[r_devakumar]

Originally Posted by manim

Radisson has many hotels around Delhi, is it the one in Greater-Noida?
(They also have one in Noida)

Please give your feedback after your visit, will be helpful to me.
I am only going in December.



Are you planning a same-day return trip, or spend overnight in Agra?
Are you planning to go via YamunaExpressway or the older highway?

The hotels taxi-rate is very expensive, but I do not want to take a risk with my wife and children. Particularly since the car+driver have to be in good condition for safety on this expressway.

I am also exploring other options. I am searching for self-drive cars since it will cut the cost and I may also enjoy it. But since I do not speak Hindi, I am concerned.

Do give your feedback of your MakeMyTrip experience too.

Thanks!

I have booked in Radisson Blue, Dwarka Sector 13. For Agra it will be same day trip which will cover Agra Fort and Taj Mahal. Also I am planning one full day sight seeing trip in Delhi using taxi and one half day to cover Parliament/ India Gate Area using Metro Train.

I am doing 100% my booking using Makemytrip (flight/hotel/agra taxi/local taxi /Airport transfers) and will give a feedback next week.

I would like to drive my own, never felt safe when others driving. But considering parking issues and not knowing local language, i will go with taxi.

[manim]

Originally Posted by r_devakumar

I have booked in Radisson Blue, Dwarka Sector 13

Dwarka is around 60 kms from Yamuna-Expressway.

That alone might take more than fours hours extra ? (for round trip in Delhi traffic to Agra).
That is why I plan to stay near Greater-noida the evening I arrive in Delhi(Only 3 kms to expressway).
Also the Radisson at Greater-noida is slightly cheaper than the one at Dwarka since it is so far away from Delhi.

Please check up with the taxi you book that it is through the new expressway and not through the older road via Mathura.

Originally Posted by r_devakumar

I am doing 100% my booking using Makemytrip (flight/hotel/agra taxi/local taxi /Airport transfers) and will give a feedback next week.

Thanks! Your feedback will help me tune-up my trip.
I too initially searched in MakeMyTrip but ended up booking directly at Radisson for two nights (The rates were nearly the same).
I stay the next two nights in the heart of Delhi, Bloomrooms near connaught-place and plan for sight-seeing. One day by metro and one day by taxi.

[r_devakumar]

Originally Posted by manim

Thanks! Your feedback will help me tune-up my trip.
I too initially searched in MakeMyTrip but ended up booking directly at Radisson for two nights (The rates were nearly the same).
I stay the next two nights in the heart of Delhi, Bloomrooms near connaught-place and plan for sight-seeing. One day by metro and one day by taxi.

Apart from Hotel and Flight,i have booked 5 taxis (airport/ railway transfers, delhi local travel, delhi-agra round trip travel) through makemytrip. All went as planned. I haven't faced any issue except the language. Some of the drives don't understand even basic English.

I booked OLA cabs, which has decent rating in make my trip. I took the printout of booking (which has date, time, pickup location, rate etc) and gave a copy to the driver and noted the started KM in that. That way, there is a clear understanding of what is the agreement and i never faced issue / disagreement with any of the cab.

The cabs were on time. You will get SMS detail with driver and cab details before travel. The quality of cab is average (neither very good nor bad).

Feel free to PM me if you need any additional details.

[manim]

Thanks!

Originally Posted by r_devakumar

delhi-agra round trip travel

Did you take the Yamuna-Expressway?
And how many hours (one-way) was the drive time?

[r_devakumar]

Originally Posted by manim

Thanks!



Did you take the Yamuna-Expressway?
And how many hours (one-way) was the drive time?

No, we have taken Mathura highway. Considering where i was staying, there is no significant time saving by using Yamuna-Expressway.

[maddyoni10]

Hi

I am planning to book a cab for a Delhi Agra one day trip. I find Olacabs quoting Rs.4500/ for a compact sedan (indigo/dzire) the cheapest. This is at the rate of Rs. 10 per km and Rs. 250/ for driver allowance. Toll and parking charges are NOT included. I find the rate reasonable but do not know the condition of the vehicle. I guess, chances are that it might be pretty beat up because it is a city taxi. Can anyone suggest any other cab service which assures a reasonable ride without too much of an overhead?

The plan is to see the Taj Mahal and the fort and visit Mathura and Brindavan divya desams on the way back. So it will be Yamuna expressway for the onward journey and return by Mathura route.

Thanks
Madhav

Thanks

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by maddyoni10

I am planning to book a cab for a Delhi Agra one day trip.
Thanks
Madhav

Thanks

Hi Madhav
You are better off coming to Delhi first, and then booking a cab from the airport or station. Far more choice that way.
Regarding online booking, I would not recommend it - because you would never be able to see the condition of the car which you will get.

It will be quite a hectic tour if you want to do all 4 places.

Start early morning from Delhi on YEW. Buy the return fare when you are going out - this will be cheaper, and you will save time as you would have the use of YEW both going out and coming in.

Try and finish Taj Mahal latest by 11 AM and Agra Fort latest by 3 PM. Take YEW back to Mathura (exit on Hathras-Mathura road), finish the darshan at one or two temples of your choice. Take the Mathura-Vrindavan road to do darshan at one or two temples of your choice at Vrindavan
Return to YEW using the Hathras-Mathura Road , and then use the YEW to Delhi

[maddyoni10]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

Hi Madhav
You are better off coming to Delhi first, and then booking a cab from the airport or station. Far more choice that way.
Regarding online booking, I would not recommend it - because you would never be able to see the condition of the car which you will get.

