Go India and Goa

When you arrive in Delhi, you’ll be collected by your private driver and taken to your hotel. You can choose from either a hotel situated about half an hour’s drive from the airport or a charming hotel in Central Delhi, and ideal base to explore both the spice markets of Chandi Chowk and the modern bars of Connaught Place. Here, you can catch your breath from your Independent India holiday and rest after your flight. In both hotels, you’ll have a comfortable room with a private en-suite bathroom.


 

On the morning of Day 2, you'll be transferred to Jaipur by air-conditioned car, a trip which takes around 5 hours. The Pink City is a fantastic place to kick off your Independent India holiday and during your two nights here you can relax, acclimatise, and explore. There is so much to see in this elegant and astonishing city that you could spend weeks here without getting bored. Jaipur centre is a lively mass of saris, saddhus, holy cows, spice markets, street vendors, camel carts, elephants, beggars, rickshaws, temples, forts and palaces.

In Jaipur, you’ll stay in a cosy family hotel for a firsthand experience of typical Indian hospitality. Breakfast is served in the romantic English tea garden and the family will go out of their way to make your stay as enjoyable as possible. The rooms here are tastefully furnished in traditional Indian-style and several have four-poster beds.
 

On Day 3, you will continue on your Independent India holiday and take a guided tour of this remarkable city, visiting the City Palace, the Observatory and the fairy-tale Palace of the Winds (Hawa Mahal). In the afternoon, you’ll visit the imposing Amber Fort that lies just outside the city limits. From the battlements of the Amber Fort, you’ll have a wonderful view of the rocky hills and the smaller walls and forts constructed by the Rajputs and the Mughals in the area.

The City Palace and the Palace of the Winds both stand in the ancient quarter of the city. The City Palace has several beautiful museums with fascinating collections. If you see the flag flying, it means that the Maharaja is in residence. The Palace of the Winds is a world-famous, pyramid-shaped building with dozens of windows. This is where the women of the royal harem could watch the processions in the street below, unseen by the masses.

 

Today your Independent India holiday continues and leave Jaipur and head for Pushkar, standing sleepily on the banks of a beautiful lake. You’ll spend tonight in a grand palace where almost all of the rooms have stunning lake views. The palace is fantastic with a completely unique atmosphere. It has an exotic inner garden and a palm terrace providing magnificent views over the glassy lake. On the opposite bank of the lake, you’ll see pilgrims bathing and, if you listen carefully, you’ll hear them singing.

During your Independent India holiday you visit a city called Pushkar this is a picturesque holy town in the desert, with pastel-coloured buildings lining narrow streets. There are dozens of rooftop cafes looking out over the city towards the lake- perfect places to linger over coffee or lunch. Pushkar has been attracting long-term hippie-style visitors for many years, and they gather next to the palace every evening to watch the sunset over the lake. Wander through the twisting alleys of the old centre and take a look at the Ghats (stone staircases that lead into the water) where the pilgrims perform ritual bathing. You can take part in this ceremony too, but watch out for saddhus (priests) offering to become your spiritual guide in return for hefty sums of money. During the famous Camel Fair, usually held in November, over 25,000 camels will plod into the town to be traded by their owners, and huge crowds of pilgrims in a rainbow of colours will arrive. This is a wonderful sight to behold.

Today you will continue your Independent India holiday to Udaipur, the most romantic town you will see on your Rajasthan travel. Elegant Udaipur is surrounded by green hills, a brilliant contrast to the sparkling white palaces and the blue waters of Lake Pichola. The legendary Lake Palace floats on an island in the centre of the lake, giving the town a fairy-tale feel. This palace was the winter residence of the Maharaja and featured in the James Bond film Octopussy.

You'll spend two nights in Udaipur, staying in a traditional haveli which looks out across Lake Pichola and the old city.

