Hi -

I have to be in Bangalore in June for business, and would like to arrive in India the weekend before to see some sites.

What would you HIGHLY recommend I do with this extra weekend ?

Please advise - I want to make the most of this great opportunity.

it would help us if you told us what city you arrive in first....

if delhi, then a trip to agra and jaipur would fill a weekend nicely

I'm wide open on options, including which city to fly into....I'm thinking of flying into Delhi(on a Thursday), spending a day there, travelling over to Agar, spending a day there, and possibly attempting Calcutta for day 3 before heading to Bangalore for the week.

Thanks

It is going to be VERY warim in June...I would suggest you go to Delhi, up down to Agra by train if seeing the Taj is high on your list then try to go somwhere cooler. I would not suggest Calcutta. What you could consider is Kerala or near Bangalore Ooty or even Goa tho it may be raining.

I wouldn't try to "do" two major cities and one minor city in three days anywhere in the world, let alone in India in the very hot pre-monsoon season. You are attempting the rough geographical equivalent of one day in New York, a day trip to Niagara falls, a day trip to Chicago and then on to a week of business in Miami. IMO you will spend more time in airports than you will seeing anything in any destination.

With the over-crowded airports and strained infrastructure in India, this is, IMO, not a good idea (and I love India, not just that much travel in 3 days). You can't get direct flights to and from Bangalore and Agra and in some cases Kolkata/Calcutta, so again you are potentially adding lots of travel time to a 3-day schedule. You may not even be able to get flights at all to or between some of your planned destinations.

Then add the heat into the mix: temps at 100F most days, and many over 110 F. Pre-monsoon is an incredibly dry heat and blinding sun, if you are there when the monsoon breaks, then be prepared for downpours. I leave for Delhi myself today and see temps forecast at about 104 F and it's not even the hot season yet....I am staying for the weekend but planning about one activity: the National Museum (air con) and maybe some shopping if I can take the heat. Kolkata/Calcutta will just be really hot and really humid.

If you aren't ever going to be back in India, then I would say Delhi for 1.5 days, then down to Agra by car or train in the afternoon, overnight in Agra (sunset and sunrise at the Taj are quite important IMO), see Fatephur Sikri if possible. Take a late afternoon flight from Agra to Bangalore, you probably have to connect through Delhi so a toss up whether to go back to Delhi by train or car, but by air you would be right at the airport and your bags would be transferred too. You may be able to do an early morning flight from Agra to Bangalore through Delhi, check flight times. Indian Airlines may be your only choice from Agra, if so, you might seriously consider going by car/train to Delhi and using Jet Airways, Spice Jet, Air Deccan or Sahara Air to go to Bangalore. The latter are all private airlines are a far superior to Indian Airlines.

If you are going back to India at some point, you might want to go to the Bangalore area, where temps are going to be MUCH better (go the weatherbase.com), and see that area. Save Agra and Delhi for the cooler winter months. Bangalore the city has some tourist sights in the city and some nice gardens. You could also go further afield to places like Ooty mentioned above (Occtamumd) or other places in the Nandi Hill area, which has a fort and some temples or Bannerghatta National Park, which is less than an hour and has lion and tiger safaris. There is also Devarayandurga, which I have not been too, but which is about 2 hours from Bangalore, I believe, and has a very large collection of temples.

I would definately skip Bannerghetta. Really like a zoo and nothing thrilling unless you are 2 years old or have never seen a live animal ever. It is a decent outing just to see all the Indian school kids but only something I would do if need a break during a LONG trip.

I would pipe up to say, if it isn't too late, that I would avoid "transaction" costs. Not going in and out of too many airports.

I would fly straight to Bangalore and not get on another plane (plane travel in India is pleasant but airports are not, traffic is not).

From Bangalore you could take a train to Madras, hire a car and go to Mysore, Ooty. I am not that familiar with those outings for real details but all are feasible from Bangalore.

I would also say that a lot of what is interesting about India is not necessarily a particular site but in soaking up the vibe/atmosphere.

Tell us all what you decided if you haven't already gone.

there is a lot of intersting places to visit from bangalore.you could do a jungle trip with M/s jungle lodges and resorts.visit their kabini jungle lodge or any of their other properties for wildlife.simply awesome.i recently spotted a tiger making a kill at their Bhadra wild life resort.unforgettable.
options of a cultural and historical holiday is also possible.you have places like belur and halebid,some incredible temples built in the 10- 11 century,mysore palace. avoid nandi hills and devarayanadurga, though lovely, there is no accomodation nor a decent place to eat.trust me i've been there.try home-stays in coorg or chickmagalur.
Guess getting back to work after that'll be difficult.

Hi - look you may not know if you will ever go back to India. But if you want to, doubtless you can arrange it.

So take it easy. Fly into Delhi and go to Agra, or Jaipur or Varanasi. Just one of them! The Taj is wonderful, of course, but Agra otherwise is dispiriting - so combine with a trip to Fatephur Sikri.

Varanasi is magical but could be a bit of a culture shock. If you are up for an adventure though, take an overnight train, spend all your time there, then fly to Bangalore.

Jaipur is easy to get to, has plenty of attractions- well on the beaten trail.

Otherwise - fly to Bangalore. Never been to Ooty but sounds good. I would recommend Madurai though you would have to check out flights/trains as I don't know.

Kerala - Cochin is a special place with so much to see; add the backwaters and you have a perfect mixture. So if the monsoon won't have arrived by then that would be my first choice.

Don't try and see too much. Three days is a drop in the ocean.

Cheers

Just about everywhere in India is worth going to, and all the above advice is good.... but you only have an extra weekend, so the idea of racing around to have a glimpse at the Taj Mahal (for example) doesn't seem like a good use of your time.

So why not go to Hampi? There is an overnight train from Bangalore, which means that optimising your limited time and getting back in time for the business end of your trip would be easy. Hampi is, in my opinion, one of the wonders of the world, and one of the most memorable visits we made in our five-week tour of India. We had only two days there -- we could have easily used a third, but we saw a lot of the area in that time.... be prepared to do a lot of walking!

The one thing I am not taking into account in recommending this is the time of year you are going. We were there in November, which was delightful. But, then, the Taj was delightful then, too, and Varanasi, and all the other places that have cropped up in this discussion. But I don't know about June for any of them. I would strongly advise you, before deciding anything, to check the climtae for all of the areas under consideration, and choose accordingly.