1 Month in India (August 2008)

shep

Hi all,

I've been reading through this site over the last week or so for advice/recommendations as my girlfriend and I are going to India for a month at the start of August. Seems theres a lot of people with different advice and opinions on where to go/what to take etc etc...so I'm after some advice for our trip.

Weather wise I'm guessing August is hot, humid, and wet? We would of rather travelled in the cooler months but we had to fit this trip in around studies and work so didnt have much choice.

We fly into Delhi and out of Mumbai, and our very rough plan is:

2 nights Delhi
1/2 nights in Agra - I'm guessing a night prior to the Taj visit and an early start will suffice?
Is there anywhere near Agra or Delhi thats a must see? Would like to go to the Himalayas but time might dictate we cannot. I've seen photos of Pangong Tso and it looks absolutely amazing - right up my street, but too far north of Delhi to fit in with our timescales?
Onto Rajasthan looking at the map probably in the order Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer....anywhere else in this area thats a must see?
From there I'm not sure, any advice would be appreciated, we obviously need to head towards Mumbai for our return flight. I'm not really into Cities or places full of tourists. If possible I'd like to do some trekking, visit places of beautiful scenery (mountains, lakes, etc), undertake some outdoor activities, visit national parks,etc
We are thinking we might spend the last 5-7 days in Goa relaxing on a beach before returning home (probably get a train to Mumbai or fly if we are really short on time.

Our budget is mid level I guess,we wont be staying in posh places, and we dont want to be rushing from place to place all the time. I've done plenty of travelling before (China, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador to name a few of the places I've been) and always made it up as I've gone along, ideally I want to do this in India rather than having to pre-book things to a set plan. Is it necessary to book trains, bus's, hotels, etc ahead? I've been looking on the India rail site and can see its easy to book trains, should I book the first couple of tickets or can I sort them out when I get to Delhi, Agra?

Would prefer not to use organised tours, and do it ourselves if possible?

Also I'm really into Sailing, does anyone know if theres anywhere to spend a couple of days sailing somewhere in India, ideally on the West coast....

Any hotel, resturant recommendations also more than welcome.

If you had a month in India (having never visited before) where would you go? Absolutely any advice would be greatly appreciated.



Shep

wsminkapila

Hey Shep,

You can easily cover the following destinations (not in order) in India in a span of 1 month:

Delhi (City)
Rishikesh (Mountains)
Agra (Taj)
Jaipur (Forts / Palaces)
Jodhpur (Forts / Palaces_
Udaipur
Jaisalmer (Too hot ?) (Desert)
Ranthambore Sanctuary (Sanctuary)
Goa
Mumbai

Goa: Yeah could speand probably around a week before you depart. Still would be able to cover almost every place above.

Happy Travelling.

Cheers !!!

__________________
Boosting up da Spirits....

shep

wsminkapila thanks for the reply, I hadnt considered Rishikesh, from some research you can take a train to Haridwar and then get a bus or taxi? Would you recommend going there before Agra? To get to Agra from there is it via Delhi?

You mention Ranthambore Sanctuary, where is this located and how do you get there?

Cheers

Shep

Pradeep Nayak

You might as well opt for Manali - its apple season there, the best season of the year.