Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur 1 week itinerary!

Hi All

I'm planning a tour of Rajasthan and you've all been a great help so far as I've been researching in this forum. We are an Indian couple in our 20s (from England), wanting to tour within a week. I did some similar travel last year for 2 weeks, staying in lux hotels, but this time we will be more budget conscious (either 3* or 4*). and I'd like some help & advice with my itinerary if possible.
The starred (*) items are ones that we don't mind skipping:

Sun 16th Sept
Fly Goa - Delhi via Mumbai 6.00-11.50 or direct 13.00 - 16.00
Lotus temple 4-5pm (can skip red fort)
Overnight Delhi
-----------------------------
Mon 17th Sept
Qutub minar
Humayans tomb
India gate tour
Rashtrapati bhavan (go in or drive past?)
Gandhi memorial *
Jama masjid *
(Done by 5pm)

Either train: New Delhi to Agra (we'll want prob 1st class A/C)#12616 - G T Express 18:40- 21:45

OR Night in Delhi & morning train 7.10- 10.05
----------------------------
Tue 18th Sept
Taj Mahal 10 - 12.30pm
Agra Fort 1 - 2.30pm
Drive to Fatehpur Sikri (1 hr) 4-6pm (spend 2-3hrs)
Drive to Jaipur 3h30 (205km) 6-9.30pm (Or train? How safe is it for either? Agent has said to avoid driving after sunset)

Or skip F-Sikri and train to Jaipur 17.40-22.20? Safe?
-----------------------------------------------------------
Wed 19th Sept (Day tour around 9-5pm)
Amber Fort
Pink city
City Palace
Hawa Mahal
Jantar Mantar Observatory*
(Dinner)
O/N sleeper train to Udaipur 22.30- 06.10
--------------------------
Thu 20th Sept
Check in hotel early (or check luggage at hotel)
City Palace 1.5h tour
Lake Pichola boat ride
Sahelion Ki Bari*
Jag Mandir (Day done by 5pm)
Hotel Ambria for dinner
Overnight in Udaipur
--------------------------
Fri 21st Sept
Drive to Ranakpur temple (2.5h each way) get there for 12-2pm
Fly Udaipur - Bombay 8.15-10pm

It does sound a bit hectic, but hopefully you can advise if it's *too* crazy, and if so, where it might be better to add a day, remove (or any other suggestions). We'll have a car+driver when we're not getting trains. Are there any spots we don't need tour guide? If you have any idea of rough pricing (not inc flights), that'd help too!

Thanks in advance

My 2 cents
a) visiting Taj during the afternoon is not a good idea.
either you should visit early in the morning or late in the evening.
b) I'd recommend reaching Agra by afternoon, visit Agra Fort and then visit the Taj in the evening. Stay the night in Agra.
The next day visit Fatehpur Sikri and then proceed to Jaipur (don't miss Fatehpur Sikri - it is fabulous).
You might want to visit Taj again early in the morning, come back to the hotel, have breakfast and then proceed to Fatehpur.
c) Spend at least 3 nights in Udaipur - it is one of the most romantic cities in India with lots to see and do.

:-) ok ... that's 3 cents.
Have a safe trip !

It is hectic, but doable. It is really not economical to do car+driver to fill the gaps as for one-way inter-city the pricing model tends to add more per mile, to account for coming back empty. You could benefit by doing intra-city driver by the day i.e 80km/8 hour standard package.

3star-4star accommodation could range between 3k-6K per night.

Thanks for the car suggestion, I wasn't aware of this! So you mean hiring a different car+driver at each location? Is that something a travel agent would normally avoid so they can increase their 'cut'? I.e would I need to look into this myself?

[COLOR="rgb(255, 0, 255)"]They are some valuable cents indeed![/COLOR]

Don't leave it until the last minute to book your trains, particularly if you are looking for 1AC or 2AC berths.

