guide/driver for AGRA?
 

..would appreciare first hand feed back ...going for 1 day + in earyly May '07. thank you

You could arrange for a guide locally when you visit - lots of them outside TajMahal. Make sure they are Authorised ones - will carry an ID. When we went our tour company arranged for it . All the other places the guides were good except Agra where he seemed more interested in taking us for shopping rather than sightseeing.
Enjoy

quite honestly i see no need for a guide in agra....the taj mahal stands on its own merits.....the only other really important places are the baby taj (often overlooked) and the fort...i was there for two days and only saw the two taj's.....we had a guide and a driver, but neither was really necessary....if you read a short description in any guidebook this would surfice....

Agra is a big city with nothing much to recommend it EXCEPT of course the Taj, the Fort, and the baby Taj. It's not like Delhi or Ahmedabad or,or, or - where there's lots of see, and some of it benefits hugely from local knowledge, or being able to whizz around quickly without looking for transport each time you want to move. There you could, if you wanted to, make a case for having a guide. I'd demur, but you may prefer.

In Agra - everyone knows where the Taj is - so just take a taxi, or a rickshaw, whatever. You can walk to the Fort from there. As for Itimad-ul-Daulah I took a rickshaw to get there - but a taxi would also be fine, and there will be no shortage of either waiting to take you there.

Just be sure - if you not interested in being taken on a souvenir buying trip - that you make that very clear.

All the best.

thanks for the assistance...we'll wing it based on your feedback. after looking on tripadvisor.com at various hotels in Agra that were recommended on fodors by all of you, the Sheraton Taj sounds like the best deal as well as the suggestion to have dinner at the Oberoi...unfortunately, we will have to stay over night as the next stop is KTM and the cheapest flight leaves DEL at 1330. Jan

you will be happy with the sheraton....that is where we stayed--its not fancy but quite adequate and the price is decent....from their tower you can see the taj.....we had dinner one nite at the amarvilas---very special, quite unbelievable!! we each had a thalis set meal which was reasonable and very good....

Having an afternoon flight will allow you a return visit to the Taj at sunrise, which is well worth it. Arrange to have a moto-rickshaw take you and wait to take you back to your hotel.