| India Travel Itinerary Advice - Questions about trip iteneraries and advice on the best to get from point A to point B. |
![]() |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
|
|
#1 |
|
Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: London
Posts: 18
|
It's closing in...
We're leaving for our first Indian experience (reason for the choice for the most touristy places) on the 6th November. However, we wanted to do it in the most natural way as possible (hence the self-organising masoquism) and also want to have of periods of complete relaxing time. That said, I think we've finalised our itinerary, but it seems something is not right, especially in the end of our trip. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. So, so far we've got: 6th Friday Flight London to Delhi Depart: Fri 6 Nov 2009, 11:50 Arrive: Sat 7 Nov 2009, 01:25 7th Saturday Pick up at airport to Anand Lok (Rishikesh) 1st day of trekking/relaxation package 8th Sunday 2nd day of trekking/relaxation package 9th Monday Check out Anand Lok Visit Rishikesh Bus to Haridwar Train Haridwar to Delhi 2018 +DEHRADUN SHTBDI *HARIDWAR JN 18:13 NEW DELHI 22:45 Check in (?) 10th Tuesday Day in Delhi (guided tour - with who?) 11th Wednesday Train Delhi to Agra 2002 BHOPAL SHTBDI NEW DELHI 06:15 AGRA CANTT 08:12 (inc breakfast) UP State Tourism Development Corporation Luxury bus to visit Agra including Fatehpur Sikri (pick up and drop off at station) Train Agra to Delhi 2001 +NDLS SHATABDI E *AGRA CANTT 20:30 NEW DELHI 22:30 12th Thursday Morning in Delhi Check out (?) Train Delhi to Jaipur 2916 +ASHRAM EXPRESS DELHI 15:00 JAIPUR 20:25 Check in (?) 13th Friday Check out (?) Day in Jaipur Train Jaipur to 23:30 train to Sawai Madhopur (Ranthambore National Park) 1768 +JP NAD FASTPASS JAIPUR 23:30 SAWAI MADHOPUR 02:25 14th Saturday Check in (?) Morning/afternoon safari 15th Sunday Afternoon safari 16th Monday Morning safari Check out (?) Train Sawai Madhopur (Ranthambore National Park) to Udaipur 2963 MEWAR EXPRESS SAWAI MADHOPUR 23:35 UDAIPUR 07:00 17th Tuesday Check in (?) Day in Udaipur 18th Wednesday Morning in Udaipur Check out(?) Flight Udaipur to Mumbai KINGFISHER IT-3158 14:25 UDAIPUR (UDR) 15:35 MUMBAI (BOM) Train Mumbai to Aurangabad 7057 +DEVAGIRI EXP MUMBAI CST 21:05 AURANGABAD 04:00 19th Thursday Visit Ellora Caves Train Aurangabad to Mumbai 1402 +NANDIGRAM EXP *AURANGABAD 21:35 MUMBAI CST 05:40 20th Friday Check in (?) Day in Mumbai 21st Saturday Check out (?) Day in Mumbai 22nd Sunday Flight Mumbai to London Depart: Sun 22 Nov 2009, 02:45 Arrive: Sun 22 Nov 2009, 06:55 As you probably can tell our favourite way of travel is the train, but due to the difficulty in getting to Mumbai from Udaipur we decided to fly. With that we loose 1/2 day in Udaipur which was planned and end up needing to rush from the airport to the train station to get the sleeper train to Aurangabad. Would there be any easier and efficient way to arrange those last days of the itinerary in a way that we get some time in Mumbai and get to visit the Ellora caves?Re: hotels, we've searched around but so far the only one we have decided upon is the Rishikesh one as it appears to offer exactly the peace we are looking for at the start of our trip. The National Park one is chosen too subject to availability but regarding the other places (Delhi, Jaipur, Udaipur and Mumbai) we haven't decided yet. We were thinking of staying in hotels/hostels close to the rail stations... anybody has any valuable suggestions? Thanks a lot in advance for your help!! ![]() |
|
|
|
|
|
#2 |
|
Member
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: South of England.
Posts: 11,567
|
Stay in Agra and go to Jaipur from there.
