taitai

My DH has just accepted a position in which he will be spending a good deal of time in India. The great part is that his company will pay for me to go with him a couple times a year. Realistically, as he will be gone a lot, I don't want to be gone too much as we have little kids and they need us home. So, I am thinking that one week is about as far as I am comfortable pushing it. So, if you had one week in India...where would you go? I am thinking I will plan this trip for late fall to get the best weather and to not interfere with life at home. Obviously, I would love to see the Taj Mahal and asked my husband to make sure he does not go without me. How would you put together a trip? Thanks.
Taitai

rhkkmk

probably someone at your husband's job will have suggestions and contacts...i used a delhi agency to put mine together....

where will he be based....that may determine from where you would start...

most first timers start in delhi and do the so-called golden triangle: delhi, agra (taj) and jaipur....that is a week or more right there....

TracyB

Or Kerala makes a nice 1 week trip...You could do a night on the house boat, a couples of night in the backwaters, a night or 2 in Cochin or Kovalam or Varkala amd a couple nights in Thekkady??

rajuindia

There is two posibilities for you:-
First:- Golden Triangle ( Delhi + Jaipur + Agra Taj mahal with Varanasi& kamasutra temples or with Udaipur & Pushkar.
This route possible in seven days.

Second option is to go South India:-
Mumbai > Cochin > Komarkom > House Boat Cruz in back waters of Kerala.

Both are great trip.
Raju India.

taitai

Thanks so much for these suggestions. They give me some starting points in my research. I really very much appreciate the help and no doubt will be back on the Asia boards a lot in the coming months.

Taitai

loveey

If you are interested in Wildlife you can visit Bandhavgarh National Park (famous for Tigers) & Khajuraho along with Taj Mahal...a real good tour in 7 days...starting and ending up in Delhi.

Jayna

What kinds of things do you prefer to do?

I'm in Delhi now and will see the Taj Mahal for the first time tomorrow...I'm sure there will be pics on my blog from there and my time in the "golden triangle" in the next few weeks...maybe they can help you decide if that's the kind of thing you'd like to do?

Jayna
travels at www.ususbaby.com

Cicerone

I would suggest you do some reading and see what is out there and what interests you. India is a huge country with a myriad of things to do and see. The fall is a good time most everywhere in India except the east coast which has heavy rain at that time, so you are pretty good for going to many parts of India if you are talking about Oct and Nov. See weatherbase.com for information on temps and rainfall for places you are considering. I also assume that you are going to be making trips once a year, so you don’t necessarily <i>have</i> to go to see the Taj Mahal first, although I can understand your interest in doing so; however it has been there a long time and will still be there in 2009 and later. You might also want to see the area in and around where you husband generally spends his time (is it one city like Bangalore? There is a good bit to do around Bangalore, e.g. Mysore, and Bangalore is a very pleasant green city with a nice vibe IMO, not a bad way to start seeing India), that he may know well and want to either see or share with you. My general rule is that with a week, I would not try to “do” more than 2 places, or at most 3 if the third is like an overnight or something nearby, otherwise it is just a blur. Also, the flight is quite long and you may be a bit worn out with jet lag in the first day or two, so with only a week I would not try to do too much.

While late October through about mid-March is generally the best time weather-wise, you may also want to time your trip for a special event, like Divali (i.e. the Hindu new year) which is generally in October or November and is a huge holiday with fireworks, and attendant special foods, markets, etc. (In 2008 Divali starts on Oct 28 and in 2009 it starts on Oct 17, celebrations generally last for about a week.) If your husband works in Mumbai, there is the large Ganpati festival generally in September or early Oct which is very interesting to observe. (Could be rainy in Sept) There is a big Durga festival in Calcutta usually in early October. You could also go in the late spring or summer months, but go to hill station areas or even Himalaya areas like Ladakh that are very cool temperature-wise and have some great walking and hiking. (Hill stations can be rainy but Ladakh would not be; hill stations are good in the months leading up to the monsoon, like March-May when it’s beastly hot in the plains). There are centres for music and dance, and if those interest you, you could include those on a future trip as well. It’s very easy to get to Bhutan from Delhi, and easy to get to places like Sri Lanka and the Maldives so you could also consider that.

If for your first trip you wanted to see the Taj Mahal, then a logical way would be to fly internationally into Delhi and go from there. I like Delhi and lot and there is a lot to do and see there and many good restaurants and great shopping beyond the historical sights, so I would not give it short shrift. You can either drive down to Agra (4 hours) or take the fast train (about 2 hours). I would definitely say an overnight is necessary to see the Taj at sunrise and sunset and to see other things in Agra and hopefully not just the 100 yards around the Taj full of touts which you will hate. Including Fatephur Sikri would be very good as well, this is about an hour outside Agra and is another reason to stay at least one night if not two (and the Amarvilas is of course the third reasons, see oberoihotels.com). Jaipur is an easy 4 hour drive from there. You can fly out of Jaipur back to Delhi. However, with only a week, IMO, you cannot “do” Delhi, Agra <u>and</u> Jaipur and really see, enjoy and appreciate them. (Yes, it can be done physically, but IMO not really well.) Also with flight times, you may have to overnight in Delhi on either end as it may not be possible to connect from Jaipur right to your int’l flight, or get from Delhi right down to Agra if you wanted to skip Delhi (you do NOT want to make the drive and night and may miss the fast trains), so you will have to look at the flights and see what works. I don’t know if I would give up Jaipur or Delhi, on balance I think I would save Jaipur for a trip which will include other parts of Rajasthan and just do Delhi and Agra together, you could include a night at a place like the Neemrana Fort hotel on the way back from Agra to Delhi to get more of a countryside feel, see neemranaresorts.com (I think that is it, I don’t have the website with me, am in an airport lounge right now).

Get Alistair Sawday’s book, Special Places to Stay India, and also look at his website, this has many interesting hotel reccos. You may want to choose a place to go based on some of these.

taitai

Wow. Thanks for all the great advice...especially all the details Cicerone!! My DH will be based in Bangalore and Mysore and will be going for 2 weeks about every two months or so. So, I will have lots of opportunities to join him although this year, with our children's schedules and our general lives, only one trip will really make sense. The whole Rajasthan area looks amazing to me and so does Kerala and Goa. I have read a ton about India but all of it history (coincidentally, just finished Indian Summer two weeks before he found out about the new job) and nothing travel related so I am learning a lot. He is making his first trip later this week so once he gets back we will sit down and figure out where to go when I can join him in November (the only real time that will allow us to go while not missing any of our children's birthdays or any major holidays).

I will look into the hotels you mentioned. I have been fortunate to have stayed in Aman Resorts before but do not know Amarvilas. Can't wait to check them out.

Taitai

thursdaysd

I loved Mysore - lots to see there. And if you're already in the south you're well placed for Kerala and Goa, as well as Ooty (by steam train) and the Nilgiri Hills.