December trip questions...already

Jadeskirt

So the plan is that I go to India and Nepal for six months, and my 18 year old son will join me in mid-December for 2 weeks over winter break. I booked his flight already because I was told flights in mid-December fill up quickly. Do I need to book the trains well ahead of time too? He is flying into Deli and we are planning on going to go to see the Taj Mahal, and then I was thinking we would then go to either Varanasi or Rajastan. Any thoughts on which of those two places would be more fun for a guy his age? Any festivals worth going to at that time? We both LOVE Indian music.

wonderwomanusa

Unless there's a festival going on, you can usually book a train within a day or two (using "foreigner quota") so I don't think you have to book trains now....with exceptions being just before Christmas. I travelled from Puri to Delhi on New Year's Eve and the 2-tier A/C was only 1/3 full, so everybody had plenty of space.

Your son might love Rajasthan; it's colorful, has camels, and lots of tourists -- also much warmer than Varanasi which might very well be foggy and uncomfortable.

Oh, and that fog can delay East/West train service, so don't plan transitions too tightly.

aholic_2907

hi..
u shud plan to go to goa in the month of december.up north in himachal and kashmir its gonna b freezing.
as for your son, the party scene for xmas and new years is crazy out there, with parties happening all over goa.look up the goa websites to find info on tht.have a safe trip!

seventies'hippy

I would suggest Rajasthan, after a night or two of catching up with yourselfs & seeing the sites of Delhi.
As you 'd also like to visit the Taj you could also consider a private car tour of Rajasthan, It's the one state were this is very doable. Theres several circular standard routes from Delhi via Agra into Rajasthan, You could take in forts markets palaces camels elephants etc, even some cultural music/dance.
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hi
go for this :
delhi-agra (taj mahal and stuff)
agra-jaipur
and then from jaipur on , discover rajasthan

also hit goa in end of december..goa rocks at that time. do book in advance for that

for train tickets.. for end of december train tickets , book well in advance

for delhi-agra , rao travels (raotravels.com) operates volvo a/c buses to agra..

skip varanasi.. ur son wont enjoy there much..

machadinha

Once again I have to say sorry but I beg to differ. Varanasi in Dec./Jan., foggy and cold(-ish) as it may have been, was one of the definite highlights for me. I wasn't much older than your son at the time. It's a magical place and I'd be glad to return any ol' day. Classical Indian music performances are not hard to find there, although I suppose you can always be unlucky.

If you have to choose for just two weeks however... they're both very nice destinations, hard to say. (A folk music performance in Rajasthan is never far away, ranging from touristy affairs to better. Classical performances are to be found as well no doubt. I was under the impression you were looking for these kind of festivals rather than raves but maybe I'm wrong. Local magazines and tourist offices can be helpful to track down such events.) I'd try and combine the two, maybe skip the Taj for it even, although I can't say I've visited (never suffered from much trouble because I didn't either ) Travel around XMas can be tricky yes so allow for enough time for your son to get back to his point of departure.

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machadinha

nb Thinking some more about this. Varanasi is very nice but it's also very much a part of the "hectic North-Indian cities" experience, just like many Rajasthani cities are btw. Visiting there as the later part of an extended trip will have helped me to appreciate it. In that sense, Rajasthan may be better for a short introduction to India yes, with plenty of variety in terms of temples/forts/parks/villages and what have you to choose from and good car-and-driver options like SH noted, although travelling by public transport is very much part of the experience I'd say, if somewhat time-consuming sometimes. Try to visit not just the major destinations but include some off-the-beaten-track ones as well.

Jadeskirt

Thanks! Sounds good. What off-the-beaten-track places do you recommend?

machadinha

Haha now why did I see that one coming. I don't know, what I usually do going anywhere is pick up a guidebook and look for some places that seem out-of-the-way by their descriptions, or that receive hardly a mention at all. (Not being mentioned at all might be even better but then it makes it very hard to pick them right.) Alternatively look around for suggestions on forums like these, there's a separate Rajasthan section, although contrary to some overblown ideas of the wealth of in-depth information here that particular section at least mostly seems to cover the regular tourist destinations really with highly subjective views of how you must visit place X with little factual arguments as to why this would be so. Combing through those posts carefully should give you some pointers however, just don't expect miracles of it; I'd say any ol' guidebooks are often better at giving you the background details and some idea of where you might want to visit, you can always return here to fill in the details of the destinations you picked.

<Now let me duck and cover before I start another guidebook war here.>

seventies'hippy

Jadeskirt, I'm not sure if it's yours as well as your sons first visit to India, (I know you're going to be there sometime before he comes) but if it is a first visit for both of you then I wouldn't think that you'd have to stray too far off the well beaten tracks of rajasthan to more than satisfy your senses for two weeks. Theres plenty of instantaneous sights between the more recognised touristy ones to surprise you.
My suggestion for a car & driver was based upon Rajasthan being very seeable by this mode of transport, without the need of booking trains for the december period, though car arrangements should be made in good time to get what you want, Plus the convienience/flexability of planning a two week Itinerary.
Theres lot of links through our search engine to Rajasthan & car/driver tips

Nick-H

responding to your "LOVE indian music": if you could find a way to be in Chennai you would be absolutely immersed in it Mid-Dec to Mid-Jan

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machadinha

Sound advice. What I meant is doing more than the obvious Jaipur-Jodhpur-Jaisalmer-Udaipur stretch might be rewarding. It might also tone down on the effect where every Indian city seems like a mega-place full of traffic and pollution and touts trying to get some money out of you. Hiring a car would definitely make it easier to stop off in any place of your liking, esp. for such a short period.

bijapuri

MY son was really struggling with his India trip until he hit Goa. Now he wants to return. He was 23 at the time. So Goa might be to your son's liking . . . just a thought. Not all young people take right away to Ma India's culture and chaos, ya know?

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machadinha

What's this idea about youngsters automatically having to go to Goa? I was in my early twenties at the time and I hated hippies, although in fact maybe I'm more of one than I'd care to admit. Let's say I hated the wannabe-hippie scene and the more-street-than-thou gang. I did love India however. It's hard to judge but from OP's remarks such as

I don't get the impression chilling out and lazing on the beach and trance parties are their main interests.

Just a thought, no fights picked or intended.

Jadeskirt

Everyone here is so helpful and generous with the information!
Finn, my son, is not exactly the beach and party guy. So I don't know about Goa. When I asked him what did he most want to get out of the trip, he told me he would enjoy meeting Indians and travelers and finding out what their lives were like. ( He's a good companion for me.)

I did a search on car and drivers and didn't come up with much info. How much $$ should I count on spending? I'm a bit nervous about the cost.