Lost and confused about itinerary.. what to see and what to give up

Preeti

aishah, i completely agree with you that he is making alot on profit...im going to ask him for a breakdown just to see where his charges are coming from, since his total (given all costs that i used) would average around $2000... thanks for looking out for me!

camelgirl

Perhaps you have discovered one of the most important aspects of planning a trip in India! It is always difficult to create a closely timed itinerary. Rarely do things go according to a tight schedule. Even if you are on a prepaid trip, there can be forced changes due to many reasons; weather, strikes, road closing, airport delays.

Again, I'll just say, the less you plan for one week, the better it will go. Everytime you try to add just one more thing, you set yourself up for a problem. Keep it simple and you & your mother will enjoy whatever you plan. You can always add something along the way if you discover you have extra time or you've left somewhere earlier than you planned. That would be the reason for hiring a car & driver for a week. But for that you need a neatly organized plan where you don't drive more than 4 to 5 hours at a time. Very doable, not expensive, if you keep to a reasonable itinerary. You should easily spend less than $1,400. That's a lot of money in India.

We hired an A/C car & driver for one week in Nov. 2006 and it cost about $40 a day, that included everything. We did it from a State Tourist Office in Jodhpur. I think you could do that from any State Tourist Office (a real one, not the many fakes that call themselves Govt. Tourist Office.) Easy to find. Just look in a guidebook. We did not do it in advance. Just walked in and organized it for the next day.

__________________
My selected India photos http://www.indiamike.com/photopost/s...r/7030/cat/500

steven_ber

Preeti, while you're on-line, would an (well timed) overnight slow train, using the old (but wonderful) non air con First Class, would this train be an option?

I've got a route in mind, but that train would make for a well spaced out and well timed return to Phagwara from Nanded. (having seen the caves before Nanded, thus removing that poor connection)

There is an alternative to the overnight train, but it would only get you to Delhi, then on to Phagwara the next morning.

This has been one of the most complex itineraries I've seen over the years, and at a time when my time is limited.

I'll try to type out a suggested itinerary later tonight or first thing in the morning.

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



Train information.

Preeti

thank you camel girl! im going to look into the state offices like you said, and go through the prices again...

steven, where would i be without you???!!!

thank you so much for making time for me when you're so busy- i appreciate your help and willingness so much! i know this itenerary is definitely something else! it has me wanting to pull out my hair, so any help and potential plans will be much appreciated! i told my mom about the train, and although she is hesitant, it seems like she may be willing. please let me know what you are thinking whenever you have time... thank you, thank you, thank you!

steven_ber

A suggested Itinerary.

From Delhi, go to Agra, a train should be fine for this sector, the re are trains well timed throughout the morning, and the journey time will be no more than 3 hours, however, if you get to know a good driver in Delhi, and this driver knows Agra and surrounding area, the door to door service of a taxi must be difficult to beat for a 200kms journey.

Do what you have to do in Agra for a few days, then back to Delhi for a flight to Varanasi. (Spice Jet are difficult to beat on timings and can't be beat on price, Delhi 14:35, Varanasi 15:50, Rs 3324)

From Varanasi you can either fly to Aurangabad via Delhi & Mumbai, or just via Mumbai, none are perfect, but I just don't see the point of going via Delhi, it's no cheaper and the overall travel time is no quicker, so maybe Indian Airlines, Varanasi 10:45, Mumbai 12:45, then Air Deccan, Mumbai 18:35, Aurangabad 19:40, total price = Rs 8180, a long wait in Mumbai, but I can't find anything quicker.

So then stay in Aurangabad that night and maybe another night, to see the caves then either....

Train 7617, Aurangabad 13.35, Nanded 18.05
Train 7687, Aurangabad 18.00, Nanded 22.08

Both trains have Air con Chair Car carriages.

Then after Nanded, the journey home.

Train 564, Nanded 22.40, Hyderabad 06.30, this is the train with the old First Class non air con.

Then a Spice Jet flight, HYD 10:15, DEL 12:25. (Rs 2824)

Then Train 2013 (Shatabdi), New Delhi 16.35, Phagwara 20.58 (This train has executive chair class and air con chair class.


If the overnight train isn't the ideal option, then.....

Train 7057, Nanded 08.40, Secunderabad 14.15 (1A, 2A, 3A, SL.)

and

Jet Lite flight, HYD 16:50, DEL 18:50, Rs 2820

But this would mean staying in Delhi for the night, then a train to Phagwara the following morning.

There is an Aurangabad-Mumbai-Delhi flight for Rs 4555, but most of the others are over the Rs 6000 price
--------------------------------------

I've not put down train prices as they're very small in comparison to the flight prices, and the flight prices are all for 29/05/2008.

I was just trying to think of ways to save travel time and money, I'd much rather save Rs1000 by using a different flight, then add the Rs1000 to the hotel budget, especially as the hotels are charged per room and the flights per person, so if you're sharing a room, you double the extra comfort.

