[Stefania]

Hello everybody, first post here!

I bought a flight for Delhi for me and my husband from 21/7 to 17/8 and I'm trying to define some itinerary for these four weeks in India.
We are both used to low budget journeys with backpack & lonely plane and I need some practical advice on how to arrange the tour.
Basic plan is:
Two weeks Rajastan tour: Jaipur, Pushkar, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer and back to Delhi
Worth visiting from Delhi: Agra, Varanasi
One/two weeks in the mountains: trekking in Himachal Pradesh (spiti maybe?) or Ladakh (leh and nearbys) or both. Maybe yoga in Rishikesh?

A few questions:
1. What can be skipped? What shoud be added?
We're not willing to hurry and sure we can't see everything. Also considering climate (monsoon) and transport logistic what can be skipped or should be added?

2: whether use a tour operator or not
I've being using tour operators and sure they save much hassle but I also like to do it myself. So, willing to keep the budget low and be free to change plan but also limit stress and not waste too much time in logistics, is it better to arrange the tour myself or go with a tour operator?

3: to the mountains
I'm looking for some easy trekking and tibet athmosphere. Which 3-4 days treks would you recommend? Having to choose between Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh which one should I pick? Which is the easiest to visit? Should I book in advance?

4: getting around
Being only two people is it better to use a car with driver, bus, train or plane? Should I always book trains with large advance?

Thank you!

[jyotirmoy]

Welcome to the tree Stefania.
Let me give you a few facts. July to August is monsoon time in India. This year the monsoon is late & our met department has anounced less rainfall. So the plains of northern India, Rajasthan included will be hot & humid. Moving around in day time may be unpleasant in Rajasthan.
There is excellent rail & bus network in Rajasthan and since this is not the tourist season getting train & bus reservations won't be a big problem. Many many travellers visit the places mentioned by you on their own with out the services of tour operators so you can also do it. The places you have mentioned in Rajasthan are all worth visiting. Once you make your itinerary members here will help you with train suggestions.
During the monsoon period Ladakh remains dry and this is the best time to visit Ladakh.

[Stefania]

Thank you for the information jyotirmoy.
I think I could easily add Agra to the Rajastan tour.
Varanasi instead is quite far from the other destinations so I could maybe get there with a plane (or a night train) and the fly to Leh.
What about Himachal Pradesh? Is it dry too (like Ladakh) of should I expect rainfalls? Having to choose among HP and Ladakh which would you recommend?

thanks again!

[dzibead]

Hi, Stefania, and welcome.  

I would vote for Ladakh at the time of year you plan to be traveling.  HP is certainly beautiful, too, and I think the Valley of Flowers is good at the time when you plan to be in India, but I'll let others comment on that because I haven't traveled there.  There's a bigger risk of monsoon-related travel delays in HP than in Ladakh, though, because HP is on the rainy side of the Himalayan Plateau.  If you are looking for a "tibet atmosphere," as you say, you will certainly find that in Ladakh, and the weather there is ideal in July and August.  Flights between Delhi and Leh are very easy.  Just be sure to take it easy, resting at your hotel or guest house, for your first day or so in Leh, to get used to the higher altitude.  

Varanasi is a bit "out of the way" from your other destinations, but you can take an overnight train from Delhi, and then maybe take a train back to Agra and then tour Rajasthan after Agra.  If you do to Agra, be sure not to miss Fatehpur Sikri, which is only a few kilometers away.  

Our member Cameleer has prepared some wonderful "virtual reality" tours of India on the following website, covering several of the places you want to visit.  You might enjoy looking at them before your trip.
http://www.indiavrtours.com/index.html

[jyotirmoy]

Well Stefania here is an itinerary for you, see if it suites you.

2402 MAGADH EXPRESS DEP: New Delhi 20.00 ARRV: Mughal Sarai 07.40 Next day, Short ride to Varanasi
2307 HOWRAH JU EXPRESS DEP: Mughal Sarai 09.50 ARRV: Agra Fort 19.35. Sleep in Agra & visit Taj Mahal early morning next day.
2965 GWALIOR UDAIPUR SUPERFAST EXPRESS DEP: Agra Fort 17.40 ARRV: Jaipur 22.20 Sleep in Jaipur & sight see next day.
2965 GWALIOR UDAIPUR SUPERFAST EXPRESS DEP: Jaipur 22.40 ARRV: Udaipur 06.10 Next day.
From Udaipur take a deluxe bus to Jodhpur.
4810 JODHPUR JAISALMER EXPRESS DEP: Jodhpur 23.00 ARRV: Jaisalmer 05.00 Nextday.
4809 JAISALMER JODHPUR EXPRESS DEP: Jaisalmer 23.15 ARRV: Jodhpur 05.20 Next day.
1JA JODHPUR AJMER FAST PASSENGER  DEP: Jodhpur 07.15 ARRV: Ajmer 12.50, short ride to Pushkar.
9105 HARIDWAR MAIL DEP: Ajmer 20.40 ARRV: Haridwar 12.30 short ride to Rishikesh.
2018 DEHRADUN SHATABDI EXPRESS DEP: Haridwar 18.13 ARRV: New Delhi 22.45 Evening tea & dinner served in the train.

