To celebrate Ian finishing law school (yay!), we took a trip to India. We had about 16 full days and went to 7 cities (August 12-28, 2015)! After the trip, I determined that 2 days in each city is just about right. At the suggestion of my friend, we decided to book everything through a travel company, Delhi Magic. For everyone that knows me, this is a surprise, because I usually do my travels super cheap and on the fly. However, traveling in India seemed like a different beast, and the more I looked at the cost, the better the travel agency sounded. Let me tell you, it was the best decision for us! According to my notes, we paid about $1,000 US each for the entire trip. We met a several people traveling all on their own, and they had so many hassles and little annoyances. We had like 1.
So, what did that $2000 (for both of us) buy us?
- Daily itinerary of what we would do/ where to go/ etc. We didn't always do everything on the list, we were able to pick and choose.
- Train tickets
- Accommodations at the middle range hotels (which provided breakfast, bottled water, and wifi)
- 24/7 driver services
- Pick up and drop off at train stations & airports. We were greeted at the door of the train w/ a company rep, then escorted to our comfy minivan, taken to the hotel, and dropped off
What wasn't included:
2 flights, which I remember to be like $50 or less each
Entrance to sites and museums
Lunch / Dinner meals
Tipping (On most days, we tipped our driver more than we actually spent on food)
I'm hoping that in my journal I talk more about what we spent on things. This is why I shouldn't have waited 10 months to actually write my blog!
Here's our itinerary:
August 12th- Arrive in Delhi at 1:35 am. Sleep, then sight seeing at 1pm
13th- Delhi sightseeing
14th- Fly to Gaya. Day sightseeing in Bodhgaya
15th- Drive to Rajgir & Nalanda
16th- Afternoon train to Varanasi.
17th- Varanasi sightseeing
18th- Excursion to Sarnath. Overnight train to Agra
19th- Agra (Taj Mahal!)
20th- Sunrise at Taj Mahal. Evening train to Jaipur
21st- Jaipur
22nd- Jaipur. Overnight train to Udaipur
23rd- Udaipur
24th- Drive to Jodhpur (6hrs, leaving in the morning)
25th- Jodhpur
26th- Fly to Delhi
27th- Delhi sightseeing
28th- Depart at 2:55am
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