Incredible India: Delhi to Kochi, Self-Launched

Land at Indira Gandhi International and use the official Delhi Traffic Police prepaid taxi counter in the arrivals hall (₹250-350 to Paharganj/Karol Bagh, roughly £3-4) — ignore anyone offering a 'cheaper' ride. Check into a Paharganj or Karol Bagh guesthouse, buy an Indian SIM (Airtel/Jio, ~£4 for a month of data with passport photo), and take an easy evening walk around Connaught Place for your first thali (₹150-250).

🚌Prepaid airport taxi ~£4

🛏Paharganj or Karol Bagh guesthouse, private double (~£14)

• →Connaught Place orientation walk
• →SIM card setup
• →Street food dinner

Join a small-group Old Delhi heritage walk (book via GetYourGuide or Klook, ~£10-15) covering Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk's spice lanes and a Sikh gurdwara — many of these walks are run by guides from NGOs supporting young people from street backgrounds, the same ethos as the original tour's Delhi city walk. In the afternoon take an AC Chair Car train from Hazrat Nizamuddin or New Delhi station to Agra Cantt (~2 hrs, ₹500-800 / £5-8 booked on IRCTC). Evening: view the Taj from Mehtab Bagh at sunset (₹300).

🚌AC Chair Car train ~£6; metro/auto to station ~£1

🛏Taj Ganj guesthouse, Agra (~£12)

• →Old Delhi heritage walk (GetYourGuide)
• →Jama Masjid & Chandni Chowk
• →Mehtab Bagh sunset view

Book your Taj Mahal ticket online in advance (₹1,100 foreigner entry + ₹200 mausoleum, ~£13) and go at sunrise to beat the crowds. Walk 10 minutes to I'timad-ud-Daulah (Baby Taj, ₹310) and then take an auto-rickshaw to Agra Fort (₹650). Hire an on-site ASI-licensed guide at the fort for ₹500-800 shared, or use an audio guide app. Skip the private car and use autos all day (£3-4 total).

🚌Auto-rickshaws ~£4

🛏Taj Ganj guesthouse, Agra (~£12)

• →Taj Mahal at sunrise
• →I'timad-ud-Daulah (Baby Taj)
• →Agra Fort with local guide

Take a morning bus or shared taxi to Fatehpur Sikri (~1 hr, ₹100-250; ₹610 entry) and spend two hours in the abandoned Mughal capital. Continue by local bus to Bharatpur (~1 hr, ₹50). In the afternoon rent a cycle-rickshaw in Keoladeo Ghana National Park (rickshaw + park entry roughly ₹1,000-1,500 total, ~£12) — one of India's great bird sanctuaries, best between October and March.

🚌Local bus + shared taxi ~£6

🛏Bharatpur guesthouse (~£14)

• →Fatehpur Sikri monuments
• →Keoladeo National Park cycle-rickshaw tour

A direct bus from Bharatpur to Jaipur is quickest, so the easiest DIY approach to Chand Baori is a shared taxi for the day (₹2,500-3,000 split between 2-4 travellers, ~£8 each) stopping at Abhaneri village and its 3,500-step stepwell. Arrive Jaipur by late afternoon, walk the Pink City's bazaars and see Hawa Mahal lit up from a rooftop café.

🚌Shared taxi day hire ~£8

🛏Jaipur guesthouse in old city (~£15)

• →Chand Baori stepwell
• →Abhaneri village walk
• →Pink City bazaar wander

Local bus 5 or an auto (₹150) to Amber Fort, entering early (₹550 combined ticket with Jantar Mantar and Hawa Mahal, valid 2 days). Walk down via the Panna Meena stepwell and Jal Mahal. Afternoon: City Palace (₹700) and Jantar Mantar (₹200). Optional Bollywood film at the Art Deco Raj Mandir cinema (₹200-400) — buy tickets at the box office.

