One of the main reasons why we have included India in the itinerary on our trip around the world is the Taj Mahal in Agra. We wanted to see this beautiful mausoleum for ourselves. Therefore we had already searched the internet a few days ago for providers offering a sightseeing tour from Delhi to Agra.
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What is the best way to get from Delhi to Agra?
During our research for tours to the Taj Mahal we had found that there are countless tour operators for the route from Delhi to Agra. Some tours require you to take the train, some require you to take the bus and others offer private transfers by car. Timewise the train is certainly the fastest way to get from Delhi to Agra. The train “12002 Bhopal Shatabdi” for example needs only about 2 hours for the almost 200 kilometres long distance. By car or bus (depending on the traffic and where you start in Delhi) it can also take 3 to 4 hours.
The cost of a day trip to the Taj Mahal
In the end, we decided on a Same Day Agra Tour By Train with the agency Classic India due to the price-performance ratio. The price for the day tour to Agra cost us USD 110 and included the following services:
Private Guided Tour All Cost Inclusions
Pickup from Hotel to New Delhi Railway Station in the morning by AC Car
Train Tickets (Delhi – Agra, Agra – Delhi, A.C. Chair Car)
English Speaking Guide Fee for all day Monuments & Sites all guided tour
Swift Dezire AC Car for full Day sightseeing
All Parking, Toll Tax, Road Tax, Driver & Fuel
Departure New Delhi Railway Station to Hotel in the Night by AC Car
Tour Cost Exclusions
1) Entrance Fee of Monuments.
2) Any Tips, Beverages. Laundry, Personal Expenses
Monuments Entrance Fees
Taj Mahal: 750 INR per person
Agra Fort: 250 INR per person
Fatehpur Sikri: 250 INR per person
Mehtab Bagh: 100 INR per person
Same Day Agra Tour By Train
From Delhi to Agra by train
For our tour we were already picked up by a driver at 5.15 am and driven to the main station of New Delhi. From here our train to Agra left at 6 o’clock. After a good 2 hours we arrived at Agra station and were picked up by a driver and our guide.
Taj Mahal – Monument of a Great Love
First point of contact was then also immediately the Taj Mahal By the way, tourists pay 37 times as much (750 Rupees) for the entrance fee as Indians (only 20 Rupees)! The Taj Mahal belongs to the 7 new wonders of the world and is UNESCO World Heritage Site. The marble mausoleum was built by the Grand Mogul Shah Jahan for his deceased wife, the Persian Princess Arjuman Bano Begum. She died in 1631 at the birth of her fourteenth child and on her deathbed she wished her husband “a tomb that the world has never seen before”. Thereupon the Mughal had the Taj Mahal built by about 20,000 workers.
The Taj Mahal is completely surrounded by a wall and on the sides there is a mosque, a guest house and the entrance building. Through the archway you get a first view of the beautiful monument. The Taj Mahal was from the beginning firmly in our travel planning and we were very happy when we finally stood in front of it. The sight is simply unbelievably beautiful.
Photography in the building itself is not allowed and also filming or the use of selfie-sticks on the premises is strictly forbidden! Even though it is low season, there were a lot of people – especially Indians. Foreign tourists we only saw very few. Therefore we were an attraction for many Indians, were stared at with big eyes and asked for a common photo every few minutes. Our guide explained to us that many Indians come from far away from the country and some of them have never really seen a fair-skinned person before.
Das Taj Mahal – Denkmal einer großen Liebe