent point, Nutella! I haven't booked a flight yet, but the flight I will most likely book leaves Delhi at 12:55 am on the 4th.

I contacted Ajay from Yatrik and heard back from him almost immediately! I had told him where we wanted to visit and the number of nights we wanted to spend in each place, as well as the hotels I had researched. The only place he suggested different hotels was Delhi -- he suggested either BNineteen Guest House or Svelte Personal Suites. Is anyone familiar with either of these? They both have good reviews on Tripadvisor, and BNineteen is mentioned in Lonely Planet and a couple of other guides. Svelte looks a little impersonal for us, but I like the look of BNineteen.

Anyway, he also re-ordered the itinerary and suggested the following:

Arrive 12/19 - overnight Delhi
12/20 - Tour Delhi
12/21 - Fly to Varanasi (Rashmi Guest House)
12/22 - Varanasi
12/23 - Varanasi
12/24 - Fly to Delhi, overnight Delhi
12/25 - Drive to Agra (Amarvilas)
12/26 - Agra
12/27 - Drive to Jaipur (Samode Haveli), visit Fatehpur Sikri en route
12/28 - Jaipur
12/29 - Drive to Jodphur (Ratan Vilas)
12/30 - Jodhpur
12/31 - Drive to Udaipur (Jagat Niwas), visit Ranakpur en route
1/1 - Udaipur
1/2 - Udaipur
1/3 - Fly to Delhi, depart after midnight for US

What do you all think about this itinerary as opposed to the one I had come up with? With my itinerary, I had us flying from Udaipur to Varanasi with a connection in Delhi, which I didn't particularly care for (it took nearly the whole day). This itinerary avoids that, but has us flying from Udaipur to Delhi on the day of departure, which makes me a little nervous.

Otherwise, I'm pleased with the itinerary from Ajay/Yatrik. It includes some interesting activities such as dinner with an Indian family in Delhi, visiting a musician in Varanasi, taking a jeep safari in Jodhpur to the Bishnoi Villages, and dinner at Devi Garh fortress near Udaipur. For those who have dones activities like this with Yatrik or another guide/company, what did you think? Were they fun and worthwhile or hopelessly touristy -- or maybe both?

I'm still on the fence about going this direction vs. just hiring a car and driver (Ramesh Meena). So many choices!

Hi Abby,
Your experience with Ajay/Yatrik is thus far very similar to mine--and, as you know, our itineraries are very similar. Too bad our trip is so close in time to yours, so that I won't be able to report back on my experience in time to be of any real value. I based my choice of Ajay on the many excellent reports on him and Yatrik from Fodorites. And yes, there were also a number of very good reports on Ramesh Meena,and seriously considered contacting him, also. By the time I contacted Ajay, however, I had spoken to several agents here, who I wasn't impressed by, while Ajay, as with you, responded immediately, had thoughtful and interesting suggestions, so I decided not to make myself crazy by continuing the search.

He has proposed many of the same activities for our trip (not surprising as we are going to the same destinations) and I just figure if we decide to opt out of some during the trip, we will. From what I've read on reports here, dinner at Devi Garh is quite special, some OPs here thought dinner with an Indian family would be a complete ripoff, while I think it could be interesting...a personal decision; we've left the visit to the Bishnoi Villages open because we don't have that much time in Jodhpur; etc.

We're flying from Varanesi to Delhi the day of our departure which is a little nervous-making, but our Varanesi flight is scheduled to arrive in Delhi at 4:00 p.m. and our U.S. departure flight is at 3:30 a.m., so I think we're all right...How much time do you have between your arrival from Udaipur and your U.S. departure?

We've travelled quite a bit, always independently, except in 2004 when we went to Vietnam and Cambodia and did this kind of very planned trip through an agency with a car and driver. There were parts that were wonderful, and some parts that we decided we preferred to be on our own, and made adjustments during the trip with no problem.

I don't know if you've read any of the other trip reports by those who used Ajay/Yatrik, but it may help you to make your decision.

Look forward to hearing what it is.

Thanks for the feedback! Given the high level of flexibility Ajay/Yatrik has offered (letting us pick our own hotels, giving us time on our own, etc . . .) combined with his responsiveness, we'll almost certainly go with Ajay/Yatrik.

In terms of the itinerary he provided vs. the rough itinerary I came up with, it seems that the only real difference is when we go to Varanasi, except for one other notable difference -- The full moon is December 21, 2010. Under my itinerary, that would have been our first night in Agra, and I understand that you can visit the Taj at night during the full moon. For those that have done this, what did you think? This could tip the balance in favor of my itinerary.

Thanks everyone for all of the help! I know that this is an incredibly boring itinerary for all of you that have been to India several times, so I appreciate you bearing with me and providing advice to yet another India novice. And 520, I really appreciate your help and suggestions. It's nice to be planning such a similar trip over the same general timeframe . . .

Glad to hear you're almost there re: trip planning--decision re: Ajay/Yatrik. It is amazing, isn't it, how long it takes to get it all in place (even on a "boring itinerary" such as we're both doing--). I, too, have read about seeing the full moon at the Taj as being quite extraordinary--but don't know anyone who's been able to do it...and don't remember how much of a difference it would make in your full itinerary if you do Agra first.

Rashmi Guest House sounds very nice--did fleetingly consider switching to it for our one night on the river, but so far haven't done anything aboutit.

Too bad we're not going to overlap; it'd be fun to try to meet up.

And, re: our "boring itinerary.." I kind of think of it like a first time visitor to the U.S. visiting/driving to Boston, NYC, Washington D.C., Miami, and flying to Chicago....it's hardly the U.S., it would, however, give a sense of the Eastern U.S. and a bit of the midwest, and wouldn't be boring at all. But, of course, there's SO much more to see--and the West is like a very very different country....to be seen on another trip....

One can't do it all (at least with the limitations of time we have) on a first trip...and having decided to limit ourselves to Northern India.

So here's to a great trip for us all.