9-Day Golden Triangle, unhurried

Your driver meets you at arrivals holding your name and takes you to the hotel in your chosen category, arranged by us.

• Nothing is planned, because flights land at awkward hours and the first job is sleep.
• If you arrive with daylight left, a short walk or drive through the tree-lined avenues of New Delhi is a gentle start, but only if you feel like it.
• Dinner at the hotel is the easy option.
• Drink water, keep a light layer for the air conditioning and let the body catch up.
• Send your flight details when we plan so the driver can follow your arrival and wait even if the flight is late.

Your guide joins you after a relaxed breakfast.

• The first stop is Humayun's Tomb, a Mughal garden tomb in red sandstone that is calm in the morning.
• From there the car goes to the Qutub Minar complex, then past India Gate through the wide avenues of the capital.
• Lunch is unhurried.
• In the afternoon you reach Old Delhi for the Jama Masjid and a slow walk in the lanes of Chandni Chowk.
• The Red Fort is closed on Mondays, and we reorder the day if that applies.
• We keep the number of stops low so there is time to sit with tea.
• Cover shoulders and knees at the mosque and carry small change for the shoe minders.

After breakfast the car joins the Yamuna Expressway, with Agra roughly three and a half hours away.

• A coffee stop halfway breaks the drive.
• You reach the hotel around lunchtime and the early afternoon is yours to rest.
• Around four, your guide takes you to Agra Fort, where the red sandstone halls look across the river toward the Taj.
• If the sky is clear, the day can end at Mehtab Bagh, the garden on the far bank, to watch the evening light on the marble.
• Dinner is at the hotel.
• Go to bed early, since tomorrow begins before dawn.
• Closed shoes are best for the marble courtyards.

You leave in the dark and are at the gate when it opens.

• Your guide leads you through the entrance arch, along the long pool and onto the platform as the colour of the marble slowly changes.
• You can step inside the mausoleum and look closely at the inlay.
• Allow roughly two hours.
• Back at the hotel, breakfast is slow, and the rest of the morning is for rest.
• This is the full day in Agra, so the afternoon stays open: Itimad-ud-Daulah, the small tomb with fine marble work, or Sikandra, Akbar's tomb in a wide garden, if you want an outing.
• The Taj is closed on Fridays, so we confirm your dates and shift the order of the days if needed.
• In December and January fog can flatten the sunrise, and we wait for the light to clear.

You leave after breakfast for Jaipur, about five hours with stops.

• The main break is Fatehpur Sikri, the abandoned Mughal capital, where your guide shows the courtyards, the palaces and the great mosque over roughly ninety minutes.
• Lunch is on the road.
• If you feel fresh, a short stop at the Abhaneri stepwell, with its deep rows of geometric steps, is possible.
• You reach Jaipur in the late afternoon and have time to rest before the evening.
• The day is long in the car, so we keep the evening open.
• Dinner at the hotel is a good plan, or the driver can take you through the old city to see the Hawa Mahal lit up, if you prefer.

Your guide meets you after an early breakfast so that you reach Amber Fort before the tour buses.

• You enter by the Sun Gate and walk through the courtyards, the mirrored Sheesh Mahal and the terraces above Maota Lake.
• On the way back the car stops for a view of Jal Mahal.
• By late morning you are at the City Palace, part of which is still a royal residence, and the Jantar Mantar observatory with its large stone instruments.
• Lunch is slow.
• After that the day is yours to rest.
• Toward evening, if you wish, the car takes you to a bazaar or a rooftop for the Hawa Mahal in the golden hour.
• Bring a hat and water for Amber.

This is the day the journey is built around.

• Nothing is fixed.
• A late breakfast, a long walk in a garden, a quiet afternoon by the hotel window, all of these are good plans.
• If you want something, the guide and car are ready: the textile and craft districts, where block printing and gem cutting are done by hand, can be discussed when we plan.
• Another idea is Nahargarh Fort for a wide view over the city toward evening.
• Albert Hall Museum and the streets around it suit a short, easy outing.
• Tell the driver the evening before what you would like, and he will set the morning start.
• Doing very little is a perfectly good use of the day.

After a slow breakfast you leave Jaipur for Delhi, about five to six hours with a coffee stop.

• The expressway sections are quick, and the approach into the capital can be slow, so we add a buffer.
• Lunch is on the road.
• You are in Delhi by late afternoon, with the evening left open on purpose.
• Dinner at the hotel and an early night make a calm end to the journey, and a short walk nearby is enough if you want fresh air.
• Keep water and a snack in the car, and tell the driver whenever you want to stop.
• The guide says goodbye in Jaipur, and the driver stays with you to Delhi.

The morning is slow.

• Have breakfast, pack at your own pace and check out when it suits your flight.
• Your driver takes you to the airport or your onward train at a time we set together when we plan, with a comfortable margin for Delhi traffic.
• If your flight is in the afternoon or evening, you may have a few free hours, and the hotel can often store bags if you want a last walk or a light lunch nearby.
• Please send your flight time when we plan so the pickup is right.
• Flights are not included in the journey.
• We hope the unhurried pace left you rested as well as informed.