CaliforniaLady

Crosscheck just succinctly described ALL of India for us, but Varanasi has the added bonus of ashes blowing in the wind, and the distinct smell of burning bodies. It's one of my favorite cities in the world.

However, when we were in Udaipur, we ran into a couple of American guys that had just visited Varanasi (our next stop), and they were totally grossed out by the smell and the ashes, and that is why I suggest checking with mom and dad to see whether they would prefer Udaipur or Varanasi.

Either way, you will have a wonderful trip.

Pawan1987

Well, both Varanasi and Udaipur are different. One is situated on the banks of River and the other is established around a lake. Varnasi is said to be the spiritual capital of India and its all about the scared river Ganga. If you ask about experience, I would rate Varanasi above Udaipur because of its evening arti ceremony, which is simply amazing. However Including varanasi can also make your schedule bit hectic as you need to take a flight or train from Delhi to reach there.

Whereas Udaipur is called as the "Venice of East" and is well connected by roads from Jaipur. Drive is bit long ( around 7 hrs) but its fine. Udaipur is also a beautiful city but I consider it more as a leisure destination. Not much in terms of experience.

So as per your comfort you can decide which destination you would want to include. Just make sure that which ever the destination you select, try to get the accommodation facing the water bodies (river or lake)

dgunbug

If your flight connections are suitable, you may consider doing as we did - fly into Delhi, but connect with a flight to udiapur (3 nights) and make that your first stop as it is an easy transition into the craziness of India and as it will save you a long car ride in one direction. I would stay in town rather than outside of town as we found wandering the streets to be delightful and there was much to see and do. From there you can go to Jaipur by car (2 nights) and then Agra (2 nights), stopping along the way at the monkey temple and the stepping well. Fly from Agra to Varanasi (2 nights) and then fly back to Delhi (2 nights). Varanasi was the highlight of ou trip to India and Delhi surprised me as being a fascinating city with great contrast being modern and old, prosperous and poor. There are great historical sights there. We wish we had moe time in Delhi. Whatever you do will be fabulous as India is a country rich in history and cultural experiences. With your limited time, I would skip the nature preserves as well as khujaharo, as this is too far out of the way and difficult to get to.

CaliforniaLady

Pawan1987,

It's faster and simpler to fly from Jaipur to Udaipur.


Dgunbug,

Fly from Agra to Varanasi? Huh? Jet Airways does not fly in and out of Agra. And please don't tell these nice people to take Air India--we met some Americans in India who had done that, and the toilet flooded, and leaked all over the plane. Yuck.

Also, four stops are more than enough for eleven days, either Delhi-Agra-Jaipur-Varanasi (my vote), or Delhi-Agra-Jaipur-Udaipur. The inertia goes down with six people--someone wants a second cup of coffee at breakfast, another lingers in gift shops.

dgunbug

Californialady - I may have misspoken about flights to Varanasi from Agra - I did a quick search and saw there was flights but didn't see details other than the fact that there was one stop and that it took a little over two hrs - I assumed the flight goes through Delhi.

You are probably right though about coordinating an itinerary for 6 people. I personally enjoy traveling with only my husband as our travel styles are so similar. I concur that I would chose Jaipur over udiapur, mostly because it just makes more sense and is easier to get to.

CaliforniaLady

Hi dgunbug,

No problem. I didn't want to seem overbearing and bossy, but sometimes people look at these postings years later, and they may have gotten confused.

I liked Jaipur very much. The courtyard around the palace was charming, and the palace itself had wonderful treasures. I thought the Jantar Mantar observatory was fascinating, as was the Albert Hall Museum.

You hit the nail on the head with the logistics. If the OP spends a couple of days in Delhi, get a driver to take them to Agra, and then on to Jaipur, followed by a flight to Varanasi (or Udaipur), then it all works out beautifully.

CaliNurse

MBCB mentions love of nature and good food at top of list. I assume that means beautiful scenery and delicious eats . So I'm going to suggest skipping the Golden Triangle or anywhere up north for a first trip with limited time, and instead doing Southern itinerary, mostly in Kerala. It's a much "gentler" intro for a first trip multigenerational family.
December is a perfect time of year to visit weather-wise.