Essential India — Self-Launched

Land at Delhi (DEL), pre-pay an e-Visa online, grab a local SIM (Airtel/Jio, ~£6 for 28 days data). Take the Airport Express metro to New Delhi station (~£1.50) or a prepaid taxi (~£5) to the Paharganj area. Check into a guesthouse, then walk the main bazaar for your first chai and thali. Support the Women With Wheels initiative by booking a female-driven taxi for a short city transfer if you want to replicate the original tour's NGO element.

🚌Airport Express metro ~£1.50, or prepaid taxi ~£5

🛏Guesthouse or budget hotel, Paharganj — ~£18/night

• →Arrival and check-in
• →Paharganj bazaar wander
• →Optional: Women With Wheels female-driven taxi ride

Walk the Old City yourself: start at Jama Masjid (free, ~£0.30 for shoe cover/camera), then the Sikh Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib (free, head covering provided), into Chandni Chowk for paranthe wali gali street food. Continue to Connaught Place for colonial-era colonnades. Do this at your own pace on metro + rickshaw. Optional evening: Delhi street food walk bookable via Klook/GetYourGuide (~£18).

🚌Delhi metro day pass ~£1.50, cycle rickshaw hops £0.50-1 each

🛏Guesthouse, Paharganj — ~£18

• →Jama Masjid visit
• →Gurdwara Sis Ganj visit
• →Chandni Chowk street food
• →Connaught Place wander
• →Optional: Delhi culinary tour ~£18

Book a morning Shatabdi or Intercity express from New Delhi to Jaipur (~4.5h, sleeper/chair class £3-6 booked on IRCTC). Once in Jaipur, settle into a guesthouse near Hawa Mahal in the old city (closer to sights than the tour's suburban hotels). Evening: visit Jantar Mantar (~£3) or catch a Bollywood film at the iconic Raj Mandir Cinema (~£2.50).

🚌Delhi–Jaipur train £3-6; auto-rickshaw to hotel ~£1.50

🛏Guesthouse near Hawa Mahal, Jaipur — ~£20/night

• →Train to Jaipur
• →Optional: Jantar Mantar ~£3
• →Optional: Raj Mandir Cinema screening ~£2.50

Hire a local auto-rickshaw for the day (~£8) or use the low-cost Jaipur City bus. Climb to Amber Fort (entry ~£5, audioguide £3) early to beat crowds, then hit Hawa Mahal, City Palace and the bazaars. Optional early-morning Jaipur cycle tour (~£20 via GetYourGuide) covers the backstreets and food stalls.

🚌Auto-rickshaw day hire ~£8

🛏Guesthouse, Jaipur — ~£20

• →Amber Fort visit ~£5
• →Hawa Mahal exterior free / City Palace ~£5
• →Bazaar shopping
• →Optional: Jaipur cycle tour ~£20
• →Optional: hot-air balloon ~£130

Replicate the Anoothi block-printing experience by joining a half-day block-printing workshop in Jaipur or Sanganer on the way out (~£12, book direct). Then take a shared taxi or bus toward Dhula (roughly 1.5h, ~£6). Stay at a rustic village camp/guesthouse (Camp Dhula Bagh equivalent or a nearby homestay, ~£18 incl. dinner). Late afternoon: rent a bicycle locally (~£3) and cycle the fields — the original tour's village cycling excursion.

🚌Shared taxi/bus Jaipur–Dhula ~£6; bicycle hire ~£3

🛏Village camp/guesthouse incl. dinner — ~£18

• →Block printing workshop ~£12
• →Village cycling excursion ~£3

Break the journey at Abhaneri to see the spectacular Chand Baori stepwell (entry ~£1). Continue by bus or shared taxi to Agra (~4-5h total, ~£8). Check into a budget hotel with a rooftop Taj view in the Taj Ganj area (closer and cheaper than the large chain hotels). Evening wander and a rooftop dinner watching the Taj silhouette.

🚌Bus/shared taxi Dhula–Agra via Abhaneri ~£8

🛏Budget hotel, Taj Ganj, Agra — ~£18/night

• →Abhaneri Chand Baori stepwell visit ~£1
• →Taj Ganj evening walk

Enter the Taj Mahal at sunrise (entry ~£12, plus £1 for shoe covers) — buy tickets in advance at the ASI counter. Mid-morning visit Agra Fort (~£6) and the 'Baby Taj' (Itimad-ud-Daulah, ~£3). Cycle rickshaws between them are £0.50-1. Rest in the afternoon and catch the sunset from Mehtab Bagh across the river (~£3).