 

You’ll spend today exploring Udaipur - after all, you’ve come a long way to get here. In the morning, you’ll take a city tour, visiting the City Palace with its impressive murals and mosaics and its collection of Delft Blue ware. After this, you’ll visit the Jagdish Temple, where you can admire the famous Lake Palace from a distance. Once the city tour has finished, you’ll be free to explore Udaipur on your own. Wander through the old town, packed with tiny shops of fabrics and handicrafts, and try your hand at haggling in the market. Take a peek into one of the many mysterious little temples and havelis. In the evening of your Independent India holiday you will find Udaipur has a magical atmosphere, so try some delicious local food in a rooftop restaurant and watch the lake shimmer in the darkness.
 
 

Today you will set off on your Independent India holiday and continue in the direction of Jodhpur, The Blue City, a journey of about 6 hours. On the way, you visit the striking Jain temple of Ranakpur, situated in a beautiful green valley. The enormous temple complex has 1444 pillars, with stunning decorations carved from stone. Incredibly, none of the pillars are the same. Each has been decorated in its own unique way. Jainism is a religion that originated in northeast India about the same time as Buddhism (around 400BC) and it is still popular across the country today.




 

In the afternoon, your independent India holiday continues on to Jodhpur. This city is the home of Mehrangarh Fort, one of the most dramatic Moghal forts in India. Here, you can wander through the narrow alleyways of the city, where rope-makers colour their warps, spice-sellers display their aromatic wares, and hairdressing salons barely stretch to the size of one square metre. The shopping hotspots are the Sojati Gate, the Tripolia Bazaar, the Mochi-ki-Gali and the Lakhara Bazaar. If you’re looking for hand-woven material, head for Rajasthan Khadi Sangh. The central bell tower is a good orientation point, as you’ll always manage to find your way back. You’ll stay in the old part of Jodhpur at the foot of the mighty fort.
 

After breakfast, you’ll climb up above the city to Meherangarh Fort and enjoy the views from the massive walls over the town. The houses are all painted Brahmin blue, giving Jodhpur its nickname of The Blue City. Initially, the colour was used to signify the homes of the Brahmin caste, but now it is a trademark of the town. When the golden sunlight falls obliquely over the houses, they’ll take on an enchanting indigo glow.

After visiting Meherangarh Fort, you will continue your Independent India holiday and cross the desert to reach the remote desert town of Jaisalmer. The journey will take around 5 hours. As you approach the town, its contours will begin to appear on the desert horizon like an amazing mirage. This sense of magic will continue to grow as you are dropped at the gates of the old fortress town, with its dozens of castellated towers. The Fort is built from sandstone, almost blending into its surrounding landscape and giving it a bewitching haziness. From the uppermost walls of the fort, you’ll have a magnificent view over the desolate Thar Desert that spreads dramatically from the foot of the castle. In the distance, you’ll see Sahara-style sand dunes. You can take spectacular camel safaris to the dunes, guided by a member of the camel drivers’ caste.

In the evenings, you can eat in one of the small restaurants in the fort or in one of the many rooftop restaurants outside the castle walls. You’ll sleep in style, staying in an authentic haveli gilded in gold.


 

A great advantage of this independent India holiday is you have time to explore magical Jaisalmer at your own pace. You can wander around the havelis, Lake Gadi Sagar, or Jaisalmer Fort. The fort has four entrances: Akhaiya Pol, Ganesh Pol, Suraj Pol and Hava Pol. You might even bump into a camel or two on your way or hear the sound of a sitar playing from inside a haveli. Alternatively, you can take a trip out to the Sam Sand Dunes and admire the rolling waves of sand that will make you feel as though you're in the middle of the Sahara. 

Built on a hill above the city, the golden tone of its sandstone makes Jaisalmer Fort look as though it is melting into the surrounding desert.The narrow streets inside the fort are lined with shops and food stalls and scattered with Jain temples with eyecatching sculptures.

You'll arrive early this morning in Jaipur and head towards the same family hotel as earlier in your independent India holiday. You'll be welcomed back enthusiastically and after settling in and freshening up, you'll have the rest of the day free to explore more of Jaipur.