EDIT--Total cost for trains (Air Con Chair Class or 2-tier air con) and suggested flights = 16100 per person

Preeti

my gosh steven, you're a true hero! thank you soooo much! im going to print this off and show it to my mom to see what she thinks... you're so wonderful to help like this!

just a quick question, my previous tour agent said there was a direct flight from delhi to aurangabad, but looks like mumbai is the only way then?

i cant thank you enough!!!!!!!!!!

steven_ber

Indian Airlines fly Delhi-Mumbai-Aurangabad (and the other way) without having to change plane, but yes, the only way is via Mumbai.

steven_ber

Interesting, I knew Kingfisher were changing their schedules at the end of this month, so I just checked, here's an interesting flight....

Jaipur 06:35, Udaipur arr 07:35 (dep 08:00), Aurangabad 09:45
Then the flight starts it's return.....

Aurangabad 10:10, Udaipur 11:55 (dep 12:30), Jaipur 13:30 (dep 14:00), Delhi 15:05 (dep 15:30), Agra 16:30 (Then back to Delhi, then to Jaipur for a good night's rest)

Sorry, I don't think any of these flights are much use to you.

Preeti

Hi Steven,

sorry I havent replied in so long, I havent been doing very well health-wise and only started to feel better today- so behind on this planning thing now!

so, here's the update- Nanded is off the lost for now it seems... my mom spoke to my grandmother who said that it isnt the best to go by train in this weather and that apparently some airport will be opening up (the internet says by the end of 2008)... so maybe on the next trip. this might be as well since then we can see mumbai, ajanta/ellora and goa too next time instead of hopping all over!

but thank you so much for putting together the itenerary for me- i appreciate the support so much!!!!!!!!

Day 1: Spice Jet S G 114 @ 1435hrs & Arrives Varanasi @ 1550hrs. Overnight in Varanasi

Day 2: Varanasi

Day 3: Back to Delhi with Jet Airways 9 W 724 at 1440hrs, arriving at 1600hrs and drive directly to Agra. Overnight in Agra

Day 4 : Day in Agra for Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Sikandra. Overnight in Agra

Day 5: Excursion to Fatehpur Sikri. Late afternoon drive to Delhi and stay overnight

Day 6: Delhi (family)

Day 7: Delhi (family)

Day 8: Delhi (sightseeing)

Day 9: Delhi (sightseeing)

Day 10: Delhi – Phagwara

Steven, where can i find information oh the Phagwara-Delhi train times? Also, I would rather go to Agra first, but I cant seem to make the trip in 10 days then:

Arrive Delhi from Phagwara
Day 1: Drive/take train to Agra from Delhi and spend overnight in Agra (if we go early and try to see something, the sightseeing and the travel might be too tiring?)
Day 2: Day in Agra for Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Sikandra. Overnight in Agra
Day 3: Excursion to Fatehpur Sikri. Late afternoon drive to Delhi and stay overnight.
Day 4 : In the afternoon, take Spice Jet S G 114 @ 1435hrs & Arrives Varanasi @ 1550hrs. Overnight in Varanasi
Day 5: Morning visit the Ghats and spend the day around Varanasi. Overnight in Varanasi
Day 6: Back to Delhi with Jet Airways 9 W 724 at 1440hrs, arriving at 1600hrs. Overnight in Delhi.
Day 7: Delhi

Day 8: Delhi

Day 9: Delhi

Day 10: Delhi

Day 11: Delhi – Phagwara

maybe im off about the arrive time from phgawara and wahtnot... please give me your input, i really appreciate it!

THANKSSSS so much@!!!!!

steven_ber

Hope you're feeling better now.

Try the following website to search for trains.

http://www.erail.in/#

When the page opens, you'll be in the 'Main Stations' mode, look at the top left of the page, in section 2 you can select stations from a list, the list is only the more popular stations, for other stations (like Phagwara) click on 'All Stations'.

ALL the dark blue buttons (along the light blue header line) can be clicked, these are really useful, once you have a list of trains between 2 places, you can click on buttons to select trains that operate on a certain day of the week, or select trains that have your preferred class, or list the trains in order of departure time, or travel time, once you get the hang of it, it's a really great website.

I still dislike the Agra-Varanasi options and was wondering....you're starting from Delhi (not Phagwara), so why not go Delhi-Varanasi-Delhi, then do all you need to do in Delhi, then go to Agra, then get a train direct from Agra Cant station to Phagwara, saves a lot of hassle.

I just checked out the Phagwara-Agra and Agra-Phagwara trains, I then clicked on 'travel' (to list the trains by travel time), and the fastest direct trains in both directions go to/from Nanded, it's a funny old world.

Preeti

Hi steven,

im doing a little better..thanks for the well wishes!

i love this train site! i see what you mean about the agra and varanasi option...

i was leaving delhi for the end for the shopping. I figured it was better to do the shopping at the end so I wouldnt have to take all the goods to all the places along with us... i guess we were going to take seperate duffel bags with us since it wasnt for too many days... i plan to get 3-4 saris, 2-3 suits, and lots of jewellery (not real though!) so dont really want to take it with me...

i found the nanded train too! it's 32 hours!! oy! lol... but it's good to know it's there though...

i guess it makes sense though to go from phg to agra (instead through delhi) if we do choose to start from phagwara... then we can get a driver in agra and maybe get a drive back to delhi, then do the delhi-varanasi-delhi trip...get some shopping done, and go home...

alternatively, i can take the train from phagwara to delhi, then the flight to varanasi, back to delhi, do my shopping, go to agra (by train), and take the train back to phagwara?

THANK YOU!!!