How much time to spend at 'sights' in Rajasthan

Travellerette

In trying to plan my itinerary, I was wondering how much time you would reccomend it takes to see each of the following:

1 Red Fort
2 Utb Minar complex,
3 Bahai Temple
4 Humayun’s Tomb
5 Taj Mahal
6 Agra Fort
7 Fatehpur Sikri
8 Amer Palace
9 Galta Monkey Palace
10 Hawa Mahal (palace of winds)
11 Jaipur City Palace (Sawai Man Singh Museum)
11 Meherangarh Fort
12 Jaswant Thanda
12 Unmaid Bhawan Palace

I'm trying not to rush - so I want to make sure that I plan properly. Also, I've heard that the Taj Mahal is amazing both sunrise and sunset but I'm not sure if I want to spend the whole day there. I'd like some other people's opinions .

wonderwomanusa

How about taking a tour (the Tourist Development Office at Janpath (right around the corner from Ringo's) still offers a city tour, I believe. They get you on and off the bus fairly quickly, but you can see almost everything on your list and then, if there's somewhere you want to spend more time, go back and see it again.

These quick city tours are offered in almost all cities (Lonely Planet lists them in the various chapters) and I've taken quite a few; it helps to get oriented in a city. They're usually a couple hundred rupess and maybe you have to buy your own lunch at some decent dhaba. There's so much to see in Chennai area that there are actually TWO full-day tours!

Travellerette

I was planning to do a bit of that - Day tours and such as an orientation to the cities I'll be in. Can I book one day in advance?
My only concern is that I'd be really rushed through places that I may want to spend more time - mostly the Taj Mahal and fatehpur sikri. How long do you think it would take to see it? I'm trying to determine weather to spend the extra day in Agra or to just get there at 12pm one day and leave at 5pm the next (including a side trip to fatehpur sikri)

jyotirmoy

I second wwusa's suggestion. Delhi is a very big city, the sights are spread over a very large area so taking this bus tour is the best utilisation of your time & money.
On your own I suggest a walk through Chandni Chowk and a stroll in the Lodhi Gardens.

dhans

It's better to see one place with a thousand eyes than thousand places with one eye. In another post you told you plan to spend three weeks in Rajasthan. That's good. Plan for 15 days and use the rest as slack. If you like a place, stay sometime longer. You'll find transport around Rajasthan prety easy.

Have fun,

Hans

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Aishah

i did a full day bus tour of Delhi - it was the best way to see most of the sights, not expensive, and also enough time at each stop. We covered all the sights you have listed for Delhi. Also did a bus tour Delhi return to Agra in one day - now that was awful! Not enough time at some spots - 45 mins. for the Taj and the same for Fatehpur Sikri!Stay in Agra a night at least and take your time for each sight - someone I think suggested Hotel Sheela in another post for you - you can walk from there to the Taj. Then take a cycle or autorickshaw to the Fort because that is worth seeing. Ask Hotel folk about a taxi or bus to Fatehpur Sikri - this is one place where you might like to spend a couple of hours.

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julesa

a word about temples and monuments. when reading travel guides, these are the focus and it's logical to plan travel around landmarks you want to see.

my experience was that this is great, and you need to see them, but in many cases the 'novelty' of temples and monuments wears off after a while. realistically, after 2 hours of walking around the Taj Mahal i'd seen it from every conceivable angle. amazing as it is as a man made construction, i'd had enough by that point.

there may be nothing new in what i'm saying, but in many cases we ended up missing major landmarks and instead immersed ourselves wandering around a city such as Jaipur with its colour and liveliness.

while there are some amazing sites in india and in those i would include the Taj and agra fort, for my money many of the others paled in comparison to just experiencing the culture or exploring city streets. it's worth considering that when planning your itinerary.

Travellerette

Thanks for the info - I looks like a tour or two in Delhi is a must (I'll feel safer getting my bearings that way)and maybe even meet some fellow travellers.

I was planning to spend a couple days in Agra - I've read in my guide book that you can rent bicycles and cycle around - would you guys recommend it? And Aishah, thanks for all your info on the various other questions I've posted on other forums as well

I can see your point julesa - and while initially I was going to try and cram as much as I could see into my trip, I've come to the conclusion that there will always be more that I want to see and that I may drive myself crazy trying to do everything.

Now I'm trying to give myself plenty of time to see the sights and still enjoy the cities. Jaipur is one that I'm going to spend some extra time - it looks like there and I've heard great things about the city. I'm also spending a couple days each in Varanasi, Bharatpur and Mt Abu, Aurangabad and Mumbai (these are the only ones pretty set on my itinerary). I'm also hoping to see Jaisalmer, Jodpur, Udaipur and maybe Pushkar - no matter where I go I know I'll have lots to see and get quite the experience!

wonderwomanusa

I can't think of anything that would make me want to tour Agra by bicycle; it's a pesthole of a city and the touts drove me nuts. But this is how you, a newbie India traveller, will learn, so make your plans loose enough to change if you're not having a good time!

Jaipur is a beautiful city, but please, do NOT fall for any of the scams invovling gemstones; if you know nothing about stones, say "no thanks" and keep walking. Hundreds of tourists get ripped off there every year -- please do not be one of them. There are a few stories here on IM about such things and the approaches that are used.

singsub

thats one gem of an advice about Jaipur!!

Aishah

Thoroughly agree, wonderwomanusa! Look up some of the posts in Scams, Annoyances etc. Forum, Travellerette - and familiarize yourself with some of things to avoid, and to be careful about.

Travellerette

Thanks for your concern - I have read on the scams - about hotels burning down, and the fake gems. I don't see myself buying anything that would cost that much ... and not knowing much about gems myself, I'll definitely be cautious.

julesa

no, not in my opinion. indian traffic is not like in other countries. it's too risky for a tourist in busy places like agra.

we crammed a lot in. on the one hand, it was exhausting and we felt like we had run a marathon - travelling around india can be trying. train delays (not the same as 15 minute delays you may get on north american trains), heat, crowds and luggage take a toll.

on the other, we saw a lot, travelling all over india which was an amazing experience crammed into 6 weeks. but we also missed a lot at the same time.

Aishah

On my first visit to India (6 weeks) I looked at the map and planned a route taking in South India and Rajasthan. I talked about it with a friend who had lived 2 years in India - he told me to cut it all down, take things slowly, and stay longer in places I really liked. Getting from one place to another is going to take much longer than you expect.. I took his advice, cut it down to a portion of South India only, missed out on Kerala, but saw more than enough to really enjoy it, and get a feeling for the life here. I was so glad I had done what he suggested! Take things slowly is my advice!! But as I said before your present itinerary looks fine.