Three Weeks only and to much to see...

Hey,

Flying into Delhi and out of Mumbai three weeks later. Would like too see the standard Taj Mahal and stuff in the north but would like to spend more time in the south around Kerela. Not really sure about the travel time from the north to the south and don't want to miss anything in between. Also wondering if cutting over to Hampi and down through Ooty was worth the time or else just heading down the cost with a little stopover in Goa. Any opinions or other ideas would be welcome...

Cheers,

Chris

In 3 weeks it might be worth not to spread yourself too thin. One could easily spend 3 weeks in Rajasthan alone. Perhaps focusing at 2 regions makes sense (For instance two of these: 1. RajasthanAgra or 2. Goa Hampi or 3. Kerala). But trying to make it for everything starting in Delhi in north and down to Trivandrum in south will make it very rushed and mean you spend a lot of time in transit. But basically it all depends what you like. Every region has it's own characteristics, flavour etc. Personally Hampi is one of my absolute favourites (I like rocks and I like historical places), whereas I'm not much of a beach person (Goa) but perhaps you are the exact opposite, so it's a bit hard to advice on where you should go specifically without knowing more about you. But again, try not to be overly ambitious or you might go home feeling like you SAW a lot of things, but didn't really truly experience them. Also if it's your first time to India allow yourself a little buffer of time here and there for acclimatising plus the (almost) inevitable Delhi belly, which tends to set in after about two weeks.

You don't like to help yourself or anyone else with your post.

I'll assume you're not walking between these places, and if you're intending on taking the bus, your psychiatrist will have probably had you committed before you get a chance to read this.

So plane or train?

Taj Mahal and stuff???????

So, lets assume you want to tick the Delhi, Agra & Jaipur boxes, allowing for you to get used to a new country (assuming it's your first trip to India, you don't say) and get over the flight, a minimum of 5 or 6 days are needed for this part of your trip, though it's such a pity you'd have to miss Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, and maybe even Udaipur, but hey, you could hate all these places, difficult to say, you don't mention any interests.

Train or plane doesn't really matter, I wont bore you with train times, but 'Taj Mahal & stuff' to Goa would be a minimum of 26 hours, though Hospet (for Hampi) or a slower train to Goa would be more like 32 hours, you would then lose another 50 hours on trains to get to Hampi, Mysore (to get to Ooty), Kerala and Mumbai, so that rules out trains to cover the huge distances.

Out of Interest, Mongolia is about the same distance from Delhi as southern Kerala.

So, get a plane from Delhi to Goa, then a plane from Goa to Bellary (nearest to Hampi), then a plane from Bellary to Bangalore, a bus/taxi to Mysore or direct to Ooty, then a bus to Coimbatore, or much better, the mountain railway down to Mettupalaiyam and a train to Coimbatore, then a train from Coimbatore (or Podanur station in the south of Coimbatore) to Ernakulam (for Cochin) or Quilon/Kottayam (for backwater cruises) or Varkala (beach) or Trivandrum (for Kovalam beach), then get a plane from either Cochin to Mumbai.

Even better, stick to one area and enjoy the place.