Is it safe to do India's Golden Triangle by car? Or should we go by train? We're thinking of flying into Jaipur and start the Golden Triangle tour--Jaipur, Agra, Delhi. Actually only 2 legs of the triangle, which portion is safest or most convenient to do by car vs train? And how long is the drive for each leg?

Jaipur-Agra might be more convenient by car because you can stop by Fatehpur Sikri? Is the bird sanctuary worth a stop?

And do Agra to Delhi by train?

Please share your experiences and recommendations! Thanks.

BTW, when I said car, I meant I had a driver. We're not thinking of driving ourselves! Not that suicidal yet. But are the roads and accident rates high enough on the roads in the Golden Triangle that taking the car would make it suicidal?

The roads are fine but chaotic. Driving in India is like nothing you have ever seen. I would not recommend travelling at night. You see much more going by car than by train although for the Jaipur - Delhi leg train or air travel might be better. Agra - Jaipur via Fatephur Sikri is the way to go by car. Figure on 6-7 hours with a the FS stop. Delhi - Agra is 3-4 hours by car and 2 hours by express train (plus time from the stations).

i am doing the whole triangle with a car and driver....the main reason is so that we do not miss any sights along the way....photo ops and complete freedom to stop at will, etc...

Agra-Delhi has a great train...much faster than driving, and the Grand Trunk road is not known for its safety.

One leg driving may be plenty for photo ops....There are only so many photos you'll want of women pumping water, camels on the road, and restaurants along the roadside. After a few hours, we just wanted to sleep, except the potholes were just too big!

If you do want to go by car, the idea of flying into Jaipur, driving to Agra, then train to Delhi would be my choice.

I think this is my trip report with the golden triangle drive...

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

Thanks, all, for the info. lcuy, thanks for the link to your trip report. Great report! Very detailed and helpful.

It sounds like you had a terrifying experience on the road from Agra to Jaipur.

Also, sounds like Compass gives you a lot of flexibility on when to have a guide/driver. You specifically planned it like this? And certain hotels you can book on your own? That's great!

Anyone else, please send me the links to your trip reports if they're a bit older. Thanks!

Durjay at Compass and my other recommended agent, Vini at Vinstring travel, were both open to doing what I wanted. I told them what I had already arranged, and they filled in the gaps. They would sugesst a place or itinerary and then I'd approve it or refine it. They were also quite open about the individulal charges, for example the amount they were charging if it was over the actual ticket price. Sometimes the price they quoted for hotels was less than I had been able to find in my own searches. Neither one tried to sell me a "package".

In the end, I feel it didn't cost me any more than if I had personally arranged everything on the "fly" or in advance, and it certainly was comforting for a first timer to know my plans would happen as scheduled.

Doing Delhi~jaipur~AGra by private car/driver is a great way to go, as u can travel at your leisure, stop for lunch and nick naks, and of course,plenty of photo opporutnies.

Of course Indian roads are infamous, but for starters the Delhi~jaipur road is one of the best in India, and this road actually goes all the way down to Bombay, passing thru the State of Gujurat too. That said, u get alot of heavy truck traffic, and sometimes u will be absolutely amazed how many trucks are driving, or for that matter, how many are Stopped, or getting washed, or going under repairs. As a matter of fact, most of the stops en route are geared to the truckers, the so called Dhabas(where they can get a wash, a rest and a quick meal)

There are tourists resturants en route from Delhi to Jaipur and they pop up about midway, and they are literally called Midway stops..My favorite of the lot is called Shiva's Oasis! I stop here all the time, as i am passing thru this route all the time leading groups in the region..

It is not as great as a real oasis, but u can get a good hot Indian meal while sitting in a lovely garden and good restroom facilites! As u will see while traveling the roads in India, very often it becomes about~~where u can stop for facilities, and believe me, i know the places pass.

The fun thing about traveling on this road is that as u get closer to Jaipur you see so many Camels, even camel caravans. U also see plenty of monkeys, birds, and of course oh so holy cows. So the roads are open zoos, so to speak...

And u can easily stop on the road and take fotos of the camel and caravans. If u do this, it is nice to give a small tip..

From Jaipur to Agra the road is plenty good for India, as this is such a well traveled route for ages as is the Agra~Delhi road. For real rickety roads u might try the roads in Madhya Pradesh. I often do the route from Jhansi to Khajuraho by road with groups, and this turns out to be the mad road experience of the trip/!.

