India's Golden Triangle for three generations: Delhi, Agra and Jaipur

1. Day 1: Arrive in Delhi

   Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) to your hotel in New Delhi

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Welcome dinner at about 7 pm
   • Stay in Delhi
   Day 1 details

   Your trip starts at Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL). We meet the family in the arrivals hall and drive you to your hotel in New Delhi, about 20 km and up to an hour in traffic, with child seats or boosters for the ages you booked. We ask for family, triple or connecting rooms for every family and confirm them when we name the hotel. Many long-haul flights land at night or early in the morning, so today is for rest: sleep, swim if the hotel has a pool, and let everyone adjust to the time change. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group in the lobby for a short briefing on the week, from the Taj sunrise plan to what to wear in mosques. Then a welcome dinner of North Indian cooking at about 7 pm, with milder dishes for children who are new to spice: dal, tandoori breads and slow-cooked curries.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL)
   • Family briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner

   Easier option: Stay in your room and join the group for dinner

   Free time: Day free to rest or swim until the evening briefing

   Activity: Arrive by mid-afternoon if you can; later arrivals are met and taken to the hotel.

2. Day 2: Old Delhi by rickshaw, Humayun's Tomb at dusk

   Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk and Khari Baoli, then Humayun's Tomb

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Delhi
   Day 2 details

   We set out at about 8:30 am, before the lanes of Old Delhi fill. Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal, laid out this walled city in the 1640s, and its great mosque, the Jama Masjid, has a courtyard big enough for thousands to pray. From there we board cycle rickshaws, one or two guests in each, for a ride through the bazaars of Chandni Chowk to Khari Baoli, the spice market, where sacks of chillies and turmeric spill onto the street and children can hold their noses at the sneezing stalls. Lunch is a sit-down tasting lunch in Old Delhi, chosen for cleanliness, with sweets to finish. Then back to the hotel for the hottest hours: pool, nap or cards. After 4 pm we drive to Humayun's Tomb, finished around 1570 and a model for the Taj. Its wide lawns and water channels are a place where children can run while grandparents sit in the shade of the gateways.

   Included

   • Jama Masjid
   • Cycle rickshaw ride through Chandni Chowk to Khari Baoli spice market
   • Tasting lunch in Old Delhi
   • Humayun's Tomb in the late afternoon

   Easier option: Stay in the rickshaw through the spice market and meet the group at lunch; Humayun's Tomb has level paths and benches

   More active option: Walk on with the guide through Kinari Bazaar and the lanes behind the spice market

   Free time: Middle of the day free at the hotel

   Activity: About 2 hours on foot in all, on busy, uneven streets. Shoulders and knees covered and shoes off at the mosque. The Jama Masjid closes to visitors at prayer times, so we plan around them.

   

3. Day 3: Train to Agra, the Taj at sunset

   Morning train from Delhi to Agra, Agra Fort, then Mehtab Bagh

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Agra
   Day 3 details

   No long highway day with children: after an early breakfast we take a morning express train from Delhi to Agra, about two hours on the rails, with snacks and a window seat for everyone who wants one. Our driver leaves earlier by road with the main bags and meets the train at Agra. First stop is Agra Fort, the red sandstone citadel Akbar rebuilt from 1565, with ramps, gateways and white marble palaces that Shah Jahan added later; children like the story of the emperor kept here under guard, looking down the river at the Taj he built. Lunch is on your own near the hotel, then a free afternoon by the pool. At about 5 pm we cross the Yamuna to Mehtab Bagh, a Mughal garden laid out exactly opposite the Taj. There is no queue and the paths are flat, so it is a calm first look as the tomb turns gold. Dinner together at the hotel at about 7 pm, because tomorrow starts early.

   Included

   • Express train from Delhi to Agra, with station transfers
   • Agra Fort with a licensed local guide
   • Mehtab Bagh at sunset
   • Dinner at the hotel

   Easier option: See Agra Fort from the main courtyards and the Musamman Burj terrace, skipping the longer ramps

   More active option: Walk the full circuit of the fort palaces with the local guide

   Free time: Afternoon free: pool or rest

   Activity: The train time depends on the weekday; we confirm it with your trip. About 1.5 hours on foot in the fort, on ramps and some steps.

