Itenerariy Advice

robandcurtis

My partner and I will be travelling to India for 3 weeks in mid January/early February '09 and would like to attempt to see the following:

Delhi > Varanasi > Agra > Udaipur > Jaisalmer

I am having trouble figuring out how to work Udaipur into the mix, as it is a bit off the beaten track

Aside from wanting a few days to do a camel trek in Jaisalmer, we would be seeing the usual sights in the other locations.

Does anyone have any suggestions on a route? How long to stay in each location? Is there anything we are "missing" along the way.

We would like to do most of the travel on overnight trains, would also consider air travel.

Would also like any first hand recommendations for Hotels in the above locations (high end backpack to mid range, but definitely not the Sheraton!

Thanks !

machadinha

Hi, and welcome to IndiaMike.

I think (others may well see it differently) I'd opt for Delhi-Jaisalmer-Udaipur-Agra-Varanasi-Delhi. The logic being that Agra and Varanasi are pretty high on the senses, I think after landing in hectic Delhi itself, J'mer and U'pur would make for the more pleasant introduction (I'm assuming this is your first visit?)

That first ride would be long'ish (around 20 hrs. I think), but it's an overnight train so won't seem as long, you depart late afternoon and arrive early afternoon, at least the train I'm looking at.

You could break the journey in Jodhpur which I'd recommend as a destination anyway; or alternatively, you could visit Jodhpur en route to Udaipur.

This should all be easily doable by train (and possibly bus on some stretches -- off the top of my head I think J'mer-U'pur would be more easily done by bus, not sure. Bit of a ride no doubt, should be doable though I think) in 3 weeks, you could probably throw in a little more. Maybe just throw in some side-trips as you go along and find out how much time things really take you. Udaipur for instance has some worthwhile sights in the wider vicinity that any guidebook will point you to, you wouldn't need to worry about prebooking just to hop on a bus or taxi around there.

This whole area is well-served by buses anyway, that generally don't pose the same booking problems as trains do. Just enquire about options and schedules once you're in a town and know when you'll be wanting to leave again, whether with private or public companies. They're handy at least for back-up in case you can't catch a train, and they make for far more flexible travel for that reason.

No recommendations on your other questions. Good luck with it, and have fun

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robandcurtis

My partner and I will be traveling to India in January 09, arriving in the mid afternoon on the 18th, and planning to spend at least the next full day in Delhi. We need to be back in Delhi for a midnight flight home on Feb 06 and had originally wanted to see
Jaisalmer, Jodphur, Udaipur, Jaipur, Varanasi and Agra (just for an afternoon, possibly on the return to Delhi).

Is this too ambitious for the time allotted? It is so hard to decide where NOT to go, so I am looking for some advice and any tips (west or east first, do I take a bus or train to Udaipur, and if so from where).

We had originally planned to take as many overnight trains as possible to not waste our sleeping time.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Darmabum

you can always have more time, but you'll be able to do fly-by's of the places you've listed.

If it were me I'd start in Rajasthan, maybe hit Agra on the way down, then finish in Varanasi, from which there are many good trains back to Delhi. Except for the Varanasi-Delhi leg and the one that takes you to Jaiselmer from Delhi (or you could start with Agra and work your way slowly west from there) there aren't many loooooooooooong legs on your trip.

You're hitting pretty good places too. Good intro to India, IMHO. Enjoy

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twalnut

re: hotels in Agra and Jaisalmer

Highly recommend Tourist Rest House in Agra. Found it to be great value. Delightful courtyard restaurant area(called in reviews "an oasis of calm". I agree) Honest and friendly staff. Useful advice/ suggestions from owner/manager regarding transportation etc. Downside? Not "just around the corner from The Taj Mahal" if that is important.

I really liked the Shahi Palace in Jaisalmer. Close to fort. Pre dawn pick up from the train, immediately given a room to rest in until a more civilized hour when we were given a tour of all available rooms (Very nice rooms). Good rooftop restaurant with great view of fort. Advantage of staying in a hotel OUTSIDE the fort: Not adding to the erosion problem under the fort, some of which is caused by visitor's demand for water in the hotels.
Good Luck.

robandcurtis

Jaisalmer
Jodhpur
Udaipur
Jaipur
Agra
Varanasi

If you had to eliminate two from your first trip to India, which two and why?

OR

If there were some you would NOT MISS, why?

grikoo

I actually might avoid all of those. They're all thronged with touts and can be fairly annoying at times.

If I had to pick one on the list that I would go to, it would probably be varanasi. My least favorite would probably be Agra, though if you do it as a day trip and don't stay long, it's not so bad.

singsub

jodhpur isnt in the same league as jaisalmer or udaipur or varanasi. agra is a dirty town with the taj mahal in it. jaipur has quite a few 7/10 sights but no one spectacular piece.

zoltan

Have you considered flying into Kolkata, get a train to Varanasi, train to Agra, car/bus/train to Jaipur, train to Jaisalmer, bus to Udaipur (this is likely to involve a change of bus mid-way through the journey), fly out of Mumbai.

This route would help you to avoid any doubling back and still allow you to see the locations you want to visit.

Or, if you have to leave from Delhi, fly from Udaipur => Delhi.

Cheers
Zoltan

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