I am a single mom who will be traveling with my two kids, 11 and 15. Because of school, we can only go between June and early August. I have been told that although it is going to be very hot, it would be better to go before the monsoons --- is this true? Our current plan is to arrive at 6am in Dehli on 6/1 and leave on 6/12. Because we are not likely to visit again I would like to see as much as possible without being too rushed. I would like to do 2 nights per place, but maybe one night in Dehli. Please let me know which places are worth only one night. We want to see Jaipur, Udaipur, Ranthambhore, Agra and if at all possible, Varanasi. What is the best order to visit? I understand that I will have to fly into Varanasi to save time. Is it best to fly from Udaipur to Varanasi? Or from Varanasit to Udaipur and then work our way back to Dehli by train and driver? Am I trying to do too much and the trip will be too rushed? I plan to stay in 4 or 5 star hotels as I want to be as comfortable and safe as possible. Any suggestions are appreciated.
North India trip with two kids
All the places you plan to visdit are wonderful except Agra, which is certainly only worth a night... or maybe even just a couple of hours, enough time to tour the Taj and find out where the railway station is. If nothing else, Agra is a good place to catch trains to better centres around it, such as Jodhpur, Kota (for Bundi) or Varanasi.
I don%26#39;t know which airlines fly from Udaipur to Varanasi, but my thought is that this would, indeed, be a smart choice, as they are both a little difficult to get to by train. Don%26#39;t fly more than you absolutely have to, however, as you will find you%26#39;re spending a lot of time getting to and away from airports and going through customs/security formalities several times for each flight. I can%26#39;t think of an airport in India that I enjoyed being in.
I don%26#39;t think you%26#39;re planning too much, especially if you get onto the Indian Railways site and do some careful timetabling calculations. You might even be able to add a couiple of extra destinations, such as Jodhpur (easy to get to from Delhi or Agra) or Bundi (there%26#39;s a daily train from Agra Fort that goes there without the need to change at Kota Junction) or Khajuraho (there is now a ';new'; railway station and rail service to just a few kilometres from the temples, so you no longer have to sit for six hours on a bus from Satna... if I recall, you train it to Mahoba and change to a regional ';shuttle'; line).
Udaipur is great, but Jaipur and Jodhpur are equally as fine, so if you find the transport is a little difficult to organise, you may find it wise to substitute one of these, or Bundi. I would like to recommend Jaisalmer to you also, as it is wonderful and your kids will thank you for the rest of their lives... but this may just be stretching things a bit too far; and you certainly don%26#39;t want to leave out Varanasi, which, next to Jaisalmer, is the ';other'; amazing sight of the Indian sub-continent!
Really, you can%26#39;t miss... whatever you plan, I think you%26#39;ll have a great time, especailly if you avoid the worst of the heat by travelling overnight on trains, sightseeing from dawn till early afternoon, and resting after lunch until the sun goes down.
North India trip with two kids
Dear Lifesjourney
Since you%26#39;re traveling with kids and June is unbearably hot (the monsoons don%26#39;t arrive in Rajasthan until July though in Varanasi you may get some rain, I recommend you stick as much as possible to air travel. June being the off season a lot of flights to tourist places get withdrawn so I doubt if you%26#39;ll be able to fly to Agra. The itinerary could be as follows -
1 June - Arrive Delhi
2 - Delhi - Varanasi by flight
3 - Varanasi
4 - Varanasi - Khajuraho by flight if operating
5 - Khajuraho - Jhansi drive %26amp; train to Agra in Ac chair car
6 - Agra - Jaipur evening train in Ac chair car
7 - Jaipur
8 - Jaipur - Udaipur flight
9 - Udaipur
10 - Udaipur - Delhi
11 - Delhi %26amp; departure
Should the flight to Khajuraho not be working, I recommend the overnight train from Varanasi to Agra on 4th evening so youre in Agra on 5th morning. Ive left Ranthambore out since you need at least 2 nights there to do at least 2-3 drives and have a realistic chance of seeing a tiger. If you can add a day, you could stay one night less in Varanasi and add Ranthambore. Have a great trip!!
Thank you both for your answers. I am still uncertain if I should delay my trip until July. Will monsoons make travel too difficult or interfere with our sightseeing? When would you go, early June or late July? The agency that is helping me book the trip says that my drivers and hotels will all have air conditioning so I shouldn%26#39;t be too concerned about the heat. Alan, my plan was to travel as you suggested but I am wondering if I really don%26#39;t understand how unbearable it will be. Traveling during the off season has its appeal as there will be far fewer tourists and crowds to deal with.
Can you tell me more about Khujuraho? I know nothing about it but am intrigued. I will definitely take a day off visiting Varanasi since my kids want to do the tiger safari. If I add Ranthambore, how should I change the schedule that Npjai has suggested?
Sorry for so many questions, I feel I don%26#39;t have enough time to plan properly. Thank you again for any suggestions and information you can provide.
LJ
If your kids want to do the safari at Ranthambore then you have no choice but to do the visit in June as Ranthambore gets closed off in July for the monsoons.
1 June - Arrive Delhi
2 - Delhi - Varanasi by flight
3 - Varanasi. Night train to Agra
4 - Agra sightseeing. Anoon drive to Bhharatpur Night in Bharatpur
5 - Morning train to Ranthambore. Afternoon safari
6 - Morning safari. Late afternoon train or drive to Jaipur.
7 - In Jaipur
8 - Jaipur - Udaipur flight
9 - Udaipur
10 - Udaipur - Delhi
11 - Delhi %26amp; departure
Quite surprised your agent isnt able to do the basic itinerary planning. Also the assurance of not to worry about the heat is not quite correct. The monuments, the park, nothing is airconditioned and youll get to feel the heat, dont you worry!! You just have to plan the itinerary so you dont have to take prolonged exposure to the heat. It can be done, dont worry
Ok, I just did some research on Khujasaro and it sounds like a place I%26#39;d love to see....without my kids! The temple with erotic art sounds wonderful to visit but it might be a little too much education for them. Can anyone give me an idea if all of the temples there have the erotic art? If there is anything else to see, I still might go but otherwise will have to pass.
I%26#39;d still love feedback on my questions I asked in the second post. Thank you all.
Personally, I%26#39;d go in June - I%26#39;d rather handle the heat than the rain. The rain makes it difficult to go sightseeing.
If I were you, I%26#39;d drop Rajasthan altogether.
Instead, June is a wonderful time to take your children to the Himalayas. It is cool, and there is enough to see and do. Take the scenic mountain railway to Darjeeling, go white water rafting, visit Bhutan, or Leh/Ladakh, hit the Buddhist trail...
Google for Himalaya tours, or try www.indianwanderers.com. I like their jeep safaris of Sikkim, actually. But maybe the Bhutan/Nepal tour is also a good option:
www.indianwanderers.com/dynamic_page.php鈥?/a>
The Himalayas are a good way to enjoy the richness of India without suffering intense heat or rain. I%26#39;m off to Darjeeling in May myself. When in India, do as the Indians do - run for the hills!
- Deepa
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