newbie in india, want to see everything in 5 weeks

missdelioncourt

Hello there!
well, not everything per se, ofcourse.
i'm starting to plan a trip to india, starting in mid august till the end of september. it's the only time i've got, but i'm guessing the weather gets better by then?

i'm sory if the question has already been posed, but i just can't find enough answers and the indian railway website is a puzzle to me

here's the thing: I have 4 to 5 weeks time (lets sey 5); and i'd like to see as much as possible, or as many DIFFERENT stuff. I don't want to limit myself only to Rajastan (yeah, it varies a lot cause it's big, but still).
I was thinking something like this:
arrive in new delhi - see the Taj
go to Rajastan: Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodapur, Jaipur
then go to Khajuaro?, Varanasi, maybe Kolkata
from there to Pondicherry (too far away? )
and Kochi
and back to aurangabad and back to delhi to fly home.

it's too much, right?
the thing is, i'm a fan of cultures, beautiful architecture with spirit and lots of colour; as far as the nature goes, i'd love to see the desert on a camel. the rest of the nature, animals, beaches - not interesting to me. but i'd like to see some hills (as long as they have monasteries) and some tea plantation hills.
i'd lovelove to experience some train rides in india, but i'm wondering if these distances are feasible only by train?? and would it be way over my head to travel from lets say kochi via aurangabad to delhi, or the other way around?
could somebodi reccomend a beautiful scenic tour that's within this itinerary?

there's another factor:
i'll be a budget backpacker, since i'm still a student. but if there has to be a plane trip, no worries (if it's cheap).
I don't mind the tempo, but still, I'm not going there just to check the things off my list. I wanna soak it all up, live the experience, be flexible, and still see as much amazing things that I read about on the forum as i can.
i'll be travelling alone though, for the first time. i've been to indonesia last year, so i'm a bit familiar with budget acommodation and long bus rides, but i'm guessing it has nothing on india

and another thing: the controversial budget ofcourse
i'm only asking because i'm still saving up and can't buy my ticket until i know i'll earn enough by august.
as i said, i'm on a budget. no problem about no AC, sometimes i'll invest in a western toilet though (i'm a girl, it's harder ).eating on the streets, not drinking and partying at night. there will be train tickets though and possibly a plane ticket or two (but i'm afraid of missing out on some "nice" train ride).
how much APPROXIMATELY (if we say, that i wont be able to bargain the lowest price on the room every time) would you say should i bring to india? a 1000 euros should cover me for 5 weeks?

is my itinerary even remotely doable? do you have any other ideas? i'm open and excited as hell!!
namaste in advance

Nick-H

I don' t give advice on Northern India itinerary --- because I haven't been there!!!

Pondicherry and Kochi are both places good to visit if you are touring the South, but a mad dash to see them is a little bit crazy if your time and budget is restricted. It would mean spending days on trains (isn't Chennai/Delhi more than 36 hours?). Even though flying now puts any major city in India not much more than a couple of hours from any other, you still have to add the time spent getting to/from and being processed in, airports.

The Ixigo site will tell you about air fairs to help your budgeting.

So, my advice is to come back for a Southern tour next time

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ebby

The whole of India in 5 weeks ? Around the world in 80 days ? Quite a challenge ! Pick up good spots in the North,east, south,west and central to get a wholesome flavour of India and have fun !

Khandoma

Hi Miss, welcome to IndiaMike.

You were asking for a scenic train route. There's a nice thread here listing a number of options.

A word on the budget. I went last November for 3 weeks. I travelled on a tight budget (for a Westerner !). Brought with me 450 Euros. I had enough for presents, and even for the soda can at the Mumbai airport, which cost about as much as the taxi to get there. On top of that, there was the Paris to Mumbai airplane ticket, the reservation for a hotel in Mumbai on my 1st night (arrived at midnight) (55 Euros), and a total of 66 Euros for 3 000 km by train.
What is really going to be expensive with your plans are local airplane tickets. Like most people on this forum I would recommend that you choose an area, and once you're there, that you use the train.
Also, your itinerary means you get through a lot of big cities. This is where the hotels are the most expensive. If you take the time to tour one single area, you'll visit smaller towns and villages, and will be able to get really cheap rooms (6 to 10 Euros).
As an example, I did : Mumbai - Bangalore (24hrs by train), Mysore, Hassan (Belur and Halebid temples), Hampi, Goa. Arrived in Goa after 2 weeks and had planned to then go to Aurangabad to see the Ajanta and Ellora caves. But I was really exhausted by then, having spent a looot of time in trains, so I dropped that last part and realized it was supposed to be a holiday. It does look like a very small itinerary on the map, but...

