India itinerary, day by day

Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Udaipur, across the Golden Triangle and into Rajasthan: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 7, 10 or 14 days📍 4 stops☀️ Best time: October to March

Agra · Photo Abhinav Sharma / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

India in 7 days

3 stops · 17 things to do · ≈ 470 km

1Delhi

Days 1-2

A capital in layers, Mughal then colonial. The Red Fort, the Qutub Minar and India Gate all stand within a few miles of one another.

🎟️ Worth booking

Old Delhi by rickshaw, guidedHalf day · from €25
The lanes behind Chandni Chowk at cycle speed, which is the only speed that works there.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Qutub Minar and Humayun's TombHalf day · from €30
A brick minaret begun in 1193 and the garden tomb of 1572 that gave the Taj Mahal its plan.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

India Gate · Chandni Chowk market · The Lotus Temple · The city gardens

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Moustache Delhi (€15 a night) · Mid-range: Haveli Dharampura (€120 a night) · Luxury: The Oberoi New Delhi (€300 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Hôtel Imperial de New Delhi ↗ ★ 4.7 · 8935 reviews · €€€€
Indian Accent ↗ ★ 4.7 · 7726 reviews · €€€€
Megu ↗ ★ 4.7 · 4886 reviews · €€€€
Olive Bar & Kitchen ↗ ★ 4.6 · 8677 reviews · €€€€
SIDECAR ↗ ★ 4.6 · 2398 reviews

Photo Saurabh Kumar / Pexels

🚗 Car · 4h · 230 km

2Agra and the Taj Mahal

Day 3

The Taj Mahal was finished in 1653, a marble mausoleum raised by Shah Jahan for his wife. The city grew around it and still lives off it.

🎟️ Worth booking

The Taj Mahal at sunrise, guidedHalf day · from €35
First light turns the marble from grey to pink to white in about an hour. Go early, and go with someone who can read the inlay.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Agra Fort2h · from €15
The red sandstone fort where Shah Jahan spent his last years as a prisoner, with a view of the tomb he had built.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Taj seen across the river from Mehtab Bagh · The bazaars · Itimad-ud-Daulah, from outside

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Zostel Agra (€13 a night) · Mid-range: The Coral Court (€90 a night) · Luxury: The Oberoi Amarvilas (€450 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Desi Vibes Agra ↗ ★ 4.9 · 560 reviews
Two Saints Bar and Kitchen ↗ ★ 4.8 · 2649 reviews
Taj Terrace ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1080 reviews
Shivpen Ryouri Restaurant Near Taj Mahal ↗ ★ 4.8 · 736 reviews · €€
Rooftop Restaurant- Taj Jharokha ↗ ★ 4.8 · 729 reviews

Photo Abhinav Sharma / Pexels

🚗 Car · 4h30 · 240 km

3Jaipur, the pink city

Days 4-7

Painted pink in 1876 to welcome a royal visitor, and repainted ever since. Amber Fort holds the ridge above town, Hawa Mahal the middle of it.

🎟️ Worth booking

Amber Fort and the City Palace, guidedFull day · from €40
A full day between the hill fortress above Jaipur and the working palace the royal family still occupies in part.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Dyeing workshop and the bazaarsHalf day · from €25
How the cloth gets its colour, then the streets where it is sold, sorted by trade as they have been for centuries.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The facade of Hawa Mahal · Jantar Mantar, from outside · The colour of the markets · Man Sagar Lake and its sunken palace

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hotel Arya Niwas (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Alsisar Haveli (€80 a night) · Luxury: Jai Mahal Palace (€250 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Jal Mahal Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.8 · 101 reviews
Suvarna Mahal ↗ ★ 4.7 · 3606 reviews · €€
Marble Arch ↗ ★ 4.6 · 229 reviews
Kalyan Restaurant & Bar ↗ ★ 4.5 · 4419 reviews · €€
Rajwada Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.5 · 984 reviews · €€

Photo Vijesh Vijayan / Pexels

India in 10 days

4 stops · 23 things to do · ≈ 870 km

1Delhi

Days 1-2

A capital in layers, Mughal then colonial. The Red Fort, the Qutub Minar and India Gate all stand within a few miles of one another.