🚌Cycle rickshaws ~£2 total

🛏Budget hotel, Agra — ~£18

• →Taj Mahal sunrise visit ~£12
• →Agra Fort ~£6
• →Baby Taj ~£3
• →Mehtab Bagh sunset ~£3

Travel south to Alipura (bus/shared taxi ~£10, roughly 5-6h) and check into a heritage palace hotel — the Alipura Palace equivalent — for a genuinely atmospheric budget splurge (~£25/night, still far below group-tour room rates). Slow afternoon: read on the terrace, explore the village, watch the river.

🚌Bus/shared taxi Agra–Alipura ~£10

🛏Heritage palace hotel, Alipura — ~£25/night

• →Settle into heritage palace
• →Village and riverside walk

Day trip to the UNESCO-listed Khajuraho temples (~£12 entry). Reachable by bus or shared taxi from Alipura (~1.5h, ~£5), or hire a driver for the day. Optional evening dance performance at the Khajuraho auditorium (~£4). Return to Alipura for the night.

🚌Bus/shared taxi to Khajuraho ~£5 each way

🛏Heritage palace hotel, Alipura — ~£25

• →Khajuraho temples ~£12
• →Optional: evening cultural dance performance ~£4

Move on to Orchha by bus or shared taxi (~3h, ~£6). Check into a budget guesthouse near the Ram Raja Temple. Replicate the Tarragram paper-making visit and a village puja ceremony by arranging directly with local hosts (most Orchha guesthouses can fix this, ~£5 in donations). Evening aarti at Ram Raja Temple is free and unforgettable.

🚌Bus/shared taxi Alipura–Orchha ~£6

🛏Budget guesthouse, Orchha — ~£15/night

• →Tarragram paper-making visit ~£3
• →Village puja ceremony ~£2
• →Ram Raja Temple evening aarti free

Morning exploring the Orchha Palace complex and cenotaphs along the Betwa river (combined entry ~£3; optional guided cooking class ~£12). Book an overnight train from Jhansi to Varanasi (sleeper class ~£4-6, ~12h) — the classic backpacker link. Confirm your berth on IRCTC and carry a chain/lock for your bag.

🚌Overnight train Jhansi–Varanasi ~£5

🛏Overnight sleeper train — ~£5

• →Orchha Palace visit ~£3
• →Betwa river cenotaphs
• →Optional: Orchha cooking class ~£12

Arrive Varanasi and check into a guesthouse in the old city near the ghats (not the distant hotels the group tour used). Rest, then take a shared rowing boat on the Ganges at dusk for the Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat (boat share ~£4). Optional heritage and spiritual walk in old Benaras with a local guide (~£10 via GetYourGuide).

🚌Auto-rickshaw from station ~£1.50; shared boat ~£4

🛏Ghat-side guesthouse, Varanasi — ~£16/night

• →Evening Ganges shared boat tour ~£4
• →Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat
• →Optional: old Benaras heritage walk ~£10

Sunrise rowing boat on the Ganges (~£4 shared) to see the ghats wake up — rituals, bathers, cremations at Manikarnika. Afternoon: visit Sarnath, where Buddha gave his first sermon (entry ~£3; optional guided tour ~£10 via Klook). Evening street food crawl — kachori sabzi, malaiyo (winter only), Banarasi paan.

🚌Auto-rickshaw to Sarnath ~£2.50 return

🛏Ghat-side guesthouse, Varanasi — ~£16

• →Sunrise Ganges boat ~£4
• →Sarnath visit ~£3
• →Optional: Sarnath guided tour ~£10
• →Banaras street food crawl

Fly or take a day/overnight train back to Delhi. IndiGo/SpiceJet Varanasi–Delhi flights are often £35-45 booked in advance; the train (12-14h) is £5-8 in sleeper. Edita's review flags December fog delaying trains and cancelling flights — pad your buffer day if travelling in winter. Check back into a Paharganj guesthouse.

🚌Flight ~£40 or train ~£6

🛏Guesthouse, Paharganj, Delhi — ~£18

• →Transfer to Delhi
• →Last-minute shopping in Paharganj

Departure day. Depending on your flight, squeeze in a final Delhi sight (Humayun's Tomb ~£6 or Qutub Minar ~£6) before the Airport Express metro to DEL (~£1.50). Swap any leftover rupees or spend them on gifts.

🚌Airport Express metro ~£1.50

🛏—

• →Optional: Humayun's Tomb ~£6
• →Airport transfer