Train Vs. Bus (and general itinerary Q)

parabol64

Hi all,
I'm flying to India with my wife in two weeks for 17 days;
I'm now attempting to plan the itinerary.
We fly into Delhi, and have 17 days all together.
After long hours spent in this and various other websites, I am still undecided.
I've narrowed it down to two options:
1. Delhi-Agra-Jaipur-Pushkar-Jaisalmer-Bikaner-Delhi (and perhaps a flight to Goa for the remaining days!?)
2. Delhi-Agra-Jaipur-Jodhpur-Udaipur-(if time permits Goa)-Delhi.

My questions are:
I dont know if 1-2 nights at any of those places is enough or not, and whether visiting this many places over a short time would be too stressful, especially with train connections, etc.
Which brings me to the second point- since we are limited in time, would it be best to pre-book all our train connections? Do you guys think it's a good idea?
I've read in some post that for short(er) journeys like those we'd be taking a bus is actually a better idea, as it does not require booking in advance etc.

Your thoughts please,

p.

machadinha

Esp. in Rajasthan I found the buses generally quicker to book and quicker to travel in, they also tend to be more frequent. You have the option between state buses and more upclass tourist coaches (generally AC, sometimes video coaches that you need to beware of because of the noise but in fact I never found it a serious problem. I think the video craze is long over, unless it's started up again). Or just opt for whatever is more convenient at a given time on any given stretch, as for availability/comfort/speed.

With buses, too, booking as early as you can is often necessary, but it will seldom be a problem, although it might be. If there's a holiday things might get booked up a lot sooner of course. For the state buses incidentally it sometimes works the other way around and you can only get a ticket an X number of hours ahead (and you'd better make sure to be the first in line sometimes). In general and at the rate you'll be going, try and book your onward connection on arrival in a given place, before exploring the rest of town.

1-2 nights per place would be obviously rushing it but what can you do for 17 days right. Both routes seem realistic enough, although including Goa might be pushing it. Try to plan for a couple of days in a place of your choice and/or halfway through your trip to unwind (or just decide oh f**k it and let's skip the next place and hang out here for a bit wherever it feels right). Allowing for an extra day at the end in case of delays and stuff is a good idea, i.e. don't leave in the morning for Delhi expecting to make your flight.

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parabol64

Thanks for your reply, machadinha;
The idea of not having to book all the trains in advance and opting for the bus option sounds quite appealing.
From your experience then, booking those state/tourist (is 'tourist' equivalent to what Lonely Planet refers to as 'private buses'?) is quite straigtforward? Most towns should have tourist offices where such trips can be booked I assume, right?

Thanks again.

machadinha

Hmm yes one note: my info is about ten years old, if others have new comments let's hear 'em (mind you new comments are not necessarily the same as "don't ever take a bus" kind of thing).

I'm a train fan myself, I find it relaxing and more comfortable. It's often slower though, esp. if you're on meter gauge (narrow gauge) which might well be the case in parts of Rajasthan. Some folks including myself like overnight trains for comfort, not missing out too much of your days, and saving a night in a hotel; the latter I have to say is extremely relative as most hotels will operate on either a fixed check-out time or a 24-hr basis so it won't win you much either way, assuming you have an onward ride to catch a day or two later. Sleeping on a night bus was never much of a problem either to me but you can't stretch out of course + the coach kind of thing would definitely be preferable.

Like you say buses give a bit more flexibility in general as you can usually book them quite shortly ahead or on the spot. That said, I have certainly been in situations where no transport was available, period. Holiday seasons can be particularly hard. I've never been in a situation where there was no way around it though, but I must say I had time on my hands. As a last resort you can always look for a taxi or minibus I guess, it would be costly but for 17 days you might be able to budget it.

Booking a bus is no big deal. I'm not sure about LP's private buses you mention; state buses are normally booked at the bus stations, like I said sometimes there's a limit on how long ahead you can book them; the tourist coaches I mentioned you normally arrange via a travel agency/bureau/outfit kind of place that will be hard to miss (in their dozens). Tourist offices are around but I've never used them. The minibuses I mentioned are like little 12-person (give or take) vans that ply certain routes, sort of inbetween a taxi and a tourist coach, you won't find them everywhere.

Let me know if I'm unclear and I'll provide more details if I can. It's basically a matter of arriving in a town, settling in at a hotel if you have the time or do that later if you don't, looking for the bus station or the travel agent's circuit or combining that with your sightseeing if the two coincide, getting a ticket and then start exploring the town.

