Essential India: Self-Launched Edition

Land at Indira Gandhi International and skip the taxi touts — use the official prepaid taxi desk in Terminal 3 arrivals (roughly £6-8 to Paharganj or Karol Bagh) or the Airport Express metro line to New Delhi station (£0.60). Check into a budget guesthouse in Paharganj or a mid-range spot near Karol Bagh, buy an Indian SIM/eSIM at the airport, and spend the evening gently acclimatising with a thali and a chai. Sort out your first train ticket on the IRCTC app or at New Delhi's reservation office tomorrow morning.

🚌Airport Express metro ~£0.60 or prepaid taxi ~£7

🛏Budget guesthouse, Paharganj or Karol Bagh (~£14/night)

• →Airport transfer
• →Paharganj evening wander

Do Old Delhi yourself on a self-bookable walking tour — GetYourGuide and Klook both list 3-hour Old Delhi bazaars walks from around £12-18, or just take the metro to Chawri Bazaar and navigate solo with a map. Hit Jama Masjid (free entry, £2 to climb the minaret), the lively lanes of Chandni Chowk, the Sikh Gurdwara Sis Ganj where you can volunteer in the langar kitchen, and finish at Connaught Place. Grab a paratha at the Paranthe Wali Gali and karim's mutton korma if you eat meat.

🚌Delhi metro day pass ~£1.50

🛏Budget guesthouse, Paharganj (~£14/night)

• →Self-booked Old Delhi walking tour (~£15)
• →Jama Masjid minaret climb
• →Chandni Chowk food crawl
• →Gurdwara Sis Ganj visit

Take a morning train to Jaipur. The fastest comfortable option is the double-decker or Shatabdi service (roughly 5 hours, AC Chair Car about £8-10 — book on IRCTC a few weeks ahead). Alternatively an AC Volvo bus from Kashmere Gate ISBT costs around £6. On arrival, check into a guesthouse inside or just outside the Pink City walls. In the afternoon try a block-printing workshop — several Jaipur studios offer 2-hour sessions from £8-15, or visit the Anoothi-style women's cooperatives via local tour agents. Evening: catch a Bollywood film at the Art Deco Raj Mandir cinema (£2-4).

🚌Delhi–Jaipur AC Chair Car train ~£9

🛏Guesthouse in Jaipur's old city (~£16/night)

• →Block-printing workshop (~£12)
• →Raj Mandir cinema
• →Pink City bazaars

Take a local bus or auto-rickshaw (£2-3) out to Amber Fort and get there for opening at 8am to beat the crowds. Entry is about £5.5 for foreigners (or £10 combined ticket with Nahargarh and Albert Hall). Back in town, photograph Hawa Mahal from the street-side chai stall (no need to pay the £2 entry — the view is the point), and optionally visit Jantar Mantar (£2) and the City Palace (£10). Optional extra: a Jaipur cycle tour with a lassi stop, bookable from GetYourGuide for around £20-25.

🚌Local bus/auto to Amber ~£3

🛏Guesthouse in Jaipur (~£16/night)

• →Amber Fort entry (~£5.50)
• →Hawa Mahal photo stop
• →Jantar Mantar
• →Optional cycle tour (~£22)

Take a local bus from Jaipur's Sindhi Camp bus stand toward Dausa/Bassi (about 2 hours, £1.50-2.50) and arrange a village stay through a Rajasthan farmstay listing on Airbnb or Booking.com — several Dhula-area families run simple mud-house guesthouses with meals for £12-25 including dinner. Afternoon cycling through mustard fields and village lanes (£2-3 to hire a bike locally). Dinner by the fire and the clearest night sky you'll see on this trip.

🚌Local bus Jaipur–Dausa area ~£2

🛏Rural village farmstay or tented camp (~£22 incl. dinner)

• →Village cycling
• →Farmstay dinner
• →Stargazing

Bus or shared jeep back toward Abhaneri to see Chand Baori — the 3,500-step stepwell is one of the most photographed sights in Rajasthan and costs just £2-3 to enter. Most travellers combine this with Fatehpur Sikri (entry £6): a shared taxi from Abhaneri or Sikri to Agra runs around £8-12, or take local buses via Bharatpur for about £4 and a bit more time. Arrive Agra in the evening, check in near Taj Ganj for a rooftop Taj view, and pre-buy your Taj Mahal e-ticket online (₹1,100 / ~£11) for sunrise entry tomorrow.

🚌Bus/shared taxi via Abhaneri & Fatehpur Sikri ~£10

🛏Guesthouse in Taj Ganj (~£15/night, rooftop Taj views)

• →Chand Baori stepwell (~£2.50)
• →Fatehpur Sikri (£6)

Be at the East Gate before opening (around 6am in summer, sunrise in winter) — the east gate is far quieter than the west. Three hours inside is plenty. Then walk or tuk-tuk to Agra Fort (£7 entry) and I'timad-ud-Daulah, the Baby Taj (£3.50). Skip the overpriced guides inside and download a free audio guide or a GetYourGuide guided-tour slot (£15-20) if you want commentary. Evening: rooftop dinner overlooking the monument.

