Planning itinerary. Help!

oneheart

Hi everyone,

I'm from singapore.. I'm planning to backpack india from 20 Dec 2007 till 1 Jan 2008 (12 days). I would like u to advise me the possible itineraries. I'm traveling with 1 friend, both of us are females in our early 20s. We are hoping to go on a low budget, abt S$1,600 (which is abt 42,668 Indian Rupee) including a return airticket to Delhi.

We hope to see a mixture of city, culture and nature like mountains and especially the Himalayas. There is an Indian tour agent who suggested to us that we should visit these places..

Shimala
Kullu
Manali
Shrinagar
Khajusaho
Agra
Jaipur
Jodhpur

I wonder if you provide tour packages or customised tours? Which airline should i take to cut cost of traveling from Singapore to India?

I did some reading and found that Leh seems to be quite an interesting place to visit, with beautiful scenery.. What do u think?

steven_ber

That travel agent is thinking of his own profits only.

I have a feeling I could get to all those places (I assume you'd also be visiting Delhi) in 12 days, but I'd have to leave each place as soon as I got there.

You should be considering about 4 places only, and that will depend on your interests.

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oneheart

Hi bro, u r right, i am actually looking at 4-5 places only. The agent was suggesting these places for me to read up then decide where i want to visit.. I can extend my trip if i find that it is too short to visit some of these really attractive places..

Wanted a good mix of city sightseeing and nature.. I'm thinking of visiting delhi, Agra, Jaipur for the city area.. Would like to ask for advice on nature sightseeing.. Which is better? Srinagar, Shimla, Kullu or Leh?

vandy

Hi oneheart, You can name the agent and see if
any other travellers have had dealings with them.

There are many reputable travel agents in delhi,
one is GITC - Great India Tour Company,try them.
Maybe if you did Golden triangle,Agra etc in your
first week and then had a look around Shimla area
in your second week.

Note: Srinagar(Kashmir) & Ladakh will be very cold
at the time you are travelling.

Not sure of airline prices from singapore, but I
gather Air India would be cheaper than most others
Personally I would fly Singapore Airlines as the
little extra cost is well worth it.

Rgds - vandy

oneheart

Hi Vandy, thanks so much for ur suggestions! I read that Leh, Srinagar(Kashmir) & Ladakh will be very cold but these places seem to hav really stunning scenery.. it's a pity if i miss them.. You've been to india? How long did u stay there? what are some places you've visited? perhaps u can share w me.. =)

traveler1

hey there .. would suggest ''less is more'' here...12 days is too little to explore so many cities, you rather choose a few and do that well. would suggest you do

Delhi - Agra - Jaipur - Jaisalmer ..12 days would be just abt good for these.

cheers!

oneheart

thanks traveler.. i would like a mixture of cities n himalayas scenery.. wat do u suggest in this case?

traveler1

hey again.. would suggest

6 days to cover Delhi/Agra/Jaipur

6 days on the hills @ Uttranchal; may be nainital; ranikhet; almora; binsar

attaching a link; u may browse and choose where in the hills

http://uttranchaltourism.com/places.htm

hope this helps...shout again..if u need any more info

cheers!

traveler1

vandy

Hi oneheart,

what traveller suggested,6 days for Delhi,Agra,Jaipur,is good.

Once again are you aware its going to be very,very cold in places
like Kashmir,Ladakh,Himalayan Foothills,Shimla,Dehra Dun,Nainital,
etc, Have you experienced very cold weather before.
If you think you can handle the cold,great,don't forget to take
warm clothing and hot water bottles.I suggest you fly to Kashmir
stay on houseboat & see surrounding areas,Gulmarg,Palghalm.

You should also consider flying down to Kerala after Delhi,Agra,
Can fly into Cochin(Kochi),2 days cochin area, 2 days Munnar
Hill station(Tea growing area,beautiful hills),then O'night
houseboat backwater cruise (Allepey area)back to cochin and then
fly Cochin to Singapore(Silkair)Kerala is tropical around the coastline and lovely and cool in the hills.One hour out of Cochin
you can go and watch and even join in washing an elephant down
by the river.Something else for you to ponder.

Rgds - vandy

hsg1986

Hey
i'd recently been on a 7 day trip to Kashmir followed by a visit to agra

In kashmir we covered srinagar,gulmarg and pahalgam.. it was a kikass trip .. no doubts abt that...
The overall feel of kashmir is 2 gud.. the ppl are nice, the food is way different.. I dont think u can stay on housboats(Dal lake, Srinagar) in december but i mite b wrong.

But about the places you mention, let me point out that SHIMLA IS CRAP.. DONT GO THERE!!!
U are on a relatively tight schedule and you can easily skip shimla .. theres only the mall road there that is worth seeing and even thats not much.. its the typical english architecture styled road.. not really worth the hassle..

iv nevr been to kulu manali myself but frnds say theyre awesome places..

Jaipur is a place everyone should visit once in their life.. but the time that you have decided to come, there may not b anything special in jaipur.. But then you COULD goto jaipur via agra... Delhi Agra N Jaipur form a ring, each 200 kms from the other..



Another thing is, since u already are from a megacity, u wont find nething special in another.. I live in mumbai and i went to delhi expecting a good trip.. instead even the famous places i visited .. qutub minar, red fort of delhi etc turned out to b pretty boring and not worth spending time on.. Places like jaisalmer and agra have deeper historical roots and they are much more interesting..

I would leave one day for delhi.. and that wud b the day I have to travel bak


Another great place to visit in december is Goa .. but if ur budget is constrained it might be a sligt problem

kullukid

You seem to be attracted to the hills of H.P. so how about Shimla 2nts -Mandi 1nt -manali- 2nts rewalsar lake2nts - mcleod ganj (Dharamsala)2nts-Amritsar (Golden Temple)2nts.KK

oneheart

By the way, can i go around Delhi, Agra, Jaipur on our own? Is it better to hav a private guide or join tour groups? Can anyone recommend a reliable tour agency to me?

vandy

Hi there, Try Great India Tour Company - www.gitc.com

If you go with a small group it should be cheaper.

Rgds - vandy

singsub

since u are from Singapore you could finish the Delhi-Jaipur-Agra (and perhaps Khajuraho/Varanasi) leg and check out the Himalayas in Darjeeling and fly back to Singapore from Kolkata.