Help for Jammu - Srinagar honeymoon trip

We are planning our honeymoon from 2nd May to 11th May. We want to cover Vaishno Devi followed by Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonamarg, etc. Can some of you experts help to sort out the iteniary? Also, how would the weather be like? What budget should we consider?

Would appreciate all tips I can get...

HI Meena,
I have recently done a similar trip covering Vaishno Devi, Gulmarg, pahalgam
My duration of the trip was very short, and I travelled with my parents and kids. So was little careful in not doing adventure things.

Few things would like to mention.
1) 2nd May to 11th may - This time is really good.
The spring season will be in full flow, and you get to enjoy greenery all over.
Also, the Tulip gardens would be open for public by then
I cannot do the perfect budget calcualations, but pls keep in mind that the time you have opted is a peak season.
So expect some hike in rates across the hotels/houseboats etc

2) Secondly would also like to know more of your travel options like ..
-> How do you want to travel.
-> Eg: Jammu to Srinagar by Road, I heard is very scenic. I opted the flight option, since time was a constraint for me.

3) Make a list of adventure sports (if you wish to try out)
-> Skiing in Gulmarg.
-> Rafting in Pahalgam.
I couldnt do both of them.
At Gulmarg, my kid was not feeling comfortable, so had to come back soon.
At Pahalgam, the snow hasnt melt fully, so no water levels yet. I heard it will be good by May end.

4) Also choose the options for stay.
-> I have chosen Srinagar as a focal point, and did 1 day trips to all places.
-> Have chosen Houseboats to stay.


My suggestion would be start on devotional note covering Vaishno devi first.
Visit Patnitop (I missed it )
Travel to Srinagar by road.
Stay at Gulmarg, Pahalgam for atleast one day, and tour all other places making Srinagar as focal point.
My personal experience: House Boat is too good. Try to plan to stay there atleast one night.

hi meenal, i would rather suggest one more thing. how you are planning for your vaishno devi trip .. i mean chopper/ by walk. if you are planning for chopper its fine. else i would suggest to have the Devi Darshan while return from srinagar as it can take most of your energy during summer. rest you can plan accordingly. i will also visit the same during may end (my 2nd trip to Kashmir). Are you planning to fly from Delhi while return? then you can reverse your plan.

Yep. Thats very important. missed this point

Hello Meenal welcome to India Mike

Please specify asto would you be travelling by air or road???That will decide what will be your budget.Considering that you will travel by road i have the following itinery suggesstion in brief.

It will be in all a 8-9 day tour if you decide to walk up in vaishnavdevi and even if you do walk please climb only after sunset as it will be blazingly hot.

it will take 9-10 hours for you to reach srinagar by road from katra.Keeping srinagar as base book a house boat and make day journeys to gulmarg,pahalgam and sonmarg.Keep pahalgam in the end as you can dirctly go to jammu instead of coming back to srinagar,That will save a lot of time.

Please feel free to ask more questions.

This is very informational. We plan to fly from Delhi to Jammu, and we plan to do Vaishno devi 1st.

Tell me...should we do the road trip from Katra to Patnitop & stay the night there? Are there good hotels there? What all can we see / do there?

Then should we go to Pahalgam or directly to Srinagar?

What about "must do / must see" spots in Gulmarg, Pahalgam & Sonmarg?

Thanx / Meenal

Hi Meena,

In my opinion you should go by road if you want to see the scenic beauty ,In the process you can make stops wherever you want and admire the beauty of nature.Secondly i wont insist you to visit Patnitop there is nothing much to enjoy there.Instead,staright head to srinagar and book a house boat for 3-4days.In gulmarg dont take the pony after reaching there as the ponywallas fool you by saying that it is too far ,Tske Gondolla rides over there its amazing.In sonmarg there is nothing much except glacier and after checkout from house boat visit pahalgam.In srinagar there are many gardens to visit and the shankaracharya temple and hazrat bal.In pahalgam you can make a night stay and explore pahalgam and betab valley.And from there staright away you can leave for jammu.

Hello People,

I am planning to visit Jammu (Katra) and then Srinagar (Pahalgam and Gulmarg) in July'12. We are 5 brothers. Here is the plan.

16th - Rajdhani Train (already booked), Delhi to Jammu (overnight)
17th - Mata Darshan (1 side chopper) and relax at hotel at Night
18th - Jammu to Srinagar (not sure how to get to Srinagar) - Need Help here...
19th - Want to go Pahalgam for River Rafting - Need Help here...
20th - Want to go Gulmarg - Need Help here...
21st - Flight (already booked) Srinagar to Delhi

I need to know about Local Hotels and cabs available in Srinagar, that may take me to Pahalgam for River Rafting and also Gulmarg for site. Also, want to spend one night in Boat House.

Please help me with the approx cost about the following:
1. Hotel in Srinagar or Pahalgam or Gulmarg (if we have to stay there) - I would prefer to come back to Srinagar after every visit.
2. Cabs in Srinagar
3. Boat Houses in Srinagar

Please guide me how to plan my Travel. I want it to be as cost effective as it could be and most enjoyable.
Thanks in Advance.

Dear Ishrawal,
As you want to do river rafting in Pahalgam so better take the taxi directly to Pahalgam from Jammu. Enroute you can visit Verinag, Achabal, Martand temple , Matan also.
Some of the contacts I summarise and attached in my Travellogue
Back from 12 days trip from beautiful valley of Kashmir

i am planning for vaishno devi trip with my srinagar tour.should i go first to srinagar by flight, then return time go to vaishno devi or should go to vaishno devi first, then go to srinagar by bus/taxi.

We went to Srinagar first and came to Vaisho devi. If we dont have helicopter booking, we will be very much tired and may not enjoy further. For me I did not have helicopter for coming down and we had lot of problems. After finishing the journey we went straight to home with lot of body pains.

kirankon sir, thank for you reply.
how much fare for helicopter at vaishno devi.
but for coming down it was convenient than going up.

Fare details you can find from official website. I think it is around 700rs. You need to plan before 30days in advance to get the helicopter. Going down with kids and senior citizens is also hectic. Better to plan for both ways in helicopter. If you have Helicopter return ticket, you will get a VIP darshan.

Hi all
I m reaching at jammu station on 8th June morning, is it possible to go to gulmarg after mata rani darshan, my return ticket is from jammu on 12th night. I want to ride on Gulmarg Gondola. please tell me about the gondola charges. We are two couple with 4 children of 8 to 2 years age. Is it safe with children to go to gondola phase II. can we see snow in gulmarg in june. and my wife is worry about safty in J&K due to terrorism..pls help us to make our plan..thanks in advance