Day Trip from Delhi To Agra

Overview

We recently took a day trip to Agra from Delhi and are sharing all the details here so you can be prepared and plan a successful day trip yourself.

Getting There

We took the Gatimaan Express train from Delhi to Agra in the morning and returned via the same train later that day. The Gatimaan Express is one of India's fastest trains and runs daily direct from Delhi to Agra (and proceeds on to a further destination). It's top speed is 160km/hr and it takes approximately 1 hr and 45 minutes to reach Agra from Delhi. The train leaves Delhi Nizamuddin Railway Station at 0810 in the morning and arrives in Agra Cantt Railway Station at 0950. They serve breakfast on the train and while it isn't a 5 star meal, it is sufficient, especially for the price. They even provide a free newspaper for some browsing entertainment on the journey. There are bathrooms and plenty of leg room and storage for small luggage and backpacks. The train departs Agra in the evening at 1750 and returns back to Delhi Nizamuddin station at 1930. We paid 11,950 INR for 4 seats in the top class, the Executive Chair Car, for the round trip train tickets. This comes out to about $37/person and includes breakfast on the way to Agra and a light meal on the way back to Delhi.

Arriving in Agra

If this is your first time in Agra, or you don't know much about India, I'd suggest booking a tour guide for your time in Agra. As ND is from India and speaks the languages and knows all the ins and outs of the local culture we can manage fine on our own. If you're planning to go to Agra, drop us a message below and we can suggest some tour guides for you! I've taken 3 trips to Agra from Delhi, and I did book a tour guide at the train station on the trip I took by myself with my sister. A slight warning, it can be incredibly overwhelming when you get off the train in Agra. Porters will be asking to take your bags for you, tour guides will start yelling "Taj Mahal? Taj Mahal?, and taxi drivers/auto rickshaw drivers will start asking you, "taxi, taxi?/auto, auto?" My husband of course just plowed through them all and decided he'd find the least annoying auto rickshaw driver to take us to the Taj. We ended up spending about 150 INR (less than $2 USD) to get from the Aggra Cantt station to the Taj Mahal entrance. Again, it was a little chaotic because the auto rickshaw driver dropped us about a 20 minute walk away and we ended up renting a rickshaw to take us a little closer. We still had to walk about 10 minutes and it was HOT! If you hire a tour guide, they will be able to take you to a different entrance and help you manage the crowds, the ticket buying, and security. I hadn't been to the Taj Mahal in about 14 years and it was different than I remembered, more security, more chaos. But previously I went with a driver and/or tour guide, so that was likely the main difference. With the kids, we weren't interested in the tour and hearing about the history. My husband knows enough of the history which was sufficient for our boys.

Once we reached the entrance, we had to buy tickets. Tickets are 1100 INR each for foreign tourists, plus an additional 200 INR if you want to actually go inside. Kids under the age of 15 are free, domestic or foreign, but we had to pay the 200 INR fee for the kids to go inside the mausoleum. Overall, we paid 3000 INR of us which is about $38 USD. We also had to pay an additional 80 INR ($1 USD) for disposable shoe covers as they must be worn when you go inside the main mausoleum.

After we got our tickets we were directed to the gate. We had to show our tickets to the guard and we were presented with a bottle of water and a token that we would use for entry. We then got in line for security. This is where I think it is beneficial to have a tour guide, or a husband who speaks fluent Hindi. Security was much tighter than it was 14 years ago and we hadn't paid attention to any signs. Our bag was flagged because we had the kids yo-yos in it and some gum and tic tacs. You are not allowed to bring in any food or candy and toys are not allowed. This ruined Micah's plan to do a yo-yo trick in front of the Taj Mahal for a video we will be making later, and he was disappointed. Regardless, they made us put these items in a plastic bag and store them in a locker for retrieval on the way out.

Once we made it through security, we headed to the actual Taj entrance. The grounds are beautiful and the anticipation builds as you get close to the gateway to get your first glimpse.

We had our Insta360 and they made us pay 60INR at this point right here where we saw this view to be able to take videos. But you can only take videos at the entrance and then you have to put it away. This was another one of those things where my husband and I just laughed at the ironic rules that you come across in India. Of course, we still had our phones and no one seemed to be checking videos being taken by phones. Not sure who this rule makes sense to, but it's a chance for them to make more money off the tourists.

We spent about 2 hours exploring the grounds, waiting in lines to take photos, and going into the inner mausoleum. We probably would've stayed longer if it hadn't been so hot. Honestly, the heat was pretty unbearable and I definitely recommend planning your trip to India in the fall to spring months when the temperature is more mild. But sometimes you can't avoid these things and you just make do with the heat. I definitely recommend a handheld fan and cool clothing. But we managed to withstand the heat and got our photos and the boys were psyched they could say they've been to one of the 7 wonders of the world!

What Was Next?

If this is your first time in India or your first time in Agra, then you will likely want to visit some of the other sites, such as the Agra Fort or the Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah (the baby Taj as some call it). You also might want to visit the Kinari Bazaar or the Raja Ki Mandi to shop for some leather goods, textiles, shoes, and more.

For us, we tend to do our shopping in Delhi as we are most familiar with there. Instead, we decided to spend our time indoors at a modern air-conditioned cafe with some delicious food called The Salt Cafe. We cooled off, ate some delicious food, and then walked around town, in and out of air conditioning until our train left for New Delhi.

You can book your tickets on the Gatimaan Express here: https://www.irctc.co.in/nget/train-search You do have to make an account, but the website has recently been updated and while the process is still a little clunky, it is definitely able to be navigated and you can successfully buy tickets with an American credit card. The highest class available is the Executive Chair Car (EC) and it is air conditioned and comes with breakfast and a light meal on the return trip home.

If you are planning a day trip to Agra from New Delhi, I'd definitely recommend the Gatimaan Express for the affordability and the experience. Feel free to drop us a comment if you have any questions or if you are interested in a custom done for you itinerary for your Delhi to Agra trip! Feel free to leave a comment below if you have a question about India or a blog post about India you'd like to see!