🎟️ Worth booking

Old Delhi by rickshaw, guidedHalf day · from €25
The lanes behind Chandni Chowk at cycle speed, which is the only speed that works there.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Qutub Minar and Humayun's TombHalf day · from €30
A brick minaret begun in 1193 and the garden tomb of 1572 that gave the Taj Mahal its plan.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

India Gate · Chandni Chowk market · The Lotus Temple · The city gardens

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Moustache Delhi (€15 a night) · Mid-range: Haveli Dharampura (€120 a night) · Luxury: The Oberoi New Delhi (€300 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Saurabh Kumar / Pexels

🚗 Car · 4h · 230 km

2Agra and the Taj Mahal

Day 3

The Taj Mahal was finished in 1653, a marble mausoleum raised by Shah Jahan for his wife. The city grew around it and still lives off it.

🎟️ Worth booking

The Taj Mahal at sunrise, guidedHalf day · from €35
First light turns the marble from grey to pink to white in about an hour. Go early, and go with someone who can read the inlay.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Agra Fort2h · from €15
The red sandstone fort where Shah Jahan spent his last years as a prisoner, with a view of the tomb he had built.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Taj seen across the river from Mehtab Bagh · The bazaars · Itimad-ud-Daulah, from outside

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Zostel Agra (€13 a night) · Mid-range: The Coral Court (€90 a night) · Luxury: The Oberoi Amarvilas (€450 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Abhinav Sharma / Pexels

🚗 Car · 4h30 · 240 km

3Jaipur, the pink city

Days 4-6

Painted pink in 1876 to welcome a royal visitor, and repainted ever since. Amber Fort holds the ridge above town, Hawa Mahal the middle of it.

🎟️ Worth booking

Amber Fort and the City Palace, guidedFull day · from €40
A full day between the hill fortress above Jaipur and the working palace the royal family still occupies in part.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Dyeing workshop and the bazaarsHalf day · from €25
How the cloth gets its colour, then the streets where it is sold, sorted by trade as they have been for centuries.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The facade of Hawa Mahal · Jantar Mantar, from outside · The colour of the markets · Man Sagar Lake and its sunken palace

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hotel Arya Niwas (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Alsisar Haveli (€80 a night) · Luxury: Jai Mahal Palace (€250 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Vijesh Vijayan / Pexels

🚗 Car · 6h · 400 km (or 1h flight)

4Udaipur, the city of lakes

Days 7-10

The old Rajput capital, built around Lake Pichola, where the palaces sit low enough on the water to look as if they float.

🎟️ Worth booking

City Palace and a boat on the lakeHalf day · from €30
The largest palace in Rajasthan, then an hour on Lake Pichola looking back at it from the water.
Book on GetYourGuide →
An evening of Rajasthani dance1h · from €12
An hour of folk dance and puppetry in a courtyard, the form that travelling performers carried across the desert.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Lake Pichola · The Saheliyon ki Bari gardens · The ghats at sunset · The old town

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Zostel Udaipur (€13 a night) · Mid-range: Jagat Niwas Palace (€110 a night) · Luxury: Taj Lake Palace (€600 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

GHATI PE ↗ ★ 4.9 · 3072 reviews
Aurosky Udaipur - Adventure Dine-in Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.9 · 300 reviews
Lucky rooftop restaurant udaipur ↗ ★ 4.9 · 113 reviews
The Brahmpole Haveli 1931 - A Pure Veg. Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.8 · 757 reviews
Sargam Restaurant - Old City Rooftop Restaurant | Lake View Restaurants in Udaipur ↗ ★ 4.8 · 337 reviews

Photo Ruslan Kalnitsky / Pexels

India in 14 days

4 stops · 23 things to do · ≈ 870 km

1Delhi

Days 1-3

A capital in layers, Mughal then colonial. The Red Fort, the Qutub Minar and India Gate all stand within a few miles of one another.

