Self-Launched India & Nepal: Taj Mahal, Ganges & Himalayas

Land at Jaipur International Airport and either grab a prepaid taxi or an Ola/Uber to your guesthouse in the old city (roughly £3-5). Skip the private airport transfer and settle in near Hawa Mahal or Bani Park for walkability. Spend the late afternoon wandering the bazaars around Johari and Bapu Bazaar, get your bearings, and eat a first thali dinner. Sort your onward train tickets today (IRCTC app or a local agent) — book Jaipur–Agra and Agra–Varanasi sleeper/3AC berths early as they fill fast.

🚌Airport prepaid taxi or Ola ~£3-5

🛏Budget guesthouse or hostel in Bani Park / old city, £10-15 dorm or £20-28 private double

• →Old City bazaar walk
• →Hawa Mahal exterior at dusk
• →Book onward train tickets (IRCTC)

Get to Amber Fort early — book a self-guided or small-group tour via GetYourGuide/Klook (~£12-18) or just take the audio guide at the gate (~£2) plus the £6 entry. Catch a local bus or shared auto up to Amber (£0.50-1). In the afternoon explore City Palace (self-bookable entry ~£8) and Jantar Mantar observatory (~£2.50). The operator's after-hours private palace access isn't replicable independently, but a normal daytime visit covers the same ground. Sunset at Nahargarh Fort for the view over the city.

🚌Local bus + shared auto ~£2

🛏Budget guesthouse / hostel, £10-28

• →Amber Fort (guided or audio guide)
• →City Palace
• →Jantar Mantar
• →Nahargarh Fort sunset

Take a morning train from Jaipur to Agra Cantt — the Intercity or a 3AC sleeper runs in about 4-5 hours for roughly £5-9. Book in advance on IRCTC. Arrive, drop bags at a budget hotel in Taj Ganj so you're walking distance from the monument, then see Mehtab Bagh across the river for a sunset view of the Taj without the crowds (£3). Evening is low-key — Agra is a one-night town before the big sunrise.

🚌Train Jaipur–Agra ~£5-9

🛏Budget hotel in Taj Ganj, £12-20 private double

• →Jaipur–Agra train
• →Mehtab Bagh sunset view of Taj Mahal
• →Taj Ganj neighbourhood walk

This is the day that matters. Buy your Taj Mahal ticket in advance online (~£12, plus £2 for the main mausoleum) and be at the east or west gate before dawn for sunrise entry. Go self-paced with an official guide you can hire at the gate for ~£10-15 if you want the history. Afterwards, walk or tuk-tuk to Agra Fort (~£6 entry) and take the same guided/audio route the operator uses. Keep the afternoon light — Itimad-ud-Daulah (Baby Taj) is a quieter bonus (~£3).

🚌Walking + tuk-tuk ~£2

🛏Budget hotel in Taj Ganj, £12-20

• →Taj Mahal sunrise entry
• →Agra Fort
• →Itimad-ud-Daulah (Baby Taj)

Take an overnight or afternoon train from Agra to Varanasi (roughly 12 hours, 3AC ~£10-14). Alternatively fly via Delhi on a budget carrier if you're short on time (~£40-55). On arrival, check in to a guesthouse near Assi or Dashashwamedh Ghat. Head to Dashashwamedh Ghat for the evening Ganga Aarti — the operator uses a private boat for a classical performance, but you can simply watch from the steps for free, or take a shared public boat (£2-3) for the water-level view. It's one of the great spectacles of India.

🚌Train Agra–Varanasi ~£10-14

🛏Ghat-side guesthouse, £10-18

• →Agra–Varanasi train
• →Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat
• →Shared sunset boat ride

Do the classic sunrise rowboat on the Ganges (~£4-6 shared, or £10-15 to yourself) — this is the self-launched answer to the operator's private boat. Watch the ghats wake up: bathing, cremation at Manikarnika, laundry at the dhobi ghat. Then walk the galis (alleyways) back, visit Kashi Vishwanath temple area and Banaras Hindu University. Late afternoon, tour Sarnath (where Buddha gave his first sermon) by shared auto and book a small-group walking tour if you want a guide (~£8).

🚌Shared auto + walking ~£3

🛏Ghat-side guesthouse, £10-18

• →Sunrise Ganges boat
• →Ghat and old city walk
• →Sarnath Buddhist site (shared auto)

Fly Varanasi–Delhi on a budget carrier (~£40-55) or take a long overnight train (3AC ~£12-16). In Delhi, base yourself in Paharganj (cheap) or near Connaught Place. Recreate the operator's Mehrauli archaeology-and-tea moment independently: wander Mehrauli Archaeological Park and the Qutub Minar complex on your own (~£6), then take a high tea at a heritage café or hotel in the area for a fraction of a private event. Rooftop dinner in Paharganj.

🚌Flight ~£40-55 or train ~£12-16

🛏Budget hotel in Paharganj, £12-22

• →Varanasi–Delhi flight or train
• →Qutub Minar & Mehrauli Archaeological Park
• →Heritage-style high tea

Self-launched Delhi day: Red Fort (~£6), Jama Masjid (~£1), then the chaos of Chandni Chowk — take a guided Old Delhi food and rickshaw walk booked on Klook/GetYourGuide (~£15-20), which is the closest independent match to a curated city tour. Afternoon: Humayun's Tomb (~£6) and India Gate. Use the Delhi Metro (day pass ~£1.50) instead of a private vehicle — it's fast and cheap.

