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18 Days in North India: Our Itinerary, Travel Guide & Budget

India is obviously part of our world tour. Here is our itinerary.

Itinerary of 2.5 weeks (18 days)

parcours_inde_nord

Granted, this route isn’t the shortest path (distance), but it is the fastest way. The train from Udaipur to Khajuraho passes through Agra again, so we might as well go to Udaipur first.

To make this ambitious journey, we are counting on Indian trains. Not always on time, of course, that’s why we’ve foreseen delays in our program, just in case… We stay 3 days in cities where the train journey takes more than 5 hours. We prefer night trains, to save money, and also not to waste a day of visit. A day train is taken between Jaipur & Agra to enjoy the scenery. Considering the many trips we have made, we have favored classes with air conditioning to sleep better (more about the trains and categories we recommend).

Video recap

Accommodation

Here are the accommodations we recommend. We have been very lucky to find top hotels, where we could talk at length with the owners and learn a lot of things.

  • in New Delhi : the center would have been too hard (dirty and too much noise). I advise you to choose a quiet residential area, not far from the subway. We went to Grace House(Booking link), to a very nice lady who speaks good English, and without this haven of peace, we couldn’t have endured New Delhi
  • in Udaipur: we booked an Airbnb held by a French woman. We spent several evenings at her Indian friend’s house (whose wife cooks divinely well). It’s very well located and very spacious too, we loved it. Prefer the small room with 2 single beds on the floor below because it looks cooler)(link Airbnb)
  • Jaipur: Madhav Guest house(link Booking) is the best place you can find in Jaipur, very quiet, cheap at all and surprisingly clean. Uber finds the address without any worries. There is plenty of street food next door, including a man who makes omelettes to fall down (this is still talked about years later). The owner showed me his jewelry workshop, how he makes them etc. and his tea with milk is a killer (his mother prepares the leaves herself), it’s my favorite tea of the whole trip!
  • Agra : Youth Hostel : Big Brother Hostel(link Booking) adorable staff, it deserves a stay at their place just for that. Lots of services offered for a small fee of nothing, excellent location, cheap. Average cleanliness but it’s like all youth hostels. They taught us how to play cards the Indian way, and the homemade breakfast is to fall!
  • For Agra, you can opt for a hotel with a higher standing like Taj Resorts(link Booking), close to the Taj Mahal, with a terrace overlooking the Taj Mahal. The sunset from this terrace is unforgettable. You can go there just to have a drink
  • Khajuraho : Hotel Syna Heritage(link Booking), with swimming pool, clean rooms, declined breakfast, 5 stars service for a small price. The temples are accessible on foot.
  • Varanasi : Hotel Alka(Booking link), very well known and appreciated by travelers because it allows you to breathe a little in this stifling city. Direct view on the river (no smell), a large terrace with services of guides, cabs…

Budget

Total: 95,000 rupees or 1,267€ for 2 people for 18 days, including flights and internal trains (excluding shopping), or 70€ per day

depenses-inde-18jours
  • Transportation :

    • Delhi Airport Taxi: Rs. 400 or 5€
    • Plane Delhi – Udaipur: 36€/person via AirIndia
    • Trains (see our article how to book Indian train tickets online) :

      • Udaipur – Jaipur in 1st class with air conditioning (AC1): Rs. 1730 or 22€/person
      • Jaipur – Agra in AC Chair Car: Rs. 485 or 3€/person
      • Agra – Khajuraho in 2nd class with air conditioning (AC2): Rs. 1050 or 7,5€/person
      • Khajuraho – Varanasi in 3rd class with air conditioning (AC3 Tier): Rs. 720 or 4.5€/person. This trip can be done by plane in one hour via Jet Airways or AirIndia for 50€/person


    • Plane Varanasi – New Delhi : 31€/person via AirIndia
    • Rickshaw : about 4€/day

  • Visit: 10€/person/day at the Taj Mahal
  • Hotel & Food :

    • Delhi: Rs. 2800/night in homestay or 37€ in double room
    • Udaipur: Airbnb for 10€/night in double room
    • Other cities: about 10€/night & 7€/day/person for food

What we liked

  1. The Taj Mahal, super beautiful, super big
  2. Ranakpur and its white marble Jain temple (near Udaipur)
  3. Khajuraho and its magnificent temples with erotic sculptures
  4. Amber Fort in Jaipur
  5. Tea/Chai: Masala Tea

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