An India Golden Triangle tour links Delhi, Agra and Jaipur in a road loop through Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, taking in the Taj Mahal and the Mughal and Rajput forts on the way. Our packages put you in a hotel in each city, and longer versions add a tiger reserve, a beach or more of Rajasthan.
Quick answer
Golden Triangle packages start at £1,399pp for 8 nights with a Sariska tiger reserve stay and return flights from London, on November 2026 departures, two sharing. The loop alone needs about a week, and extensions stretch it to two or three. October to March is the dry season, smog aside. UK passports need a visa. ATOL 10713 protected.
- Flight time from London
- About 8½–9 hours nonstop from Heathrow to Delhi.
- Other UK airports
- Birmingham also has nonstop Delhi flights. Other airports connect through a hub.
- Passport
- Valid for at least 6 months after you arrive, with at least 2 blank pages.
- Malaria
- Low risk in Delhi, Agra and Rajasthan. TravelHealthPro advises bite avoidance rather than tablets.
- Currency
- Indian rupee (INR).
What is the Golden Triangle and how is it driven?
The three cities sit roughly at the corners of a triangle south of the Himalayan foothills. The classic loop starts and finishes in Delhi because that is where the long-haul flights land. The standard order is Delhi, then Agra, then Jaipur, then back to Delhi.
Road times matter more than distances here. Delhi to Agra is about 205 km, around four hours by car. Agra to Jaipur is about 245 km and around six hours if you stop at Fatehpur Sikri on the way.
Each city has more than one UNESCO World Heritage Site in or near it, so the sightseeing is dense for such a short trip.
| City | UNESCO sites | How long to allow |
|---|---|---|
| Delhi | Red Fort Complex, Qutb Minar, Humayun’s Tomb | One full sightseeing day, plus Old Delhi’s bazaars. |
| Agra | Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri | One full day for the Taj and the fort. |
| Jaipur | Jaipur City (the walled Pink City), Jantar Mantar observatory, Amber Fort (part of the Hill Forts of Rajasthan) | One and a half days, with Amber done early before the heat and crowds. |
How many nights do you need?
Fix your Agra day before anything else. The Taj Mahal closes every Friday, so a loop that reaches Agra on a Thursday evening needs an extra night or a reshuffle. Everything else in the itinerary can bend around that one date.
6 nights: the classic loop
The 6-night Golden Triangle tour is the shortest of our Golden Triangle packages. It uses ITC Maurya in New Delhi, ITC Mughal in Agra and ITC Rajputana in Jaipur, all from the ITC Luxury Collection. A private chauffeured car covers the road legs. The plan includes a rickshaw ride through Old Delhi, the Taj at sunrise and Amber Fort. It suits a first visit, or a week off work with no time for wildlife.
8 nights: add a tiger reserve
Two extra nights add a tiger reserve on the leg between Agra and Jaipur. Sariska lies north-east of Jaipur in Alwar district, and Ranthambore lies south-east of Jaipur near Sawai Madhopur. Three packages do this, at three hotel levels.
- Sariska route: Zone Connect by The Park Saket in Delhi, Golden Tulip Agra, Spree Resort Sariska and Holiday Inn Express & Suites Gopalpura in Jaipur.
- Ranthambore by train: The Leela Ambience Convention Hotel in Delhi, Courtyard by Marriott Agra, Jungle Vilas at Ranthambore, Novotel Jaipur Convention Centre and Pride Plaza Aerocity for the final Delhi night. The last stretch to the reserve is by train from Bharatpur to Sawai Madhopur. Nights split Delhi 2, Agra 1, Ranthambore 2, Jaipur 2, Delhi 1.
- All-Oberoi Ranthambore: The Oberoi New Delhi, Oberoi Amarvilas in Agra, Oberoi Vanyavilas at Ranthambore, Oberoi Rajvilas in Jaipur and The Oberoi Gurgaon at the end.
11–18 nights: add a region
Longer trips run the same loop, then carry on somewhere with a different pace.
- Goa: the Golden Triangle with a Goa beach retreat follows the ITC hotels with a beach stay at Alila Diwa Goa, 11 nights in all.
- Nepal: 12 nights, adding The Soaltee Kathmandu and Temple Tree Resort & Spa in Pokhara.
- Rajasthan: the 14-night Rajasthan tour continues to Bikaner (Laxmi Niwas Palace), Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Udaipur, then flies on to Mumbai.
- North India Grand Tour: 18 nights, adding Samode Haveli, Mandawa, Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur, Chandigarh and Shimla.
- Kerala: 15 nights, pairing Ranthambore (The Tigress) with Coconut Lagoon, an Alleppey houseboat and Marari Beach. Our Kerala holidays guide covers the south in depth.