Jaipur is famous for textiles and jewellery. You can find both of these in abundance in the bazaar, which is one of the biggest, and perhaps the best, in the region. Equally, the pink-meringue-like cinema in Jaipur is famous for its flambuoyant design, making it the perfect place to catch a Bollywood film during your stay. Around a 1-hour drive from Jaipur, you'll find the amusement village of Chokhi Dhani, which celebrates Rajasthani traditions with palm-readers, snake-charmers, camel drivers, elephant rides, snacks, sweets, music and dancing. This is a fun-filled way to spend a spare evening.

This morning, you begin your journey to the Taj Mahal a highlight of any Independent India holiday. Leaving Jaipur and head east towards Galta, a secluded mystical spot that will leave a lasting impression on you. The Monkey Temple here is a pilgrimage site that attracts flocks of brightly-robed devotees every day. The stream that trickles out of the rocks here is reputed to be water from the holy River Ganges, although this is geographically impossible. People bathe and sing on the steps (ghats) that lead down into the pools. Their voices echo through the rocky gorge, which opens into a wider valley dotted with temples that have been overrun with monkeys.

After Galta, you’ll drive for another three hours before arriving in Bharatpur. This is a fascinating waterworld, criss-crossed by all sorts of levees. Maharajas of the historic Singh family used this region as their hunting grounds, and the scenery is breathtaking. If you like, you can pedal through Bharatpur on a ‘sturdy’ Indian bike (cycle hire costs around $3-$4).
 

There are hundreds of rare birds in the Bharatpur wetlands, such as the rare Siberian crane. Currently, there are several tigers here, originally from Ranthambore National Park so keep your eyes peeled all the same.

A few kilometres further on, you’ll come to stunning Fatehpur Sikri and is a unique places on this independent India holiday adventure. The great ruler Akbar set up his capital here, and built a grand city, but after only 40 years the water supply became too difficult to maintain in this dry area, so all of the inhabitants packed up and moved on. They left behind a phenomenal collection of grand temples and palaces, with the ruins of old houses standing between them. Now it is an atmospheric ghost city, full of green parrots and monkeys.We’ll arrange for a guide to lead you through the forgotten city, and tell you the stories behind the monuments.

After visiting Fatehpur Sikri, you’ll drive on to Agra, where you’ll arrive at your clean and comfortable hotel after a busy and very varied day.

This morning, we'll arrange for your transfer to Agra Central Station, and your train leaves at about 8am on its way to Jhansi. After about 2½ hours (give or take a little in India), you’ll arrive in Jhansi. You’ll be collected at the station by a your independent India holiday driver, who will take you to Orchha (about 16 km away). Orchha is a charming small town of only 9000 residents and it is one of the few places in India that you can easily wander about without being approached by beggars or touts. The town is renowned for its breathtaking Ram Raja Temple, Chaturbhuj Temple and Lakshmi Narayan Temple. In the afternoon, you’ll have free time to explore the town at your own pace. At the end of the day, you’ll tumble into bed in your hotel and drift off to sleep, tired but contented.

 

This morning you will begin your Independent India holiday with a drive onto the tranquil town of Khajuraho. In the afternoon, you will visit the western temples of Khajuraho, principally known for their erotic images from the Kama Sutra. The temples are about 1000 years old and they are still in incredibly good condition, even though there are only 22 of the original 85 temples still left. Your accommodation is in a very comfortable hotel set in four acres of quiet grounds.
 

Today you’ll be taken to the little town of Satna to catch the train to the city of Varanasi on the River Ganges. The train leaves about 8.15am, so it’s a pretty early start, but you’ll arrive in Varanasi a little after 4pm. The journey takes about 8 hours. When you arrive in Varanasi, you’ll be greeted and transferred to a charming hotel that lies right on the banks of the river. No Independent India holiday is complete without a visit to Varanasi, the holy city. The famous Ganges river is flanked by a series of ‘ghats’ – broad stone staircases leading down to the water – that stretch into the horizon. Each ghat has its own significance. The hotel stands close to the Assi Ghat, towards the south of the town, which is used by pilgrims during a special pilgrimage route called 'Panchatirthi Yatra'.

