7-Day Golden Triangle & Udaipur: Self-Launched Delhi, Agra, Jaipur & Udaipur
7 days · India — Delhi, Agra, Jaipur & Udaipur
Joyful Holidays charges £690
No-markup version: ~£277 per person
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
The classic Rajasthan circuit — Delhi's Mughal monuments, sunrise at the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri, Jaipur's Pink City forts, then a train south to Udaipur's lakes and palaces — rebuilt for solo travellers doing it themselves. No private car and driver: you'll use Delhi's Metro, the Gatimaan Express to Agra, local buses for Fatehpur Sikri, the superfast train to Jaipur, and the overnight/day train down to Udaipur. Guides are replaced with cheap self-bookable walking tours, audio guides and pre-booked skip-the-line tickets. Costs are backpacker/small-guesthouse estimates in GBP and are approximate.
Day-by-day
Delhi: Old Delhi bazaars & Mughal Delhi
New Delhi
Arrive into Delhi and check into a guesthouse or hostel in Paharganj or Karol Bagh (easy for the Metro and New Delhi Station). Spend the afternoon in Old Delhi: walk Jama Masjid's courtyard (free, ~₹50 for camera), wander Chandni Chowk's spice lanes and try parathas in Paranthe Wali Gali. Loop south by Metro for India Gate, Raj Ghat and a drive-by of Rashtrapati Bhawan, or swap in Qutab Minar (Metro to Qutab Minar on the Yellow Line) if you prefer. Join a free/a few-hundred-rupee guided Old Delhi walking tour (bookable on GetYourGuide or just turn up at Rajiv Chowk) if you want context on the calligraphy and karigars of the bazaars. Tip: buy a Delhi Metro card on day one — it's ~₹200 including credit and saves endless queueing.
🚌Airport Express Metro from IGI Airport to New Delhi (~£1.50), then Metro/hop-on auto-rickshaw (~£1-2)
🛏Budget guesthouse/hostel, Paharganj or Karol Bagh (~£15)
- →Jama Masjid & Chandni Chowk bazaar walk
- →Qutab Minar or India Gate & Raj Ghat
- →Free/cheap Old Delhi walking tour
Delhi → Agra: Agra Fort & Mehtab Bagh sunset
Agra
Take the morning Gatimaan Express from Hazrat Nizamuddin to Agra Cantt (about 1h40m; book on IRCTC or 12Go Asia, ~£8-10 in AC chair car). Drop bags at a guesthouse in Taj Ganj so you're a five-minute walk from the East Gate. Afternoon: Agra Fort with an audio guide or a DIY route round Jahangir's Palace, Khas Mahal and the Musamman Burj where Shah Jahan was imprisoned (~£5 entry for foreigners). Late afternoon, cross to Mehtab Bagh on the far bank of the Yamuna for sunset views of the Taj (~£3). Eat at a rooftop in Taj Ganj — the food here is cheap and the Taj views are free.
🚌Gatimaan Express Delhi (Hazrat Nizamuddin) → Agra Cantt, ~£9; auto-rickshaw to Taj Ganj ~£1.50
🛏Guesthouse in Taj Ganj (~£15)
- →Gatimaan Express train ride
- →Agra Fort self-guided visit
- →Mehtab Bagh sunset over the Taj
Sunrise Taj Mahal → Fatehpur Sikri → Jaipur
Jaipur
Pre-book your Taj Mahal ticket online (ASI website or GetYourGuide, ~£12 foreigners) and be at the East Gate before dawn — sunrise light and half the crowd. Two to three hours on site is plenty; a licensed local guide inside the complex is ~£8-10 if you want one. Back for breakfast, then take a shared or local bus from Agra's Idgah bus stand to Fatehpur Sikri (about 1 hour, ~£1.50), and visit the abandoned Mughal capital and Buland Darwaza (~£5). Continue from Fatehpur Sikri by bus to Bharatpur or direct buses to Jaipur, or return to Agra and take an evening train/bus to Jaipur (trains ~2h20m, ~£3-6). Arrive Jaipur and check into a haveli guesthouse inside the old city walls.
🚌Local/shared bus Agra → Fatehpur Sikri ~£1.50; bus or train Fatehpur Sikri/Agra → Jaipur ~£4-6
🛏Haveli-style guesthouse, old Jaipur (~£15)
- →Sunrise Taj Mahal
- →Fatehpur Sikri & Buland Darwaza
- →Evening wander of Jaipur's old city
Jaipur: Amer Fort, City Palace & the Pink City
Jaipur
Get up early for Amer Fort — take local bus 5 or a shared auto to Amer (~£0.50) and be there at opening to dodge the coaches (~£5.50 entry, plus a cheap audio guide). Walk down to Jal Mahal for the obligatory photo, then loop back into the Pink City for City Palace (~£6) and Jantar Mantar (~£2.50). Stop at Hawa Mahal's facade from the Wind View Café. Afternoon: shop Hawa Mahal and Johari Bazaar for block prints and silver, and eat a Rajasthani thali or pyaaz kachori in the old city. A two-hour guided old-city heritage walk bookable on GetYourGuide (~£12) is a nice upgrade if you want stories alongside the sights.
