Riverside Safaris, Ancient Fortresses & the Taj Mahal — Self-Launched

Land at Indira Gandhi International and take the Airport Express metro to New Delhi station (~£1.50) or a prepaid taxi from the official desk (~£4-6) into Paharganj or Karol Bagh. Ease in with a walk through the lanes of Paharganj, then head to Chandni Chowk at dusk for parathas in Paranthe Wali Gali and jalebi at Old Famous Jalebi Wala. Pre-book a Delhi e-Visa (about £30 for most nationalities) and complete the online e-Arrival Card within 3 days of flying.

🚌Airport Express metro ~£1.50 or prepaid taxi ~£4-6

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in Paharganj (private double ~£14-20/night)

• →Chandni Chowk street food walk (self-guided)
• →Paharganj orientation wander

Delhi Metro makes this day cheap and easy. Start at Humayun's Tomb (£5 entry), then the Mehrauli Archaeological Park and Qutub Minar, finishing at India Gate and Lodhi Gardens at golden hour. For a guided version of the same route, GetYourGuide sells half-day Old Delhi food and heritage walks from about £12-20. Book a Delhi–Agra train ticket on IRCTC today if you haven't already — the 6am Gatimaan Express is the fastest option.

🚌Delhi Metro day of rides ~£1.50 + auto-rickshaw hops ~£2

🛏Paharganj hostel/guesthouse

• →Humayun's Tomb
• →Qutub Minar and Mehrauli Park
• →India Gate and Lodhi Gardens

Take the Gatimaan Express from Hazrat Nizamuddin to Agra Cantt (about 1h40, ~£6-9 in chair car). Drop bags and go straight to the Taj Mahal — sunrise entry ticket is £11 (₹1,100) plus £2 for the main mausoleum, booked online at asi.payumoney.com. Hire an official ASI guide at the gate for ~£8-12 or pre-book a GetYourGuide Taj + Fort combo (~£25-35). Afternoon at Agra Fort (£5). Overnight in Taj Ganj.

🚌Gatimaan Express train ~£6-9; auto-rickshaws in Agra ~£3

🛏Guesthouse in Taj Ganj with rooftop Taj views (private ~£15-22)

• →Taj Mahal sunrise entry
• →Agra Fort
• →Taj Ganj rooftop sunset

Take a local bus or shared taxi from Agra to Dholpur (about 2 hours, £2-4). Book a Chambal River boat safari direct with a Dholpur operator or through your guesthouse — roughly £15-25 per person for a 2-3 hour trip, best organised as a shared boat. Expect gharials, mugger crocodiles, skimmers and river dolphins if you're lucky. In the afternoon hire a cycle from the guesthouse (~£3) and ride the lake and village lanes towards the red-sandstone Dholpur Palace area — the Narsingh Bagh-style heritage stays by Lake Ram Sagar are a lovely step up if you want the original trip's campsite feel.

🚌Local bus/shared taxi Agra–Dholpur ~£2-4; cycle hire ~£3

🛏Heritage guesthouse or lakeside cottage near Dholpur (~£18-28)

• →Chambal River boat safari
• →Village and lake cycling

Bus or shared taxi from Dholpur to Sawai Madhopur (3-4 hours, ~£4-6). Ranthambore safari permits are sold online at ranthambore.com or through your hotel — book 60-90 days ahead as Zone 1-5 tickets sell out. A shared canter safari costs about £22-28 per person per slot; a private jeep is £70-90 for up to six people. Take the afternoon 2:30pm slot today and keep the morning slot for tomorrow. Evening thali in Sawai Madhopur town.

🚌Bus/shared taxi Dholpur–Sawai Madhopur ~£4-6; park vehicle included in safari

🛏Budget hotel or homestay in Sawai Madhopur (~£15-22)

• →Afternoon canter safari in Ranthambore National Park

Second safari in the 6:30am slot — early mornings give the best tiger odds in the dry season. Back by 10:30am, shower, then take the afternoon train or bus to Jaipur (about 2.5-3.5 hours, £3-6). Check into a haveli guesthouse in the old city, then do the orientation walk that the group tour pays for: Hawa Mahal from the Wind View Cafe, the bazaars of Johari and Bapu, and a rooftop dinner.

🚌Train/bus Sawai Madhopur–Jaipur ~£3-6; auto-rickshaw ~£2

🛏Haveli guesthouse in Jaipur old city (~£16-25)

• →Ranthambore morning safari
• →Hawa Mahal and Pink City bazaar walk

Take local bus 5 or an auto to the base of Amber Fort (~£1.50). Walk the heritage path from Panna Meena ka Kund stepwell up to Amber Fort (£5 entry with the composite ticket; the composite ticket at £11 covers Amber, Jantar Mantar, Hawa Mahal, Nahargarh and Albert Hall for two days — best value). In the afternoon, get a certified guide at Jantar Mantar (~£8-12 shared) or use a GetYourGuide Jaipur walking tour (~£15). For the Anoothi-style block printing experience, book a Jaipur block-printing workshop direct (~£15-25).

