Northern India - 3 weeks in June

machadinha

[quote]It's difficult to say and I haven't travelled through the monsoon, although I did through the winter monsoon once. What I hear is it's mostly the short showers kind of affair, but it varies, so you can expect anything I guess. I also hear it initially just gets hot + humid, only later does it cool things down. I also don't know if it will have started when you go. A search on "monsoon" on this site should tell you more -- and I see just now you've started such a thread yourself

You did the right thing. I just mentioned it as a little caution that on my first arrival in Delhi I would have found something as simple as immediately getting an onwards ticket probably complicated. On later visits things were much simpler of course. Anyway it's surely doable if you have to, don't worry too much about it.

Uh-oh. Don't hold it against me if you get disappointed please, many people swear by Udaipur

You can book them online, there's a special thread about it in the transport section. If you know your precise route you can also try and book the whole thing from the Delhi station. You'd be stuck to those dates then of course. If there's no holidays going on I don't imagine travel being very busy that time of year. As a rule of thumb, try and book your onwards ride as soon as you can upon arrival in any place, one or two days ahead will often be fine. If everything's full be sure to ask for the Tourist Quota, there's a number of seats reserved for people in your situation. If that doesn't work be sure to harp on about the VIP quota and whatever other deal may be available, i.e., get your bum on that train! If all else fails, for shorter rides you could try your luck in unreserved class. Can be jam-packed (or empty for that matter), it's certainly an experience. Again, look for a bus if a train is not going, you'll normally find one. In many parts of Rajasthan they generally make for faster travel and they're easier to book.

Bundi and Chittoor are really worth it btw but you can't see it all anyway right. You'll probably find yourself eager to return (or never to return again, heheh). One thing about Pushkar and Ajmer, the latter is just a connection point for most people but I found it a nice little town of its own to hang out for a day or so, with a nice bazaar, some sights and the impressive tomb of the Sufi saint Chishti, all this without the tourists. Others find it boring for the same reasons, see what you make of it.

A thought for quick sightseeing + train travel: you can normally store your gear at train stations in the left luggage department (or with the station master if there isn't one), it's safe and cheap and you can then explore a given town for the day then head on later. Handy if you're in a hurry.

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Zypher

Thanx everyone for all the great responses we've got for our trip.
We're leaving this wednesday!!