🚌Auto-rickshaws around Agra ~£4

🛏Guesthouse in Taj Ganj (~£15/night)

• →Taj Mahal sunrise (~£11)
• →Agra Fort (~£7)
• →Baby Taj (~£3.50)

Morning train Agra to Jhansi (roughly 3 hours, AC Chair Car £5-7 — the Gatimaan or Shatabdi services are quickest). From Jhansi take a local bus or shared jeep the last 60km to Alipura (£2-3) — this road is exactly as rough as the operator warns, so allow 90 minutes. Check into a heritage village guesthouse (small family-run properties on Booking.com from £20-35). Afternoon spent wandering the village lanes, meeting locals and eating home-cooked Bundelkhandi food.

🚌Agra–Jhansi train ~£6 + local bus ~£2.50

🛏Heritage village guesthouse, Alipura (~£28/night)

• →Village wander
• →Heritage property stay

Khajuraho is about 60km from Alipura — take an early local bus (£1.50) or hire a shared taxi for the day (£20 split between a few travellers). The Western Group of temples entry is £5.50 and well worth a licensed guide at the gate (£8-10 per group) — the UNESCO-listed carvings need context. Come back via the smaller Eastern and Southern groups, which are quieter and free. Optional evening: the Khajuraho dance festival-style performance at one of the auditoriums (£4-6), then back to Alipura for the night.

🚌Shared taxi/bus to Khajuraho ~£5

🛏Heritage village guesthouse, Alipura (~£28/night)

• →Western Group temples (~£5.50)
• →Licensed guide (~£9 split)
• →Optional dance performance

En route to Orchha, stop at a village paper-making unit near Jhansi — several such social enterprises take drop-in visitors and sell handmade paper goods; you can arrange through your guesthouse for £3-5. Then a bus to Orchha (£1) and check into a guesthouse by the Betwa River (£14-20). Do the town on foot: the cenotaphs (chhatris) along the riverbank at sunset are the highlight and are free. Attend the evening aarti puja at Ram Raja Temple — arrive by 6:30pm, no ticket needed.

🚌Bus to Orchha ~£2

🛏Riverside guesthouse, Orchha (~£17/night)

• →Paper-making project visit
• →Chhatris at sunset
• →Ram Raja Temple aarti

Morning at the Orchha Palace complex (Fort entry £2.50 including the hilltop Raja Mahal and Jahangir Mahal — the views from the roof are outstanding). Free afternoon to swim-watch from the Betwa ghats or rent a bike. Book the overnight train from Jhansi to Varanasi in advance on IRCTC — a 3AC sleeper berth is roughly £9-13 and takes around 11-12 hours. Take an auto to Jhansi station, buy snacks and chai, chain your bag to the berth and sleep through the plains.

🚌Orchha–Jhansi auto ~£4 + Jhansi–Varanasi 3AC train ~£11

🛏Overnight AC 3-tier sleeper train (~£11)

• →Orchha Palace complex (~£2.50)
• →River ghats

Arrive mid-morning and check into a guesthouse in the old town near Dashashwamedh Ghat (£12-20). Do a self-guided orientation walk of the ghats and the lanes behind them — you'll get lost, that's the point. In the evening, book a shared boat ride on the Ganges through your guesthouse or a local boatman (negotiate directly, £4-6 per person for a small rowboat; GetYourGuide versions run £10-15 and include a candle-flower ceremony). Watch the Ganga aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat from the water or the steps — free, starts around 6:45pm.

🚌Local auto/walk

🛏Guesthouse near the ghats (~£16/night)

• →Ghats orientation walk
• →Evening Ganges boat (~£6)
• →Ganga aarti

Up at 5am for a sunrise boat ride — this is the one that stays with you. Shared rowboat £5-7, or book a group tour via GetYourGuide/Klook (~£12) if you want a guide talking you through the rituals. Afterwards, take a tuk-tuk to Sarnath (£3) where the Buddha gave his first sermon. Entry to the Dhamek Stupa and archaeological site is £2.50; the museum (£1.50) holds the famous lion capital. A local guide at the site costs £8-10 — or the operator's optional Sarnath tour is £20 if you'd rather join a group. Evening: street food at Kachori Gali.

🚌Tuk-tuk to Sarnath ~£3

🛏Guesthouse near the ghats (~£16/night)

• →Sunrise Ganges boat (~£6)
• →Sarnath entry (~£2.50)
• →Sarnath Museum
• →Local guide (~£9)

Slow morning for a last chai on the ghats or silk shopping in the lanes. Then fly Varanasi to Delhi (Indigo and SpiceJet are the usual suspects — one-way fares £35-55 if booked a few weeks out, and it's a 1.5-hour hop versus 12+ hours on the train). Check back into the same guesthouse in Delhi and have a proper dinner out in Hauz Khas Village or Lodhi Colony.

🚌Varanasi–Delhi flight ~£45 + airport transfers ~£6

🛏Budget guesthouse, Delhi (~£14/night)

• →Last morning on the ghats
• →Hauz Khas evening

Final day for gift shopping and a slow breakfast. Home-made souvenirs are all over Janpath and Dilli Haat; the airport metro line gets you to T3 in about 20 minutes (£0.60) or take a prepaid taxi (£7). Leave at least three hours before an international flight — Delhi traffic and airport security queues are unpredictable.

🚌Airport metro ~£0.60 or prepaid taxi ~£7

🛏Departure day — no overnight

• →Janpath shopping
• →Departure