Hi

I rerad your excellent tripreport to India.

I am interested in doing the Oberoi "tour"

I want to visit Shimla, Jaipur, Agra and Ranthambhore.Starting and finishing in Delhi.

I am flying in from LOndon so my flight will not be as long as yours!!

Is it possible to get a tour company such as compass to arrange all of my internal travel/ guides etc and i book my hotel package myself? Or is it best to get Oberoi to do it all for me?

Also is it possible to get from Shimla to either Agra or Jaipur in one day?

I would liker to take the train to Shimla from Delhi but wonfe rif i can fly back to Jaipur?

Also is the journey from Ranthambhore to Delhi possible in one day?

Many thanks

David

I am glad you enjoyed my trip report.

By saying you are interested doing the Oberoi "tour", do you mean that you would be staying exclusively in hotels in the Oberoi chain? I am not sure I would recommend that as I think you would have a richer experience in India with more variety in your lodging choices. I realize that especially in Shimla, Agra and Ranthambore and maybe even Jaipur there isn't much else available on the high end but it might be worthwhile to look at the Imperial at least, in Delhi.

That being said, I'm not sure that Oberoi is in the tour business but I do know that you will pay the maximum rack rate if you book directly with them. Compass and other India-based tour companies can book all of your internal travel arrangements - hotels, driver, guides, train reservations etc.

When are you planning on going? There are some on this board that are having difficulty reserving hotels for the coming high season - November 2005 to March 2006.

To get to either Agra or Jaipur from Shimla you have to go through Delhi which is 225 miles south. I think you will have to go through Delhi whether you are going by road, rail or air. I would not recommend going by road as the total distance Shimla - Agra is 350 miles and Shimla - Jaipur is 390 miles.

Train Delhi to Shimla sounds like a good idea. You could probably connect through Delhi on Indian Airlines - check their web site for the schedule. There are other better airlines but I don't know if they fly from Shimla.

Ranthambore - Delhi is 10 hours by car and 6-7 hours by train. We took the train.

Good luck in your planning. You will LOVE India.

Thanks for the reply.

I am looking to go the first week of April end of March.2006.

The reason i am looking exclusively at Oberoi is because i want to do the 12 nights for 5 night special offer.Part of the offer is that you have to stay at least one night in the oberoi in Delhi.

I am not sure if i have enough time to do the itinerary i like. I have 15 nights available but looking at it think with the travel involved i might have to forske one of Shimla or Rasnthambhore.
I would really like to do both but i wonder if i am cramping it all in? From your experience what do you think Craig?

So assuming i book my "deal" through Oberoi do you suggest i ask Compass to do the rest?

Many thanks

HI barnetda

I am interested to hear how things turn out for you with the Oberoi deal, and using Compass for transport, etc. I am also considering the Oberoi summer deal, but not until Sept.07 (I know, so far away).

Good luck with your plans.

Don't know your arrival/departure times in India but with 15 nights you could do 2 nights Agra, 3 nights Jaipur, 2 nights Ranthambore, 5 nights Delhi and 3 nights Shimla - don't know if you need more time in Shimla (I've not been there) or less time in Delhi but make sure your schedule allows you 3-4 game drives at Ranthambore i.e. arrive mid-day and depart mid-day.

Why don't you contact Compass and tell them what you'd like to do - explain about the promotion - they may be able to book it for you or even do better - I can't find it on the Oberoi web site though - is it an off-season special? Ask them if they can not do the special pricing for the Oberois, would they be willing to do the rest of the tour for you - no harm in asking.

http://www.oberoihotels.com/exoticva...o=offerdetails

Thats the deal. They are actually just about to announce the winter deal

I will contact Compass and see what they think.

Thanks very much .

I see that the Oberoi deal begins on April 1, just around the time things start getting hot in India. David, I have a gratuitous suggestion: with the same amount of money that Oberoi is charging, you could do a tour around February by mixing Oberoi accomodations with others (i.e. splurge on Oberoi, save some on other lesser properties). The weather will make a BIG difference to your enjoyment of India.
The downside is that you will have to spend time doing some homework and working with travel agents.