[Flicking through my LP some more. Yes I suppose their private buses are what I call tourist coaches. The state buses have an express variety and a regular one, the former will stop less frequently, though "express" is wishful thinking, but the latter will be very very slow indeed. nb Tourist coaches will be quite affordable, on a par with train prices say; state buses will cost you zilch and are a fun way to get around although they may get tiring on longer stretches. Sitting in the back wear a helmet and bring a barf bag, they're bumpy ]

parabol64

Thanks for taking the time and effort, your replies were very informative, clear and helpful.
The more I think about it, the more likely it seems that we'll do just that-
travel by bus, booking the next leg of our trip on arrival at our new destination.
For the longer hauls, we'd either book them nowish (though that would kinda defy the purpose) or see if we get luckly; after all, we might be able to get on a long haul train in not too-long notice.
And just one last thing that you jokingly said which freaked me out a bit-
I have terrible motion sickness, you reckon the newer private/tourist busses would be comfortable or only remotely comfortable? And what's the state of the roads in Rajasthan, should I pack my anti motion sickness pills and hope for the best or have I nothing to worry about?

machadinha

Hmm I was joking yes. But only half so.

I do not suffer from motion sickness, I rather enjoy a wild ride. So it would be hard for me to put myself in your shoes.

On public buses I have literally bumped my head on the ceiling in the back on rough rides. You know how riding a bus in the back anywhere is. Well it's a little worse in India. I would often opt to sit in the back because you'd often be allowed to have a smoke there with the windows being open and it being less crowded.

Which brings us to the private buses. They're more comfortable, they also take away part of the fun in that you'll often be secluded behind tainted windows, in an airconditioned environment, travelling with a different class of people, things like that (note they too come in different classes though -- you'll find out and often you won't have much of a choice anyway). I can't remember having the same kind of "bumpy" incidents on them so either my memory fails me or they have better padding.

So I really don't know. I'd say not to worry too much about it, none of your trips will be very far so if you have to sit out a bad ride for a couple of hours, so be it. Jaisalmer is a long way out of anywhere and so taking a night train there from say Jodhpur might be an idea, it really depends on your route though, coming from the south there's no sense in detouring to catch a train when there's a direct bus for instance. (On the other hand when you find a given route is booked full, it may still be possible to detour via a different town. Be persistent in your enquiries.)

One thing we haven't touched upon is it'll probably be godawful hot at your intended time of visit so AC coaches would be a definite plus, as would night travel, generally taking it easy in the daytime (design to get up as early as you can and do what you want to do in the early daytime or late nighttime), and keeping plenty of water with you at all times, and drinking it! In extreme heat you may not notice you're dehydrating when in fact you are, you just don't notice your perspiration. Gulp down a couple of liters each day; danger signs are infrequent, painful, very warm or dark or smelly peeing, as well as signs of fatigue or dizziness; increase your water or general fluid intake when you notice any of these.

machadinha

nb Just noticed your description of "terrible" motion sickness now on rereading. In that case and if you have any medication for it that you're happy with, sure why not bring it then see how you get along. I'm sure you'll be fine.

As for the pre-booking, not everyone here will agree with me but I'd just as soon make up my itinerary as I go, who knows what befalls you right. Although for 17 days again your flexibility will be limited anyway.

parabol64

Thanks mate, you've been most helpful, I really appreciate it.
I'll be sure to post my impressions here when I get back.

machadinha

One more thing and it's struck me on many a thread here: the impression may be that you have a wide choice of vehicle modes and times of transport etc. The reality is more that you'll be stuck with whatever bus or train comes your way, it's not like you normally and niftily pick the train that best suits your interests, unless you want to spend another two hours at the booking office maybe. What I mean to say is the transport pretty much comes as you move along and there's not much you can do about it.

Happy traveling.

SHIMLA

As you have still not finalised your itinerary, I suggest you avoid Rajasthan altogther in April. Head for the hills of Himachal or Uttaranchal, instead.

The hills can be reached by a combination of train and bus, which is an experience in itself. Getting there is half the fun !

Book your trains now!

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machadinha

Dotting a few more i's for posterity or something:

Tourist offices don't usually do booking for you I think, although they can be helpful for general info.

Getting an onward ticket before booking into a hotel: Walking around with your luggage apart from being obviously cumbersome will attract touts like flies and make it less easy for you to simply walk away, plus you'll get tired and give in to a deal that you may later regret. So getting rid of your gear first is a good idea, unless say you arrive at a bus station and can get your onward ticket on the spot. Traveling by train and if you're only in town for a day you can leave your luggage at the station master's office cum left luggage dept., it's cheap and safe and saves you a hotel for the day while you have your hands free. You can even freshen up in the waiting rooms sometimes. I don't think bus stations usually have such facilities.

Many hotels will double as travel agencies making it even easier to arrange transport.

If you do decide to head to the hills, a bus full of sick passengers on dem winding mountain roads is not unheard of... bring those pills!

parabol64

LOL.
I think I'll stick with Rajasthan.
Thanks again for the advice.