🚌Local bus and auto-rickshaws ~£3-4

🛏Haveli guesthouse in Jaipur

• →Panna Meena stepwell and Amber Heritage walk
• →Amber Fort
• →Jantar Mantar observatory
• →Block printing workshop

Bus or shared taxi Jaipur to Ajmer (2h, £2-3), then a 30-minute local bus to Pushkar (£0.50). Pushkar is the original trip's 'OMG day' — do it your way. Visit the Brahma Temple and wander the ghats of Pushkar Lake (shoes off, no photos at the ghats). Choose either a pilgrimage walk up Savitri Temple hill for sunrise/sunset views (free) or a drop-in yoga class (£4-6). Book a Kalbeliya folk dance and Rajasthani dinner at a local rooftop restaurant or camp in the dunes (~£8-12).

🚌Jaipur–Ajmer bus ~£2-3, Ajmer–Pushkar bus ~£0.50

🛏Guesthouse near the lake or desert camp outside town (~£14-22)

• →Brahma Temple and Pushkar Lake ghats
• →Savitri Temple hill walk or yoga class
• →Kalbeliya dance and Rajasthani thali

Bus from Pushkar to Jodhpur (5-6 hours, ~£5-8, or a faster shared taxi ~£12 per person). From Jodhpur take a shared auto or pre-arranged pickup the 40km to Chandelao village (~£4-6). Stay at Chandelao Garh, the same heritage property style the group tour uses — direct booking from about £45-65 for a double, which is the priciest night of the trip but replaces the tour's upgraded hotel. Visit the Sunder Rang women's craft cooperative next door, watch block printing and tie-dye, and join the evening village walk.

🚌Bus/shared taxi Pushkar–Jodhpur ~£5-8; onward transfer ~£5

🛏Chandelao Garh heritage stay (double ~£45-65)

• →Chandelao Garh orientation walk
• →Sunder Rang cooperative craft visit

Return to Jodhpur and spend the morning at Mehrangarh Fort (£5.50 entry with audio guide; the zipline is about £10 extra if you fancy it). Walk from the fort down into the blue-washed lanes of Navchokiya and stop for makhaniya lassi at Shri Mishrilal. To do the same 'fortress with a view' photos the group tour takes, head to the Toorji ka Jhalra stepwell at sunset. Overnight in the old city.

🚌Shared auto Chandelao–Jodhpur ~£4-5; local autos ~£2

🛏Budget hotel or homestay in Jodhpur old city (~£15-22)

• →Mehrangarh Fort
• →Blue City lanes walk
• →Toorji ka Jhalra stepwell sunset

Take the morning bus from Jodhpur to Udaipur via Ranakpur (about 6 hours, £6-9) — ask the driver to drop you at Ranakpur and catch a later local bus or shared jeep onwards (~£3). Ranakpur's 1,444-carved-marble-column temple (£2 entry, shoes and leather off) is worth the detour; go before 11am for the light. Arrive in Udaipur by evening, check into a guesthouse in the old city and eat at a lakeside rooftop for a fraction of the tour's 'finest restaurant' dinner (~£6-9).

🚌Bus Jodhpur–Ranakpur–Udaipur ~£8-12

🛏Guesthouse in Udaipur old city (~£14-22)

• →Ranakpur Jain Temple
• →Lake Pichola rooftop dinner

Hire a cycle from a guesthouse or the Fateh Sagar area (£3-5/day) and ride the gentle lane out to Badi Lake for breakfast at one of the viewpoint chai stalls. Afternoon: the City Palace complex and museum (£4-6) and Jagdish Temple, in use since 1651. Finish with a Lake Pichola sunset boat ride from Rameshwar Ghat (~£4-6) — the same sunset ride the group tour includes.

🚌Cycle hire ~£4; autos ~£2

🛏Guesthouse in Udaipur old city

• →Badi Lake cycle
• →City Palace
• →Jagdish Temple
• →Lake Pichola sunset boat ride

Fly IndiGo or SpiceJet Udaipur–Mumbai (book 4-8 weeks ahead for £30-55; the group tour includes this flight). Alternatively, take the overnight train, but the flight is cheap enough to be worth it. In Mumbai, take the suburban local train from Churchgate to the Gateway of India (₹10, ~£0.10) and catch the ferry to Elephanta Island (£5-7 return, plus £5 caves entry). Time the boats before 3:30pm, and watch the monkeys. Evening walk along Marine Drive.

🚌Flight ~£30-55; local train and ferry ~£7

🛏Budget hotel or hostel in Colaba/Fort (private ~£20-30)

• →Elephanta Island ferry and caves
• →Gateway of India
• →Marine Drive evening walk

Morning: Dhobi Ghat from Mahalaxmi bridge, then a Dharavi community-led walking tour (about £12-18, book direct with an NGO-run operator — this is the closest equivalent to the tour's community-project visits). Afternoon: Crawford Market and the Gothic architecture around Fort, ending at Kala Ghoda's galleries. Evening: vada pav and pav bhaji at a Colaba institution, then drinks or a film at the art-deco Regal Cinema. Mumbai's local trains between 8-11am and 5-8pm are worth avoiding with a bag.

🚌Local trains and taxis ~£4

🛏Budget hotel in Colaba/Fort

• →Dhobi Ghat
• →Dharavi community walking tour
• →Crawford Market and Fort architecture

Breakfast at a Colaba cafe, a final wander around the Sassoon Docks or the Kala Ghoda area, then take the suburban local train or an app-taxi to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (~£1-5). If your flight is late, the domestic terminal's food court is a cheap place to wait. Add a buffer of 3 hours for international departures.

🚌Local train ~£0.20 or Ola/Uber to airport ~£4-6

🛏None (departure day)

• →Sassoon Docks or Kala Ghoda morning wander