Heart of India

17 days
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Small Group Tour
If you’re looking for adventure, explore India, where every moment brings new stimulation. The scent of roasted cumin seeds floating through a Delhi bazaar ... a young girl’s bracelets jangling on her arm as she prepares for a festival ... Hindu pilgrims descending ghats into the holy Ganges. From the excitement of the “Golden Triangle” cities of Delhi, Agra,...
From$3,895
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Overview

Trip type
Small Group Tour
Lodging level
Standard - 3 star
Physical level
Easy
Trip pace
Balanced schedule

Highlights

    • Visit Raj Ghat, a beautifully serene monument.
    • Visiting the Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India
    • Enjoy short ride by rickshaw through the crowded lanes of the Chandni Chowk bazaar.
    • Visiting Qutab Minar, a spectacular example of Indo-Islamic architecture topped by a 234-foot-high tower.
    • Enjoy a bird's-eye view of Jaipur and its surroundings
    • See the Jantar Mantar, a remarkable astronomical and astrological observatory built in the 18th century
    • See the Royal Bengal tiger
    • Visit the sprawling Agra Fort on the bank of the Yamuna River.
    • Visit the east and west temple complexes that the Chandelas constructed.

What's this trip about?

    If you’re looking for adventure, explore India, where every moment brings new stimulation. The scent of roasted cumin seeds floating through a Delhi bazaar ... a young girl’s bracelets jangling on her arm as she prepares for a festival ... Hindu pilgrims descending ghats into the holy Ganges. From the excitement of the “Golden Triangle” cities of Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur to the tranquility of the unexpected retreats that lie between them, we explore it all on this tour of India. Expert Trip Leaders will bring you behind the scenes and off the beaten path with their intimate understanding of India, past and present.

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Details

Itinerary focusOff the Beaten Path
Group sizeSmall Group - max of 25 people
Age rangeNo age restrictions
Flights and transportAll internal ground transport included
Start CityDelhi
End CityVaranasi

Travel Themes

  • Cultural
  • Local Immersion & Homestays
  • National Parks
  • Nature & Wildlife
  • Photography
  • Festivals & Special Events
  • Religious

Destinations

  • Asia
  • India

Attractions

  • Agra
  • Agra Fort
  • Amber Fort
  • Delhi
  • Jaipur
  • Jama Masjid
  • Khajuraho
  • Qutab Minar
  • Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
  • Red Fort
  • Taj Mahal

Activities

  • Culture
  • Festivals & Special Events
  • Historic sightseeing
  • History
  • Photography
  • River cruise
  • Wildlife viewing

Trip includes

    • International airfare, airport transfers, government taxes, fees, and airline fuel surcharges unless you choose to make your own air arrangements
    • All land transportation and 3 internal flights
    • Accommodations for 14 nights in hotels and 1 night at an OAT camp
    • 33 meals—daily breakfast, 9 lunches, and 10 dinners (including 1 Home-Hosted Dinner)
    • 25 small group activities
    • Services of a resident, English-speaking OAT Trip Leader
    • Gratuities for local guides, drivers, camp staff, and luggage porters
    • 5% Frequent Traveler Credit toward your next OAT trip—an average of $272 Please note: The information above is for the Heart of India main itinerary only. Our 19-day Nagaur and Pushkar Festival itineraries include 2 extra days in India, with an additional night’s accommodation in an OAT Camp in Rajasthan and 7 additional meals (2 Breakfasts, 1 Lunch, and 4 Dinners).

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Itinerary

DAY 1

Depart U.S.
You depart today on your overnight flight from the U.S. to Delhi, India.

DAY 2

Arrive in Delhi, India
Accommodations: Suryaa New Delhi or similar

You'll arrive in Delhi today, where your Trip Leader will meet you at the airport and escort you to your hotel. Here we'll be joined by travelers who took our optional Bhutan: The Hidden Kingdom pre-trip extension.

DAY 3
Explore Old Delhi • Raj Ghat • Jama Masjid Mosque • Rickshaw ride through Chandni Chowk Bazaar Meals included: B D Accommodations: Suryaa New Delhi or similar Explore Delhi on a rickshaw ride After breakfast, gather with your fellow travelers for a briefing by your Trip ...
DAY 4
Qutab Minar • Explore New Delhi • India Gate Meals included: B L Accommodations: Suryaa New Delhi or similar

After breakfast, we head out to see the highlights of New Delhi.

The British laid out the broad, tree-lined avenues and neat street grid of New Delhi (i...

DAY 5
Overland to Jaipur Meals included: B L D Accommodations: Ramada Jaipur or similar

After breakfast, we’ll journey to Jaipur, called the “Pink City” for the rosy hue of its sandstone buildings. En route, we’ll stop for lunch at a local restaurant. When we arrive in Jaipur, we’ll check in to our hotel. Tonight we’ll gather for dinner at a local restaurant.

