Golden Triangle and Varanasi, at leisure

Your driver meets you at the airport with a name board and takes you to your hotel in a comfortable air-conditioned car.

• Nothing is planned for the first day beyond rest.
• Long flights and the change of time zone make a calm start the right choice.
• If you feel like moving later in the day, the driver can take you to Lodhi Garden, a short drive away, where old tombs sit among tall trees and families walk in the evening.
• Eat lightly at the hotel and drink plenty of bottled water.
• Our team will check in about the plan for tomorrow, and your guide will wait in the lobby after breakfast.
• If your flight lands after midnight, the following morning is simply pushed back, and the rest of the schedule stays intact.

Your guide joins you after breakfast and the car takes you first to Humayun's Tomb, quiet in the morning, with its red sandstone and white marble set in a formal garden.

• From there you drive to Old Delhi.
• Walk into Jama Masjid, then take a cycle rickshaw through the lanes of Chandni Chowk, past spice sellers, sweet shops and mounds of dried fruit.
• Lunch is at a restaurant the guide knows.
• The Red Fort is visited from the outside or inside, but it is closed on Mondays.
• In the afternoon the car passes India Gate and the government buildings of New Delhi, and returns you to the hotel for a rest.
• Wear shoes that slip off, and carry a scarf for the mosque.
• Evenings in Delhi are best spent quietly, since the traffic is heavy.

Leave Delhi after breakfast and take the expressway to Agra, a drive of roughly three and a half to four hours.

• The road is smooth and your driver stops halfway at a clean rest area.
• Arrive in Agra around lunchtime, check in, and take the early afternoon off.
• In the late afternoon your guide takes you across the river to Mehtab Bagh, a garden laid out opposite the Taj.
• From here you see the monument from a distance as the light softens, which prepares you for tomorrow.
• If the air is hazy the view is quieter, but the walk by the water is pleasant regardless.
• Return for an early dinner.
• The Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays, so we plan the travel dates to avoid that day.
• Set your alarm for before dawn and keep your camera charged.

You leave the hotel before sunrise to reach the gate when the Taj Mahal opens.

• Your guide leads you into the garden and onto the marble platform as the building shifts from grey to pink to white.
• Take your time.
• Early light shows the inlay and calligraphy best, and the crowds are lighter in the first hour.
• In December and January fog may flatten the view, and your guide will say so honestly.
• After breakfast at the hotel, visit Agra Fort, the red sandstone fortress with its audience halls, river views and the marble pavilions where the emperors lived.
• After lunch, rest for a while.
• Late in the afternoon, visit Itimad-ud-Daulah, the small tomb whose inlay is exquisite, and then walk the nearby lanes if you like.
• Dinner is at leisure.

A morning at your own pace, and then the road to Jaipur, roughly four and a half to five hours in the car.

• About an hour out you stop at Fatehpur Sikri, the abandoned red sandstone capital of Akbar.
• Your guide shows you the Jama Masjid, the Buland Darwaza and the courtyards of the palace.
• Visit in the earlier part of the day when the stone is cooler.
• Lunch is on the road, at a restaurant your driver trusts.
• The countryside changes as you cross into Rajasthan, with drier fields, camels and brightly dressed women at the roadside.
• You reach Jaipur by late afternoon and check in.
• Dinner is relaxed.
• A short walk near the hotel, if you feel like it, introduces the pink-washed streets and the evening bustle.

Start early at Amber Fort, a hilltop fortress of sandstone and marble above a lake, before the day's crowds gather.

• Your guide walks you through the courtyards and into the Sheesh Mahal, the mirrored hall that glitters in a single candle.
• Stop at Jal Mahal on the way back for a photograph.
• After lunch, visit the City Palace, where the royal family still lives in one wing, and Jantar Mantar, the stone observatory next door.
• Hawa Mahal is best seen from the street, which is where most of its charm lies.
• Return to the hotel for a break.
• There is time before dinner to browse the bazaars, which sell block-printed cloth, silver jewellery and leather shoes.
• Bring comfortable footwear and bargain with a smile.

Today the plan is relaxed.

• Spend the morning as you like: a longer breakfast, a visit to a block-printing workshop on the edge of the city, or time in the bazaars at the pace that suits you.
• Your guide can take you to Panna Meena ka Kund, a stepwell with symmetrical stairs that is photogenic and rarely crowded.
• After lunch, say goodbye to Jaipur and drive to Delhi, about five to six hours with a break at a roadside restaurant.
• You reach Delhi in the evening and check in near the airport or in the city.
• Dinner is quiet.
• Pack your bag tonight, because the flight to Varanasi leaves tomorrow.
• Flights are not included, but we will help you choose a time that makes the transfer easy.

A late morning at the hotel, then your driver takes you to the airport for your flight to Varanasi.

• Flights are not included in the journey.
• On arrival a local driver and guide meet you and take you through the lanes to the hotel.
• Varanasi is dense and loud, and a quiet first afternoon helps.
• At dusk your guide walks you down to Dashashwamedh Ghat for the evening Ganga aarti, where priests swing brass lamps to bells and chanting while boats crowd the water.
• You may watch from the steps or from a boat.
• The crowds are large, so keep valuables close and stay near your guide.
• Dinner is simple and vegetarian, as in most of the old city.
• Sleep well, because the next day begins before dawn.

Before sunrise you walk to the ghats and board a rowing boat for a slow ride along the river.

• The light is soft, bathers and priests are already at the water, and the burning ghats are passed at a respectful distance.
• Your guide explains the rituals plainly.
• Return to land and walk through the lanes toward the Vishwanath area, past shrines, silk shops and tea stalls.
• After breakfast, rest.
• In the late morning drive to Sarnath, about forty minutes away, where the Buddha gave his first teaching.
• The Dhamekh Stupa, the ruins and the small museum are calm.
• Return in the afternoon and visit a silk weaver if you wish.
• The evening is free for another walk by the river.
• Dress modestly, and expect uneven steps, cows and crowds.

The last morning is unhurried.

• If you like, your driver can take you to the river once more for an early walk, or you may simply have breakfast and pack.
• Our team can arrange a stop at a silk weaver or a temple if time allows and your flight is not early.
• When it is time, your driver takes you to Varanasi airport for your onward or international flight, leaving ample margin because traffic around the old city can be slow.
• Flights are not included, so please share your times with us in advance.
• The driver helps with your luggage and waits until you are checked in.
• We hope the ten days have felt unrushed.
• If a friend would like a similar journey, we will be glad to plan it.