Two week dream itinerary north India

wolverhampton

I really welcome any and all feedback.My wife and i are first time visitors we love wildlife and history-- so here goes.Hotels are booked.

day 1 Arrive Dehli---sleep.oberoi

day2---drive,train or fly to agra---afternoon taj and red fort and moghul tombs.oberoi

day3---full day baharaptpur and fatehpur sikri--agra oberoi

day 4--drive to dehli fly to udaipur--oberoi

day5----full day udaipur--oberoi

day6----full day ranakpur and kumblegarh fort--udaipur oberoi

day7----drive udaipur to jodhpur stay umaid palace.

day8-----jodhpur tour---umaid

day 9--evening flight to jaiper--oberoi

day 10---jaipur city sights--amber fort etc---oberoi

day11---morning drive to ranthambore---oberoi

day12--ranthambore oberoi

day13---ranthambore oberoi

day14---ranthambore oberoi

day15--drive ranthambore--dehli stay imperial

day16--shop dehli,city tour---late night flight home.

Heavey on ranthambore i know but wish to see a tiger.
Booked a discount package for 12 nights with oberoi that includes transfers and ended up being half the price of going with a tour operator.booked umaid and imperial direct also at discount rate.Have to pay for car and driver and breakfasts myself--I figure on the days I need a car 50--60 a day and 15 dollars per person for breakfast.This is a dream trip for us. I hope I planned it correctly.Highlights---tigers,udaipur,jaiper amber fort,jodhpur fort/umaid palace,ranakpur,taj and dehli.
Mike.

camelgirl

This would be a dream trip for anyone....can my husband and I come too? We won't be in the way It sounds fantastic. The only hotel you listed that we've stayed in is the Imperial in Delhi and it was many years ago before they finished renovating it. We loved it. A bit of the old Raj. We make a point of visiting the luxury hotel lobbies and sometimes even treat ourselves to a meal. You will have a wonderful time. You have planned it very well for a first trip. Hitting all the highlights. And the extra time at Rathambore will give you time to relax from the first part of your trip.

I'd be interested in how you booked those luxury hotels at a discount. Did you use any particular company or website?

wolverhampton

The rack rates for oberoi properties in march are $530 a night for agra,jaipur and udaipur and 600 for ranthambore.We purchased a discount package from oberoi direct whcih bought the price down to 415 a night.Still very very expensive I know but still a savings of over 1500 from travelocity or expedia or oberoi themselves for the regular charges.This rate incluses two way transfers from airports or nearest rail stations.If you figure the transfer would cost 25 dollars each way that means the hotels are 365 a night.Still alot but not too bad for this kind of luxury.The umaid palace through travelocity or expedia are rack rates 400 a night.we paid 255 booking direct.
Travel agents in India charge unbelieavable rates for the luxury package i put together myself.
My total hotel cost for 15 nights----5700 including transfers.
Driver between cities and in cities----650
domestic air----460--2flights for 2 people.
breakfast 15x15x2peole=450
various city tours and safari drives 350
total luxury trip=$7500 plus international air.
Best quote from India based travel agent after multiple negociations $9700
Abercrombie and kent price--same package and itinerary----$16700+international air.
Amazing.With the internet and a little bit of savy it is possible to save many thousands travelling anywhere in the world.
Mike.

camelgirl

Definitely alot of money but this is your dream trip which is a different catagory than a "regular" trip. Plus you've tailored it to do what you wanted to do and 2 weeks isn't very long for a place like India--which takes getting used to, so it's better to do it comfortably if it's in your travel budget. There are companies like OAT http://www.oattravel.com/gcc/general...ountry =97194
which run a good quality tour, but you are still doing it with a group on someone elses schedule.

India Mike is a good site to browse around from both old India hands and newbies getting ready to go. You can probably find answers to most of your questions here...medical, packing, bugs, water, food, guidebooks, etc.

Thanks for the hotel info. I'm not sure we'll get past those Oberoi lobbies though with our travel budget since we always go to India for at least a month and hopefully our next trip (since my husband just retired) will be for several months!

steven_ber

I take my hat off to you; you've made a hell of a lot of savings.

But I am curious to know how much extra you could have saved by using the following trains?
(You would be losing virtually no time)

I know you can't change things now, but just curious.


Bharatpur - Udaipur

Train 2963 departs Bharatpur daily at 23:08 and gets to Udaipur at 08:30.
(saving on hotel, flight and actually gaining time.)

First Class air-conditioned = Rs 1977


Jaipur to Ranthambhore

Train 2466 departs Jaipur daily at 10:50 and gets to Sawai Madhoppur (for Ranthambhore) at 13:25 (your hotel would send a driver to pick you up from the station).

Air Con Chair Class = Rs 224

This train is underused between Jaipur and Sawai Madhoppur giving the perfect opportunity to sit in 2nd class (bars across open windows) and watch India go by, whilst always being able to go back to the air con seats (closed slightly tinted windows).


Ranthambhore to Delhi

Train 2059 departs Sawai Madhoppur Daily (not Sundays) at 07:07 and gets to Hazrat Nizamuddin (Delhi) at 12:35.

Air con Chair Class = Rs 405


Indian trains (and train stations) are a fundamental part of Indian life and also a great experience, I feel that you can learn more about India by sitting in a train station and 'people watching' for an hour than you can at any tourist site.


Consider the following for the Delhi - Agra leg: -

Delhi to Agra.

Train 2002 departs New Delhi daily at 06:00 and gets to Agra Cant at 08:10

Executive Chair Class = Rs 720
Air con Chair Class = Rs 370

Or

Train 2180 departs Hazrat Nizamuddin daily at 07:15 and gets to Agra Cant at 10:07

Air con Chair Class = Rs 266

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Train information.

lonelyaztec

Wolverhampton,

U must be rich...Oberoi and Umaid..Hmm..By the way, which airlines r u flying within in. Jet and Indian airlines are good. If it is Deccan Air, the fares re less expensive in comparion to Jet and IA, but 3 out of 5 flights, do not take off on time. So, factor that.

have a great time. Jokes apart, it is a fabulous itenary. Enjoy India.

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mridula

Sounds like a dream vacation. Those tiger sightings are a ticky business though. Best of luck, hope you will see one.

EDIT NOTE by steven ber

I have added the following to your 'signature'

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mridula

http://traveltalesfromindia.blogspot. com/
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This will show up at the bottom of all your posts (only the first in each thread) and save you having to keep typing it.