DAY 6
Optional hot-air balloon over Jaipur • Jantar Mantar • City Palace Museum OPTIONAL TOUR Meals included: B L Accommodations: Ramada Jaipur or similar Explore the Palace Museum and other sites of Jaipur An optional hot air balloon ride may be offered this morning (weather ...
DAY 7
Palace of the Winds • Amber Fort • Home-Hosted Dinner Meals included: B D Accommodations: Ramada Jaipur or similar Explore 16th century Amber Fort in India We begin today's discoveries with a view of the exterior of Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds). This is actually not ...
DAY 8
Overland to Ranthambore National Park • Optional tour of Ranthambore Fort OPTIONAL TOUR Meals included: B L D Accommodations: Nahargarh Hotel or similar View India's wildlife while on safari in Ranthambore National Park After breakfast, we leave Jaipur and drive through ...
DAY 9
Game-viewing in Ranthambore National Park Meals included: B L D Accommodations: Nahargarh Hotel or similar

In the early morning, when nocturnal animals may still be active, we head out for game-viewing before breakfast. Once again, our mode of transportation is a cant...

DAY 10
A Day in the Life of a Ranthambore community • Overland to OAT Camp FOUNDATION VISIT Meals included: B L D Accommodations: OAT Camp

A Day in the Life Watch OAT travelers experience the unique culture of a Ranthambore community. After breakfast, we'll stroll into a loc...

DAY 11
Abhaneri step wells • Overland to Agra Meals included: B L Accommodations: Jaypee Palace or similar

Today, we'll visit Abhaneri to view an ancient baolis, essentially a step-well or waterway built to provide a constant water supply to local inhabitants.

Then, w...

DAY 12
Taj Mahal • Agra Fort Meals included: B D Accommodations: Jaypee Palace or similar View the Taj Mahal on a moonlight garden tour Today we rise early to view a sight unlike any other in the entire world: early morning at the Taj Mahal. Please note: If this day falls on a ...
DAY 13
Train to Jhansi • Overland to Khajuraho Meals included: B L D Accommodations: Radisson Khajuraho or similar

To enjoy and make the most of this very long, overland, travel day, you'll need to approach it with curiosity, an adventurous spirit, and a healthy sense of hum...

DAY 14
View erotic carvings of the Chandelas • Fly to Varanasi • Ganges evening ceremony & boat ride Meals included: B L Accommodations: Radisson Varanasi Hotel or similar Explore India's Ganges River on a boat ride After breakfast at our hotel, we visit the east and west t...
DAY 15
Early morning Ganges cruise • Sarnath Meals included: B D Accommodations: Radisson Varanasi Hotel or similar See temples at sunrise on a Ganges River boat cruise Early this morning, we board our small boat for a cruise on the Ganges. From our boat we are witness to the e...
DAY 16
Yoga & meditation class • Fly to Delhi or fly to Kathmandu to begin your post-trip extension Meals included: B D Accommodations: Pride Plaza Hotel or similar This morning we have the chance to begin the day with a relaxing yoga and meditation class before breakfast a...
DAY 17
Return to U.S. or begin your South India post-trip extension If you're continuing on a post-trip extension to The South of India: Kerala & Cochin, board your flight this morning. Otherwise, transfer to the airport very early this morning for your return flight to the U.S.

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Dates & Availability

Price From $3,895
Price per day$229
Last Updated: 6/10/2024

Check Current Availability, prices, specials with Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T. Tours).

The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.

Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.

Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T. Tours) Reviews & Ratings

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Overseas Adventure Travel offers unique small group adventures worldwide to Americans over 50. By land and sea, we explore on—and off—the beaten path with a resident OAT Trip Leader, immersing ourselves in local cultures, sampling unique modes of transportation, and staying in authentic lodgings that reflect the essence of your destination. Grand Circle Small Ship Cruises serves both our GCT and OAT brands with an award-winning fleet known for exceptional value and high-quality experiences in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. Custom-designed according to our travelers’ specifications, our fleet includes 50+ small river and ocean-going ships that we own or privately charter.

Grand Circle Corporation is a global enterprise—comprised of a family of travel companies—committed to changing people’s lives by offering high-impact experiences to our travelers and building local communities through philanthropy, social entrepreneurship, and volunteerism.

Simply by traveling with OAT, you support the work of the nonprofit Grand Circle Foundation, which was created with the mission of changing people’s lives through travel—both those of our travelers, and of the people who welcome us so warmly into their homelands.

Journey with the Leader in Adventure Travel and Watch Your Dreams Take Flight: It is the stuff of dreams: gazelles bowing to lap at a glassy pool in the Serengeti as the vast sky turns purple with night, the tiered splendor of the Himalayas, rising behind a Tibetan monastery. Dreams like these are everyday realities for OAT travelers, thanks to the principles which ground every OAT adventure: value, choice, discovery, and carefully paced itineraries.