If you can put up with temps in the 90's, then April will be ok. With an a/c car and Oberoi hotels, I would think you would be able to manage. Keep in mind that most of the major sites are outdoors with little sun protection.

Agtou: I am unfortunatly o a pretty tight schedule next year so April is the only monh i can really do. I am in Africa or part of the year as well and need to tie it up with that.

We are pretty used to to the heat as we live 5 mnth sof the yer in Florida!!

David

Sorry - not Craig but butting in! April - we did Delhi-Ranthambore-Jaipur-Agra this month. Was hot but we survived. Ranthambore park closes mid April so do that first. The upside of April is the tigers are near the watering holes - we saw tigers on both our rides, once at 10 feet distance! Delhi-Ranth one day is very hectic. Overnight is ideal. The way it works well is the morning train Delhi-Sawai Madhopur which gets you into SM station around 1, then transfer to your hotel by 2 in time for quick lunch and game ride at 3. Overnight at hotel then early Am another safari then depart for Jaipur post early lunch would be the shortest IMO. You cannot fly Shimla to Jaipur. Given the need to do Ranthambore first I would suggest Delhi-Ranthambore-Jaipur-Agra-Delhi-Shimla-Delhi. IN this case you can do Delhi-Shimla by train one way and air one way - which also works well because it is not a daily flight.

Hobbes:

Excellent plan thank you.
I am just a little confused. You say Delhi-Ranth is hectic for one day travel but then suggest Delhi-Sm arriving at 1 pm ? IS that the same place?
I really like your plan leaving Shimla to last and working our way up from Ranth.

I really appreciate the info.

Butting in on Hobbes...
Sawai Modhopur is the town nearest the park. We were asked to be ready for the game drives closer to 2:30 - you will definitely feel rushed on your first day Delhi - Ranth with lunch, check-in, etc. but it is doable. Ranth to Jaipur is an easy drive - we did Jaipur - Ranth - took 4 hours at the most.

Thanks Craig

I am beginning to get an itinerary together wit dates and locatios etc. I hadnt thought of going to Ranthambore first, that makes a lot mre sense. I am emailing compass and the Oberoi group to see if they offer a guided itinerary to my plan. SOunds very exciting. We cant wait.

Craig is right - it is rushed. Whether or not you choose to do it depends on you. Another option is 2 nights in Ranthambore - same original plan i.e. leave Delhi early AM, reach Sawai Madhopur 1ish, transfer to hotel. Do game ride day 1 afternoon, day 2 AM and afternoon i,e, 3 in all, Leave for Jaipur post an early breakfast on day 3 giving yourself most of day 3 in Jaipur. In this case 2 nights in Ranthambore. In general a hotel will be more expensive for cars, transfers, guides than an agent is my feeling but check Oberoi rates then decide. All of us have had good experiences with local agents so choice is yours!

I agree it’s a bit tight. May I ask what you think of this itinerary.


I am there for 15 nights


Day 1 Fly LHR-Delhi arrive 23.00

Day 2 Delhi

Day 3 Train to Rathambhore (ready for Safari pm as Hobbes suggests)

Day 4 Ramthanbhore

Day 5 Drive TO Jaipur

Day 6 Jaipur

Day 7 Jaipur

Day 8 Drive To Agra

Day 9 To Delhi

Day 10 Train to Shimla

Day 11 Shimla

Day 12 Shimla

Day 13 Train or plane back to Delhi

Day 14 Delhi

Day 15 Delhi

Day 16 fly to LHR depart 02.00


I really appreciate your input. I have traveled extensively throughout the world and lived at various times in the Uk, USa and Asia. Nothing seems as daunting to arrange as India. I spend 4 weeks a year in Africa and even that seems easy to arrange!!!

Any suggestions to change my itineraryplease let me know.

Cheers

I think you need 2 nights in Agra. With Fatephur Sikri enroute to Agra, you will be rushed to do Agra and depart for Delhi the next day. Make sure you get a very late checkout on your final day in Delhi or just pay for the extra day.

Great. I can push days down and have 2 nights in Agra and do as you suggest.I will book the extra night or get the late check out in delhi. fantastic. really looking forwasrd to it.