New Delhi Travel Answers

HELLO! all i can say is make sure you see akshardham temple in delhi. i have seen many temples/buildings in my life and this is probably the best one in my opinion. even more so than the taj mahal. dont miss it! have fun!

It is a good plan; however be prepared for the heat.

That is good to hear. My friend went over to Rajahstan - Jodhpur, Udaipur and Ajmer instead, and that looked real good too! Given my limited time, what would you suggest I do? And also, should I stick to one guide throughout, or look for local guides in each cities. (I thought of the latter as I would like to spend some time alone with my husband, and not have a guide with us all the time!)

1. Sept. will be hot and humid in Delhi as well as in the places you have mentioned. 2. Your agent's itinerary of "Delhi-Jaipur-Fatehpur Sikri-Agra-Varanasi-Delhi. Includes a train ride from Agra to Varanasi," is very rushed for a 8D/7N trip. Delhi itself will take 3 days, Agra, Fatehpuri Sikri, Jaipur, another 3 nights; then, Delhi-Varanasi-Delhi, another 2 nights. Though this adds up to the time mentioned by your agent, it is very rushed, imo. For flexiibility add another 2 nights. 3. All the places mentioned above are very good places and worth visiting. If you have some more time, there are quite a few other places you may consider adding to your list. 4. You can travel by air-conditioned coaches in trains to all the places mentioned above. 5. You don't need a local guide or even an agent. If you are really "adventurous", plan out your itinerary and book your tickets online. You may try makemytrip.com and cleartrip.com, amongst others. You may also try the official irctc.com. All these have train sections. 6. You can get local taxis at each of the places mentioned by you. Trip from Delhi to Agra to Fatrehpur Sikri to Jaipur and back to Delhi, can be done by hiring a reliable vehicle and driver. A local driver-cum-guide will be your best bet. You may like to do a package deal with the driver for the entire duration of your trip. 7. For your Delhi to Varanasi trip, you may go by train and return by train. You will find plenty of taxis and guides at Varanasi. 8. You may like to read these for your 'off the beaten track' desires: "Rickshaw Tours" - Delhi Things to Do Tip by anilpradhanshillong "DelhibyCycle" - Delhi Things to Do Tip by anilpradhanshillong members.virtualtourist.com/m... "Varanasi-A City Before Time Was Invented" - Varanasi by anilpradhanshillong

The proposed itinerary is also good. But, i personally would recommend instead of Varanasi go for Udaipur & Ajmer. You can add Jaipur but i don't think you are not having enough time to add that too. No need to hire Guide for complete trip, if you need you can easily find guide at particular place. For Delhi (2days), you can take daily tour, from Delhi to Agra (1day) take Shatabdi Express to Agra. Agra after visit Taj you can visit Fatehpur Sikri and then move to Jaipur (2 days) and then move to Udaipur via Ajmer and spend rest of the time in Udaipur. To roam around in Jaipur and to travel to Udaipur, i recommend hire cab, as Rajasthan is amazingly beautiful and also by that way you can see things as you like.

I have been to all those places (except Jaipur)and enjoyed them so your choice is good, but i would not bother with a guide, just find a rickshaw or taxi in each destination if need be. Your hotel will find a reliable guide/driver. Maybe you should consider Udaipur! but it is further away from ND than Jaipur.

Yes off-course these destinations are famous in north India. you can take the complete itinerary by any tour operator this will be helpful to plan your complete journey. you can also take local guide for different places but it will take time to manage all with whole trip.

hello, when are you going?

Thanks everybody! Sounds like we can arm ourselves with a Frommers book and get around by ourselves!! Will probably just arrange a local car/guide from the hotel for certain places then ... By the way, for train ride from Agra to Varansi, and Varansi to ND - how long does the ride take and how much (for 1st class aircon seats)? Will be there on 24 Sept for a week.

1. From Agra to Delhi by train is roughly 3 hours. 2. You then need to go from Delhi to Varanasi. By train, it should take you 8 to 10 hours, depending on which train you take. 3. For train timings and fare, you may like to check irctc.com or cleartrip.com or makemytrip.com. These websites will provide you with information regarding availability of berths and seats also.

All the suggestions are good and the best is from our veteran member Mr.Anil Pradhan. I shall suggest, you to take conducted tour of Delhi by ITDC, DTDC or any private travel agency in Connaught Place in New Delhi for two days. You may also take their one full day conducted tour to Agra, Fatehpur Sikri and Bharatpur. But this tour leave at 6.00am and returns at 10.00PM. Now the roads are excellent , it will not be very tiring as it used to be before 10 years. Their coaches are excellent air conditioned with a guide. Meanwhile, you can ask your hotel guy to fix you a car to take you to Jaipur and nearby places. In case you want to add Udaypur then you will have to add up 2 more days but you will never regret that. The car going rate is Rs13-Rs15/- per kilometer for Toyota Innova with driver, who will also act as a guide. Since Varanasi is towards East from Delhi/ Jaipur you may have to come back to Delhi or Agra to catch a good train to Varanasi. The good trains are Delhi- Howrah/ Sealdah Rajdhani Express , it's our best train. You need to get down at Moghal Sarai Junction, from there you can take a share or full taxi to varanasi ( 17kms) . Then there are many direct trains from Delhi to Varanasi. Please check :https://www.irctc.co.in/ Please also check:delhitourism.gov.in/delhitou... I recommend you this tour. This is less than USD$100 with accommodation: delhitourism.gov.in/delhitou.... Why spend on taxi when you can get this tour , it's cheap even by Indian standard. You shall get excellent crowd to accompany with. It will take you to all the places you desire in three days. You can spend two days in Delhi, acclimatising with climate ( It will not be very hot in end September, in fact it will be pleasant in the evening and morning as it starts getting cooler from October in Delhi). Then you take three days to Agra/Jaipur etc you will return Delhi on fifth day. You can take the train from Delhi to Varanasi ( Moghalsarai by Rajdhani Express and back by same train to Delhi). Please feel free to ask for more, if I could help you! Have a great India trip!