Progol, you're baaadddd! Your boss isn't a secret Fodorite I hope?

Re the enclosed showers, Huck, Progol and I had some discussions about this (on her India trip report maybe?) I read that USA some designers are trying to push "wet rooms" in modern houses. Yuck! Earlier today, a friend recommended a hotel in Kerala. It sounded great...'til the part about the lack of an enclosed shower!

Unless the system has changed in the last 8 yrs, "the gauntlet"-- the path between where you buy your tickets, and where you enter the grounds--has to be walked by everyone, no matter which lodging your arrive from (democracy in action) unless maybe you have celebrity connections (-: Daughter and i went with our marvelous guide from the day before. He helped us navigate, was very protective, and of course because the guides and touts know each other, he could tell them to get lost. You'll be FINE--it is irritating after the first couple of "Madam, buy? buy!?" but not dangerous. Besides, you'll encounter this in all your Rajasthani cities, close to their famous sites and on the main shopping streets, so by the time you arrive into Agra, you'll have had plenty of practice!!

Hiring a guide: Personally, I wouldn't in advance. Meanwhile,you ca do lots of reading/documentary watching, etc. If you want a guide upon reaching your destination, India by Car and Driver shouldable to arrange someone local on short notice, OR you can find someone yourself by online research (e.g. try "activities" for each city on tripadvisor ) or wait until you get to a place and actually see the guide. All the national sites have gov't licensed guides (name tags/photos) waiting at entrance, but you could be just fine on your own. (On the current Fodors "Lucknow" thread , there's a lively discussion of the pros and cons of guides.) As an example, regretted hiring a guide at City Palace in Udaipur--I was not feeling well, want to focus on just the main rooms, thought a guide could help condense the info on where and what those were. But soon after entering, I realized there weren't that many main rooms in the first place!

For domestic flight airlines, check Expedia or Google flights: your date and destination (one way or return) and nonstop. You'll see ALL the airlines' times and options, on one page , and can then book directly thru the airline. Between VNS and Del are at least 4 different airlines. Once you've chosen those, confirm with India by Car and Driver that they will have someone in the arrivals area waiting for you. Remember, with India, you want as seamless as possible! If everything goes 100% smoothly, it will be a miracle (as on every trip--but more so in India) but you want to get as close to 100% as possible there.

Re: Your company possibly booking hotels---for any they suggest that are not what you've chosen, ask why/if they disagree with your choice--and see if it makes sense. I always do--and have learned some good reasons why a place may or may not be good, from someone who presumably has a lot of feedback from clients, plus their own visits to go by. (I had a lovely travel agent in VN who accepted whatever I asked her to book for me--but after actually staying in those places, I wondered why she hadn't more skeptically questioned some of my choices!).

Ha ha! Progol, I'm betting you can switch screens in an instant if the need should arise.....from Fodor's to a spreadsheet in a flash!

More great advice. I will check with Car and Driver about their hotel picks. So far they have been extremely responsive and I'll make sure they will be there "door to door". Speaking of doors, the USA designers that are pushing wet bathrooms might have to market to campers. Having grown up with "normal" bathrooms, fireplaces, and bathtubs I won't give any of those up without a fight. We were house hunting a year or so ago and I was surprised that many new builds don't include bathrooms or fireplaces. That is unthinkable to me especially because we live in a part of the country where it snows. I think wet baths are one of those things that might look good on paper. When you put it in practice the theory flies down the drain, or on the floor, or wherever.

Really good advice about the guides. After nailing down the itinerary I'll tackle that topic. I think I've been able to squeeze another couple of days into our vacation. Right now there is no price difference between flying out a day earlier and flying home a day later. I thought we'd take the first extra day to overnight near Ranakpur or the K fort between Jodhpur and Udaipur. DH thinks we're cutting Delhi short by a day, so I might add that at the end. Haven't fully decided about the drive between Udaipur and Jaipur yet. I know Bundi is mid-way but squeezing this in may cause a significant increase in airfare (leaving or coming home on a weekend). So, if you had 2 extra days would you take our basic itinerary and break up the long driving days? And if we keep Varanasi as is (2 full days plus 2 half days) would you add an extra day in Delhi? Right now we just have one long day. I am still conflicted on how much time to spend in Delhi if we have enough time in the other places.

CaliNurse - thanks for the warning about the TM touts. Almost every trip report includes something about how aggressive they are (all over India), so it must be quite something. We haven't nailed down the Jaipur/Agra/Delhi portion yet so may have questions down the road regarding those options.

hucktravelbuddy,
It looks like you got all the questions answered that you asked me! So much of this is personal and truly, you're not going to go wrong - the only thing you'll want to do is to come back! No matter where you go, you will have an amazing experience -- and there will always be places that you wished you could've gotten to (she says to herself as she plans next year's big trip!).

As far as allocating nights and days - the usual rule of thumb is that 2 nights equals one full day. But our time in Varanasi actually ended up being more like (nearly) 3 full days and only 2 nights! We arrived by plane in the morning of the first day; had a full afternoon and evening; then the next full day; yet our train didn't leave until late on the 3rd day, so it really felt like 3 full days. We didn't need any more time.

2 full days in Delhi should be fine. We flew in and out of Delhi, and had one full day when we arrived and another day scheduled at the end. We ended up with an extra day thanks to the snowstorm at the end. I never got a feeling for Delhi, though, so don't feel that I can speak to the experience there.

Also agree that your choice of guest house in Agra looks lovely -- my only issue is the (I believe) lack of A/C, but then again, when we were in Agra, we needed a heater - it was really cold!

Enjoy your planning - it looks like you're doing a greatnjob!


I think CaliNurse has done yeoman service giving you advice on all questions, including arranging guides. Again, I didn't arrange the guides since I was working with an agent. Some of the agents were better than others, even with the agent arranging them.

The advice from all has been fabulous! I'm getting ready to compose an email to Car and Driver about all that we've discussed. I truly appreciate your time and expertise and I'll come back to this thread when I dig deeper into details. Happy trav

Hi, hucktravelbuddy,
In looking at booking.com for the Coral Court homestay in Agra, they do mention A/C as one of the amenities, so it's very possible that it's offered. I don't see it mentioned on their site (I may've missed it) but I generally find that if something ISN'T mentioned, it's not there. I may be wrong, though. Double check to confirm that they do have A/C. Otherwise, the place looks fabulous and I'd stay there in a heartbeat!