 

This morning your independent India holiday continues as you take a boat trip on the Ganges at dawn. This is an extremely special experience and you cannot help but soak up the intensely spiritual atmosphere. You’ll drift past pilgrims of all ages and classes as they perform their ritual bathing just before sunrise. After the boat trip, there's a guided walk through the old centre of Varanasi. Watch out for the holy cows in the narrow alleyways.

In the afternoon, your Independent India holiday will take you to the small town of Sarnath, which is not far from Varanasi. Sarnath is another place of pilgrimage, this time for the Buddhists. It was here that Buddha gave his first lecture. After his enlightenment in Bodhgaya, Buddha came to Sarnath to preach about the Middle Way of reaching Nirvana. After this, the religious ruler Ashoka built an enormous stupa (temple) and several Buddhist monasteries to commemorate the teaching. Each Buddhist country in the world now has its own temple, which often makes the place seems like a World Expo is being held. In contrast, the village itself is small, with a feeling of tranquillity. After you’ve spent a while exploring Sarnath, you’ll be taken back to Varanasi, where you’ll have the rest of the evening to wander through the city. 
 

On your eighteenth day of our independent Varanasi tour you have the whole day to explore. Life and death rubs shoulders here like nowhere else on earth, and the experience is very inspiring. Seeing a cremation take place on the ‘burning ghats’ is something that you will remember forever. Next to the cremation ghat, you’ll find kids playing cricket, cows nosing through rubbish, and women beating laundry on rocks. Then, in the evening on this independent India holiday, you'll head for the train station for your overnight journey to Delhi.
 

You'll stay in a charming hotel in Central Delhi, with comfortable rooms and modern facilities. The hotel is near to both the alleyways and spice bazaars of Old Delhi and the spacious shopping emporiums of Connaught Place.

You can use today of your independent India holiday itinerary to see the many sights of Delhi- the crowded, narrow lanes of Chandi Chowk, the stately Humayan’s Tomb, the greenery of Lodi Gardens, and the informative and moving Gandhi Museum. 

 
 

This morning, you'll continue on your independent India holiday and head to the airport for a short internal flight from Delhi to Goa. When you arrive in Goa, you'll be collected from the airport and transferred to a long stretch of tropical beach located south of the busiest tourist areas, where you'll stay in a natural eco-cabin on the quiet southern end of Palolem beach. The huts are constructed entirely of natural materials from the local area. Sustainability is the theme of this quirky resort - all of your electricity is solar powered, the beds are made of bamboo, and the blankets and curtains are hand-woven. The cabins each have a private outdoor bathroom set amidst the lust vegetation. The accommodation is tasteful but simple,  without air-conditioning but there will be a refreshing sea breeze and a cooling dip is only a few steps away.
 
Of course, if you would prefer to treat yourself to air-conditioning and a swimming pool during your stay on the beach, we will happily organise you accommodation in a different type of beach resort. You can choose between a traditional beach resort with plenty of local character, or a luxury tented beach chalet set among rustling palms on a peaceful beach.

Palolem is a great place to relax during your independent India holiday. The water here is warm, the air sultry, and the palms rustle gently in the breeze. There’s lots to do here, such as a visit to a monkey island, a dolphin-spotting trip or a visit to a charming fishing village. Of course, doing nothing is fine too. Stretch out on the beach with a cold Kingfisher and a good book.

If the party spirit takes hold of you, it is only a short walk to central Palolem beach, where parties will never be in short supply.

Each cabin has an attractive veranda with comfortable seats and often a hammock. You'll really live the outdoor life during this part of your independent India holiday, surrounded by tropical plants and fruit trees as the sea whispers in the background. In fact, the beach nearby is one of the most beautiful and quietest beaches in all of Goa.

There’s an excellent little restaurant on site, with a friendly Nepalese chef, and there are also a number of other restaurants and cafes a little further along the beach. Breakfast with tropical fruit is included.

Your independent India holiday ends after breakfast this morning, and when the time comes, you'll head for the airport for your flight home (probably via Delhi).

Of course, you are welcome to extend your stay on the beach by a few days, or even continue your trip with a few more independent India tours. Just ask our travel specialists for more information or add any special requirements to the quote request form.