I can't believe it but my itinerary is almost complete!!

Hello to all

First a thanks to all of you that helped me with my itinerary. Its almost done and posted below. I would appreciate any last bits of advice and feedback. Should I stay longer in one place??? Should I stay less in another??? Are there places I will pass by and have missed off??

I am sure that while away my itinerary will change anyway but I want to have a plan so I get to see everything I want to.

Here is it:

October 15th Arrive Delhi, stay 4 nights

October 19th Delhi – Amritsar, stay 2 nights

October 21st Amritsar – Jodhpur stay 4 nights

October 25th Jodhpur – Jaisalmer stay 3 nights

October 28th Jaisalmer to Jaipur stay 3 nights

October 31st Jaipur to Agra stay 1 night

November 1st Agra to Varanasi stay 6 nights (including any possible over-night train)

November 7th Varanasi to New J (takes 1 night)

November 8th New J to Darjeeling stay 7 nights

November 15th Darjeeling to Kolkata stay 4 nights

November 19th Kolkata to Chennai maybe? Stay 6 nights including actual journey as well.

November 25th Chennai to Madurai stay 2 nights

November 27th Madurai to Cochin stay 3 nights

November 30th Backwaters trip and other excursions 2 nights

December 2nd Cochin to Bangalore stay 3 nights

December 5th Bangalore to Goa stay 7 nights including traveling

Leave Goa on December 12th for Mumbai to meet friends


What do you all think???

by the way i also ahve another 5 or 6 days to play with so if you can think of adding to a place or adding a new place please let me know as well

How are you travelling between all these places? By train? Sorry I can't actually be of any help. I'm hoping to spend a few months in India myself, so am using you itinerary for inspiration! Have a great time :-)

thats ok! and yes, travelling by train

if you like tea (and you are a pom, so odds are you do), visit maharajah spices in the market around the clock tower in jodphur and check out the excellent teas for sale.
especially try the himalayan kava.

October 28th Jaisalmer to Jaipur

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You could break the above leg of your trip with a couple of nights in Pushkar.
Either get the train to Ajmer & short bus ride to Pushkar or by road all the way from Jaisalmer.
It will be just before the Mela pilgrims arrive so not overly busy.

Hi, You could fit in periyar (national park) between madurai & cochin if you like that sort of thing, it's a bumpy bus ride! no trains. kk

Cool so Jaisaler to pushkar and then pushkar to jaipur???
When you say to do the whole journey by road are you talking about a taxi and how much should it cost.

And just one further question what is there to see in Pushkar?

Oh Theres plenty of links to Pushkar via our search engine but basically it's the centre of the universe for Brahmins, Theres a very nice lake there with ghats & temples all the way round, theres very little traffic in the town, everywhere is walkable.
It has got a bit of a reputation for long stay western travellers but that also means you can also find everything you need there, Including shopping from eats to clothes to souvineers, theres all classes of accomadation.
But It's all strictly vegetarian & you'll not find alcohol either.
Yes everywhere is motorable in Rajasthan with most destinations being between 4 & 6 hours apart.
You'll also find a lot of information about cars/drivers/costs via our search box.
Happy Planning

When you mention your search box are you talking about the search here on IM??

Kullukid

Periyar National Park sounds good, can I see lots of animals there.

Forgive me if this is a silly question

Thats the one, in the IM toolbar about 3 inches north of here,,,,,,,,,,,

thanks very much

Sounds like you have a good itinerary. Personally, I would add more days to some places, and drop some days from others. The one I wouldn't stay long at in Jaipur. I'm sure i don't stand along by saying it's way over-rated. You can do Amber (nearby) in one day. As for the Jaipur city palace, it's a tourist trap. You can't even go into the tower as it's where the royal family lives, let alone get a good shot from the premises. Honestly, i would rather add a second day in Agra to visit the fort at Fetahpur Sikri (1 hour away), which is actually more impressive then the one in Jaipur (imho).

It's a tough call on what to add. Orcha was my fav spot in India. It lies about 1 hour by taxi/tempo from Jhansi (not counting the 4 hr train ride from Agra to Jhansi). Orcha is a charming town with a medieval feel to it. It has an interesting palace fortress. If it's too hot for you, you can even take a dip in the clean river (yes, it's rare to find clean river in India). The nice swiming area is about a km from town.

You can certaily spend a few days in Pushkar.... make sure you visit Ajmer, nearby. It has a famous Muslim saint tomb that is considered the 2nd holliest site of Islam (after Mecca).

If you want to stay close to your route, then may I sugges adding Bundi in Rajasthan (5 hr bus ride from Ajmer, about the same to Jaipur). Bundi has a beautiful fortress palace perched atop a hill. It's outside the tourist trail as well so you will probably have it all to yourseld. I know I did and loved it! I stayed at a lovely homestay Kishan Niwas ran by the very entretaining Mr. Singh.

saludos,
Fernando

Since you have time, suggest you to visit Mysore.It is about 140kms from Bangalore and takes about 3-3.5hrs by bus.Ofcourse trains are also available.

From Madurai, about 3-4 hrs journey is the "Kumily" from where you can visit Periar wild life sanctuary. You can do night trekking( 11pm to 4am-exact timings not so sure) of the jungle! There are number of busses from Madurai to Kumily and takes about 3 hrs.