Hi,

Is the itinerary below do-able? We have 2 weeks in India (excluding international travel time). Please suggest any changes or any recommendations. This is for traveling in mid Nov to early Dec. Thanks!

* Fly into Delhi at 11 p.m.
* Next day fly to Hyderabad in afternoon
* 3 days in Hyderabad (Must-do for trip)
* Overnight train to Aurangabad.
* See Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves for 2 days.
* Fly from Aurangabad to Delhi in the morning. (To avoid coming to Delhi at night.)
* See Agra and Delhi for 3 or 4 days.
* Fly home from Delhi

Too much moving about? Is it advisable to book hotels/train/flight tickets ahead of time? What if there's a delay and you miss coming to your destination on a particular day? You just lose that hotel night's booking? Is this common?

Question about train: It looks like there's no first class train from Hyderabad to Auragabad. The overnight train that is the most expensive is "II Tier A/C". Does anyone know what this is like? Are there beds? Private compartments?

Again, we're looking for a knowledgeable travel agent in India who could help arrange our trip or part of the trip if they're a specialist in a certain region. Thanks!

This looks very do able to me. Will you be taking the train to Agra from Delhi?

2 tier AC means there is a lowere and and upper bunk and there is air conditioning. 3 tier means you could be on top of two other bunks. My experience with 2 tier AC was in a cabin with w double bunks and a solid door to the hallway. The beds had decent padding and were covered with a velour. We were given sheets and a blanket to make them into a bed. There was room under the lower bunks to lock your luggage.

I would book the air tickets. YOu will be flying during a busy season and the better flights will fill up. Same with hotels in Delhi and Agra.

Also, I was very happy with Vini at vinstring travel for one of my trips. He booked air/trains/hotels for part of it; I booked some of them directly.

He did all the travel arrangements for my daughter and her 24 classmates for 4 months in India- everything from booking houseboats in the south to rooms in Darjeeling, and arranged all their trains and planes as well.

VINstring Holidays Pvt Ltd.
Email: [email protected] or http://www.vinstring.com./main.htm

Thanks, lcuy, for your responses and great info!

We're thinking of taking the express train from Delhi to Agra (in the morning). Should we hire a personal car/guide to do Agra, so we could go to Fatehpur Sikri and surrounding sights? Know of a good guide in Agra?

Or should we get a car/guide from Delhi? And skip the train altogether? Although I remember reading someone's recommendation to take the train instead of driving from Delhi to Agra.

Thanks!

By the time you head for Agra, you will have seen a lot of India, so the fact that you can't stop and get out of the train- like you could in a car- will probably be less important than a smooth, fast train ride with nice seats!

The train to Agra is a tourist train, so very comfortable and you will be served a simple breakfast and tea on board.

It is faster than driving. You arrive in Agra about 9 am- giving you time to see the fort and Baby Taj that day, then seeing the TAj that evening and the next morning before heading over to fatepur sikri.

We had a guide and driver in Agra, arranged by our travel agent. They met us at the train station. If not using a TA for the rest of your trip, you could also arrange with your hotel to be picked up at the train station and use them for seeing agra and Fatepur Sikri.

lcuy, I like your suggested itinerary for Agra! I think you're the one who wrote about taking the train instead of driving to Agra.

Did you use VINstring to book your car/guide in Agra too? How much does it typically cost per day? Do they charge per person or for the whole car? We're a party of 2.

Thanks! Very helpful information.

When I went to Agra (last August), Durjay at Compass travel had made all our arrangements. We were picked up from the airport and never had to think about travel until our free days in Delhi at the end of our 2 weeks. We only took the train from Delhi to Agra. The driver/guides were a bit less than $100 per day total.


Vini did my trip last Nov/Dec.
Most of our travel that trip was by plane or train, and the hotels did the pickups. Vini seems to be very good at making far flung arrangements, and can do it on short notice. He is willing to do budget travel as well as luxury, which is not the case with all agents.

Any guides on that one we arranged ourselves, and did not involve going to different cities. An all day car (without guide) was about $25 dollars in Delhi, $12 for 1/2 day. Guides were about $25 more.

lcuy, really appreciate the specific info you provided. Very helpful!

Non-stop flight from Aurangabad to Delhi?

Does anyone know which airline has nonstop flight from Aur to Delhi? I thought I saw one during my search but I couldn't find it again by looking at several domestic websites. They all require at least a stop in Mumbai.

I looked too, but it looks like you will have to stop in Mumbai. Jet has one that only has an hour + layover though, so not too bad!