🚌Local bus/shared auto to Amer ~£0.50 each way; walking + short autos in the old city ~£2
🛏Haveli-style guesthouse, old Jaipur (~£15)
- →Amer Fort
- →City Palace & Jantar Mantar
- →Hawa Mahal & Jal Mahal photo stops
- →Bazaar shopping in the Pink City
Jaipur → Udaipur by train
Udaipur
A travel day. The overnight/early morning options work well: the Jaipur–Udaipur Express (about 6.5-7.5 hours) or the cheaper Ranakpur/Intercity services in sleeper class (~£4-6) or 3AC (~£8-10); book on IRCTC or 12Go Asia as soon as your dates are fixed. If you take an early train you arrive in Udaipur by mid-afternoon — drop bags at a guesthouse in Lal Ghat beside Lake Pichola and walk the ghats at golden hour. Alternatively, hire a shared taxi/private car with a half-day stop at Ranakpur's marble Jain temple (~£35-45 split between a couple of travellers) for the scenic route through the Aravallis.
🚌Train Jaipur → Udaipur, sleeper/3AC ~£4-10 (or shared car with Ranakpur stop ~£20 pp)
🛏Lakeside guesthouse, Lal Ghat, Udaipur (~£16)
- →Scenic Aravalli train journey
- →Sunset on the Lal Ghat steps
Udaipur: City Palace, Jagdish Temple & Lake Pichola
Udaipur
Morning in the old city: Jagdish Temple (free) then Udaipur City Palace (~£6.50), which takes a good two hours with the Crystal Gallery. Walk to Saheliyon Ki Bari garden (~£1) in the afternoon, then take a shared boat on Lake Pichola to Jag Mandir (~£8-10 for the public boat, bookable at the jetty or online). Finish with a rooftop dinner overlooking the lake — Udaipur's rooftop restaurants are cheap and the view of the illuminated palace is the best show in town. Optional: Bagore Ki Haveli's evening folk dance show (~£3-4), which is far better value than most staged performances.
🚌Walking + auto-rickshaws around the old city ~£2
🛏Lakeside guesthouse, Lal Ghat, Udaipur (~£16)
- →Jagdish Temple
- →City Palace Udaipur
- →Saheliyon Ki Bari
- →Boat to Jag Mandir on Lake Pichola
- →Bagore Ki Haveli folk show (optional)
Udaipur departure
Udaipur
Slow breakfast on a ghat, then a last wander of Ambrai Ghat or a cheap cooking class if your flight is later. Udaipur's Maharana Pratap Airport is about 25-30 km out — a prepaid taxi or Uber is roughly £7-9, or the cheaper shared airport shuttle runs from the old city for ~£2. Alternatively take the overnight train to Delhi or Ahmedabad if you're carrying on.
🚌Airport taxi ~£8 or shared shuttle ~£2
🛏—
- →Ambrai Ghat morning walk
- →Optional half-day cooking class (~£12)
Self-launched vs. Joyful Holidays
| This itinerary (self-launched) | Joyful Holidays | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per person | ~£277 | £690 |
| Duration | 7 days | 7 days |
| Who books it | You and your group, direct | Tour operator, guided group |
| Savings | £413 per person (60%) | |
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
Want to see more Joyful Holidays-style trips? Check them out here.~£277
estimated per person
You never pay Travel Crew for this — you pay hostels, transport, and activity providers directly, the same as if you'd booked it all yourself.
This publishes your dates so other travellers can find and join you — no tour operator needed.
Customise with Tour BusterCreated by
Travel Crew
0 trips
Frequently asked questions
How much does 7-Day Golden Triangle & Udaipur: Self-Launched Delhi, Agra, Jaipur & Udaipur cost?+
Doing it yourself with this self-launched itinerary costs an estimated £277 per person for 7 days in India — Delhi, Agra, Jaipur & Udaipur. This is an AI-generated estimate based on typical budget-traveller prices — actual costs will vary by season and how you book.
Is this cheaper than booking with Joyful Holidays?+
Yes — Joyful Holidays charges around £690 per person for a similar tour. Doing the same route independently, using the same standard of accommodation and activities, costs an estimated £277 — a saving of roughly £413 (60%) per person.
How long is the India — Delhi, Agra, Jaipur & Udaipur trip?+
This itinerary runs 7 days, covering 7 day-by-day stops through India — Delhi, Agra, Jaipur & Udaipur.
How do I join this trip?+
You can join an existing open departure using this itinerary if one is scheduled, or launch your own departure with your own dates and invite other travellers to join you — no tour operator required.
Isn't it easier to just use a tour operator?+
Well, yes, a tour operator will book all the individual parts of your travel for you and provide a guide. That's obvious, but doing this has the potential to save the group thousands, which can in turn improve your itinerary substantially or save you huge amounts of money. Also, when you launch a departure, Travel Crew has tools in place to help you book the individual sections of the trip or make it easier for you to do this as a group. Really, you do not need a middle man. If you are more comfortable paying more and using a middle man, then you should certainly do this.
Is it safer to book through a tour operator?+
Arguably, there isn't much difference. A self-launched trip runs on the same principle as a group travel crew: collective responsibility, everyone looking out for each other, the same way it would if a group of friends organised the trip themselves — because that's exactly what's happening. You should always take out travel insurance before you go, self-launched or not; that doesn't change either way. Every open departure is published publicly with real dates and a real trip organiser, so it's never an anonymous arrangement, and our support team is reachable any time you need help, including in an emergency while you're away. Longer-term, we're building direct relationships with ground DMCs in popular destinations, offered as an optional paid add-on for extra on-the-ground support. Ultimately, though, the group is responsible for its own conduct and safety on a self-launched trip, same as on any trip you plan yourself.
What kind of trip is this?+
This is a culture, budget, adventure trip through India — Delhi, Agra, Jaipur & Udaipur, self-launched rather than run by a tour operator — you organise it with a group you find or bring yourself.
Would you like to name the operator, name the trip, or have any suggestions about how to improve this itinerary?
Drop your comment below — if you've done a similar route, tell us what worked, what you'd add, or what you'd skip.
No comments yet — be the first to share your take.
Sign in to leave a comment.