Delhi, sorted before you land.
Sunrise at the Taj, breakfast in Chandni Chowk, the Golden Triangle done in a day: which repay the early alarm, the ticket price, and how to hold a seat.
How Delhi earns its early starts.
Parathas in Chandni Chowk’s lanes before the crowds wake, Taj marble turning pink over the Yamuna at first light, a jeep into Ranthambore where the tigers actually are. These are the mornings Delhi repays, the days travellers write home about.
Old & New Delhi City Tour – Half or Full Day Options Available
Private Old and New Delhi tour with hotel pickup, air-conditioned car, tuk-tuk ride, and visits like Jama Masjid and Humayun’s Tomb.
From $38 per person
Read the review →
★ 5.0Traveller favouriteHalf Day Private Delhi City TourFrom $374,474 reviews
★ 5.0Books out fastTaj Mahal Day Tour from Delhi by Superfast Train – TOP RATED TOURFrom $1004,166 reviews
★ 4.9Sells out earlyOld and New Delhi Private Full or Half-Day TourFrom $23,776 reviews
★ 5.0Crowd favouriteFull Day Taj Mahal, Agra Fort & Baby Taj Tour from Delhi by CarFrom $623,647 reviews
★ 4.9Easy winFrom Delhi: Taj Mahal & Agra Private Day Trip with TransfersFrom $43,181 reviews
★ 5.0Worth the early startTaj Mahal Tour from Delhi by Express Train (Viator Award Winner)From $752,849 reviews
The Taj is worth the 4am alarm.
Leave Delhi in the dark, watch the marble turn from grey to pink as the sun clears the Yamuna, then Agra Fort before the coaches arrive and home by evening. It is a long day and an early one, but it is the day most people fly in for.
How much of Delhi do you want?
Three ways to spend your days, from the long haul out to Agra to a single morning in the old city, each one timed and costed, so the whole week comes together in a sitting.
Delhi, Agra & Jaipur
The Golden Triangle
from $127 · 1,107 reviews
Delhi to Agra for the Taj, on to Jaipur for the forts and bazaars, then back to the capital. Done properly it runs two or three days on the road, and even the one-day Agra version is a dawn start and a night return. The classic first trip to India, and the reason most people come.
See the Golden Triangle tours →
The old city, up close
Old Delhi, on foot
from $43 · 1,698 reviews
Jama Masjid at opening, the spice lanes of Khari Baoli, parathas in Chandni Chowk and a cycle-rickshaw through gullies too narrow for anything else. Slow, loud and close: the half-day people remember longest. Go early, before the heat and the crowds.
See the Old Delhi tours →
Monuments & gardens
New Delhi in a day
from $38 · 4,811 reviews
Humayun’s Tomb, Qutub Minar, India Gate and the wide Lutyens avenues, usually by car with a guide because the sights sit far apart. The comfortable, air-conditioned way to take in the capital’s greatest hits without walking yourself flat.
See the city tours →
Delhi tastes better after sunset.
Once the heat drops, Old Delhi lights up: kebabs off the coals near Jama Masjid, jalebi frying in Chandni Chowk, the Red Fort sound-and-light show telling the city’s story in the dark. Evening is when locals eat, and the way in is with someone who knows the lanes.
Old Delhi is best eaten on foot.
The capital eats hardest in the old lanes: stuffed parathas on Paranthe Wali Gali, chaat and jalebi in Chandni Chowk, kebabs by Jama Masjid. Go with a guide who eats here and you skip the tourist stalls for the ones with the local queue.
The rides that become the story.
A cycle-rickshaw threading the old city, a tiger safari at Ranthambore on the way to Jaipur, a heritage train out of the capital. The parts of a Delhi trip nobody plans and everybody talks about after. Book the seats early: the good ones go first.
Delhi keeps its history in plain sight.
Humayun’s Tomb standing before the Taj was even drawn, the Qutub Minar a thousand years up, temples and dargahs where the city still comes to pray. Seven capitals stacked on one patch of plain: a good guide is the difference between old stones and a story.
Delhi, and everything a day away.
The capital splits into pockets, and the best days spill past its edge. Old Delhi for the food and the crush, New Delhi for the monuments, then out to Agra, Jaipur or the tigers of Ranthambore once the city has given what it has.
Chasing something in particular?
Twelve doors into the capital, monuments to markets. Pick the day that fits; the picks sit behind your choice.
The best of Delhi is sometimes not in Delhi.
The capital sits at the head of the Golden Triangle, so the great day trips are right there: the Taj at Agra, the forts of Jaipur, tigers at Ranthambore. Long days and early starts, and worth every one.
Three days, if you plan them.
Delhi and the Taj in three days works only when the order does. Old Delhi first, the monuments next, Agra as the long day out.
Day 1
Into Old Delhi
Jama Masjid at opening, a cycle-rickshaw through Chandni Chowk, parathas and chaat for lunch and the Red Fort before the light goes. Loud, close and unforgettable, at a jet-lag-friendly pace.
Plan day one →
Day 2
The New Delhi monuments
Humayun’s Tomb, Qutub Minar and India Gate by car with a guide, the Lutyens avenues in between, and a temple or two before dinner. The capital’s greatest hits, comfortably spaced.
Plan day two →
Day 3
The day out to Agra
The 4am start, the Taj as the sun clears the haze, Agra Fort before the crowds, and home to Delhi by evening. The longest day of the trip and the one the photos come from.
Plan the Taj day →
The newest write-ups.
★ 4.8Old Delhi Street Food TourFrom $1440 reviews
★ 5.0Mathura Vrindavan Divine Love Journey of Radha Krishna From DelhiFrom $10940 reviews
★ 5.0From Delhi: Sunrise Taj Mahal-Agra Fort Skip The Line Guided TourFrom $641 reviews
★ 5.0Taj Mahal Same Day Tour from Delhi by CarFrom $1741 reviews
★ 5.0Same Day Taj Mahal Tour by CarFrom $13341 reviews
★ 5.0Evening City Tour with Private Guide By CarFrom $2441 reviews
★ 4.9Skip-the-Line Humayun’s Tomb Tour with TransfersFrom $741 reviews
★ 5.0Private 3 Day Golden Triangle Delhi Agra Jaipur Tour From DelhiFrom $11741 reviews