bellapunkarella

Looking to do golden triange and Varanasi from Nov. 6/7 - Nov.15/16. Will it be hard to fit it in all in that short of time frame?

Working to get a quote from a tour guide, but can anyone estimate what I should be paying for a driver, flights (if necessary), and 3-star hotels?

ldtc2

You could do all you plan but expect to be very tired upon your return. If you are going to the Triangle then you really should stop in Varanassi. But, it takes a day to get there and a day to return to Delhi ( which is where I am assuming you are flying out of).

I can't help you with the quote. I use [email protected] whenever I go to India. He is reliable and honest. Good luck

Bonita

Greetings/Namaste from a American woman who lives in India!

Well, i can certainly say a word or two on the subject as i have led tours of North India for over a decade!

IN your timeframe, you can certainly cover the Godlen Triangle and also include Varanasi too, it really depends on your pace and how you route your trip.

And yes, by all means if you do the Golden Triange i wholeheartedly reccomend that you also include a foray to Varanasi! NO place like it on earth!

If you can maximize your time in India, 9-10-11 days, a trip i often lead and often reccomend goes something like this..

Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Khajuraho, Varanasi, Delhi..This is a great introduction to some of the highlights and variety of NOrthern region. I prefer to spend at least two nites per place, but you can quicken up the pace a bit if need be and you plan right.

Of course if you had more time i would certainly sugest to go deeper into Rajasthan beyond the capital of Jaipur, such as Jodphur and Udaipur, but if limited time, Jaipur will give a colorful introduction to the region of Rajasthan.

Oh...To get to Varanasi from AGra, well there are a few options..U can take the train Agra to Varanasi. Or, U can backtrack back to Delhi and fly, or my faverite option is to first take a train/car/driver combo to Khajuraho and spend a nite or two there..Love Khajuraho and the Temples...(oh, this route will have you also visiting Orcha en route to Khaj-LOVE oRCHA TOO)..

Then from Khajuraho u can fly to Varanasi. And then from Varanasi back to Delhi..

Anyways, this is just food for thought. Feel free to drop me a line, happy to help with anything India [email protected]

bellapunkarella

Namaste Bonita,
Thank you for your help! Your posts are everywhere on this site and incredibly insightful. Quick question: do you know anywhere in Golden Triangle area where there's a good ayurvedic resort/spa I could stay one night? I'm a yogi (from US) and looking to get my dosha/constitution read. As you can imagine, here in the States it difficult to find Ayurvedic doctors. I was originally going to head straight to Kerala, but have since have decided to focus soley on N. India and then will plan to take advantage of the South at a later date (year). In the meantime, I thought it might make sense to just meet with a doctor for a day.

Bonita

hello again bellapunkeralla//Lovely name!

Yea, my posts are all over this site and I am all over India. I have been in/out of the region for the past 20 years, so yea, i do have some free time for India chatting/especailly on my summer holidays while i am in NY..

I am actually back to India in a few weeks, where i stay for about 9 months a years.

So YOgi from US... We should defiantely chat, as i am a American from NYC, absolutely devoted to India. Is this your first trip?..

I actually have put togetehr some Yoga trips/tours to India too.. .,maybe someday you might want to do that too. Yoga and mediation as you tour the country, morning mediation/sun saluations on the Ganges/vsiitng with differnt teachers/ashrams, holy places, etc, etc, etc!!! fun high energy stuff.

Anyways, back to your immediate trip, yea, there are defaintely Aruvedic places to be found in North India. Of course the South/kerala is the hotbed of Aruvedya, u can still find some good places about the North..

One very famous place is called kairali, they have a center in the South but also in other places. I usally take some of my clients there in Khajuraho while we are on the road from Agra to Varanasi., They have a big center there, but i beleive they also have one in Delhi too. I just looked for yu and the website is www.kairali.com

Anyways, drop me a line. I would be happy to help you with your trip, pretty much can sort out anything. India magic. [email protected]

rhkkmk

we did an 11 day GT trip last november at the same time...we had a driver for the entire time....we did it slowly rather than go like bats out of hell....i might have been able to add a one or two day addition to it but i think that would have ruined the feeling of the trip....we did delhi, agra and jaipur with one overnite on the way back to delhi...