Day trip to Agra from Delhi travelling solo

[Bumblenut]

I have to go to Delhi for work and was thinking of taking a day trip by train to see the Taj Mahal at the same time. I’d be travelling on my own (female) - can anyone advise me if this is workable/advisable? I’m pretty nervous!

It is doable, but does depend how you’re getting there and whether you’re used to traveling on your own in India.
It’s worth getting there really early as well as it’s so much quieter

Nope, not used to travelling on my own in India - have never been before!

It is doable... depends on where you are staying at Delhi.
Shatapdi express and I think Nizammudin express train goes to Agra - takes 2 hours are so. So you can start at 7:00ish from Delhi and can be back by lay evening.
Taj is opened from Sunrise and closes at Sunset.. check when is the sunset as this may affect the journey.
Pre arrange taxi from your hotel to the railway station and the hotel can sort out the railway ticket as well..

Hmm, might stay overnight in Agra for a couple (or three) days as don’t fancy travelling late evening. In that case I’d probably fly as don’t want the hassle of lugging a suitcase around on the train....

Why don't you get a private driver? My DH did Delhi/Jaipur/Agra in Jan on a work trip in January & having a private driver worked for him. Sure you'll find a couple of companies with good reviews on Tripadvisor you could email for quotes. He loved Agra but hated Delhi!

I think Delhi is fine! Plenty to see. Great hotels. Agra is very polluted. Having said that, I would stay overnight and I would try and go. It will be very hot so early in the morning is best. That means you could get a train during the day (first class) and settle in and then go back the following day. Drivers and cars are relatively cheap. Or see if there are good tours you could join. The roads are a bit mad though! Join a small group in a decent vehicle.

Interesting that you thought that! My DH sent me quite a few smog pictures from Delhi & found the traffic horrific. We saw Indian friends shortly after he got back and they were complaining about the constant smog hanging over the city as well. Did you find Agra more polluted than Delhi then? I don't think he liked the constant stop start & getting nowhere in Delhi traffic enjoyable either - or his driver locking the doors every time they stopped!

PS BubblesBuddy I'm not trying to be deliberately confrontational - though your views on Delhi v Agra are obviously the reverse of my DH 's & our Indian friends, I don't necessarily take my DH's word as gospel on big hot densely populated cities. There are a couple of cities we've been to together that I've found points of interest & liked & he has absolutely loathed - Marrakech & Mexico City being prime examples

Bumblenut, this organisation came up in my Facebook newsfeed - looks like a really good initiative and one as a solo female traveller an appealing option -planeterra.org/what-we-do/our-projects/women-on-wheels/

If you’re staying in a nice hotel just hire their cars / driver for a day. Won’t cost more than £30 or £40. They will spend the whole day waiting for you.

Thanks for the input everyone- I will certainly check out those links and the possibility of hiring a driver via the hotel

Well we did think Delhi was less polluted but maybe that’s just where we stayed! We could hardly see the Taj Mahal due to smog and had a hotel room with a view of it! Could depend on time of year. There is plenty to see and do in Delhi though.

If you get a car and a driver, just make sure it’s a decent car! And reliable driver. Stay at the best hotel you can!

My cars have automatic door locks in this country. All of them bar the 30
Year old one. It’s standard these days and they lock when we get to about 10 mph so we always have locked car doors - from the outside.

Agree with pp that it's easy to hire a car and driver from the hotel. I have heard that traffic can be really bad at the weekend which may make the journey much longer. We did the trip on a weekday and it was pretty smooth. We have also travelled by train, but not this route, and that was fine, but quite slow imo - I live in China which has excellent high speed trains.
I am also not a Delhi fan. The pollution was horrendous when we were there (December) and as I mentioned I live in China so am used to dubious air quality, but Delhi was awful. Lots to see though and particularly liked the qutub minar.
If you stay a bit longer in Agra then it's worth going to Fatepur sikri which is about 40 kms away. Baby Taj is also lovely from the outside and there were only about 10 people there when we visited which was lovely.
I recommend the trident hotel in Agra - good value, about 2km from the Taj and great staff.

If you are travelling solo and using hired cars, I’d definitely use one from the local hotel you’re staying in at Agra to travel to the Taj, as our Delhi registered car was stopped from entering as a ploy to get us to pay for a guide outside the Taj. Definitely book your guide and car through your hotel and pre-order your ticket online, it will save a large queue in the morning. We watched sunrise at the Taj and wouldn’t have made it in time without pre-booking. Additionally, with a pre-booked ticket you can avoid the busiest entrance gate (beside the ticket office).