Sometime ago in the month of December, we decided to embark on a self-drive road trip from the city of Mumbai to the town of Agra in India. The total distance between the two destinations is about 1200 km and could seem daunting. However, we figured that if we chart out an itinerary with a few stopovers, we could make it into a fun-filled and adventurous trip.
So we charted out a path that would take us through three different states across 4 different halts and give us a different kind of experience in each one. The Google Map below shows our route where we started in Mumbai (A), then took halts at Vadodara (B), Udaipur (C), Sawai Madhopur / Ranthambore National Park (D) and finally arrived in Agra (E).
Here’s a breakdown of our days on the road:
Day 1: Mumbai to Vadodara
We started out from Mumbai early in the morning to beat the traffic and started towards Vadodara in Gujarat. This is a run of about 530 km and it took us about 8 hours to get here. In terms of sight seeing, there isn’t much to do in Vadodara but we decided to stay the night and catch-up with some friends over a delicious Gujarati thali meal.
Day 2 – 3: Vadodara to Udaipur
On Day 2, we pushed off from Vadodara after breakfast towards our next destination – Udaipur, the beautiful city of lakes in Rajasthan. This distance is about 350 km and took us about 7 hours of driving time. We stayed in a small hotel in the old part of the city and spent a relaxing evening over food and drinks in the pleasant December weather.
Day 3 was spent in city sight seeing – the gorgeous City Palace, the markets selling local handicrafts and a boat ride across Lake Pichola.
Day 4 – 5: Udaipur to Sawai Madhopur / Ranthambore National Park
On the morning of Day 4, we were headed towards Sawai Madhopur where we had booked our stay in one of the many guesthouses available in the area. The distance between Udaipur and Sawai Madhopur is about 400 km and it took us around 7.5 hours drive time.
The main attraction here is the Ranthambore National Park, well-known for the jungle safaris where you get to spot the royal bengal tigers in their natural habitat. This is what our Day 5 was earmarked for, where we went on two open jeep safaris – a morning and an afternoon safari in two different safari zones. While it was biting cold in December on the morning safari, it still was adventurous and you will survive if you bundle up well.
Day 6 – 7: Sawai Madhopur to Agra
The next morning after breakfast, we were off to our final destination Agra – a distance of about 300 km from Sawai Madhopur, which took us 7 hours drive time (with a long lunch pitstop).
The highlight on this route was a leisurely lunch stopover at a roadside dhaba on the highway which served mouth-watering dal fry, paneer sabzi, fresh and hot tandoori rotis along with pickles and salad. Highway dhabas are quite common in the northern side of India and it’s an experience you need to indulge in, if you haven’t already done so. Agra has a lot to offer in terms of places to visit. See our blog post on suggested things-to-do there.
And this is where a most memorable trip came to a close. We hope this is useful and gives you some idea to start planning your own. Happy road tripping folks! And if you have any questions, leave them in the comments and we’ll try to answer as best as we can.