Don't like your Jaipur - Ranthambhore train, try the 19.40 departure instead, it gets to Sawai Madhoppur at 21.30, and what would you be doing in Jaipur from 19:40 till 23:30? better to have a decent sleep in Ranthambhore. Telephone Kingfisher and find out if they plan a Udaipur-Aurangabad flight this winter, they had one last winter. http://www.flykingfisher.com/index.aspx?locale=en Otherwise, there's trains from Ahmedabad (5 hours by bus from Udaipur) to Bhusaval, they depart at 18:00 (arr 04:30) and 23:55 (arr 11:15). But in General, you're Itinerary is far too packed, you have to choose a place to drop, there are simply too many places, some of those days look extremely exhausting, and could easily be ruined by a train being 3 hours late. |
|
|
|
|
|
#3 | |
|
Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: London
Posts: 18
|
Quote:
Looking at it now I don't really know why I planned to get back to Delhi instead of going directly to Jaipur from Agra... I guess it's because I did not fancy much staying in Agra overnight or spending mor time there than necessary for the Taj and Fatehpur Sikh. After having a look I guess I could either stay in Agra overnight and get the 4863 +MARUDHAR EXPRES *AGRA FORT 06:15 JAIPUR 11:30 or get on my way to JAipur immediately on the 2307 +HWH==JU==EXP *AGRA FORT 19:45 JAIPUR 23:59. You got a point with getting the train earlier from Jaipur to Ramthambore. The thing with arriving at 3am is that accommodation is fairly expensive there and we thought we could just get ourselves in a morning safari and relax in the afternoon. I guess that if we took the earlier train and stayed there we'd need to reduce the stay in the Park to 2 days. But again that might give us a bit of leeway for the last bit of the journey. All the air Udaipur Aurangabad connections I found had a stopover in Mumbai which increased significantly time and cost of travel. I've just contacted Kingfisher and they're supposed to get back to me soon... a direct Udaipur-Aurangabad flight would just be heaven! Re: the bus+train alternative, how far is bushaval from the caves? I know the schedulle looks a bit tight... we wanted to have a relaxing start and then have a mix of hectic days with more calm ones. However, the (lack of) connection from Udaipur to Mumbai and the absolute need to see the Ellora caves kind of made things more difficult. What would you suggest to ditch? We do have 2 days in Mumbai in which our plan is just to wander around to get a feeling of it... should we cut it to the night before day we're flying back and that day itself? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
#4 |
|
Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: London
Posts: 18
|
Reduced the stay in the NP and the direct journey from Agra to Jaipur saves us a day. I hope it looks a bit more reasonable now... what do you guys think?
I still don't know what to do about that bit in the end... Kingfisher haven't got back to me yet, but I don't think I stand much chance in getting a direct flight from Udaipur to Aurangabad. The option steve_ber gave of a bus to Ahmedabad and then train could probably work better as it takes about the same time, it'd be cheaper and we'd still get to travel by land (althoug going by bus is not my favourite option). But how far is Bhusaval? Oh, what should I do?! 6th Friday Flight London to Delhi Depart: Fri 6 Nov 2009, 11:50 Arrive: Sat 7 Nov 2009, 01:25 7th Saturday Pick up at airport to Anand Lok (Rishikesh) 1st day of Trekking package (Anand Lok) 8th Sunday 2nd day of Trekking package (Anand Lok) 9th Monday Check out Anand Lok Visit Rishikesh + bus to Haridwar Train Haridwar to Delhi 2018 +DEHRADUN SHTBDI *HARIDWAR JN 18:13 NEW DELHI 22:45 Check in Delhi – Possible hotels: Ginger Master Paying Guesthouse (INR3500/double) Florence Inn (INR3500/double) Cottage Yes Please 10th Tuesday Day in Delhi 11th Wednesday Train Delhi to Agra 2002 BHOPAL SHTBDI NEW DELHI 06:15 AGRA CANTT 08:12 UP State Tourism Development Corporation Luxury bus to visit Agra including Fatehpur Sikri (pick up and drop off at station) Train Agra to Jaipur 2307 +HWH==JU==EXP *AGRA FORT 19:45 JAIPUR 23:59 Check in Jaipur – possible hotels: Pearl Palace (950INR) Umaid Bhawan (2400INR) Jas Vilas 12th Thursday Day in Jaipur 13th Friday Check out Day in Jaipur Train Jaipur to Sawai Madhopur (Ranthambore National Park) 2968 +JP MADRAS EXPRE JAIPUR 19:40 SAWAI MADHOPUR 21:30 Check in NP – possible hotels: Khem Villas Tiger Safari Resort Tiger Den Resort Castle Jhoomar Baori Nahargarh Fort 14th Saturday Afternoon safari 15th Sunday Morning safari Check out Train Sawai Madhopur (Ranthambore National Park) to Udaipur 2963 MEWAR EXPRESS SAWAI MADHOPUR 23:35 UDAIPUR 07:00 16th Monday Check in Udaipur - possible hotels: Jaiwana Haveli (2340INR) Amet Haveli (4000INR) Day in Udaipur 17th Tuesday Day in Udaipur 18th Wednesday Morning in Udaipur Check out Flight Udaipur to Mumbai KINGFISHER IT-3158 14:25 UDAIPUR (UDR) 15:35 MUMBAI (BOM) Train Mumbai to Aurangabad 7057 +DEVAGIRI EXP MUMBAI CST 21:05 AURANGABAD 04:00 19th Thursday Visit Ellora Caves Train Aurangabad to Mumbai 1402 +NANDIGRAM EXP *AURANGABAD 21:35 MUMBAI CST 05:40 20th Friday Check in Mumbai Day in Mumbai 21st Saturday Check out Day in Mumbai 22nd Sunday Flight Mumbai to London Depart: Sun 22 Nov 2009, 02:45 Arrive: Sun 22 Nov 2009, 06:55 |
|
|
|
|
|
#5 |
|
Member
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: South of England.