Our Value puts your travel dreams within reach: OAT can help you realize your travel dreams for a lot less than you thought possible. Together with our regional offices located throughout the world, we’ve been able to establish long-term relationships with many local vendors and hotels. Buying direct brings down our costs—and allows us to pass the savings on to you. And negotiating directly for hotel space also allows us to secure as many single room allotments as possible for our solo travelers. That way, we can also extend our great value to solo travelers. In fact, we offer the best value for solo travelers, guaranteed.

The Choice is yours: You’ll always have plenty of choices with OAT. We offer you a breadth of awe-inspiring travel destinations—from the peaks of the Andes to the sweeping desert sands of the Sahara to the rugged natural beauty of Iceland. You'll also enjoy more trip extension choices than ever before—like hiking to ancient monasteries in Bhutan or discovering the Moai monolithic rock statues on Easter Island. You have plenty of choices within each adventure, too, including several interesting optional tours. And the free time we’ve woven into our itineraries allows you plenty of opportunities for independent exploration. You can shop, unwind, perhaps linger at a sidewalk café, visit an interesting gallery or museum, or explore a cobbled street that caught your eye earlier in the day. You can do as much or as little as you want on an OAT adventure—the choice is yours.

OAT Difference

Adventure Travel: Adventure travel with OAT is a journey beyond the familiar, one that takes you into the very heart of a destination—to meet people where they work and live.

OAT Advantages: Journey with the leader in adventure travel and watch your dreams take flight, thanks to the principles which ground every OAT adventure: value, choice, discovery, and carefully paced itineraries.

Small Groups, Big Discoveries: When you discover the world in an OAT small group, you’ll journey off the beaten path to the places the big tour groups miss—and enjoy an intimate, discovery-filled adventure filled with personal connections, shared experiences, and treasured memories.

Trip Leaders: No matter where in the world you venture with OAT, you'll have one of our resident, expert Trip Leaders by your side. All are fluent in English and possess the skills, certification, and experience necessary to ensure an enriching adventure.

Airport Transfers: We’ve listened to your feedback, and will now offer international airport transfers to and from your hotel to our travelers who choose to purchase their own airfare on OAT adventures as part of our Personalize Your Trip program, which allows you create the OAT adventure that's right for you.

Personalize your trip: OAT travelers have long expressed the desire to decide exactly where they’re going, how they get there, and when they wish to leave. That’s why we developed a variety of choices that enhance the value of every trip we offer, allowing you to create the adventure that works best for you.

Traveling solo? Enjoy your own room or cabin—at no extra cost: You’re in control of your travel dreams—and we’re making them more affordable than ever: Maybe you prefer the freedom of solo travel—or maybe you and your usual traveling companion can’t agree on a destination. Whatever the reason, you don’t have to put your travel dreams on hold. When it’s time to go it alone, you’ll never pay a Single Supplement to have your own room or cabin with OAT.

