dehradun,mussoorie,rishikesh, haridwar,delhi and agra in 8 days

Hi guys,

I am from kolkata and planning to visit dehradun,mussoorie,rishikesh, haridwar,delhi and agra in 8 days
excluding journey from howrah to delhi and delhi to howrah.We have 13 members team which 6 member are aged(avg. 55).Can someone please help me for proper planning this trip. Budget is constraint.We have only 52 thousands for entire trip. I roughly planned like that
2/09/08 Howrag to delhi( we didn't get ticket for dun express !!)
3/9/08 delhi to dehradun at night by mussoorie exp
4/9/08 morning( Expected 8 am) at Dehradun and get a hotel. having lunch, go for sight seeing at dehradun and night stay at hotel
5/9/08 go for mussoorie and spend entire day at mussoorie and come back to dehradun and spend night at hotel
6/9/08 go for sight seeing dehradun and check out hotel at 12pm and get a bus for rishikesh
6/9/08 spend 3-4 hours at rishikesh and again start for haridwar
6/9/08 stay hotel at haridwar
7/9/08 spend one full day at haridwar
8/9/08 get morning train from haridwar to delhi
8/9/08 and 9/9/08 at delhi
10/9/08 agra visit
11/9/08 come back to howrah

i am a first time visitor to these places so i have planned with out knowing the places and experience and some knowledge from this forum.I don't know where to stay with min budget at dheradun and haridwar? Please tell me plaace where i can visit at dehadun,mussoire and haridwar? How do i book from kolkata? Please help me to refine this plan and suggest me any changes...i am waiting for your valuable reply.....

The only thing we found interesting in DehraDun was the Forest Research Institute. We much preferred Mussourie - although Kempty Falls was a little underwhelming when we went in April 2006 - it was the start of the dry season, I guess. We spent 2 nights up at Mussourie.

Rishakesh was nice - worth a decent look, although we should have gone further up the river. We only went through Haridwar on the train. We are from New Zealand, so I guess Rishakesh is a little more interesting for Westerners (we saw more Westerners there than anywhere else during our 2006 trip)and Haridwar more interesting for Indians being a place of pilgrimage.

Hello Suman,
welcome to im.
good that you couldn't book tickets in the doon ex. perhaps it would have been cheaper, but very annoying journey.
at dehradun, visit sahasradhara.
at Hardwar, take the ropeway for manasa devi and chandi devi temples. evening prayers at har-ki-pauri. Kankhal - as there are some aged members in your group.

suman, there isn't that much to see in Dehradun. I suggest you move to Mussoorie straight away and spend 4th/5th nights there. 6th onwards you can proceed as per your a.m. outline; frankly I wud move to Rishikesh straight away, considering you still want to go to Haridwar that evening.

Check GMVN's rates. Rooms may be a bit expensive, but you cud consider dorm accom. They are conveniently located at Muss, Rishikesh (including Muni ki Reti and Shisham Jhari) and Haridwar.
In Muss there is also a YWCA GH. I suggest check thru YWCA Cal for rates and availability. There is also lots of info about hotels in Haridwar and Rishikesh in this subforum and the Hotels forum, do take a look.

Thanks for your reply.we definitely visit manasadevi and chandi devi temples at haridwar. i would also like to know what else to visit at haridwar? we have one and half day for haridwar..also please let me know where i can stay at haridwar..any booking form kolkata??

At Hardwar, you can have bengali meals at dada-boudir hotel.

at Dehradun, please search whether there is any Tapakeshwar temple / cave - can't recall it.

hi,
Thanks for your valuable reply,i heard that staying at mussoorie rathar than dehradun is bit costly and moreever could please tell me how long it will take from dehradun to mussooire by bus? what is the fare for that? i am looking the hotel stub,,, Thanks ance again for help.

Also can you please tell me do we need to book accomodation before going there?? i mean to say sep-oct is peak time or not?

Dehra Dun has nothing to see apart Clements Town which is some 20 minutes outside Dehra Dun, a whole Tibetan colony with an exquisite Buddhist stupa in Mindroling Monastery , as well other monasteries.In Mindroling Monastery there's also a very beautiful and serene park,a guest house and many buddhist artifacts around.If you finally end up in Dehra Dun DON'T mISS iT!!!It costs 100 ruppees with the ricksaw from hotel Relax which is 5 minutes from the railway station, but do not pay more than 120 rupees

Hotel Relax has very nice rooms and the best food i had in Dehra Dun+huge portions & daily newspaper under your door for free

No, that's not the case at all, specially in the off-season. In fact Dehradun has become expensive in the last few years, due to being the state capital.
Normally in Sep-Oct you get accom without problems in Muss, but I do suggest to book if poss since you have older members in your group as well. There are traffic restrictions in central Muss which makes it difficult to go hotel-hunting with baggage. Still possible though if you really don't want to advance-book, just that it's then better for a few people to go hunting and the rest wait at one place with the baggage.

The ordinary bus fare from DD to Muss is Rs. 31, the journey takes 1.5 hours. Share-taxis (5 seats per vehicle) cost Rs. 100 per person and take about an hour.

Been to Tapkeshwar temple, the Tibetan colony, Forest Research Institute, the bazaar near the Clock Tower, (and to Fabindia!) and have to agree that there isn't very much to see in Dehradun itself (compared to the other places that you listed).