Anyways, let me stay on topic. Yes, it is great way to travel this route by private car/driver as then u can stop at a few places.

First off, Bharatpur is a wonderful destiantion if u are into birds! It is the home of the Ghanna Bird Sanctuary/Keoladea National park. this is a wonderful place to visit and u would want to spend a day or two if this appeals to U!...

However if u are just passing thru, by all means there are some nice places to stop for lunch so it makes a good lucn stop en route to Agra from jaipur.

After Bharatpur u will come upon incredible Fathephur Sikri, the abandoned city of Akbar. This place is truly spectacular and worthy of a good hour or two.

From Fathephur Sikir, it is about one hour to AGRA!!!

Happy travels and feel free to drop me a line with questions or for more info. happy to help. [email protected]

I'd recommend dealing with Durjay at Compass also. Here's the link to my trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34578710

Namaste aND HELLO AGAIN!

sINCE my posting a few folks have emailed/asked me about tipping if u take fotos! If you take a foto of say the Camel and his owner, it would be nice to give the Camel~man at least 10~20 rupees, which is only about 25/50 cents, more or less....It is just common courtesy..He will be happy, you will be happy and u can take endless photos. The camel may not smile but the owner will be smiling!!!

Also when u travel in India u will see snake charmers..Again, it is nice to give a small tip for the Photograph, again about 10~20 rupees minumum..They expect it, it is their job!

Even when u go to the Royal Palace in Jaipur many folks like to take pictures with the guards who are dressed in uniform..Again, always nice to give a small tip, and of course, a dollar is always good to go! U give the tip for the service being rendered, in theory..

Again, tipping is optional, but it is also the way of things in India..Hope that helps..namaste..

a. The Bird sanctuary is certainly worth a stop for a couple of hours as you get a chance to see both the Indian species & the migratory birds in winters plus the boars, blue bulls & Sambhars. The guides are good & have a sharp eye.
b. The road between Jaipur & Agra is not in good condition, when I last travelled with an American couple end March. You may need to give a stop at Bharatpur.
Best Wishes.

The road Delhi-Jaipur is a positive exception to the problem that in general, wherever you go in India, you are very unlikely to make an average above 30-40 km per hour. You'd also rather make sure to have a good car for the trip. There is quite a difference in the way you get out of a car after a six hour trip, when your vehicle is a 20 year old Ambassador car, or when it is one of these more recent SUV-like cars of which I can't remember the exact name right now. But, yes, travel by car: it's a great way of getting a feel for the country

Thanks, Craig, for the trip report and everyone for the good info.

My route is Jaipur --> Agra --> Delhi. I'm thinking of driving Jaipur to Agra, because Fatehpu Sikri is on the way. And train from Agra to Delhi. Hope this is ok and not too time wasting to do different modes of transportation?

Also, I'm a bit leary about the road from Jaipur to Agra, after reading about your experiences. lcuy described some potholes were big enough to lie in??

The alternative to driving Jaipur to Agra is taking the train. And hire a driver from Agra to go to Fatehpur Sikri--1 hour each one?

Thanks.

That might be nice way to do it. Or is there a train from Jaipur to Fatepur Sikri? Then have a car meet you there to go to Agra? That way you'd get only an hour or so of India road travel...enough to get some good photos- without having to backtrack!

When are you travelling? The road is supposedly the best before the monsoon comes. By then they've patched most of the holes from the last time. Since we were there in August, they'd just begun the work.

The fast train Delhi-Agra-Delhi is only twice daily and the times have to be convenient for it to make sense. The car joureny is almost the same length. The longest drive if Jaipur-Agra. The highway Delhi-Jaipur is actually brand new and excellent. If you enjoy driving the scenery in India and the stuff to see if fabulos - my friends took more then 100 pics daily.

You could also consider getting off the train at Bharatpur and having a car meet you there. Doesn't look like the Jaipur trains stop at Fatehpur. I'm not a bird watcher, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the bird park. I took the train from Jodhpur to Agra and then a car to Bharatpur, Fatehpur and back to Agra early in the morning.

Because of the tourist interest, the roads of the Triangle are brilliant. You can stop at places such as Fatehpur Sikiri, Bhatarpur, and Sikandra for much more interest. Just off the Jaipur-Delhi road, visit Neemrana Fort for lunch- a great stop.