Delhi Agra and Jaipur in 4 Days - Golden Triangle Tour India

Four days: one city per day, plus arrival

This is the Golden Triangle at the pace most people actually want — arrive, then a full day in each city, with the driving falling between them rather than inside them.

Day one: arrival in Delhi

Meet at the airport and transfer to your hotel. If your flight lands early there is time for a half day — India Gate, the Lotus Temple (closed Mondays) and Qutub Minar. Otherwise the evening is yours; Khan Market and Dilli Haat are the easy options.

Day two: Delhi to Agra

Down the Yamuna Expressway, about four hours.

The Taj Mahal with skip-the-line entry and a licensed guide — the calligraphy sized so it reads evenly from below, the pietra dura flowers of dozens of inlaid stones, the minarets tilted outward so an earthquake would drop them clear of the tomb, and the one deliberate break in the symmetry.

Then Agra Fort, Akbar's red sandstone stronghold of 1565, and the octagonal tower where Shah Jahan spent his last eight years as his son's prisoner.

Mehtab Bagh across the Yamuna at sunset, for the reflection view, if the light holds.

Day three: Agra to Jaipur via Fatehpur Sikri

Fatehpur Sikri on the way — a complete Mughal city built in 1571 and abandoned after fourteen years when its water supply failed. The Buland Darwaza is 54 metres of victory gate; the Panch Mahal steps back through five open storeys; the marble dargah of Salim Chishti still draws people tying threads to its screens.

Jaipur by afternoon, with the evening in the bazaars.

Day four: Jaipur, then Delhi

Amber Fort early, then the City Palace, Jantar Mantar and the Hawa Mahal, before the drive back to Delhi.

Three options

Car, driver and guides alone, or with three-star or four-star hotels included.

The Taj is closed on Fridays, so the itinerary is ordered around your start date.