[Stefania]

Thank you for helping jyotirmoy and dzibead.

I read it's rainy season in Himachal Pradesh too and moving around could be difficult. Maybe I'd better take a plane to Leh and visit Ladakh only. I thought HP was better for trekking. Maybe Ladakh is good as well.

If I got it right train is the way to go in Rajastan.

Thank you.

[iwanttogoback]

trains are always good in india stefania. there is heaps of info on train travel on the forum, a quick search should help you find lots of useful info. obviously, any questions, please ask.

[jyotirmoy]

Go for 2-AC class for night journey... sleep in aircon comfort and arrive fresh & fit.

[jemma]

The trains are a great way to travel. People to talk to, food and drink and toilets!

The Indian computerised train reservation is great. Some I know find it complicated to use but in previous trips I have had no problems from the UK, saving time and worry about any importantly timed journeys.

Seat66 has some more information.

Edited by jemma, 28 June 2009 - 01:02 PM.

[kullukid]

Personally I'd skip Agra & Varanasi due to the time you have. How about Delhi to R'sthan to Delhi fly to Leh then head for Manali in HP overland on the highest motorable road in the world (journey of a lifetime) from Manali you could head for Shimla then across to Hardwar/Rishi then back to Delhi. Or there is a back route to Rishi from Shimla through the Kinnaur valley which passes Mussourie. However I feel you are trying to squeeze a lot into 4 wks, sometimes it's wiser to see less & enjoy more at a leisurely pace.   KK

[Stefania]

I've been reading about traveling by train in India and I'm getting a bit worried.
I've read trains must be booked with good advance to get a seat and that I can only buy 10 tickets a month online. Is that true?
I'd like to change plan during my tour and I guess that's impossible if I always have to book in advance. I mean I'd like to get to a city then decide how much time spend there when I'm there (maybe stay for 3 days or leave as soon as possible). Is it still possible to travel by train in that scenario? If not possible is bus a good alternative? What's your experience?
Thanks again!

[Serena]

Ciao Stefania!
My 2 cents.... 4 weeks probably seems a lot of time to you but consider that travel in India is not easy and you can't make a comparison with Italy or Europe.
So don't try to put to much in your itinerary, just enjoy to be there and maybe next time....
In bocca al lupo!

[cyberhippie]

You can still travel on a whim, if you are prepared to wait an extra day in some places or take the bus instead of the train.
It's hard to say what you will experieince along the way, some trains book out fast, others always have a few spare berths.

You can use the Foreign Tourist Quota on a few trains but not all trains these are tickets set aside for use by Foreign tourists only.
This isn't a sure thing either as these tickets can also be booked up to 90 days in Advance and it's only about 10 -16 seats on any given train..
Tatkal is a quota you can sometimes use if you need to get somewhere. With this quota around 10% of the berths are held back to within 5 days of departure.
This is a costly way to travel. and again this quota often books out fast.

If you buy tickets up front you can still get a full refund quite easily as long as you cance 24 hours ahead, at any train station. There's a small admin charge only.

I did a thread here about the pro and cons of on the fly versus planned train travel.

Have a read it will help you understand the problems or lack of them, just click the link below.

To Plan Or Not To Plan, that Is The Question

[kullukid]

Stefania, on Jun 29 2009, 08:15 PM, said:

I've been reading about traveling by train in India and I'm getting a bit worried.
I've read trains must be booked with good advance to get a seat and that I can only buy 10 tickets a month online. Is that true?

I've done quite a few train journeys in India, but I've never booked online months in advance. I usually just go to the station the day before i want to travel & book a ticket.....never been a problem! The only time I did have a problem was when I tried once to book in advance online & failed miserably.....it's a nightmare!! KK

[jemma]

I agree with Cyberhippie in his dislike for bus travel when trains are available. Most of the time one can by a ticket when one wants to travel, spontinaity is always good, but one or two tickets for important journeys is advisable, just incase you are forced to travel by bus. In any case who wants to sit about in the tourist reservation office in Delhi when there are things to see and chai to drink.

[lilyrose]

I love travelling on Indian trains and if you can be a bit flexible, you can often come across somewhere that looks  worth a stop off.