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I've spent the past two days seriously planning a trip to India.

First of all, I've decided that for my budget and situation I will only do Delhi, Agra ( Taj Mahal) and the big Rajastan province. This is all North West of India.

I was also seriously considering adding Lucknow and Varanasi ( Benaras ) to the list, but the cost would go up significantly as they are more than 300 miles plus in the other direction East of Delhi.

Originally my thought was to do the trip late this November, but now after checking the prices I'll have to push it back until I figure out if there is a more affordable way to travel to India.

For starters, I read that they charge 160 Euros just for the VISA. Thats if you apply with ample time. Otherwise they charge like 300 Euros. Holly COW!!!

Also an additional burdon with an India trip is that you may want to consider getting vaccinated. This is not a bad idea for an India trip, which requires planning and doctor visits.

Organized tours are very expensive. Its cheaper for couples, but a single person has to pay a 300 Euros supplementary fee. All this meant that the cheapest package to India with airfare from Europe would be almost 1900 to 2000 Euros. Thats for  the quickest trip. Oh, add to that the expensive VISA and entry taxes.

I'm not sure if in addition to the visa you have to also pay a country entry and exit fee or not.

I am looking at options of travelling there on my own planning, without a tour operator. Thats why I will have to delay the trip, so I can investigate more about this. KLM and AirFrance, which are really the same company offer the best rate flights at less than 600 Euros round trip from Europe.

So I guess I'll have to organize my self and research and go on my own, because the tour operator thing is just way too expensive.

I read somewhere that you can rent a CAR with a DRIVER for the day for 18 Euros. Anyone knows about this? Is the price right? How does it work? When they say for the day, at what time does the day end? What if you are going out of town in the other direction? Do you have to pay the drivers hotel?