   

4. Day 4: The Taj Mahal at sunrise

   Taj Mahal at opening, a free middle of the day, then the Baby Taj

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Agra
   Day 4 details

   The alarm goes early, and the children usually forgive it. The Taj Mahal opens about half an hour before sunrise, and we are at the East Gate before it opens, tickets bought ahead; a battery shuttle runs from the parking to the gate, so grandparents do not walk the approach. Walk through the great gateway to the reflecting pool while the marble turns from grey to pink to white, then the local guide takes the family round the tomb, pointing out the flowers inlaid in semi-precious stone that are best seen close up. Shah Jahan began it for his wife Mumtaz Mahal in 1632. We are back at the hotel for a late breakfast by about 9:30 am, and the rest of the morning and early afternoon are yours: sleep, swim or play. At about 4 pm we visit the tomb of I'timad-ud-Daulah, known as the Baby Taj, a small marble tomb by the river with gardens around it. The evening is free.

   Included

   • Taj Mahal at sunrise with a licensed local guide, mausoleum ticket included
   • Battery shuttle from the parking to the East Gate
   • Tomb of I'timad-ud-Daulah (the Baby Taj)

   Easier option: Sit on a garden bench by the reflecting pool while the others climb to the mausoleum platform

   More active option: Walk the full riverside terrace and the mosque on the west side

   Free time: Late morning and early afternoon free; evening free

   Activity: The Taj is closed on Fridays, so this day is never planned on a Friday. Food, tripods, large bags and drones are not allowed inside; bring water, a small bag and passports. In December and January fog can hide the sunrise; we wait in the garden for it to lift.

   

5. Day 5: Fatehpur Sikri and the Abhaneri stepwell

   Agra to Fatehpur Sikri, then Abhaneri, then Jaipur by road

   • Drive about 5 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Jaipur
   Day 5 details

   This is the one long road day, about five hours of driving in all, and we accept it to avoid a one-night stop between Agra and Jaipur. It is broken into three legs, none over about two and a half hours, each ending at a real stop. The first hour takes us to Fatehpur Sikri, the red sandstone city Akbar built from 1571 and left about 14 years later. We arrive soon after opening, walk the palace courtyards and the five-storey Panch Mahal, and see the white marble tomb of the Sufi saint Salim Chishti. There is no marble shop stop. Lunch is a sit-down meal on the road. The second leg reaches the village of Abhaneri and the Chand Baori, a stepwell more than a thousand years old with about 3,500 steps in zigzag flights down 13 levels; children always try to count them. The last leg, about an hour and a half, reaches Jaipur by early evening, with dinner at the hotel at about 7 pm. Three nights here.

   Included

   • Fatehpur Sikri with a licensed local guide
   • Chand Baori stepwell and Harshat Mata temple, Abhaneri
   • Lunch on the road
   • Dinner at the hotel in Jaipur

   Easier option: At Fatehpur Sikri, see the palace courtyards and wait in the shade while the others walk to the Salim Chishti tomb; the stepwell is seen from the railed top terrace

   More active option: The longer walk through the Buland Darwaza, the 54-metre victory gate, and the mosque courtyard

   Activity: About 5 hours of driving in three legs (about 1 hour, 2.5 hours and 1.5 hours), broken by Fatehpur Sikri, lunch and the stepwell. Bring travel-sickness tablets if anyone needs them.

   

6. Day 6: Amber Fort at opening, an afternoon by the pool

   Jaipur to Amber Fort and Panna Meena ka Kund, then back to the hotel

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Jaipur
   Day 6 details

   We leave the hotel early to be at Amber Fort as it opens, ahead of the tour buses and the midday heat. Raja Man Singh I began the fort in 1592 on a ridge above Maota Lake, and we ride up the hill by jeep, not on elephants. Inside, the Sheesh Mahal, the hall of mirrors, sparkles with thousands of tiny pieces of glass; the guide shows the children how one candle once lit the whole room. From the ramparts you look down on the lake and the old walls running over the hills. Amber is part of the Hill Forts of Rajasthan, on the UNESCO list since 2013. On the way back we stop at Panna Meena ka Kund, a 16th century stepwell with criss-cross stairs that makes a good family photo. Lunch is included, then the afternoon is free at the hotel for the pool, a nap or a quiet game. The evening is free; your guide can book an early table nearby.

