5 nights in Delhi ahead of Goa - ideas please

[Sundayagain27]

Looking at flying to Delhi in February as we’ve got a companion voucher to use and want to head down to Goa afterwards where we’ve been before for a beach break.
I would like to arrange the site seeing and Delhi element myself so we will have 5 nights to see the Taj Mahal etc but not sure how to plan the site seeing element etc in advance - can we book guides and taxis etc easily locally? Any ideas welcome for 5 nights.

Hi, you will need to travel to Agra to see the Taj. It’s easy to get to by trains or by booking a private driver. It’ll probably need an overnight stay though. You could do 2 nights Delhi, 1 night Agra and 2 nights Jaipur, if you fancied a quick version of the classic “golden triangle”.

You definitely need to stay in Agra for a night to see the Taj, it's best to get there at dawn to avoid the crowds and that wouldn't be feasible from Delhi. In Delhi you could easily spend a couple of days sightseeing - Old Delhi (loved seeing it by rickshaw, fun if terrifying) and the Jama Masjid mosque is a full day alone. We loved Delhi but it's a crazy city and 5 days could feel a lot!

I hated Delhi, dirty, so much pollution and even as a fat middled woman dressed modestly with my husband and son, I was groped and pushed up against in a sexual way several times. Agra is OK but really only the Taj, fort and baby Taj to see, Jaipur is really nice and I would recommend.

@EnglishGirlApproximately @MustUseAName thanks exactly the sort of advice I was hoping for. So 2 nights Delhi 2 Agra and maybe 1 back in Delhi before flying on to Goa or might try and include jaipur. How would I go about arranging a driver and trains in advance?

The Indian railway system does allow booking tickets in advance but it’s a challenge!

I’d devote an evening to watching some guides on YouTube. There’s loads of people who have been and can give good tips. Alternatively, you could use a tour company.

Go to ercotravels dot com and fill in their inquiry form. They will get back to you very quickly to tailor visits to your exact requirements. They did an amazing job with our tour of India. a couple of years ago. Also you are paying them in India, so there's no VAT and nobody in a London office adding a 40% markup for sending a couple of faxes. (I have no affiliation with them other than as a satisfied customer.)

last time I was in Delhi i organised a night in Agra and 2 nights in Jaipur through my Delhi hotel - we used a hotel driver and they organised the guides for us. Compared to Mumbai I found Delhi relatively calm, and we had a couple of days to explore different sites in Delhi, we had just come from Goa… so did it the other way round. Highly recommend this trip!

We booked a private driver with a company called Crystal India. They also provided guides in each city (we visited Delhi, Agra and Jaipur before flying to Goa from Jaipur). Cost was 600 US dollars for the whole thing (excluding accommodation). If you contact them they will suggest an itinerary for you. No way would we have attempted this under our own steam and it ended up a fantastic hassle free way to see the sights before relaxing in beautiful Goa.

You could do the Taj in a day if you weren’t fussed about a tour (expect to be hassled to have a tour by unofficial tour guides - you can say yes or no) but not at dawn it’s about a 3 hour drive so is a long day.

Uber works fine in Delhi, no need for a driver when you're in the city.

We went in 2024, train from Delhi to Agra was really interesting. We had a guide/local chaperone with us for the whole trip, as well as using one of the official Taj tour guides, which costs 300 rupees £3!! Worth it, he knew all the best spots for photographs. We also had a driver in Delhi and another in Agra, and do every time we go to India. Much easier and safer. My husband's firm organises it for us.