🎟️ Worth booking

Old Delhi by rickshaw, guidedHalf day · from €25
The lanes behind Chandni Chowk at cycle speed, which is the only speed that works there.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Qutub Minar and Humayun's TombHalf day · from €30
A brick minaret begun in 1193 and the garden tomb of 1572 that gave the Taj Mahal its plan.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

India Gate · Chandni Chowk market · The Lotus Temple · The city gardens

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Moustache Delhi (€15 a night) · Mid-range: Haveli Dharampura (€120 a night) · Luxury: The Oberoi New Delhi (€300 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Saurabh Kumar / Pexels

🚗 Car · 4h · 230 km

2Agra and the Taj Mahal

Days 4-5

The Taj Mahal was finished in 1653, a marble mausoleum raised by Shah Jahan for his wife. The city grew around it and still lives off it.

🎟️ Worth booking

The Taj Mahal at sunrise, guidedHalf day · from €35
First light turns the marble from grey to pink to white in about an hour. Go early, and go with someone who can read the inlay.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Agra Fort2h · from €15
The red sandstone fort where Shah Jahan spent his last years as a prisoner, with a view of the tomb he had built.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Taj seen across the river from Mehtab Bagh · The bazaars · Itimad-ud-Daulah, from outside

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Zostel Agra (€13 a night) · Mid-range: The Coral Court (€90 a night) · Luxury: The Oberoi Amarvilas (€450 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Abhinav Sharma / Pexels

🚗 Car · 4h30 · 240 km

3Jaipur, the pink city

Days 6-8

Painted pink in 1876 to welcome a royal visitor, and repainted ever since. Amber Fort holds the ridge above town, Hawa Mahal the middle of it.

🎟️ Worth booking

Amber Fort and the City Palace, guidedFull day · from €40
A full day between the hill fortress above Jaipur and the working palace the royal family still occupies in part.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Dyeing workshop and the bazaarsHalf day · from €25
How the cloth gets its colour, then the streets where it is sold, sorted by trade as they have been for centuries.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The facade of Hawa Mahal · Jantar Mantar, from outside · The colour of the markets · Man Sagar Lake and its sunken palace

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hotel Arya Niwas (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Alsisar Haveli (€80 a night) · Luxury: Jai Mahal Palace (€250 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Vijesh Vijayan / Pexels

🚗 Car · 6h · 400 km

4Udaipur, the city of lakes

Days 9-14

The old Rajput capital, built around Lake Pichola, where the palaces sit low enough on the water to look as if they float.

🎟️ Worth booking

City Palace and a boat on the lakeHalf day · from €30
The largest palace in Rajasthan, then an hour on Lake Pichola looking back at it from the water.
Book on GetYourGuide →
An evening of Rajasthani dance1h · from €12
An hour of folk dance and puppetry in a courtyard, the form that travelling performers carried across the desert.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Lake Pichola · The Saheliyon ki Bari gardens · The ghats at sunset · The old town

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Zostel Udaipur (€13 a night) · Mid-range: Jagat Niwas Palace (€110 a night) · Luxury: Taj Lake Palace (€600 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Ruslan Kalnitsky / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Thali: a tray of small vegetarian dishes, eaten together rather than in order.
Curry and dal: mild in one state, fierce in the next. Ask before you commit.
Tandoori and naan: meat from a clay oven, bread baked on its wall.
Street food: samosas, pani puri, chaat, eaten standing up.
Lassi and masala chai: drinking yoghurt, and tea boiled with spices and milk.

⚠️ What to avoid

Sealed bottled water only, never from the tap, and no ice.
Unofficial tourist offices are a common scam near stations. Book through your hotel.
Cover shoulders and knees, above all at temples and mosques.
Eat food that is hot and freshly cooked, and skip anything sitting out.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable India guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit India, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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