March 2013

Hi, My friend and I have booked a one way flight from the UK to Delhi for March 2013. We plan to travel around India for 2 months before moving on to South East Asia.

As we arrive in Delhi we plan to do the golden triangle first so Delhi, Agra and Rajasthan.
In Delhi the things/places we would like to see are:
Delhi
Rajpath (wide boulevard)
Jama Masjid mosque
Red Fort
Rajghat (Ghandi cremated)
Humayn Tomb
Connaught Place

We would ideally stay in or near PaharGanj as this is a good place to meet fellow backpackers we underdstand.

We would then move onto Agra where we would like to see the following:
Agra
Taj Mahal
Red Fort
India Gate

We would then complete the golden triangle by moving onto Rajasthan where we would like to see the following places/things:
Rajasthan
Pink City Jaipur – City Palace, Hawa Mahal, Galta - Monkey palace,
Blue City (Jodhpur)
Golden City (Jaisalmer)
White City (Udaipur)
Ranthambore national park

We understand that it will be simple enough to get between Delhi, Agra and Rajasthan by train so we will take this option rather than flying anywhere as we need to keep the cost down wherever possible.

Once we have finished the golden triangle we really could do with some advice on what route to take next. The other key places we would like to see in India are:

Varanasi
River Gagnes, waterfalls, pilgrimages
Ramnagar Fort


Gokarna
Beautiful beaches – Kudlee beach, om beach, half moon beach, paradise beach.

Punjab - Amritsar
Golden Temple

Kerala Coast
Varkala – Cliffs, temples, beaches
Kutternad – the backwaters of Kerala

Mumbai
The gateway of india
Elephanta boat tour
Colaba Causeway

Goa
Akpora night market,
Flea market – anjuna,
Liquid sky – aswem,
Dudhsagar waterfalls
Arambol
Vagator – Big vagator beach, little vagator beach, spaghetti beach
Candolim beach
Palolem – Nice beaches

Kolkata
Sundarbans – tigers, wildlife
Botanical Gardens

Would anyone be able to advise us at all on the best route to take to see these places? If we need to make our way back to Delhi from Rajasthan after finishing the golden triangle we can if that will make an easier starting point.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Tom

India Gate is in Delhi.

Why not fly into Kolkata and fly out from Mumbai?

Kolkata - Varanasi - Agra - Delhi - Amritsar - Jaipur - Jaisalmer - Jodhpur - Udaipur - Goa - Gokarna - Kerala - Mumbai

We have already booked a flight to Delhi so that has to be our first destination. That is why we plan on doing the golden triangle first but are unsure as to what our next step should be after.

Two months looks like a lot of time but I think it is insufficient for all your plans if traveling by train. So I left out Kerala.

Have a look at this option, for the train connections see erail.in
Delhi - Amritsar - Jaipur
Rajasthan ending in Jodhpur
Jodhpur - Mumbai - Goa - Agra - Varanasi - Kolkata

A few thoughts for what they are worth.

For the amount of rail travel that you would need to fulfill your plan it might be worth looking at a 60 day Indrail pass. http://www.indianrail.gov.in/international_Tourist.html

In Delhi think about staying somewhere near a metro station. It's the best way to get about the city by far.
Don't spend any more time in Agra than you need to. It's dirty, noisy and full of touts. We did The Taj Mahal, Fort and Fatehpur Sikri as a day trip from Delhi, taking trains between the 2 cities.
In Amritsar it's worth picking up the Durgiana Temple as well as the Golden Temple. Anywhere else it would be spectacular in its own right. The Wagah Border ceremony might appeal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC9NeJh1NhI
There is a really good overnight train from Jaipur to Mumbai on Tuesdays and Thursdays (Train 12240)
If you go to the Sundarbans make sure that you book a 3 day/2 night trip. on the 1 night trips you spend nearly as much time travelling as you do seeing anything.

Thanks very much for this, will look into this route. Travelling by train isnt a necessity if it will lose us lots of time. We can travel by air if it will be easier and not cost a great deal more. We plan to move onto South East Asia after so obviously just don't want to unnecessairly over spend.

Thanks very much for this. Would buying a pass work out cheaper than booking the trains individually? As mentioned above we could fly to some destinations if the cost isn't much different or would you advise against this?

It's hard to be definitive about travel costs until you decide on your route. It is said that internal airfares in India equate to 1AC rail fares as a general rule. Depending on the class you chose train travel can be much cheaper. There have recently been reports that air fares in India have increased because one of the big internal carriers has drastically reduced services.

On our next trip we have about 7,000 km of train travel planned over 6 weeks and it would not be worth our while to get 1AC passes. The total fares added together work out at bout 70% of the cost of a pass. The only way to work it out is to list the journeys that you want and then add up the costs.

I have little experience of internal flights in India but what I have I wouldn't care to repeat.

We can plan the route to suit cost, we don't mind what order we see things as long as we get to see the things we wanted. We have to start from Delhi as that is where we arrive but after that we are flexible. From your experience do you know of a logical but affordable route?

Logical - big ask. Vonkla's suggestion is probably a pretty good basis to work on. Jaipur is a bit of a gateway. You could do something like

Delhi - Amritsar -Jaipur - Udaipur all by train

Udaipur - Jodhpur by car.

Jodhpur-Jaisalmer-Jaipur by train.

Jaipur - Ranthambore - Fatehpur Sikri - Agra by car

Agra - Mumbai- Goa - Gokarna - Kerala? by train

Then back to Mumbai - Varanasi - Kokata by train

Affordable - that's easy. If you are happy to travel Sleeper class you will be charged as little as around 3 rupees for 10km travelled . At current rates of exchange that works out at about 175 miles for a quid.

There's some basic stuff about Indian Railways and some useful links in this thread.http://www.indiamike.com/india/india...012-a-t165379/

Have a look and then come back with any questions.

I'm looking at seeing all those same places. Except I'm planning on starting in the South and working my way north, also including Amritsar and Darjeeling. I'll probably be getting a 90 day rail pass because I'm allowing 3 months.

Hope you have an amazing trip!

We are not planning on having a car while we are away so train and air will be are only option for long haul travel.

How does the below look as a route?? Just looking into now what will be best for train and air.

Delhi - Agra - Rajasthan - Punjab

Kolkata, Varanasi

Proceed to Mumbai

Then Goa - Gokarna - Kerala

Fly back to Delhi to depart for South East Asia.

I think the following is more logical for the fist part:

Delhi - Punjab - Rajasthan - Agra
Varanasi - Kolkata
Fly to Mumbai

Tuck60, why fly back to Dehli to fly to South East Asia? You could fly from Trivandum, Goa or Bangalore easy enough to either Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. In your first post I noticed you had booked 1 way to India. something to think about? cheers. Zamba.

There will be times when hiring a car+driver will be very useful if you want to make the most of your time. The cost can be surprisingly low. I wouldn't have classed either of the sections that I suggested be done by car as " long haul".

Why do you think that is more logical? Thanks