^ Sorry, html fail! madhunair, this is for you..

a) Is this to beat the crowds and/or heat?
b) You read my mind, I was altering my itinerary today to do just this
c) Thanks again - I went last year but have forgotten how nice it is so was debating spending an extra day in travel just for Sikri. Excellent suggestion of Taj in morning!!! Other half was keen on visiting at sunrise (or at least morning before crowds come) for the first day but it seemed too hectic. Great stuff! Just need to figure out how to avoid paying tourist entrance fees!

We're limited on time unfortunately, and I definitely wanted to hit Ranakpur. What are your 'must-sees' in Udaipur? Thanks again

northstar, I was editing your post to sort out the quotes at the same time you were making your latest post .

If you are breaking up another person's post to reply to individual points it's better if you put [QUOTE] at the beginning of their words and the same again at the end but with / before the Q

Seeing the Taj from Mehtab Bagh from across the river (Mehtab Bagh) is an option in the evening.

You can see a few snaps taken by me from Mehtab Bagh.

Also go through my Mt Abu - Udaipur trip report.

Both ... most folks do it as a day trip from Delhi - as a result gets super busy during the middle of the day.
The crowd in most cases are large groups who go crazy with the photo opportunities etc ... it is a nightmare.
It is best to see it early in the morning when the day trippers are still in Delhi
If you have time go to the Taj both in the evening and in the morning. It looks and feels different.
AM is a lot less crowded than PM.
Also, be aware that the Taj is closed on Fridays.
Though Fridays are a good time to click pictures from Mehtab gardens ...
What do you mean?
Ranakpur and Kumbalgarh could be a day trip in itself (a long one).
Udaipur ... I just enjoyed walking up and down the streets in the old city, talking to the locals and shooting the breeze with them. If you don't really care for all of that, you can cover all the sights you mentioned in your earlier post in 2 days (i think) ... but it would be more of visit, click pics, scoot over to the next one ... no time to smell the roses ;-)

Udaipur is quite a distance from Jaipur ... may be leave it for next time and explore something closer to Agra and Jaipur.

Ahh, I see. Last time I think we went around 1pm until closing @ 6 or so! The crowds were a little annoying, but I still found it enjoyable. This time maybe it will be nice to enjoy both an evening trip on the first night, stay in Agra and add and morning trip there if we have time

Tourist fees I was referring to are extortionate 'foreigners' fee, which I feel is a massive rip-off for me, given that I'm Indian, have lived in India, have lots of heritage there etc, etc, but I'm quite light-skinned so don't catch a break!

Other half hasn't seen any of Rajasthan so thought it would be best to see all the sights for now since we're short on time. Definitely would personally like to go back to Ranakpur, so we may as well enjoy Udaipur this time Thanks for your suggestions!

Aarosh - great pics and report! Gave me some nice insight into timing, cost etc. Our agent is quoting us 1000-1500 for English-speaking tour guides. Not sure if that's super inflated, or normal, but quite shocking given what you were charged. I know some time has passed though. Were your guides English-speaking?

I think in a few of your locations (Udaipur, Palace; Jaipur maybe) you can get an audio guide which will be cheaper. I think I read somewhere that an iPad app exists for another location too. You can ad-hoc negotiate guide services just outside a typical location if you so choose.

I am an Indian so do not need a English speaking guide. But they could speak English. As mentioned in the earlier post you do get an audio guide in some places. I think they would take your passport and return it back to you when you return the audio guide. Apart from that there is also a cost to it.

See this for the one at Agra Fort.

There is also one inside the City Palace Udaipur. You will see it after you enter the palace complex.

If you have documentation (driver's license etc) which shows that you are a resident then you pay local fees. If not you pay the non local fee.
Taj is 750, the rest is a whole lot cheaper.

I think some of the ASI managed sites, of which Taj is one, used to charge SAARC citizens same as indians; I do not know if this is still true. I do not know if the RP and resident rates apply universally across the board for all ASI managed sites. Some of the best temple architecture, IMHO is still free.