1

Brother.. thats a very hectic schedule and if you mange to do it. It is going to be more like a virtual trip than anything else. I would skip Pondichery, Coimbatore & Madurai for sure. Suggest you to relook at your traavel destinations.

2

Indeed pretty cramped. Example only 1 night in Delhi and Mysore each.

Consider just staying in the north if you don't want to see anything very special in the south. This will give you more time to explore destinations already on your list and even add a few more.

3

You are trying to do far too much as you can only hope to get the briefest view of India in 13 days.
There is no point in trying to cram in Mysore and Kochi, both of which are worthy of several days browsing and Pondi is only really interesting to Gallic travellers.
#1 advice get yourself a decent new guidebook and also a used version of brand X if possible.
#2 advice You will get parasitic touts trying to gouge money off you by sending you private messages - just ignore this lowlife - you dont need a tour organiser.
How about this for a suggestion
Day 1 arrive DEL
Day2 DEL
Day 3 AGR
Day 4 Return to DEL airport by cab and catch flight to Madurai
Day 5 MAD
Day 6 MAD then bus or train to Thanjavur
Day 7 THAN
Day 8 To PONDI by bus ( there are no thru trains for Pondi to anywhere.except one daily to Chennai, I think).
Days 9 -12 Chill out in Mammallapuram
Day 13 Cab direct to Chennai airport.

This gives time for contingencies and also for lingering longer in places that appeal and also organise side trips to eg Fatehpur Sukri .
Note TM closed on Fridays and get there early morning anyway, preferably not weekend.
No need to book accommodation or cabs..
Thanjavur is great and was the centre of a dominnt empire - the Chola empire - about the time of the fall of Rome - also plenty of side trips.eg Trichy.

Take your time and really enjoy it - if you like it - you can come back and concetrate on kerala, or Karnataka or Rajesthan or whatever. You surely wouldn't plan a tourist trip to Europe and visit Paris, Rome, London and Athens in under 2 weeks!

4

Yes, it is way too rushed.

The following is also a bit rushed but will give you a good cross section of India:

Although you live in France, the only French influence I found in Pondicherry was the street signs and some of the names. Other than that, it's not a great city.


It depends on how tired you are. Personally, I find it difficult to sleep on buses - no problems with trains.

5

If the only reason for your arriving into Delhi is to see the Taj, and you have no interest in Delhi itself, you could take the Intercity Express to Agra on the day of your arrival.leaves Delhi at 5.40pm.
You need not return to Delhi and can take a train instead to Bangalore from Agra on Monday midnight which would get you into Bangalore on Wednesday afternoon at 1340. There would be a connecting train at 3pm to Mysore which takes 2.5 hours.
Not sure why you are going to Coimbatore as usually people like to stop at Bandipur or somewhere in the Nilgiris ( Ooty,Coonoor,Kotagiri) and then carry on to Coimbatore for continuing into Kerala.
If the intent is to reach Cochin it would be better to return to Bangalore for one of 4 trains to Cochin.
There is a train from Cochin to Madurai, though most people like to stop at Periyar Forest.
From Madurai you can get a train to Tindivanam which is just 40km from Pondicherry.
Train journeys with a reservation are more comfortable than long bus journeys.
It is better to linger in a few places than try to pack in so much.

6

What is the quickest and cheapest way to travel from Goa to Agra to see the Taj Mahal?
any suggestions please?

7

Quickest:
Fly+bus/train/taxi. Fly to Delhi, take bus/train/taxi to Agra. Likely to kill most of a day.
Air fare to Delhi likely Rs 5000-9000 (one way) depending on date, bus/train to Agra another Rs 100 to 400; taxi higher.

Cheapest (minimally reasonable way):
Train. In SL, Rs 516, in 3A, Rs 1447 (one way). Takes about 31-35 hours. Unfortunately, of the two direct daily trains, one leaves Goa around 3 or 4 AM and the other arrives in Agra about 3AM.

8

any suggestions please?

1) the one-way distance by road is 1,656km. It will take 37 hours at a best-run option.

2) you may want to consider a flight either to Jaipur or Delhi and take a train /bus from there.

9

Thank you very much everyone!