🚌Local bus/auto ~£3

🛏Jaipur guesthouse (~£15)

• →Amber Fort
• →City Palace
• →Jantar Mantar
• →Raj Mandir cinema (optional)

Take a morning AC Chair Car train or a comfortable Volvo bus back to Delhi (~4.5-5 hrs, ₹700-1,100 / £7-11). Book on IRCTC or RedBus. Afternoon free in Delhi — Humayun's Tomb (₹600) or the Lodhi Gardens are good low-key options before an early night ahead of your flight south.

🚌AC Chair Car train or Volvo bus ~£9

🛏Paharganj guesthouse (~£14)

• →Humayun's Tomb
• →Lodhi Gardens evening walk

Book an IndiGo or Air India Express flight Delhi-Kochi yourself (~£45-70 one way if booked 3-6 weeks ahead; baggage 15kg checked). Land in the afternoon and take a prepaid taxi or the Kochi Metro + ferry to Fort Kochi (₹400-600, ~£5). Sunset at the Chinese fishing nets on the Arabian Sea is free.

🚌Internal flight ~£55; airport transfer ~£5

🛏Fort Kochi heritage guesthouse (~£16)

• →Chinese fishing nets at sunset
• →Fort Kochi waterfront walk

Self-guided orientation walk through Fort Kochi: St Francis Church, Santa Cruz Basilica, Mattancherry Palace (₹5) and Jew Town's spice shops. In the evening buy a ticket to a Kathakali performance at the Kerala Kathakali Centre (₹400-500, ~£5) — arrive early for the make-up demonstration. Alternatively book a half-day Kochi tour via GetYourGuide (~£20).

🚌Local ferry and walk ~£2

🛏Fort Kochi guesthouse (~£16)

• →Fort Kochi & Mattancherry orientation walk
• →Kathakali performance

Take a morning train from Ernakulam to Kozhikode (~4.5 hrs, sleeper or chair car ₹250-500, ~£4), then a state KSRTC bus up into the hills to Kalpetta (~2.5-3 hrs, ₹150). The climb through the Western Ghats is the scenic bit — sit on the right for the views. Settle into a homestay or guesthouse in the tea country.

🚌Train ~£4 + bus ~£1.50

🛏Kalpetta homestay (~£12)

• →Western Ghats hill journey
• →Wayanad tea country arrival

Book a local naturalist-guided walk in the Wayanad forests (₹1,000-1,500, ~£12) or a jeep safari in Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (₹1,500-2,000 shared, ~£15) for a shot at elephants, gaur and spotted deer. Afternoon: Edakkal Caves (₹40) with its neolithic petroglyphs. Safaris are best booked the evening before at the forest office or through your guesthouse.

🚌Jeep hire and auto ~£5

🛏Kalpetta homestay (~£12)

• →Wayanad guided nature walk
• →Muthanga/Wayanad wildlife jeep safari
• →Edakkal Caves

Bus from Kalpetta to Mysore via Sultan Bathery and Gundlupet (~4-5 hrs, ₹200-300, ~£2.50), or a shared taxi for ~£10 each with three others. The forest road crosses Bandipur — you'll often see deer and langurs from the window. Evening free in Mysore's Devaraja Market.

🚌KSRTC bus ~£3

🛏Mysore guesthouse near palace (~£14)

• →Bandipur forest road drive
• →Devaraja Market

Mysore Palace entry ₹200 (guided audio ₹150 extra); arrive at opening to avoid queues, then climb the 1,000 steps up Chamundi Hill (free, or bus ₹20) to the Chamundeshwari Temple and the Nandi bull statue. Sunset from the hill is excellent. Optional: Mysore's sandalwood oil and silk shops.

🚌Local bus/auto ~£3

🛏Mysore guesthouse (~£14)

• →Mysore Palace
• →Chamundi Hill temple and Nandi

A daytime train Mysore-Chennai runs ~9-10 hrs (sleeper ₹400-600, ~£5 — book 30+ days ahead on IRCTC). Alternatively take an overnight sleeper from Mysore/Bangalore to Chennai (~11 hrs, ₹500-700). Chennai Central is well connected onward to Mamallapuram by suburban train.

