Two weeks in India

[anatara]

DH and I are planning to go to India in October/November, but I keep going round in circles on the itinerary as there's so much there. Can anyone recommend what we should do for our first trip there?

A lot of the itineraries have us in the car for half a day every couple of days, but we want to relax too. I'd like to see the Taj Mahal and Jaipur (want to do block printing) also Varanasi look amazing. I've also looked at Kerala.

Really looking for a relaxing varied holiday, don't want to spend the whole time sightseeing buildings, any help would be appreciated!

I think you need to decide on rajasthan or kerala, both would be too much! I've been to both as separate 2 week holidays each.

Kerala would probably be more relaxing (beach, houseboat on the backwaters), but if I went back to only one (when!) it'd be rajasthan!

Didn't do varanasi unfortunately, but can recommend Udaipur (my favorite of the cities we went to) and also Jodhpur. We also went to Jaisalmer and camped in the desert for a night, which was magical (bit of a trek to get there, but we used the overnight trains, which saved on time and accommodation cost).

at the end we did 4 nights safari in ranthambore national park, which was a big highlight, despite not seeing tigers. If you do it, I hope you have better luck than we did!

Amazing holiday though, enjoy!

The distances are huge , I went on a tour for fifteen days and we spent a lot of that time on coaches and trains ( now that is an experience!) and in the end I would rather not have seen so much through moving windows. Delhi is an amazing city, with very distinct areas of extreme wealth and dire poverty, but can be very smoggy ,polluted and unpleasant so given the choice I wouldn’t . I loved Simla though and Jaipur, and we also stayed in Ranthambore ( no tigers either, but some people we met said they had seen leopards ) . I think in retrospect I would try to stay in one area and enjoy it, you can’t see everything so make the most of what you do see and really absorb it. A couple we met on a train were going to spend time in Varanasi, they had organised all their own travel and accommodation and were using trains and private drivers. They had a very personal reason for going to Varanasi and the same for the other places they were visiting, which is probably the best way to do it. Apart from the big set pieces the things I remember most are the little things I spotted which were fascinating, or extraordinary and unlike anything else I have experienced. The Taj is as magical as it looks, but a fort is a fort is a fort!

I can't add anything useful apart from saying I did 8 weeks backpacking in India, aged 24, in 1986 😳

We stayed with diplomat friends in Delhi for a week, with some day trips. A soft landing. Then we did the triangle of Jaipur/Agra.

Then wider, tho I can't recall the order, Fatepur Sikri (?sp), Gwalior; then a trip to the NW (Chandigarh), Jammu, Kashmir (I know that's not available, now).

Then Simla which was amazing.

We then went up into Himachel Pradesh, the Kulu valley (saw the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala).

Then Varanasi. You do need to understand what you're going to see.

My experience was long ago, we were backpacking, staying in local hotels, the sort travelling businessmen would use.

We had an amazing time.

Varanasi was the highlight of my trip to India, it's a wonderful and spiritual place, I would definitely recommend. Tour guides will try to take you to witness cremations but I feel this is disrespectful as a tourist and chose not to do that. There's plenty else to do there, I particularly recommend the evening aarti.
I also loved the Taj Mahal, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur. Did not enjoy Delhi at all. Kerala - I went there on a separate trip, it was ok, I didn't love or hate it.
If you plan to travel by train be sure to book in advance. You can also get very cheap internal flights - India is huge, internal flights can save time on a tight itinerary.

Depends what you want from the holiday. If you want a more relaxed holiday where it’s more about natural surroundings then I would go to Kerala. Cochin is very historical, Munnar, Wayanad, Alleypey, Thekkady are amazing.
Other places in the south that are possibilities-Hampi(a world heritage site) Coorg/Bangalore and Mysore in Karnataka. Ooty/Coonor/Kodaikanal/Madurai/Pondicherry in Tamil nadu and Goa.
Personally I think the south is a more gentle introduction to India.
If you are interested in historical sites and iconic monuments, then the golden triangle of delhi/agra/jaipur/udaipur. The golden temple is also worth a visit.

As others have said, you can only visit one region in two weeks. If that is Rajasthan, it will still be a whistle stop tour. Be aware that in the Winter months, Rajasthan can be freezing at night!

We were in India earlier this year and have family there. I would drop Kerala. Rajasthan is utterly wonderful, you could easily fill 2 weeks there. Delhi not the most exciting place so wouldn't stay there too long. Jaipur, Udaipur, Ranthambhore all worth going to and spending a few nights in each rather than rushing to the next thing - there are some really lovely places to stay where you can add R&R time to your sightseeing. Agra is worth it for the Taj but there's nothing else really (we cut our stay there short because we didn't really enjoy it there at all).

Happy to share train and hotel tips if you want to dm me. We used a combo of trains and hiring cars with drivers.

In two weeks I'd probably do Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur, Ranthambore, Jaiselmer and that will be quite packed!

You can fly quite cheaply from Jodhpur to Delhi so that might also be a good way to see things more quickly.

The trains are interesting and a good experience if you go for the express trains in a decent class.

I'd probably go to Agra first then get a driver to take you to Ranthambore. From there Udaipur- Jodhpur- Jaiselmer and then back to Jodhpur and fly to Delhi

Alternatively if you want to have a bit of time to relax as well cut out Jodhpur and Jaiselmer and get a flight to goa or kerala for a few days of relaxing before going home.

Thank you all so much, sorry it's taken me a few days to come back to this thread. It sounds like Rajasthan is more interesting. I've been recommended an Indian travel company by a friend who used them to see the golden triangle, theirs was just a 6 day holiday. Would you recommend doing a private tour like this? (company is called Trinetra, they do have lots of different tours and can tailor one to what we want)

I did look at their north India tour but you're moving almost every day, and we'd rather go to less places and relax a bit. Looking at your suggestions these places stand out:

Udaipur
Jaisalmer
Ranthambore
Jaipur
Agra

Even that seems a lot! Would you add (eg we're going past it anyway) or delete anything (too out of the way), and how many days would you allocate to each?

Agra - you need minimal time there. I suggest you aim to arrive in the evening, sleep early, get up before dawn to be at the Taj Mahal for sunrise (this is a popular thing to do), you'll spend a couple of hours there then leave for your next destination, there's no other attraction in Agra. Going early also means you miss the crowds, only people staying in Agra will be there, anyone coming on a day trip from Delhi or elsewhere won't arrive until mid morning.

Udaipur and Jaipur - I spent a couple of days in each which was enough to see the highlights. If you wanted to add time to relax Udaipur is a nicer place for that, based on being on a beautiful lake.

I've not been to the other two.

I have always traveled independently so that I can manage my own itinerary but if you want added security in the planning then a tour may be a better option.

I’d get rid of Jaisalmer. Was great, but quite out of the way of the others. Ranthambore is good for relaxing too. You will have early morning and late afternoon safaris, but the rest of the day is by the pool.

I'm on my phone, so the only way I can place mark is by responding, sorry!

Will you be flying in and out of Delhi? If so consider some time there.
Do you want to go on a train?

We did Delhi, Jaipur, Ranthambore , Fathepur Sikri, Agra, Varanasi which was amazing. We had at least 2 nights in each I think

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