1

For booking train tickets online option is the best for you..

2

Hey lads
You are treading the well-worn path that works for the majority of visitors but 2 weeks aint very long and that path is thru Rajesthan to Agra and Delhi.
Just acouplabits of advice
#1 Buy at least one new guidebook- if there are 3 of you get an old used one also of a different brand - you may split up!
#2 You will try to do too much - dont - cos travelling in India takes much longer than you expect - much, much longer.
#3 Dont rush to organise things and do it all in-country eyeball to eyeball

With the exception of the Taj Mahal (closed on Fridays and visit at sunrise before the hordes arrive) - there is no MustSee - but since there are 3 of you laden with surplus cash - you may try the following
i)Car + Driver Goa to delightful Udaipur - bibi Sanjeev (the driver) - for at least 2 nites (stay in one of the havelis on Lal Ghat which you've pre-organised yourselves by phone and confirmed by email, all the guidebooks list 2 or 3)
ii)Buses or a cab to Jaiselmer - 2 nites
iii)Overnite train to Jaipur ( everyone thinks its a MustPlace as it is on all the tours - most of us posters despise it - but you'll go there anyway) 1 nite is 24 hours too many.
iv) cab to Agra (for TM and Red Fort) via Fatehpur Sikri
v) Delhi
vi) If you run out of time skip Jaipur and perhaps stopover in Jodhpur instead

There are zillions of touting Goan travel agents that'll organise the trip for you - ignore the buggars - just get a good deal on the vehicle. The colonials had the best idea in India - divide and rule - it still applies to travel agents - dont put all your eggs in one tout's basket!

3

Hello Blaaholm,

For a start, the official site for booking online for railway is www.irctc.co.in and you can refer other trains at indianrail.gov.in. Having said that, I don't think you will get good enough reservation on such a short notice except for Tatkal(urgent) tickets which are available only a day before the actual departure at a nominal extra fee, but which however are just difficult to get because there are too many people who try to get there first. Will give you all details if you wish. Your best options are luxury buses which are generally good enough to cover your route between the major cities. OR flights maybe? the site which is good enough for buses is www.redbus.in. There are better places in India than Surat, Pune and Ahmedabad (in my opinion). I am from Pune and know it in and out. There are couple of places around Pune but nothing grand in Pune per se. Rajasthan is really great and worth all the planning. If I may add, spend lesser time around your earlier itinerary and cover places around Delhi like Amritsar or even spiritual places like Hrishikesh and Varanasi. They are the cultural hotspots of India. Or some other places like Dharamsala or near the Himalayas like Manali or Dalhousie. Most of these places have overnight buses from Delhi and will be worth the ride.

If however your itinerary is fixed, you must add Ajanta in the "must see list". It is an overnight distance from Pune and is a world heritage sight and really amazing.

Also beware that India is filled with brokers or agents who will promise you reasonable fares and will loot you eventually. Not everyone is bad, but just be warned.