All

My husband has been traveling to Bangalore a great deal for business and I am going to try to tag along on the end of one of his next trips. The problem is, with our young children's schedules and the crazy busy social lives of the grandparents (who we need to watch the kids), I can only go for one week. Insane, I realize but I have done long weekends in Moscow and Istanbul so I have a history of such ridiculous journeys. Anyway....assuming we can only see the Taj on a daytrip and not some great visit staying at the Amarvillas, how would you do it? Get a private guide and driver? If so, how do I find? Take the train?

Any advice you all can provide would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks so much.
taitai

i think your only choice is to take the train...driving takes way toooo long for a day trip...

could you do an overnite?? out there one afternoon and back the next...

the sheraton is a good hotel...moderate price..

As bb says, the only way to do a day trip is by train..The shabahti (sp?) express leaves Delhi at about 6 am and gets into Agra at 8;30-ish. Take a taxi to the Taj and if you like him, hire him to take you around for the rest of the day. (Negotiate first!!!)

Some thoughts on this, but first some questions: why do you feel you can only do a day trip to Agra? Is there a reason you want to spend more time in Bangalore? I think Bangalore is a great city, green and pleasant and some good restaurants, but there is not a lot for the tourist there, and for 7 days IMO you will be hard pressed to occupy yourself. Unless you plan to go to Mysore for an overnight, which is interstesting. Also, look at a map and see the very large distance between Bangalore, way down south, and Delhi/Agra, in the north. It’s like being in Miami and wanting to go to Williamsburg VA for a day. Perhaps you would want to stay in the south for this trip. Time of year would be an issue for me too. It’s still pretty hot in Agra now, will start cooling off in about mid-October. See weatherbase.com for information. Or commit to a few days in Delhi (where there is a ton to see and do) and an overnight to Agra.

Otherwise, some comments would be:

1. Do not plan to be in Agra on a Friday, as the Taj is closed on Fridays.

2. It is not possible to fly from Bangalore to Agra without changing planes in Delhi. IMO it would not be at all possible to do a one day trip to Agra <i>from Bangalore</i>. (Well, it may be possible, but you would have like 2 hours in the afternoon in Agra, not worth it IMO.) Therefore, something you should consider doing is routing your international flight so that it is an “open jaw” which means you can fly from MSP to Bangalore <i>but return home out of Delhi</i>, or vice versa, so that you do Delhi/Agra at the beginning or end of the trip. This will give you some more time as you won’t be rushing to make a flight to or from Bangalore. (This may also allow you a better flight scheduled to get home, I have seen your other posts; i.e. AA flies non-stop from Delhi to Chicago.)

3. My suggestion is that you do Delhi at the end of the trip. Kingfisher, the best airline in India (and one of the best anywhere) flies to Delhi from Bangalore several times a day, a good flight for you would be the 10 am or Noon fight, which you can then connect to the 3:30 pm daily to Agra from Delhi. You don’t have to switch airports. The Noon flight may be cutting it a bit fine for the connection (1 hour) but should work, otherwise the 10 am will work, if you wanted to drive down from the airport that would be an option as well rather than waiting for the 3:30 pm flight (you would arrive about the same time as the flight does, however, I would not take the train at that point as you have to go into downtown Delhi to get it). You can then see sunset at the Taj, overnight in Agra and sunrise at the Taj (a sublime experience). You can then spend as much time as you want in Agra after seeing the Taj as sunrise, and head back to Delhi by car or train (train gives you more options as you can go in darkness, I would <u>not</u> recommend the drive at night.) As your departure from Delhi is probably in the late evening, you could theoretically fly out for home on this same day.

4. If you do Agra first, because of the US flight arrival times, I think you will end up having to overnight in Delhi, thereby probably missing the opportunity to overnight in Agra (as your time seems limited).

5. While the Amarvilas is a wonderful hotel with an unbeatable location, there are other options if you don’t want to spend that money. However, for one night, I would suggest you stay there if you can, as you can get to the Taj so easily. Otherwise, I like the Taj View Hotel (www.tajhotels.com). Their Taj view rooms offer a quite nice – if more distant – view of the Taj. The Mughal (a Sheraton) is also perfectly fine, but no views.

I now see I may have mis-read the original post.

Are you really trying to do Agra as a day trip from Bangalore? Or will you be doing this from Delhi??

Thanks so much for all the great advice. A bit more background....I need to be in Bangalore for a bit at some point as that is where my husband's business is located and it is important to him that I meet some of his Indian counterparts and get a feel for the area (in case, someday, we decide to move there for a spell). In terms of going to the Taj...I did not think of it as a day trip from Bangalore but rather as a second part of our journey...couple days in Bangalore and then move on to see one or two other places before going home. Was thinking of exactly what Cicerone suggested...open jaw and leave out of Delhi. I would love to see something in the Golden Triangle area so wondering what, if anything, makes sense. Two days in Bangalore and then fly to Jaipur and two days there and then fly to Delhi or Agra and two days there before leaving out of Delhi? How can that work? Would it make sense to fly from Jaipur to Delhi and get a driver to Agra or can I fly straight to Agra (will visit the Kingfisher site after I type this note)?

I very much appreciate all the advice you all are giving and am interested in hearing what else people have to say.

Thanks.
Taitai

Whew! I was thinking you really might be insane!

The golden triangle (Delhi-Agra-Jaipur) is a nice way to get introduced to India. You can actually drive this whole trip, although the Agra-Jaipur leg is a long and bumpy one.

You could also do a driving trip Delhi-Agra- Delhi as an overnight, then fly to either Jaipur, Udaipur or even Varanasi. All three are great cities with lots of historic spots'

With only one week that includes Bangalore though, I think I'd do an overnight to Agra and spend the rest in Delhi. Three cities in one week will be enough for a whirlwind trip.

Thanks again for the help. I think we are going to try Bangalore, Jaipur, Agra and skip Delhi this trip other than a transit point. Not sure how all the logistics will work out but I am learning fast.

Need to find a driver to help us get around. Will post separately but if anyone knows of anyone, I would appreciate a referral.

taitai