Planning Trip to India
 

My husband and I are just beginning to think about a possible trip to India for January 2014. We have read some TR's here of course, and we think that we may just be interested in the Golden Triangle area and the tiger park area. This trip would probably be for less than 2 weeks in India. Wth much appreciated advice from many Fodorites, I was able to plan our Jan. 2013 trip to SE Asia,and it was a success!

We prefer to fly out of Newark on United, if possible. What would be the best way/order to do this itinerary? How many nights in each place? We like to have private guides. Also, do you have any suggestion(s) for a good stop-over destination on the way home, for a couple of days or so?

Thank you very much.

i like to use a delhi agent to assist and to supply guides and auto, as i prefer to do most of the trip via an SUV.

my guy is avrind, the owner of castle and king..

fly in and out of delhi... i think there might be a united non-stop from chicago...

3 full days in delhi is good, with one at the end of the trip... flts generally arrive and leave at midnight or after..

from there go to agra for 2 nights and one full day... udaipur might be fun from there for 3 days... then jaipur for 3-4 days... then a stop at neemrana fort palace hotel on the way back to delhi for a night or two...

avrind will help with hotels too or get some yourself... they are expensive... do you have any hotel points?? good place to use them..

the new marriott in jaipur is really nice.. we also stayed in the sheratons (ITC) in jaipur and agra.. and udaipur...

oberoi has packaged room rates too.

try to stay in a couple of heretage hotels as well in the country..

read my 2 trip reports...

The non-stop from Newark to Delhi is a slightly shorter flight than the non-stop from Chicago to Delhi, assuming you are already closer to Newark.

Thank you both so much for your prompt responses. Yes, we are in NJ; so if we select a non-stop flight, we'll select the United one from Newark. (Alternatively, we were trying to find a good deal on an airline offering a free stop-over on the return flight, in an attractive city, maybe somewhere else in Asia. So far, we are unable to find one). I wonder if (and hope) the fare will go down.

Rhk, we read both of your excellent TR's; they are very detailed and informative! Now we are considering our options.... I will email Castle and King. We do have hotel points, SPG. Also, the heritage hotels sound good.

Again, many thanks.

take a look at korean air fr jfk...

ANA

japan air

finn air from jfk

Thank you, rhkkmk. After checking with the airlines, I think that we will probably fly roundtrip on United (from Newark) non-stop to Delhi. We'll have to forego a stop in BKK or elsewhere on our flight home. Now we are figuring out the days needed and the itinerary for our trip to India. I will watch the airfare for January 2014. Thanks again.

We just returned from India last week and took the United flight out of Newark. It was fine and flights were both on time.

I was happy with the agent I worked with, too (TGS). You may want to read my trip report for ideas, which I just completed.

Although we didn't go to the tiger park, we did concentrate our trip in Rajasthan, so you might find the information helpful.

Paule

Paule,

I just read your excellent TR; It was very helpful and fun to read! Thank you for providing us all with so much detailed info and advice. I can see that you had a fabulous journey!

Rhkkmk,

Where is Neemrana Fort Palace Hotel located? Between what 2 main places on the ride back to Delhi? About how many hours ride back to Delhi from that hotel?

Also, what are the Heritage hotels like?

Thank you so much!

Thanks for the nice comments! I just started reading your TR to SE Asia and am enjoying it a lot. We're thinking of going in 1-2 years, and it sounds like you also had a terrific trip.

Progol,

Thanx so much. Glad that you are enjoying the TR. Yes, it was one fabulous journey!

It looks like we are going to eliminate Ranthambhore from our itinerary, since we have been advised that we would most probably not see a tiger. (The other tiger parks seem to be lcated too out of the way and difficult to get to; so we will skip viewing tigers in India). We have fond memories of safaris in Africa though.

Our itinerary so far includes: Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur.
We are wrestling with the order of these places and also possibly adding Varanasi. Aso considering Neerana Fort Palace Hotel; but we can't figure out where it is located exactly, how long a drive from Delhi or elsewhere?

Thank you all so much!

It looks like like Neemrana Fort is roughly 100+'kilometers from Delhi on the way to Jaipur, about 2 1/2 hours drive from Delhi. It's a bit of a challenge to figure out the best way to work the itinerary! There's no easy routing!

I would encourage you to include Varanasi. It's really a remarkable place to experience, and I think, captures part of the soul of India that you won't get in the other places. I know this makes it even more of a challenge, but I really found it one of our highlights.

Paule

we stopped at neemrana on our 1st trip.. we were driving from jaipur to delhi.. i think it was about 2 hours from delhi...

varanasi is interesting and imo 2 nights there is enough..

Thanx so much for all your input. The following itinerary has evolved based on your advice and from reading many TR's. I have been working with Arvind, (thank you rhkkmk).

Delhi, Varanasi, Agra, Ranthambhore, Jaipur, and either Neemrana or Samode Palace on the way back to Delhi.

Progol,
We're including Varanasi. Thanx for your recommendation. 2 nights there at the Taj Hotel, I think. I enjoyed your TR!
Anyone stay at Taj Hotel in Varanasi?

Rhkkmk,
We're working with Arvind (Castle & King). Very good to work with so far. Thanks very much.

Has anyone stayed at the Samode Palace? Please tell us about your experience there.

Thank you so much.

Hi, wbk42a,
I'm so glad you're including Varanasi! I think you'll find it worthwhile. It's overwhelming and intense, but has stayed with me. I can't speak about the Taj Hotel, though. Our guesthouse (very basic) was right on the ghats with a view of the Ganges, which we both felt really added to the experience.

I'm now thinking of a trip to SE Asia next year, thanks to your TR!

Paule