The Golden Triangle: A 7-Day Itinerary
A 7-day Golden Triangle itinerary: 2 nights Delhi (Old + New Delhi), 1 night Agra (Taj Mahal at sunrise, Agra Fort), 2–3 nights Jaipur (Amber Fort, City Palace, Hawa Mahal), then back to Delhi for departure. Most travelers hire a car and driver for the whole loop — roughly $25–40/day — rather than juggling separate trains. Total ground cost for 2 people, mid-range: roughly $980–1,400, not including flights.
The Golden Triangle gets recommended constantly, but a lot of the advice out there stops at 'visit Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur' without saying how many nights where, or in what order. Here's an actual day-by-day plan that's been road-tested by enough travelers to be the default version worth following, plus what it costs.
The route at a glance
| Day | Where | What |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delhi | Arrive, settle in, evening at Connaught Place or a local market |
| 2 | Delhi | Old Delhi (Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk) and New Delhi (Humayun's Tomb, India Gate) |
| 3 | Delhi → Agra | Morning drive or train to Agra (2–4 hours), afternoon at Agra Fort |
| 4 | Agra → Jaipur | Sunrise at the Taj Mahal, then drive to Jaipur (4–5 hours), stopping at Fatehpur Sikri en route |
| 5 | Jaipur | Amber Fort (morning, before the heat and crowds) and the Sheesh Mahal |
| 6 | Jaipur | City Palace, Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar, and the bazaars |
| 7 | Jaipur → Delhi | Drive back to Delhi (5–6 hours) for an evening flight, or one more Delhi night if your flight is early the next morning |
Day 1–2: Delhi
Two full days lets you split the city properly: one for Old Delhi's density and food, one for New Delhi's broader monuments and museums. See our full Delhi guide for a neighborhood-by-neighborhood breakdown — the short version is that the metro handles cross-city moves better than a car will.
Day 3–4: Agra
One night is genuinely enough for Agra if you time it right: arrive in the afternoon, see Agra Fort before sunset, then get up before dawn for the Taj Mahal's sunrise opening — both the light and the crowd size are dramatically better than a mid-morning visit. Fatehpur Sikri, a beautifully preserved abandoned Mughal capital, sits directly on the Agra–Jaipur road and is worth the 1–1.5 hour detour if your schedule allows it.
Book the Taj Mahal's sunrise entry slot online in advance — it's closed every Friday for prayers at the on-site mosque, so double-check your Day 4 doesn't land on one before you lock in hotel dates.
Day 5–6: Jaipur
Two full days covers Jaipur's essentials without rushing: Amber Fort and the surrounding hilltop forts on one day (go early, skip the elephant ride — see our Jaipur guide for why), the old Pink City's palaces, temples, and bazaars on the other.
Day 7: back to Delhi
The drive back to Delhi takes 5–6 hours, so most travelers either book a late-afternoon or evening flight out of Delhi the same day, or add one more Delhi night if their onward flight is early the next morning — don't cut it too close if you're catching an international departure.
What this costs, all in
| Item (2 travelers, mid-range) | Approx. total |
|---|---|
| Hired car and driver, 7 days | $175–280 |
| Hotels (6 nights, mid-range) | $300–500 |
| Entry fees (Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Amber Fort, etc.) | $60–100 |
| Food, 7 days | $100–180 |
| Total ground cost, 2 people | ~$635–1,060, plus flights |
How to adjust this itinerary
- Have only 5 days? Cut Jaipur to 1 night and skip the Fatehpur Sikri detour — you'll still hit every headline sight, just with less breathing room.
- Have 10+ days? Add Udaipur (6–7 hours from Jaipur) or Rishikesh (a detour north from Delhi) rather than adding more nights to any one Golden Triangle city — you've already seen the highlights by day 6.
- Traveling by train instead of a hired car? Delhi–Agra and Delhi–Jaipur both run fast trains (2–5 hours); budget an extra transfer buffer versus the door-to-door convenience of a driver.