Delhi/Agra/Varanasi/Shimla in...ulp...June/July?

pontesnm

Hi missalg

Welcome to Indiamike. In general, summer (mid June - end August) is not the best time weatherwise to go to India as it is hot and very humid; the monsoons lower the temperature during the day but they increase the humidity and the night temperatures. (Unfortunately as an academic I also get vacations in the summer). Generally August is better than mid June. I have attached a link to a weather site (weather underground) that has much weather for your Delhi (and you can look for Varanasi).

Ladakh would definitely get my vote. It does not rain much and the weather would be very pleasant. If you are going mid-June, I would consider Haridwar (instead of Varanasi) as you can easily detour to the mountains.

missalg

Thank you!

I now have a possibility of some added time...if I spend it in Tamil Nadu (this would be in relation to my job.) I realize the monsoon might make things a bit difficult for travel at the time. With this addition, would it be wiser to look at June (from about the 9th--> for three weeks) or July from about the 3rd --> for three weeks?

At this point, I'd be looking at Delhi/Agra/Varanasi/Trivandrum into Tamil Nadu/Ladakh. Bit of variety for only three weeks, plus I'm thinking transportation costs will add up, but does this sound doable? Any more advice from all of you wise souls?

iwanttogoback

master paying guest house has had many good reviews here, but it appears to get booked out early so if you are interested in staying there do make booking enquiries early.

and enjoy your trip.

iwanttogoback

missalg, my reading of your itinerary shows you in agra on a friday - the taj is closed friday so if you definitely want to see it (and why not!), then you might want to rejig that a bit.

and i'm not sure about the trains from varanasi to agra, but it's probably going to be an overnight from varanasi to delhi, and then another train to agra.

missalg

Thanks, I see that is confusing how I wrote it: it will be Wednesday into Thursday for the train and visit the Taj on Thursday...but I'm still "up in the air" on so much! (And the airfare is still looking like--ulp--$1500 or so, so I've not booked it yet, hoping it will come down; anyway, that may change my days a bit, but I will keep in mind the Friday closings.)

steven_ber

Try ixigo.com for fares.

You may have to book flights early (just a guess), you seem to be going to Leh at a busy time of year, so flights may get booked up fast, also, some airlines have cheap flights if you book early.

Just found the following....

New Delhi to Leh on 21/06/2008 return 27/06/2008

Delhi 05:00, Leh 06:20 (Deccan flight DN785)
Leh 06:50, Delhi 08:10 (Deccan flight DN786)

Crap departure time from Delhi, but the price may be worth it.

Return fare (inc. all taxes) = Rs 7898

Using the same dates, but using the 06:30 departure from Delhi (the latest departure) and the same return flight, will cost Rs 13344

__________________
.
How to get helpful replies to your transport/Itinerary questions.



Train information.

Luxiu

Hi Missalg..

How can I post a public message ???

Thanks

missalg

Hi, Luxiu,

When you choose which forum you want your message to be in, go to that forum and there will be a red "New Thread" box in the upper left. That's what you need to start a new post.


Steven_ber, thanks for the information! Any thoughts on whether June or July would be a preferable time?

steven_ber

No idea, depends on when there are holidays in India, hopefully another member can tell you the holiday dates.

capt_mahajan

School holidays in the plains, if thats what Steve is referring to, are usually from mid April to mid June, or close enough.

__________________
.
Humpty Dumpty was pushed.
Indiamike moderating team ..ich bin ein oneliner