It will be quite a hectic tour if you want to do all 4 places.

Start early morning from Delhi on YEW. Buy the return fare when you are going out - this will be cheaper, and you will save time as you would have the use of YEW both going out and coming in.

Try and finish Taj Mahal latest by 11 AM and Agra Fort latest by 3 PM. Take YEW back to Mathura (exit on Hathras-Mathura road), finish the darshan at one or two temples of your choice. Take the Mathura-Vrindavan road to do darshan at one or two temples of your choice at Vrindavan
Return to YEW using the Hathras-Mathura Road , and then use the YEW to Delhi

Thanks Joybhowmik. I will be flying into Delhi. So I will check out options at the airport. However, I am leaning towards a chauffeur driven car from carzonrent given GTO's review of Myles. I will take the YEW both ways as suggested by you. I plan on leaving Delhi at 6 am. I might drop the Agra fort as I dont want to miss Taj Mahal or the temples since it takes my divya desam tally to 56!

Thanks
Madhav

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by maddyoni10

However, I am leaning towards a chauffeur driven car from carzonrent .... Myles.

Remember , you are going with the driver, not the company. And since this is not a common trip for you , if the driver does not give a good experience, then that will leave a bad taste in the mouth.
That is precisely why I suggested you to shop around , where you can make your expectations clear, and the driver will be under no illusions whatsoever, on what the service expectations are.
If you bring a middleman in the picture (e.g. call center) , the problem is you may not be able to convey all that you want to see or do. And believe me, in the fag end of your trip at Mathura or Vrindavan - when you have to race against time to finish the temples, if your driver does not oblige by taking you to the right spots from where you can walk... you probably will fall short of your own expectations from the trip.

[chevelle]

Hello All,

I plan to visit Delhi and Agra over a period of 3 days in October.

Since i have never been to that side, can members here provide information about things to do, where to stay and a good cab agency.

Here is the brief plan:

Arrive in Delhi on Thursday afternoon, check into a hotel and roam around.
On Friday, proceed to Agra to look at Taj Mahal and other places. Come back to Delhi at night.
Spend two days in Delhi and return back on Sunday evening.

I am looking at ITC Mauriya as a potential hotel of stay. Another others i could consider? I would require a reliable taxi/cab that would take me around Delhi and also to Agra and back. Which are few good car agencies for same?

Places planning to visit in Delhi: Red Fort, Gateway of India, Qutub Minar
Agra: Taj Mahal.

Any other places worth considering?

Any pointers regarding the same would be helpful. Thanks

[sudev]

Agra in a day - nothing much you can do but Taj and Sikandra (Red Fort Agra). I would suggest hotels nearer to Noida DND link. Morning and evening return traffic is chaos if you have to get out from Maurya to Taj Expressway. Consider Park - Nehru Place / Oberoi - Lodhi Estate / etc. South East Delhi properties.

Ideally plan for a night at Agra though that does mean checking in and out of hotels. On positive you can visit Fatehpursikri / Dayalbagh also.

[nvldvr]

Please confirm from the net or other sources regarding Taj Mahal being open to visitors on Friday. I remember reading somewhere that its closed on Fridays.

[mayankk]

Taj will be closed on Friday.
You should go on Saturday, come back the same day. Take in the, er, sights, of the most boring road in the world. Also, on Saturday, you'll encounter a little less traffic.
You could add jama masjid, safdurjang tomb, but I think you should drop gateway of India. The commute to the airport and the flights will take up too much time.

Drop us a message, and maybe we can have a mini meet around the same time.

[for_cars1]

Originally Posted by chevelle

Hello All,

I plan to visit Delhi and Agra over a period of 3 days
....

I plan to stay in Delhi for 2 Days and in Agra for 2 Days so that I can cover the places at a relatively leisurely pace.

The plan would be Day1: Arrive in Delhi, Day2: In Delhi, Day3: Drive Delhi to Agra, Day 4: In Agra, Day5: Drive back - Agra to Delhi.

Please can you recommend any reliable taxi / cab operators to hire in Delhi and Agra ?

One important thing I've realized from previous tours is its important to get good condition vehicles and good professional drivers (read well behaved, not rash in driving and flexible) to be able to really enjoy the trip.

Rather than making ad-hoc or on the spot bookings, I'm more inclined to take the services of some transport agency that can be relied upon.
I can probably do it through make-my-trip or expedia, any feedback on your experiences would be helpful.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by for_cars1

I plan to stay in Delhi for 2 Days and in Agra for 2 Days so that I can cover the places at a relatively leisurely pace.

The plan would be Day1: Arrive in Delhi, Day2: In Delhi, Day3: Drive Delhi to Agra, Day 4: In Agra, Day5: Drive back - Agra to Delhi.

Please can you recommend any reliable taxi / cab operators to hire in Delhi and Agra ?

One important thing I've realized from previous tours is its important to get good condition vehicles and good professional drivers (read well behaved, not rash in driving and flexible) to be able to really enjoy the trip.

Rather than making ad-hoc or on the spot bookings, I'm more inclined to take the services of some transport agency that can be relied upon.
I can probably do it through make-my-trip or expedia, any feedback on your experiences would be helpful.

You have not specified whether you wish to take the taxi operator around Delhi, use him to travel to Agra, do sightseeing in Agra, and return.

Or is it that you want a separate taxi guy for Delhi and another one for Agra.

Also the number of days you have allocated for Delhi and Agra appear to be quite less, so you would be on a really hurried tight schedule.

The rule of thumb which I use is 2-3 sites per day. (depending on the proximity and traffic conditions).