Posts: 11,567
|
Bhusawal bus station is just outside the train station, there are direct buses to Ajanta, I can't remember, but I think it's about 50-60kms to the caves.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#6 | |
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 265
|
Quote:
As far as I know soliciting for business is not allowed on this site....Please do re-check the rules and abide to them. ribhu |
|
|
|
|
|
|
#7 | |
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 265
|
Quote:
It would be sad if you miss either of them after getting all the way to Aurangabad. ribhu |
|
|
|
|
|
|
#8 | ||
|
Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: London
Posts: 18
|
Quote:
Quote:
EDIT: I've just realised that the 8402 train stops in Jalgon 1/2 before Bhusawal (8402 +OKHA PURI EXP *AHMEDABAD JN 18:00 JALGAON JN 04:03). Would it be wise to get off there and start my journey? Again, what would be the best option to manage both Ellora and Ajanta in one day taking into consideration opening times etc and the last train to Mumbai being at 11pm? If unfeasible, I'd probably had to stay in Aurangabad for the night and see Ellora the next day... Last edited by lombrigao : Oct 13th, 2009 at 01:11. |
||
|
|
|
|
|
#9 |
|
Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: London
Posts: 18
|
After many a thread read, I've decided to take the 2 day option for both Ajanta and Ellora... I'll follow steven_ber's precious tips and get a morning bus from Udaipur to Ahmedabad and from then get the train to Jalgaon. There I'll probably get a taxi to take me to Ellora and after to Aurangabad... arriving there I'll go for a relaxing stroll around town and stay overnight (any suggestions?). Next morning I'll get a taxi/auto-rikshaw to take us to Ellora (passing by the Fort before) and bring us back in time for the sleeper train to Mumbai... either the 21:35 or the 23:25. This means Mumbai is pretty much going to be missed, but hopefully we'll still be able to get a feel of it...
Does this seem feasible? I'm now going to start booking trains and will post my final itinerary once I have more certainty about it... thanks a lot for your precious help, guys! ![]() EDIT: Forgot to say that I did check with the Kingfisher help centre the existence of that udaipur-aurangabad flight connection but Kingfisher is not doing it anymore... |
|
|
|
|
|
#10 |
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 141
|
I'd also add that Haridwar is quite a special place and it's definitely worth having a look around it if you are there.
__________________
I have the wisdom of Buddha combined with the body of Peter Andre - oh...no..it's the other way round..
