Good Morning All!
My fiancée and I have recently set our date for the wedding (not on a train, but I initially considered buying out the EB for our wedding before I was shot down), and are looking into taking our honeymoon in India. She's interested in the food and culture and music, and for me, it's a railfan's delight. If we were to spend approximately two weeks there, what recommendations/tips would those of you who have traveled there before have for a pair of adventurous travelers (been to much of Europe and Central/South America, so we're completely ok going off the beaten path)? If we wanted to split the time between seeing places and things as well as trying to get some significant train journeys in, what might be some options we should look into?
Thanks so much for your advice and input.
~ DCTE
Aah my favorite topic! I could probably write a book full of suggestions and recommendations on how to enjoy an adventurous vacation on trains in India, but I guess I will leave that for another time and try to be concise for now
I can suggest a bunch of ideas but I need some information to start off-
1) What time of the year would you be traveling?
2) What city would you like to fly in and out from? Mumbai and Delhi are two easy options, but do you have something else in mind?
3) How comfortable would the two of you be about traveling in non climate-controlled trains with open windows?
4) What kind of places are you looking at visiting? Forests, mountains, beaches, history, big cities?
If you have not done so already, go ahead and join
IRFCA Forum. Tonnes of information and folks to help you out.
Since you would be going there on honeymoon, my personal suggestion would be to indulge in AC First Class ride on at least one Rajdhani Express category of trains, preferably one out of Delhi-Howrah, Delhi-Sealdah, Delhi Mumbai or Delhi-Trivendrum. I suggest these because I know the service on these routes is amazing and if the coach attendants see 1) you are a foreign tourist, and 2) you are on honeymoon, they will go out of the way to make your journey fun and memorable. Also, all these four trains have the new German design LHB cars with huge windows, so the view will be beautiful.
My advice would be to stay away from the gimmicky tourist trains such as Palace on Wheels. They are overpriced and not even half the fun as the regular trains.
A few popular options to start off your research-
1) Do at least one journey along the "Hindi heartland" i.e. eastwards from Delhi along the river Ganga. A good destination would be Varanasi. Lots of culture and music and food to keep your wife happy and it lies on super-busy Delhi-Howrah mainline so you will have plenty of trains to choose from.
2) A day run on Konkan Railway from Mumbai to Goa. It is one of the most scenic rides and the destination Goa is a big attraction among tourists.
3) One of the hill railways. Kalka-Shimla would be my suggestion. Darjeeling Hill Railway might be better in scenery and has steam locos too but that part of the country is very volatile in weather as well as political situation. In the south Nilgiri Mountain Railway also has steam but it is prone to frequent disruptions. You could try.
4) Offbeat Meter Gauge lines- since you said you don't mind being adventurous, the Meter Gauge lines running at various places across the country is a good option to explore the "other side" of India. Ahmedabad-Udaipur, Mavli-Marwar, Akola-Ratlam are three beautiful meter gauge routes.
Send me a personal message (PM) with your email ID and I can help you plan out your trip in detail.
Edit: Added more info.