For luxury India holidays that go deeper into Rajasthan, the North India heritage and wildlife safari pairs Oberoi hotels in the three cities with camps and lake hotels. It adds RAAS Chhatrasagar, SUJÁN JAWAI Camp and Oberoi Udaivilas.
How much does an India Golden Triangle tour cost from the UK?
Prices for our Golden Triangle India tour packages are per person, based on two sharing, and include return flights from the UK. Each is the lowest price across future departure months, shown with its month. The first three rows are the tiger-reserve versions, so most of the gap comes down to the reserve and the hotels.
| Package | Economy from | Cheapest month | Business from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Triangle & Sariska | £1,399pp | November 2026 | Economy only. |
| Golden Triangle & Ranthambore | £1,539pp | November 2026 | £2,999pp (October 2026). |
| Oberoi Golden Triangle & Ranthambore | £3,499pp | May and June 2027 | £5,029pp (May 2027). |
| Classic Golden Triangle (ITC) | £1,599pp | November 2026 | £3,049pp (November 2026). |
| Golden Triangle & Goa | £2,429pp | September 2027 | Economy only. |
| Golden Triangle & Nepal | £2,679pp | October 2026 | Economy only. |
| Golden Triangle, Ranthambore & Kerala | £3,489pp | May and June 2027 | Economy only. |
| Rajasthan tour | £2,879pp | May and June 2027 | Economy only. |
| North India Grand Tour | £4,609pp | May, June and September 2027 | £6,549pp (May, June and September 2027). |
Three things move the price once the hotels are chosen.
- Winter peak: the ITC loop costs £1,619pp in October 2026 and £1,879pp in February 2027. The Ranthambore-by-train package rises from its November low to £1,819pp in January 2027.
- Christmas and New Year: December is priced On Request on the Ranthambore-by-train package and the Grand Tour. The Goa package is On Request in November as well as December.
- Heat: several of the longer packages hit their lowest prices in the hottest months of the year.
Dates, departure airport and room type all change the final figure, and a UK specialist confirms yours when quoting. Browse all our India holiday deals for the full range.
Golden Triangle tour and tiger safari: Sariska or Ranthambore?
The choice comes down to how much safari time you want and which hotel tier you are booking.
Sariska is the lighter option. The Sariska package includes one private jeep safari on its reserve day, then continues to Jaipur. It suits travellers who want a taste of the forest without losing much of the city sightseeing.
Ranthambore gets two drives, morning and afternoon, on both the Golden Triangle and Ranthambore tiger safari and the all-Oberoi version. The ruins of Ranthambore Fort stand inside the reserve.
Timing is the bigger decision. Rajasthan’s reserves generally open to visitors from October to June, and the core zones close for the monsoon from July to September. A summer Golden Triangle trip can still go ahead, but the safari element may be limited to buffer zones or dropped. Nobody can promise a tiger sighting on any drive, so treat the safari as a day in the forest with a chance of one.
When is the best time for a Golden Triangle tour?
Late February, March and early October give the best balance of weather and air. Winter is cooler, but the FCDO warns of severe air pollution in North Indian cities, especially from October to February.
| Months | What to expect |
|---|---|
| October–November | Dry and warm. Dussehra falls on 20 October 2026 and Diwali on 8 November 2026, when cities are lit up and busy. |
| December–January | The coolest weather of the year. With a respiratory or heart condition, speak to your GP before booking these months. |
| February–March | Clearer skies and warmer afternoons. Holi, when coloured powder fills the streets, falls on Monday 22 March 2027 in most calendars. |
| April–June | Hot from April and very hot by May and June. Sightseeing shifts to early mornings and evenings. |
| July–September | Monsoon rain and green countryside. |
What UK travellers need before flying
India’s entry process now has three online steps before you reach immigration. Use the official government sites only, as unofficial agents add their own fees on top.
- e-Tourist visa: apply through indianvisaonline.gov.in. For UK citizens the 30-day visa costs US$25 from July to March and US$10 from April to June. A 1-year visa costs US$40, and a 5-year visa US$484. A 3% bank charge is added to each.
- e-arrival card: complete it online within the 72 hours before you land.
- Self-declaration form: all international arrivals must file it on the Air Suvidha portal in the 24 hours before you land. It covers health screening.
- Vaccines: TravelHealthPro lists hepatitis A, tetanus and typhoid for most travellers, and carries a 2026 dengue alert for India. The FCDO says to check at least 8 weeks before travel.
- Far-west Rajasthan: the FCDO advises against all travel within 10 km of the India–Pakistan border. It matters only for side trips west of Jaisalmer, so check any extra excursions there with your specialist.