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Logistics

Accommodation

,Suryaa New Delhi New Delhi, India This well-appointed hotel is located in the heart of New Delhi, close to many temples and other historic monuments. Each of its 242 guest rooms features a minibar, satellite TV, a private safe, coffee- and tea-making facilities, high-speed Internet access, and a hair dryer. You’ll be able to relax in style in the hotel’s swimming pool, sauna, or whirlpool. Please Note: Select departures feature similar accommodations. Radisson Blu Jaipur Jaipur, India At the Radisson Blu Jaipur, guests can enjoy on-site amenities like two restaurants, a rooftop pool and bar, a spa, and a fitness center. All of the hotel’s rooms offer complimentary wireless Internet access, an LED TV, a mini bar, coffee- and tea-making facilities, and a private bath. Nahargarh Hotel Ranthambore, India Located near Ranthambore Tiger Sanctuary, this 42-room lodge was decorated to evoke the feeling of staying in a palace. During your stay, you’ll enjoy a multi-cuisine restaurant and an outdoor swimming pool. Our air-conditioned rooms feature a telephone, radio/alarm clock, and private bath with shower. Please Note: Select departures feature similar accommodations. OAT Camp Abha Nagri, India Situated on five acres of land within view of the Aravali Mountains, our rural retreat consists of 14 air-cooled, tent-roof cottages, each with a veranda and private bath. There is also a separate dining area where we’ll dine on organic cuisine prepared on-site in the modern kitchen. Please Note: Travelers on our Festival Departures will stay at similar camps in Nagaur or Pushkar. Jaypee Palace Agra, India Set amidst 25 acres of landscaped gardens, the Jaypee Palace combines traditional charm with modern amenities. With 350 guest rooms, the property features a restaurant, cocktail lounge, swimming pool, and sauna. Our air-conditioned rooms feature a TV, telephone, coffee- and tea-making facilities, and a private bath with shower and hair dryer. Radisson Khajuraho Khajuraho, India Enjoy beautiful landscape and gardens as you relax in style at the Radisson Khajuraho. All 86 rooms include high-speed Internet access, a private safe, minibar, hair dryer, coffee- and tea-making facilities, and a private balcony with a view of the pool or gardens. This hotel features a multi-cuisine restaurant, spa services, an outdoor pool, and fitness facilities. Please Note: Select departures feature similar accommodations. Radisson Varanasi Hotel Varanasi, India Built in 2003, this hotel is conveniently located in the heart of the business district yet just 25 minutes from the main ghats of the Ganges. The hotel offers a restaurant, indoor swimming pool, health club, and beauty salon. Our air-conditioned rooms include television, telephone, radio/alarm clock, and private bath with shower and hair dryer. Please Note: Select departures feature similar accommodations. Lemon Tree Premier Hotel Delhi, India Conveniently located, Lemon Tree Premier Hotel is about 2.5 miles from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. On site, guests can enjoy the hotel’s fitness center, swimming pool, spa, restaurant, and bar. Each of the hotel’s 280 guest rooms includes complimentary wireless Internet access, satellite TV, a minibar, coffee- and tea-making facilities, an electronic safe, and a private bath with a hair dryer. Extensions The Oberoi Grand Kolkata Kolkata, India Situated near Kolkata’s central business district and lively markets, The Oberoi Grand Hotel offers three on-site restaurants, as well as a spa. Each of the hotel’s 209 rooms includes an LCD TV, wireless Internet access, a safe, and a private bath with a hair dryer. Hotel Kisa Thimphu, Bhutan Hotel Kisa is a family-owned hotel in the heart of Thimphu, located near City Hall, Clock Tower Square, and Changlimithang Archery Ground. Each of the hotel’s 35 rooms features a private bath. Dragon's Nest Resort Wangduephodrang, Bhutan Located on the banks of the scenic Puna Tsang Chu River, Dragon’s Nest Resort has 18 guest rooms, all of which offer cable TV, coffee- and tea-making facilities, a mini-fridge, a balcony with views of the river, and a private bath. The hotel also has an on-site restaurant, which serves Bhutanese, Chinese, and Indian cuisine. The Village Lodge Paro, Bhutan Located in the fertile Paro Valley amidst forested hillsides, the Village Lodge offers traditional Bhutanese furnishings in a peaceful setting. Nine rooms include private baths, TV and telephone, and a restaurant and bar are on-site. Gokarna Forest Resort Kathmandu, Nepal The Gokarna Forest Resort boasts breathtaking views of the Nepalese valley from all of its 95 rooms. Each room features a private bath and comfortable furnishings. A spa and golf course are on site. Lemon Tree Premier Hotel Delhi, India Conveniently located, Lemon Tree Premier Hotel is about 2.5 miles from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. On site, guests can enjoy the hotel’s fitness center, swimming pool, spa, restaurant, and bar. Each of the hotel’s 280 guest rooms includes complimentary wireless Internet access, satellite TV, a minibar, coffee- and tea-making facilities, an electronic safe, and a private bath with a hair dryer. Trident Hotel Cochin Cochin, India Located on Willingdon Island, Trident Hotel Cochin is near local attractions like the Paradesi Synagogue, Mattancherry Palace, and St. Francis Church. Each of its 77 guest rooms features a private bath, safe, iron and ironing board, and coffee- and tea-making facilities. The Lalit Mumbai Mumbai, India Situated in the heart of North Mumbai’s financial district, The Lalit Mumbai provides on-site amenities like an outdoor pool, spa, shopping facility, and several restaurants. Each of its 368 rooms offers complimentary wireless Internet access, an LCD TV, a minibar, and a private bath with a hair dryer (upon request).
Ship & cabin information
Houseboat
Discover the peaceful backwaters of Cochin aboard a wooden houseboat, featuring a lounge, sun deck, and dining area. Each of the traditionally decorated cabins has a picture window, air-conditioning, and a private bath with shower.
Travel Insurance
We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance alongside your travel package to safeguard against unforeseen circumstances such as medical expenses, trip cancellations, and other contingencies. It offers you peace of mind and ensures you are prepared for unexpected events that may occur before or during your journey
Visa requirements
Visa requirements vary depending on your country of origin and your country of destination. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the relevant requirements. For a handy tool that can help you quickly find the requirements, please visit this link .
Meals Included
  • 33 meals—daily breakfast, 9 lunches, and 10 dinners (including 1 Home-Hosted Dinner)
Age Requirements
No age restrictions
Additional Information
Trip ID
overse-oveheaind

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