Golden Triange itinerary - plausible? Other options?

Hi,

We are planning a four day trip to the Golden Triangle in July 2008, starting from Blore. Here are our possible itineraries. Is this feasible? Or we just pushing our luck? We will be traveling with three kids - two of them are seasoned travelers while the third is a friend, on her first trip to India.

Itinerary 1:

Day 1:

Fly to Delhi early morning. Arrive around 10.30. Spend day sightseeing in Delhi. Overnight in Delhi.

[ Alternate: take late evening 9pm train to Agra - overnight in Agra]

Day 2:

Early morning train to Agra. See Taj/Fatehpur Sikri. Drive to Jaipur. Overnight in Jaipur

[ Alternately, spend the day in Agra, take the evening train to Jaipur].

Day 3:

Spend the day in Jaipur sightseeing. Overnight in Jaipur.

Day 4:

Afternoon flight back to Bangalore.

Pros: Can do most of the long journeys by train.

Cons: Too short a time in Delhi. Won%26#39;t be able to do much on Day 4 either since the flight is in the afternoon.

We could take a late evening flight to Delhi on Day 0 and add some needed time in Delhi.

Itinerary 2:

Day 1:

Flight to Jaipur from Bangalore. Arrives around noon. Sightseeing in Jaipur. Overnight in Jaipur.

Day 2:

Sightseeing in Jaipur. Again, overnight in Jaipur.

Day 3:

Early morning train to Agra. Arrives around 11am. See the Taj. Take the late evening train to Delhi. Overnight in Delhi.

Day 4:

Sightseeing in Delhi. Take the late evening flight to Bangalore.

Pros: All long journeys are by train.. Shortest time in Agra - which is appropriate. One full day of sightseeing in Delhi which should be sufficient.

Cons: We%26#39;ll be in Agra in the afternoon. Not sure if the timing is ideal.

Thanks for your help!

Golden Triange itinerary - plausible? Other options?

I can%26#39;t really comment on your internary options as I did this all as part of an escorted tour.

I can however advise that the Taj gets very busy and is best viewed without the crowds if possible so try either around sunrise or sunset.

We arrived at 5.45am (it opens at 6am) - still people milling around and it filled up over the next hour or so. It looked magnificent in this light and it was cooler (but then it was August when I went!)-then back to hotel for a leisurely breakfast.

It was absolutely breathtaking and you will not be disappointed whatever time of day you go...

I loved Fatehpur Sikri too...one of the highlights of the tour for me.

Hope this is helpful.

Golden Triange itinerary - plausible? Other options?

The second itinerary is better.

In the first one, you will either have a really tiring day in Delhi (if you choose to push onwards to Agra same day), or a really tiring day in Agra (going from Agra to Fatehpur Sikri to Jaipur).

Thanks Deepa. We are leaning towards the second itinerary as well.

Are there any flights between Agra and Jaipur? Couldn%26#39;t find any, although I did read that Kingfisher was supposed to start servicing this route. In the absence of flights and not really wanting to sit in a car with three kids for six hours, we planned to take the train from Jaipur to Agra. Unfortunately, the only suitable train seems to be the one that leaves around 6.30am and reaches Agra around 11.

Will that give us enough time to see the Taj? Or is it going to be just too crowded to even enjoy? How long is it open in the evenings? We are currently thinking of taking the Shatabdi express back to Delhi that night...

Kingfisher has an afternoon flight from Jaipur to Agra. I called them a month or so ago to check and they told me that. Call the toll free numbers on this website, that%26#39;s what I did. http://www.flykingfisher.com/index.asp

The train that reaches Agra at 11 seems ok. You will have enough time for the Taj. Let%26#39;s say you finish the Taj by 1:00 and then have lunch, and then I think you should have enough time to see Agra Fort and Sikandra before you catch your train. The Taj is crowded at 11, yes. It takes about 15 minutes to get in. So no Fatehpur Sikri in this agenda.

Thanks again Deepa.

It does look like we will not be staying in Agra - it will be stop enroute to Delhi or Jaipur - depending on the itinerary we choose.

What do folks typically do with luggage? Is there a place at the train station where one can leave it safely?

Also, I read that the Taj doesn%26#39;t allow camcorders - what do folks do with them? Are there lockers or some similar facility at the Taj for these?

There are cloak rooms at the rail station in agra and there is a facility of manned cloak room at the taj as well. Camcorders are allowed inside taj complex.

Cheers