   Included

   • Amber Fort at opening with a licensed local guide, jeep ride up to the fort
   • Panna Meena ka Kund stepwell
   • Lunch in Jaipur

   Optional experiences

   • Hot-air balloon flight near Amber at sunrise, for ages the operator allows. October to March, weather permitting

   Easier option: See the main courtyards and the Sheesh Mahal and skip the upper ramparts

   More active option: Climb to the highest terraces of the fort for the view over Maota Lake

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

   Activity: About 1.5 to 2 hours on foot in the fort, with ramps and steep steps.

   

7. Day 7: Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar and block printing in Bagru

   The Pink City in the morning, block printing in Bagru, farewell dinner

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Jaipur
   Day 7 details

   Early risers walk with the guide to see the Hawa Mahal, the Palace of Winds, in its first hour of sun: its pink front of 953 small windows was built in 1799 so the women of the court could watch the street unseen. Everyone else joins after breakfast at Jantar Mantar, where Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II built giant stone instruments in the 1720s and 1730s; children find their birth sign on the zodiac dials and watch the shadow move on the huge sundial. Next door is the City Palace, where the royal family still lives in one wing, and its courtyard of four painted gates. Lunch is included, then we drive about an hour out to Bagru, a village known for hand block printing with natural dyes, where a family of printers shows how a block is carved and stamped and everyone prints a piece of cloth to take home. Nothing is for sale unless you ask. We are back by about 5 pm, with time to rest before the farewell dinner at about 7 pm.

   Included

   • Hawa Mahal in the morning
   • Jantar Mantar with your guide
   • City Palace
   • Lunch in Jaipur
   • Block printing workshop in Bagru, printing your own cloth
   • Farewell dinner

   Optional experiences

   • Sunset at Nahargarh Fort above the city, with the van and guide, before the farewell dinner

   Easier option: Skip the early Hawa Mahal walk and join at Jantar Mantar after breakfast; at Bagru, watch the printing from a chair

   More active option: The early Hawa Mahal walk and the bazaar lanes behind it with the guide

   Free time: Late afternoon free before the farewell dinner

   Activity: About 2 hours on foot, mostly level, in the morning.

   

8. Day 8: Fly back to Delhi

   Jaipur International Airport (JAI) to Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) by domestic flight

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast
   Day 8 details

   A last breakfast in Jaipur, then a short drive, about 30 minutes, to Jaipur International Airport (JAI) for a domestic flight to Delhi, about an hour in the air. It replaces the four and a half to five and a half hours by road that most Golden Triangle tours drive on the last day, which is a long morning for a 9-year-old or a 70-year-old. Your guide checks the family in and flies with the group, and we land at Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) around the middle of the day, in time for the evening and late-night international departures that many flights home use. We book the domestic flight around the group's connections; book your international flight leaving after about 6 pm, or ask us to add a night in Delhi or Jaipur. Domestic flights often allow less checked baggage than long-haul ones, so we confirm the allowance with your trip.

   Included

   • Transfer to Jaipur International Airport (JAI)
   • Domestic flight from Jaipur to Delhi (DEL)

   Easier option: Wheelchair assistance at both airports on request

   Activity: Book international flights from Delhi leaving after about 6 pm.

Wildlife and weather: October to March is dry and sunny, warm in October and March and cool in December and January, when Delhi and Agra nights get cold: pack a fleece for the Taj sunrise. In December and January morning fog can hide the Taj; we wait in the garden for it to lift, and the Mehtab Bagh sunset the evening before is the second view. April to June is too hot for children and grandparents, and the July to September monsoon is humid.

• Delhi2 nights
• Agra2 nights
• Jaipur3 nights