🚌Delhi Metro day pass ~£1.50

🛏Budget hotel in Paharganj, £12-22

• →Red Fort & Jama Masjid
• →Chandni Chowk food walk
• →Humayun's Tomb
• →Metro hop across New Delhi

The operator flies Delhi–Kathmandu with the group. Book it yourself on a low-cost carrier (IndiGo/Air India, ~£90-140 one way, cheaper booked early). Don't forget your Nepali visa — it's obtainable on arrival at Tribhuvan Airport (~£25 for 15 days, ~£40 for 30 days, payable in USD/card). Land, grab a taxi to Thamel (~£4-6), and orient yourself over dinner. Thamel is the backpacker heart of Kathmandu — cheap guesthouses, trekking gear, and momo shops everywhere.

🚌Flight ~£90-140; airport taxi ~£5

🛏Thamel guesthouse/hostel, £8-16

• →Delhi–Kathmandu flight
• →Nepal visa on arrival
• →Thamel orientation walk

Recreate three of the operator's cultural highlights on your own. Morning: local bus or taxi to Kirtipur (ancient Newari hill town), stroll the brick alleys and — if you arrange ahead — find a community cultural group offering a Newari Ranjana script workshop (~£10-15) or simply visit the community centre. Afternoon: climb the 365 steps to Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple) for Kathmandu's best valley view (~£2 entry). Dusk: catch an evening butter-lamp aarti at a local temple, then eat a home-style dal bhat at a neighbourhood restaurant (~£3-5) as the self-led version of the home-hosted dinner.

🚌Local bus + taxi ~£4

🛏Thamel guesthouse/hostel, £8-16

• →Kirtipur Newari old town
• →Ranjana script workshop (arranged locally)
• →Swayambhunath Monkey Temple
• →Evening temple aarti
• →Dal bhat dinner

Travel to Chitwan — the tourist bus from Kathmandu to Sauraha takes 5-6 hours and costs about £6-10 (book a day ahead at any Thamel agency). Check in to a budget jungle lodge or guesthouse on the edge of the park (~£10-18 with meals sometimes included). Afternoon: canoe or river safari at dusk — the self-bookable equivalent of the operator's river safari. Drift past gharial crocodiles and marsh mugger, and if lucky a rhino on the bank. Sundowner at a riverside bar.

🚌Tourist bus ~£6-10

🛏Jungle guesthouse in Sauraha, £10-18

• →Tourist bus Kathmandu–Sauraha
• →Sunset canoe/river safari
• →Riverside sundowner

Full day in Chitwan National Park. Book a shared jeep safari (~£20-30) or a guided jungle walk (~£10-15) through the lodge — both are standard self-bookable products here. Look for one-horned rhinos, deer, monkeys, crocodiles and, with luck, a tiger. Evening: a Tharu cultural dance performance in Sauraha village (~£2-3) as the independent counterpart to the group's cultural evenings. Eat at a local Tharu kitchen.

🚌Included in jeep safari booking

🛏Jungle guesthouse in Sauraha, £10-18

• →Shared jeep safari in Chitwan
• →Jungle walk
• →Tharu cultural show

Return east toward the Kathmandu Valley — bus from Sauraha to Kathmandu (~£6-9), then a local bus or shared taxi on to Dhulikhel (~£1.50-3), a quiet Newari town with sweeping Himalayan views on clear days. The operator stays at the Dusit Thani Himalayan Resort; independently, pick a mid-range guesthouse or hilltop lodge in Dhulikhel (~£20-35) with mountain-facing rooms. Afternoon walk to a viewpoint for sunset over the Langtang and Ganesh Himal ranges.

🚌Bus + local bus ~£8-12

🛏Dhulikhel guesthouse/lodge with mountain view, £20-35

• →Bus back into the Kathmandu Valley
• →Dhulikhel Newari town walk
• →Himalayan sunset viewpoint

Hike or take a short local bus/taxi to Namo Buddha (~£3-5), the hilltop Buddhist monastery and stupa that the operator visits on Day 15. Wander the monastery grounds, join a meditation session if offered, and enjoy the terraced-village views. Walk back to Dhulikhel through Newari villages if you're feeling active (2-3 hours). Optional add-on: book the Everest scenic flight from Kathmandu (~£215-240) if you want the operator's optional Everest flight — the same product sold on Klook and by Kathmandu agencies, just DIY.

🚌Local bus/taxi to Namo Buddha ~£3-5

🛏Dhulikhel guesthouse/lodge, £20-35

• →Namo Buddha Monastery visit
• →Village hike back to Dhulikhel
• →Optional Everest scenic flight (£220)

Bus or shared taxi back into Kathmandu (~£2-4), check back into a Thamel guesthouse. Spend the afternoon at the two UNESCO giants the tour circles Kathmandu for: Boudhanath Stupa, one of the largest in the world (~£3 entry), and Pashupatinath Temple, the riverside Hindu cremation site (~£8). Both are self-guided with audio options or cheap local guides on site. Last dinner in Thamel — splurge on a rooftop Newari feast (~£8-12).

🚌Bus/shared taxi ~£3

🛏Thamel guesthouse/hostel, £8-16

• →Boudhanath Stupa
• →Pashupatinath Temple
• →Thamel rooftop farewell dinner

Final morning for last-minute shopping around Thamel (pashmina, singing bowls, trek gear). Take a taxi to Tribhuvan International Airport (~£4-6) for your onward flight. If you have extra days, this is the natural launch point for an Everest Base Camp or Annapurna trek, or onward to Pokhara — the operator's group flies home here, but your self-launched trip can keep going.

🚌Taxi to airport ~£5

🛏—

• →Thamel souvenir shopping
• →Airport transfer