Delhi Agra Jaipur and Goa in 2 weeks....too much?

Hi,
I am starting my round the world trip, on my own, in India, in January and thinking of spending a week taking the golden triangle route and then flying to Goa for a week to then fly out of Mumbai. Could anyone tell me their thoughts on this itinerary, is it too much to do in two weeks? I have a budget of roughly around £200-£300 food/accommodation/travel, (not sure if this is feasible?) but I'd really like to do it as cheaply as possible. If anyone has any recommendations on a route it would be greatly appreciated....

Emily

Well i think 2 weeks is absouletly less to say u have seen india ..Most travellers to this part of the world spends months travelling india ,half of them working and seeing it in bits ..For example to see goa alone is so huge ..

But on the other hand u did select the right regions .. The amount might be too less but if u really budget urself u might just be able to pull it off .. Like stay in cheap places ..travel by bus most of the time or walk ur closeby destinations ..BUT one thing do not compromise of trying the food ... specially the goan cuisine might be a little spicy for ur taste but do try it out ..

lastly i could have recommended some excellent websites for you to review but i doubt i can post them here ..

Hi Emily,
Two weeks is reasonable for the Golden Triangle and some rest period at the Goan beaches. I spent about US $500 for 8 days which included my own private car and driver (Dev), entrance fees, taxes, accommodation on b&b basis through Flexi tours. For more info: pls. see earlier response here.

So, I think you have budgeted fine. Don't miss the drive from Jodhpur to Udaipur, via Ranakpur. It is the most scenic drive that I drove through in my 8 days there.

Have a good trip!
/Ahila.

Hi Emmy,

Your budget and time schedule it fine and you can easily take care of yr .

Please however take care of winters as Agra and Jaipur get quite cold during nights.

Try to travel as much by road and during day time as it will give u the sight of real india. It being Winter u will see a lot of greenery around.

Make sure to keep a few days for spening on Goa's beaches and eat some Vitamin D.

DO make sure to do some research on the all the places on internet as u know yr personal choices.

For any specific help, do write back.

Welcome to India!

Anil

Your itinerary looks fine, as long as you don't start adding more to it. A week is plenty for the Golden Triangle since all three stops have lots to see, but aren't places that you'll want to stick around in.
Delhi is worth a couple days to get your barings and see the main sights. Though I didn't mind Agra so much, most people despise it an recomend staying there as short a time as possible. I would say spend one full day there to see the Taj and the Agra fort, but then get out of there. If you have time, and are interested in Moghul history, then Fatepur Sikri is world an afternoon as well, and is easily visited from Agra.
In my opinion, Jaipur is only on the tourist route because of it's location near Agra and Delhi. If it were anywhere else in India, no one would go there. There are a couple great sights - Hawa Mahal and Amber Fort in particular, that are worth a day's sightseeing, but after that its just a big, busy, noisy and dirty city. Don't give yourself more than 2 days there.
From there its long 20 hour or so train ride to Mumbai, so as you mentioned, it might be best to fly straight to Goa.
In goa, there are many beaches to choose from, and were you go will depend on two things - your budget, since some beaches are far more expensive than others, and the atmosphere you are looking for. My first suggestion is always Palolem because its has a great low key, yet lively atmosphere and has lots of cheap accomidation. I would also recomend heading North for the weekly Anjuna Market and staying at a beach along there at that time. Its a great place to pick up a suitcase load of souvineers (though if you are on a RTW trip, you may not want this).
Don't overlook Mumbai. I loved the city and if you want to see Indian urban life, its a must more pleasant place to spend a couple days than Dehli or Jaipur.
So I think you itinerary is perfect. You won't see alot, but its a good mix of sightseeing and relaxing.

As for budget, if you do things as cheap as possilbe (basic accomidation, local restarants, sleeper class trains etc..), and excluding the cost of a flight to Goa, you can easily get away with 10 pounds a day. Over two weeks thats 140 pounds. For my trip we actually budgeted 12 pounds a day for two of us together, and in the end spent even less. If you want to spend 300 pounds over two weeks than you can easily get comfy accomidation, eat all your meals in touristy restarants (little choice in goa anyway), drink a couple beers a day, and have lots of money for shopping. That's 1800 or more rupees a day, which I couldn't even imagine spending in a one day.

Hi

if you are not seriously interested in india, 2 weeks are absolutely fine. you can do agra even as a day trip from delhi. i just would recommend not to go to jaipur as the city is not nice and the men the worst in whole rajasthan (be aware as single woman, it is awful). instead go to udaipur (via ranakpur is an excellent idea --> the scenery fantastic and if you can stop in ranakpur for the temple even better). also, try to stay a couple of days in mumbai, it is a great city. goa is fine, nothing special, but the anjuna flea market and ingos night market are well worth a visit! have fun and take care!!

Hey,
Having just come back from a trip to Rajasthan & been to all the above mentioned places, I can tell you it is possible to visit all these places within 300 pounds. If you start off in Delhi, try and find a resonably priced hotel since good hotels in Delhi can be pretty expensive. All that you need to see in Delhi are close by & can be done in less than a day. From Delhi, you can head to Agra or Rajasthan, whichever you want to cover first. Sights in Agra will take you half a day & once you reach Jaipur, decent hotels that cost less that 10 pounds/night are aplenty.

Honestly, after seeing Jodhpur & Udaipur, Jaipur didn't seem like much. Also, most parts of Amer Fort are under renovation right now & are closed off. You could spend more time in Jodhpur & Udaipur. The main attractions (the one big palace in each city) are just about the only thing worth visiting. There's not much else but they're definitely worth the visit. On the way back from Udaipur to Jaipur, if you can stop over at Ranakpur, then I would advice you to do that. There's a temple at Ranakpur which is quite a sight but you have be there before 5:30pm. After that, the place is not lit up from the inside & photography is prohibited.

Reply back if you want any other info. I've even put up some photos on my Profile page.

[ Edit: Edited on Dec 22, 2006, at 2:30 AM by darkchild ]

Hi Emily,

I completely agree with darkchild, the itinerary provided is a good one.

If u r looking at a mixture of nature, history, architecture, mountains and beaches,rather than the golden traingle i would suggest to start from Kerala towards Goa.

if u wanna knw anythin more abt it,pls buz me...

cheers,

vicky

NB: I dont do this for money,neither am i a representative of any travel agent or tour operator...for a living i work as an Operations Lead in one of the flagship companies in Bangalore.

This is just a footnote to dispel any misunderstandings that my fellow travellers may have.