Since you are an architecture and temple lover, something I am too, I would very strongly recommend that you go through Hampi. I only know very little about India and haven't been to many of the places on your list, but I'm pretty sure several days in Hampi are a better experience than spending half your trip in trains (though I love trains in India) and airports. Check the Photos section on this site to see what it looks like.

Oh, and a word on food. Check out the local restaurants. In small and medium-sized cities, they're not expensive, you'll get fantastic thalis for very little money. The street food is absolutely great of course, it's just that sometimes you want something else - especially if you do a lot of train travelling, meaning you'll eat snacks on the platforms or from train vendors (mostly delicious).

Wishing you a fantastic trip,

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bijapuri

YES! You can get something of an overview of India in that amount of time. The catch- You won't get deep into any one area, you'll be on the move- mostly train, AND you'll have to go to places that aren't off the beaten track. It will help if you can get an open jaw flight landing in Delhi and leaving from Mumbai.

Northern Plains-Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur- 1 week

Mountains- Dharamsala, Chamba- 1 week

Eastern oddysey- Varanasi, Bhubaneshwar, Konarak- 1 week

Tamil temple tour- After taking train from Bhubaneshwar to Chennai (Mahabs), Tiruchi/Thanjavur,Conoor (TEA), Mudumalai- 10 Ddays
Deccan-Belur/Halebid, Mysore, Hampi- 1 week

The best for last:Hampi to Ajanta/Ellora- 4 days, and finish at Mumbai

and WHEN this breaks down, just forget about it and see what you see when you see it when you see

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missdelioncourt

Hey, thank you all for your advices.
i guess i'll really just focus on one part then, since I don't wanna just stay at one place for a day.
Rajastan and eats to varanasi it is! and hampi, have to do hampi...dang, then i'm going to the south as well. and can't miss aurangabad either....
still have a lot of thinking and planning to do. but that's one half of the fun.

there's one more question; do i really have to reserve train tickets? is it any less crowded in october/late august? fat chance, right?... because it seems so limiting to have set dates form your train journeys and you're always afraid whether or not you'll make it to some place on the right time. is it that much harder to buy the tickets a day before like in other countries?

oh and about the food...i probably will eat mostly at restaurants, to meet some fellow travellers.but i can't wait for some stall action (which i was deprived from in indonesia because of my sterile-europocentric-sphagettyonly travel companion:/().

wonderwomanusa

EAting at stalls and on the street is fine IF you are willing to wait for the food to be freshly cooked for you; don't eat food that has been sitting around.

capt_mahajan

Unless you are steven_ber (our resident train whiz), I am afraid that yes, you do.

I would consider a flight or two.. from a hub city in the North to one in the South. They are not as expensive as you might think, specially at some notice.

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Shiver me Timbers

I don't think you necessarily need to stick to one region. India can be a fun place to randomly zig-zag across.

Your budget is fine, I spent roughly €100 p/week two years ago in India, and got by fairly comfortably for budget traveller.

As for your itinery, well that's down to you - I'll just recommend a few places that I feel are suitable for first-timers to India, and that I think you would like.

Amritsar - I would highly recommend that you go here first from Delhi. Yes it's a bit out of the way, but there are plenty of fast trains (I think they take roughly 5 hours). Amritsar is a good introduction because it doesn't really have any of the hassle associated with Agra and Rajasthan. The Golden Temple is an amazing, special place (trust me, do a search on this forum, you won't find anyone with a bad word to say about it), and you won't be left with a sour taste after your firt few nights in India, which can happen to many people who head straight to Agra and Rajasthan. The Sikhs here are very friendly and welcoming. It's really not to be missed, a very under-rated place I think.

Varanasi - everyone should go to Varanasi at least once, it divides opinion like no other place on IM, and for that reason alone is worth checking out. There's simply not another place like it on earth.

Hampi - if you're down further south, definately check out Hampi, another amazing spot, and during September, it will be empty of tourists, you'll probably have the place to yourself, which is a bonus. Ruins as far as you can see, and a bizarre 'flintstones' landscape, one of my favourite places.

If you're going to Rajasthan, then it might be worth including Bundi over one of the more popular places. Rajasthan is cool, but it can be stressful at times, and there is a very defined tourist trail that people follow which I really wasn't into. Bundi, however, is still slightly off the radar, and is a relatively peaceful haven to escape to if you're sick of the scene in Pushkar/Udaipur etc.

That's about it really, if you head from Delhi south, there are plenty of other places you could go (Orcha, Ajanta & Ellora etc).

The cities - Delhi is great, a bit irritating at first if you stay in Paharganj, but if you appreciate your history, you're in for a treat.

Mumbai, you could finish up here if you do head south, and fly back up to Delhi. It's a modern city with none of the history of Delhi, but is the place to gain an insight into modern India, warts and all. Great city for random exploration/getting lost.

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sylvester

u got lots of time to move around
so make sure u leave plenty of time for schedule delays