Taj Mahal and Agra Private Day-Trip from Delhi by Train

It has been a lifelong dream of mine to visit Agra and the Taj, and I would not have done it any other way...this company went above and beyond answering questions, making the itinerary personalized, and booking tickets to monuments, train, and car transportation to and from the train station as well as around Agra. I literally just showed up. Any small detail was taken care of. Additionally, the price point for this excursion was great. Our tour guide was Ravi Soni, and we had an amazing time. He is fluent in both English and German (as well as Hindi of course) and went above and beyond showing us perfect angles for photographs, and even took some for us when we wanted to be in pictures together. Aside from photos, he had amazing information to share about all the monuments and their rich history. Ravi was an incredibly kind and funny individual (great jokes) and I am planning on recommending this company and tour guide to any friends that are planning a trip to Agra (and definitely recommend it to anyone who reads this review). It's the little things that stay with you, like drinking chai on the train at sunrise, or having my picture taken in front of the Taj, running around in my socks on the cool floors in the building next to it to find the perfect angle. I will keep these close to my heart, and I have these memories thanks to this experience. Some final tips: 1. There is a photographer option at the Taj Mahal. If you are wanting cute group or couple photos, go for it- if you do, you will have professional prints and digital copies of them, all for around 40 bucks. At the Taj Mahal. 2. If you are planning on doing shopping, ask Ravi for recommendations. Especially because of the economy bc of the pandemic, it is really important to support local business as much as possible. Even though you aren't visiting a crowded bazaar, you will get to experience thorough tours of the shops you visit before you look at inventory. For example, I was interested in local embroidery and learning more about inlay work (like you see at the Taj Mahal). Besides the monument tours, we also went on a tour of local shops that specialized in these handicrafts and we were able to shop from a variety of price points (ranging from very reasonable all the way to sky is the limit). The artisans that produced these wares had done so as a family business for generations. If you instead prefer a general marketplace, I'm sure the guide can also accommodate this as well!! 3. If you want street food, go for it! And also consider food recommendations that tour guide has too. The restaurant options are often a quiet break from the busy tour portion of your trip.

I opted for this tour via Classic Tours and Mr. Rahul was very helpful in helping plan the itinerary. We got our train tickets in advance and the pickup from our Delhi hotel was very smooth and our driver gave us detailed instructions on boarding the train. We were promptly received by our driver in Agra on arrival and our guide Mr. Ravi was extremely knowledgeable and did an excellent job of providing a detailed account of all the history behind the sites at Agra. Overall a great experience and would absolutely recommend this tour!