Golden Triangle
 

How long should one allow to properly see the Golden Triangle. What are suggested side trips?

And which Golden Triangle are you referring to - the one in Thailand or the one in India?

India.

a. Three nights in Delhi, after a very long flight, to get rid of fatigue; (however, if your flight lands at a convenient time in the evening, than two nights of good sleep will be fine); one in Agra & two in Jaipur. You may add one more at Bharatpur.
b. For a man who appreciates nature Corbett is an amazing jungle, open from 15th November to 15 June, for a side trip. the best time is March & April.
c. For a sportsman, Fishing is also at it's very best at this time of the year.
d. Your own hobby & interests will determine the nature of the side trip.

Here's some approximate driving times...that, and the pace you'd like to travel, is probably the best marker for long a trip you might like to plan. Like most places, you can do it in three days (with a hectic day in each seeing the highlights), or you can take much longer. If you fly into Delhi, you'll arrive in the middle of the night so the next day you'll probably want to go slow. With one day in Delhi, you can hit the highlights, but not much else. I would say, day one is light, mostly getting over the flight, plus two more days. A total of three days would give you a nice overview of the city. The drive to Agra is five hours. I'm not so keen on Agra, so I tend to leave quickly. But it is very nice to see the Taj early in the morning and in the evening/night, which would require an overnight. And then you'll have time to take in some of the lesser, but still spectacular, sites in Agra. Delhi - Jaipur is 3-4 hours (I don't which way you're taking the triangle), with a very good road (unlike Delhi - Agra, which has some rough spots). Jaipur is a great city to spend some time...its easier to navigate than say, Delhi, and has history, and culture, and also, a slice of modern India to offer. So I'd say two full days. You might spend one full day driving from Delhi to Jaipur, and make a long stop (or overnight) and the Neemrana Fort (also a hotel). hope that helps, havea great trip!

This should take you to my report of our trip to this area:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34708806

We spent one night (half a night, actually) in Delhi, took the early morning train and spent two days, one night in Agra, drove to Jaipur for two nights and then drove to delhi for another few nights (4 or 5?). I would have liked another night or two in Jaipur on that trip.

All this was highly choreographed by Compass Travel, so there was little time wasted on finding transport or tours. If you'll be arranging things as you go, I'd allow a lot more time to cover the same ground.

Good luck!

Here's another Golden Triangle trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34578710

We also used Compass.