Flying into Delhi 11/27 and leaving 12/13/08.

As our flight will be very late, I have booked 3 nights in Delhi in Connaght place.

We are 2 adults in our 40's going to india for the lst time.

We would like to visit Delhi,Agra, Jaipur, Varansi, and kathmandu. What other places should we visit? And what would the order of the places we visit? We plan on taking the bus from Varansi to Nepal or should we pay $220 RT from Delhi on a plane?

If you scroll through the Asia thread - you don't even have to go back more than two to three weeks - you will find several that have just about all the info on this part of India you could want (Delhi-Jaipur-Agra-Varansi). It covers logistics, hotels, shopping, eating, car vs. train, local travel guides, etc.

Find these threads, and then cut, paste, and print the most useful replies. Then you can focus on detail questions if the above info didn't answer fully.

I have never taken a bus in India. I would advise against taking a local bus and only take the tourist coach type of bus. Plus, compare the travel time to Nepal - bus vs. plane. Long road trips in India can quickly become very tiring.

You are trying to cover a lot of ground in very little time. I can't imagine you'd have enough time to take the bus to Kathmandu. I expect the hardest part of your planning will be to decide which destinations to keep in and which to cut.

you have enough with what you have outlined....i was going to do the same trip without varanasi in 15 days....

forget the bus, fly...

Hi there,

What other places should you visit? Answer NONE. You only have 15 days to play with, so even Katmandhu is pushing it imho. But it's your trip!!

Jaya recommends against taking Indian buses but has never taken one him/herself. I have taken many - from quite luxe overnight services to very ricketty chicken buses in places like Himachal Pradesh. The latter (goes without saying) are not very comfortable and can be painfully slow. They get you from A to B and sometimes it's the only way. Given a choice the train is usually better.

I can think of several ways to work your destinations. One that would avoid returning to Delhi goes something like this.

Overnight train Delhi to Gorakhpur - bus or shared jeep to Sunauli - bus to Katmandhu. You could then fly to Varanasi (Indian Airlines) to save some time. From Varanasi take another overnight train to Agra. From Agra to Jaipur by bus (and stop at Fatephur Sikri on the way). Back to Delhi by train.

Not all these connex are daily so again 15 days might not be enough. I'd get on to the relevant websites and see whether it would make sense for you.

Best of luck.

hello again,

I'd love to return to India so it's hard to stop thinking about it once I start! On reflection I would fly to Katmandhu - takes too long by train/bus, and besides, it might be a bit ambitious after only three days in the country on your first visit.

I drove Varanasi to Kathmandu when I was in school. It was our coming of age road trip and took 2 days with a stop in Pokhara. A bus to trip Varanasi to Kathmandu for 40 year olds? No way!!

Air India. Direct flight Varanasi to Kathmandu. Daily.

npjai - it's really not necessary to be so condescending about 40 year olds. We are not doddering idiots. I did the journey overland from Delhi to Pokhara described above when I was 45. And the return bus trip Rekong Peo - Tabo (10, if not 11, hours each way if I recollect) when I was 47.

So give us a break.