|
|
|
|
|
|
#11 |
|
Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: London
Posts: 18
|
Thanks, Matthew... we're staying in Rishikesh and getting back through Haridwar in the evening, so planning to have a little look around. A change in our plans is that due to the concern of doing the Delhi-Rishikesh journey by car during the night we'll probably be getting the early train from Delhi to Haridwar.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#12 |
|
Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: London
Posts: 18
|
This is how it looks now:
6th Friday Flight London to Delhi Flight: BA0143 From: Heathrow (London) Terminal 5 To: Delhi Terminal 2 Depart: Fri 6 Nov 2009, 11:50 Arrive: Sat 7 Nov 2009, 01:25 7th Saturday Train Delhi to Haridwar 2017 +DEHRADUN SHTBDI NEW DELHI 06:50 HARIDWAR JN 11:25 (580 Available 1A INR825 or CC INR435) Pick up and check in Anand Lok: 1st day of Trekking package (Anand Lok) 8th Sunday 2nd day of Trekking package (Anand Lok) 9th Monday Check out Anand Lok Visit Rishikesh Bus to Haridwar Train Haridwar to Delhi 2018 +DEHRADUN SHTBDI *HARIDWAR JN 18:13 NEW DELHI 22:45 (Available CC INR505) Check in – Possible hotels: Ginger Master Paying Guesthouse (INR3500/double) Florence Inn (INR3500/double) Cottage Yes Please 10th Tuesday Day in Delhi 11th Wednesday Train Delhi to Agra 2002 BHOPAL SHTBDI NEW DELHI 06:15 AGRA CANTT 08:12 (inc breakfast) (460 Available CC INR370) UP State Tourism Development Corporation Luxury bus to visit Agra including Fatehpur Sikri (pick up and drop off at station) ? Train Agra to Jaipur 2307 +HWH==JU==EXP *AGRA FORT 19:45 JAIPUR 23:59 RESERVED 2A consecutive seats INR 1033 Check in Baba Haveli (RESERVED - 1100INR/night) 12th Thursday Day in Jaipur 13th Friday Check out Baba Haveli Train Jaipur to Sawai Madhopur (Ranthambore National Park) 2968 +JP MADRAS EXPRE JAIPUR 19:40 SAWAI MADHOPUR 21:30 (23 Available 2A INR356) or 2980 JP BDTS SUP EXP JAIPUR 20:40 SAWAI MADHOPUR 22:35 (14 available 2A) or 2968 +JP NAD FASTPASS JAIPUR 23:30 SAWAI MADHOPUR 02:25 (18 Available 2A INR326) Check in – possible hotels: Vatika Lodge Tiger Den Resort (4800-5800INR) Tiger Safari Resort (1200-1800INR) 14th Saturday Morning safari Check in Khem Villas (RESERVED - 16000INR/night) 15th Sunday Morning safari Check out Khem Villas Train Sawai Madhopur (Ranthambore National Park) to Udaipur 2963 MEWAR EXPRESS SAWAI MADHOPUR 23:35 UDAIPUR 07:00 (RESERVED 2A consecutive seats INR 1397) 16th Monday Check in Devra Udaipur (RESERVED 4500INR/night B&B inc tax +350INR pickup) Day in Udaipur 17th Tuesday Day in Udaipur 18th Wednesday Check out Devra Bus Udaipur to Ahmedabab Train Ahmedabab to Jalgaon 8402+OKHA PURI EXP *AHMEDABAD JN 18:00 JALGAON JN 04:03 RESERVED 3A consecutive seats INR1271 19th Thursday Taxi Jalgaon to Ajanta Caves (journey time +/- 1 hour 15 mins) and Ajanta Caves to Aurangabad INR 1700 + tips 20th Friday Check in Aurangabad – possible hotels: Devpriya hotel MTDC (AC INR1100) Shree Maya Ajanta Executive Nandanvan Taxi Aurangabad to Ellora Caves (passing by Daulatabad Fort, Khuldabad, Bibi Ka Maqbara, Rauza - Aurangzeb's tomb, Grishneswara Temple, Pan Chakki and city markets) Train Aurangabad to Mumbai 1402 +NANDIGRAM EXP *AURANGABAD 21:35 MUMBAI CST 05:40 (RESERVED 2A non-consecutive seats IN1289) 21st Saturday Afternoon in Mumbai 22nd Sunday Flight Mumbai to London From: Mumbai (Bombay) Terminal 2 To: Heathrow (London) Terminal 5 Depart: Sun 22 Nov 2009, 02:45 Arrive: Sun 22 Nov 2009, 06:55 |
|
|
|
|
|
#13 |
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 265
|
Honestly, I am trying to figure in what state you will be on 7th and what trekking you will be able to do ?
After an overnight international flight, pre-time, post-time and a train all the way to haridwar. I dont think you will be able to do anything on that day other than take rest. ribhu |
|
|
|
|
|
#14 |
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 141
|
Lol I didn't notice that. Yeah that is pretty tight isn't it...I hope you manage some sleep on the plane, because you will only get an hour or two before getting up for the train in the morning.
Maybe you will get some sleep on the train...or otherwise you will need some REALLY good coffee! |
|
|
|
|
|
#15 | ||
|
Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: London
Posts: 18
|
Quote:
Quote:
Anyway, that is not defined yet, so I guess I could stay over Delhi for the night and get the late morning train to haridwar. But knowing that we arrive at 8pm by UK time (i.e. we are just not ready to bed) wouldn't it be the same if I just got into a sleeper train? Last edited by lombrigao : Oct 16th, 2009 at 19:12. |
||
|
|
|