Quick holiday in India

Quick holiday in India

Hi,

I would like to take my two teenage kids to India for a 7 day holiday.
All we'll really have time for will be visits to Agra (day trip),
Varanassi (2-3 days) and Goa (2-3 days). We won't have a huge budget
so will be staying in backpacker style accomodation. I've seen that
it's possible to join these dots by air, but the quotes I got from the
web were somewhat more expensive than I expected. Any hints or tips
regarding good deals? Also - would travel to Goa in May be a dumb
idea?

Thanks,
Mike.

Re: Quick holiday in India


"Mike Preece" <michael@preece . net > wrote in message
news:83a4fc95-aafd-41e2-bea7-7965b074027c@b9g2000prh.googlegroups . com ...

Also - would travel to Goa in May be a dumb
> idea?
>

Yes.

It's far too hot, 35 in the shade is normal, the charter flights have
stopped so half the places that cater to tourists are shut, the beach hut
licenses all end in late May so they may be closed and there's a lot of
sickness about because the water levels are very low (the monsoon will be
less than a month away)

--
William Black


I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time, like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.

Re: Quick holiday in India


"Mike Preece" <michael@preece . net > wrote in message
news:83a4fc95-aafd-41e2-bea7-7965b074027c@b9g2000prh.googlegroups . com ...
> Hi,
>
> I would like to take my two teenage kids to India for a 7 day holiday.
> All we'll really have time for will be visits to Agra (day trip),
> Varanassi (2-3 days) and Goa (2-3 days). We won't have a huge budget
> so will be staying in backpacker style accomodation. I've seen that
> it's possible to join these dots by air, but the quotes I got from the
> web were somewhat more expensive than I expected. Any hints or tips
> regarding good deals? Also - would travel to Goa in May be a dumb
> idea?


The itinerary is far too ambitious..

168 hours to cover three disparate points, on backpacker money? No.

You will spend 60 hours of your trip in taxis, airports, buses,
autorickshaws and queues. Another 50 hours will be spent sleeping. Allow 20
hours for eating, showering and finding and using a decent toilet, and
another very conservative 20 hours for the "India factor" (unexpected
delays, mixed-up bookings, traffic jams, bungled meal orders) and you have
18 hours left to see the "real India." That's assuming your two teenage kids
can be relied upon to be in the right place, properly organised, ready to go
and keen to experience a foreign culture at every step along the way,
without arguing, either with you or each other.

Everything in India is bigger, more crowded, further away and less efficient
than you can possibly imagine.

You must go. It's great. But in one week, you can go to one place, maybe
with a side trip to somewhere not far away, or fly into one city, and out of
another, covering the distance between overland or by plane.

Re: Quick holiday in India

On Apr 7, 4:23 pm, Mike Preece <mich...@preece . net > wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I would like to take my two teenage kids to India for a 7 day holiday.
> All we'll really have time for will be visits to Agra (day trip),
> Varanassi (2-3 days) and Goa (2-3 days). We won't have a huge budget
> so will be staying in backpacker style accomodation. I've seen that
> it's possible to join these dots by air, but the quotes I got from the
> web were somewhat more expensive than I expected. Any hints or tips
> regarding good deals? Also - would travel to Goa in May be a dumb
> idea?
>
> Thanks,
> Mike.

Very little time to visit so many places, also its the hottest time of
the year. It would be far more enjoyable to visit cooler places such
as Darjeeling, Nainital or Simla in the north or Ooty and Bangalore in
the south which are fairly close .... about 270 km or so... if i
remember correctly and can be covered in a short trip ... just a
suggestion.
I have grown up in that country and those were the kind of places we
chose to visit during school summer holidays. The one time we didn't
it was a nightmare.
I am making a short trip to Bangalore in May to see my relatives and
attend a wedding. My first trip to the city ....they tell me there's
much to see there.

Re: Quick holiday in India

On Apr 11, 9:35 pm, A Human Being <justahumanbei...@hotmail . com >
wrote:

> I am making a short trip to Bangalore in May to see my relatives and
> attend a wedding. My first trip to the city ....they tell me there's
> much to see there.

Not much to see in the city itself, but lots outside.

Cheers,
George W Russell
Bangalore

Re: Quick holiday in India

Mike Preece <michael@preece . net > wrote:

: Hi,
:
: I would like to take my two teenage kids to India for a 7 day holiday.
: All we'll really have time for will be visits to Agra (day trip),
: Varanassi (2-3 days) and Goa (2-3 days). We won't have a huge budget
: so will be staying in backpacker style accomodation. I've seen that
: it's possible to join these dots by air, but the quotes I got from the
: web were somewhat more expensive than I expected. Any hints or tips
: regarding good deals? Also - would travel to Goa in May be a dumb
: idea?

I hate to be negative, but I do think that going to India in May is a
bad idea. That, plus your ambitious itinerary would make this trip a
memorable torture. Save your money for a better day. I would try in
September-March, Oct-Feb would be great.

Agra and Varanasi are near Delhi. Goa is far away, near Mumbai
(formerly Bombay).

Therefore you should buy an open-jaw ticket. Go to Mumbai (visit Goa);
return from Delhi. Or go to Delhi and return from Mumbai. This will
save one flight within India.

Still, one week is not enough and don't go in May.