🚌Indian Railways sleeper ~£6

🛏Sleeper train berth (~£6) or Chennai guesthouse

• →Indian Railways long-haul journey

Suburban train from Chennai Egmore/Tambaram to Chengalpattu, then a local bus to Mamallapuram (~₹100 total, 2 hrs). Spend the afternoon among the UNESCO-listed rock-cut temples: Shore Temple, the Five Rathas, Krishna's Butter Ball and Arjuna's Penance (₹600 combined ticket). Cheap beach guesthouses and seafood shacks line the shore.

🚌Suburban train + bus ~£1.50

🛏Mamallapuram beach guesthouse (~£13)

• →Shore Temple
• →Pancha Rathas
• →Arjuna's Penance bas-relief

Local bus or shared cab along the East Coast Road to Pondicherry (~2 hrs, ₹100-150 bus / ₹500 shared cab). Do a self-guided walking loop of the French Quarter — mustard-yellow colonial villas, the Promenade, Notre Dame des Anges and Auroville if you have time (₹0 entry, donation for the Matrimandir viewpoint). Evening filter coffee and croissants on Rue Suffren.

🚌ECR bus or shared cab ~£3

🛏Pondicherry heritage guesthouse (~£15)

• →French Quarter self-guided walk
• →Promenade Beach
• →Auroville (optional)

Take a bus to Villupuram (~1 hr, ₹40) and connect to a train south to Madurai (~4 hrs, ₹150-400) — or an overnight sleeper if timings suit. Madurai is the oldest continuously inhabited city in South India and the evening temple buzz around Meenakshi Amman is the highlight of the south.

🚌Bus + train ~£4

🛏Madurai guesthouse near temple (~£13)

• →Villupuram junction rail journey
• →Madurai street food walk

Do a cycle-rickshaw tour of Madurai's old town in the morning (₹300-500 per rickshaw, ~£4 — the same eco-friendly way the group tour does it, arranged on the street or via your guesthouse), then visit the Sri Meenakshi Amman Temple; the museum and thousand-pillar hall are ₹50-100. Go back at closing time for the night ceremony of carrying the deities to bed — free and unforgettable.

🚌Cycle-rickshaw and walk ~£4

🛏Madurai guesthouse (~£13)

• →Cycle-rickshaw old town tour
• →Sri Meenakshi Amman Temple
• →Evening temple ceremony

Bus from Madurai to Theni and on to Kumily/Thekkady (~3.5 hrs, ₹100-150). Book a spice plantation walk directly with a family-run estate (₹300-500, ~£4) to see cardamom, pepper, vanilla and nutmeg growing. Optional afternoon Periyar Lake boat ride (₹1,050, book at the KTDC counter or Periyar Tiger Reserve online).

🚌State buses ~£2

🛏Kumily/Thekkady homestay (~£14)

• →Cardamom Hills spice plantation tour
• →Periyar Lake boat ride (optional)

Bus down to Kottayam (~3 hrs, ₹100) then a local bus to Alleppey (₹30). Stay in a village homestay in the backwaters and take a country canoe ride through the canals (₹1,000-1,500, ~£12) — quieter and cheaper than the big houseboats. A women's cooperative lunch or cooking demonstration in a Keralan village is an easy £5-8 add-on if your host can arrange it.

🚌Buses ~£1.50

🛏Kerala backwaters homestay with dinner (~£16 incl. meals)

• →Backwaters canoe ride
• →Keralan village homestay dinner
• →Village walk

Morning village walk, then the train from Alleppey to Ernakulam (~1 hr, ₹50-100) or a bus. If your flight allows, have a final Keralan sadya lunch (₹200-300) and pick up spices in Mattancherry before heading to Cochin International Airport (metro + bus or prepaid taxi ₹600-900, ~£7).

🚌Train ~£1 + airport transfer ~£8

🛏None (departure day)

• →Village morning walk
• →Keralan sadya lunch
• →Spice shopping in Mattancherry