The best North India tour package is our Grand North India journey: sixteen days covering Delhi, Amritsar, Agra, Ranthambore, Jaipur, Udaipur and Varanasi, with a driver and licensed guide in each city, from $830 per person, two travellers sharing. For a shorter route, the Golden Triangle with Amritsar or Varanasi covers the same ground in seven or eight days.
North India is large, and the right package depends on how many days you have. Delhi, Agra and Jaipur are the usual core. After that the choices spread: the Golden Temple in the Punjab, tigers at Ranthambore, the lakes of Udaipur, or the Ganges at Varanasi.
We ranked these packages by how much of the north each one covers and by how comfortable the days are. All are private, with your own car and driver and a licensed guide in each city. Internal flights and trains between the farther cities are not included, and we say where they fall.
Grand North India
- 16 days / 15 nights
- Delhi · Amritsar · Agra · Ranthambore · Jaipur · Udaipur · Varanasi
- Own car and driver, licensed guide
This is the full sweep in sixteen days. You start in Delhi, travel to Amritsar for the Golden Temple and the Wagah border ceremony, return to Delhi, then drive to Agra for the Taj Mahal at sunrise. From there the road goes to Ranthambore for safari drives, on to Jaipur for Amber Fort and the old city, and to Udaipur for the City Palace and a boat on Lake Pichola. The journey ends in Varanasi with a dawn boat ride on the Ganges and a visit to Sarnath.
It is from $830 per person, two travellers sharing. It suits guests with a little over two weeks who want the north in one trip, and it has a few easier days to keep it comfortable. The honest limits: the Jaipur to Udaipur drive is long, and the legs to Amritsar, from Udaipur and to Varanasi need flights or trains, which are not included.
Best for: Guests with about two weeks and more who want Punjab, Rajasthan, tiger country and the Ganges in a single plan.
Worth knowing: It involves several long drives and a few internal flights or trains, and tiger sightings at Ranthambore are never guaranteed.
Golden Triangle with Amritsar
- 7 days / 6 nights
- Delhi · Agra · Jaipur · Amritsar
- Own car and driver, licensed guide
Seven days: a road circuit of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, then onward to Amritsar. You see the Taj Mahal at sunrise on day three, spend a day in Jaipur at Amber Fort, and finish with the Golden Temple, its communal kitchen and the Wagah border ceremony.
It is from $410 per person, two travellers sharing. It suits first-time visitors who want the classic route and a change of tone at the end. The trip to Amritsar and back to Delhi is by flight or train, which is not included.
Best for: Travellers with a week who want the Golden Triangle and the Golden Temple together.
Worth knowing: Amritsar is reached by flight or train from Delhi, and the final two days are mostly spent there.
Golden Triangle with Varanasi
- 8 days / 7 nights
- Delhi · Agra · Jaipur · Varanasi
- Own car and driver, licensed guide
Eight days of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur by road, then a flight east to Varanasi. The forts and palaces come first, and the last days are given to the river at dawn, the old lanes and Sarnath.
It is from $460 per person, two travellers sharing. It suits guests who want a classic route that ends somewhere very different. The flight to Varanasi is not included, and the pace through the first five days is steady.
Best for: Guests with eight days who want the Golden Triangle followed by the Ganges.
Worth knowing: The Varanasi flight is not included, and the days in Varanasi are busy and warm outside winter.
Golden Triangle and Udaipur, slowly
- 10 days / 9 nights
- Delhi · Agra · Jaipur · Udaipur
- Own car and driver, licensed guide
Ten days from Delhi to Udaipur through Agra and Jaipur, built to leave room to sit down. There is a quiet first day, a full morning at the Taj, Amber Fort and the old city of Jaipur, then the long drive south to Udaipur and a long weekend by Lake Pichola with an open day.
It is from $550 per person, two travellers sharing. It suits travellers who want Rajasthan's lakes in a comfortable ten days, and it does not need internal flights until you leave.
Best for: Guests who want the classic cities plus Udaipur without a rush.
Worth knowing: The drive from Jaipur to Udaipur is the hard day, and the plan does not include Punjab, tigers or Varanasi.
Golden Triangle with Ranthambore
- 6 days / 5 nights
- Delhi · Agra · Ranthambore · Jaipur
- Own car and driver, licensed guide
Six days: Delhi, the Taj Mahal, two nights in tiger country with safari drives, then Jaipur before the drive back to Delhi. It is the simplest way to add a National Park to the classic cities.
It is from $365 per person, two travellers sharing. We include it because many guests want one nature stop in a North India plan. Tiger sightings are never guaranteed, though two nights improve your chances.
Best for: Travellers with six days who want wildlife as part of the classic route.
Worth knowing: The Ranthambore road is long, and safari mornings start in the dark, so it is early to bed.
How to choose between these
- Choose Grand North India if you have around sixteen days and want the Punjab, Rajasthan, wildlife and the Ganges in one trip.
- Choose the Golden Triangle with Amritsar for a week that ends at the Golden Temple.
- Choose the Golden Triangle with Varanasi for eight days that end on the Ganges.
- Choose the slower Golden Triangle and Udaipur if you would rather have fewer places and more rest.
- Choose the Ranthambore package if tigers matter, and accept that sightings are never guaranteed.
- Check your dates against the Taj Mahal, which is closed on Fridays, and plan for fog in December and January.
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