India in March- help with sorting out itinerary!
 

Hi all,

Planning to visit India in March for 3 weeks. Going to the following places but trying to figure out the best way to travel, good tour companies, etc..

1. Flying into Delhi and taking a connecting flight to Amritsar (will stay there for a few days, get acclimatized, visit some relatives and the Golden Temple of course!).

Need to go to the following places:
Chandigarh- 2-3 days
Dharamsala- about 2 days
Delhi (hoping to spend 3 days here at the end of my trip since I'm flying back to Toronto from here). Need to know some really good people/companies that offer informative walking tours.
Agra, Fatehpur Sikri (1-2 days)
Rajasthan (Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jaipur)--need advice on Rajasthan (never been and have no idea what I can realistically see while spending about 3 days there)

I don't want to do a whirlwind tour. I really want to take in each of these areas but I also want to travel safely and efficiently. HELP! where do I begin!?!?

I suggest you submit your itineray to a travel agent in India. I used Indian Moments for my first trip. Stick to your guns regarding places and budget as they'll likely try to sell you more but in the end you'll can get exactly what you want. I found it an excellent way to make arrangements and you'll likely pay less than if you try to do it yourself due to price breaks they can get for you, especially on hotels.

Merci Mme Perdu! that's great advice! will do.

i use castle and king in delhi to assist me with my india trips. in Raj. i love having a car and driver (SUV).

udiapur is the indian place we have visited--make sure to stay a couple of days

We rented a private car including driver, who picked us up at Jaipur and stayed with us for about 5 or 6 days going to Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra, and ending up in Delhi. We got a Toyata Qualis SUV (8 seaters for just the 2 of us plus driver). Felt really guilty for wasting so much car space, while most everyone was sitting cramped up in tiny motor rickshaws or sitting on the roof of busses. The scene along the highway was a sight in itself--humans jammed up in cars, sitting on bumpers and roofs, camels on the highway. We were a spectacle to them too in our oversized vehicle.

The car including driver and gas cost only $55 per day, but that was back in 2006.

this is exactly the car you want or another suv model

I humbly disagree. The Toyota Innova, more of a mini-van with regular doors, has amazing suspension and is much smaller.

Just checked and the Innova is classified as an MPV, sort of a chunky station wagon, the size of a compact car, seats four but has two extra fold down seats in the rear (which we didn't use). It doesn't stand out the way a huge SUV does (would hate that). We had Innovas at every stop, even in the remote rural area near Khajuraho.

JJ98, I bet they weren't being imported when you took your trip.

thanks everyone! much appreciated!!

Walking tours are quite limited in India. A good car and English speaking driver is more what you need.

We took walking yours with Calcutta Walks when we were there and it was a marvelous experience. They told me they were starting up in other cities. It would be worth checking their website to see where else they are offering walks: www.calcuttawalks.com

But Jaya is quite right, most of your touring will be done by car.

Thank you Jaya and Kathie!

You need to create a straight or circle route for the mentioned cities. Like If you are landing in Amritsar then you should leave for Dharamsala - 2 days are enough here. From here route for Agra-Fatehpur Sikri. Its again for 2 days. From here Delhi is close. Then from Delhi route for Rajasthan. In Rajastahn you should first go to Jaipur. Its a minimum 2 days stay over here. From Jaipur you should lead for Ajmer & Pushkar (2 days). Then Udaipur 2 days. From here Jodhpur, Bikaner & then Chandigarh.