From tiger safaris to Golden Triangle tours: What it's like to experience India as a VIP

A tiger safari in Rajasthan and tour through India’s Golden Triangle make a thrilling introduction to India’s most iconic travel circuit, writes Jillian Bolger

India is not for everyone, though I challenge anyone remotely curious about the world to come and experience it for themselves

Sat, 22 Aug, 2026 - 01:00

Jillian Bolger

It would be trite to call India a land of contrasts, but there are so many incongruities on the expansive subcontinent that life here seems overwhelmingly contradictory. At every turn, the country hypnotises you with its beauty then confuses you with its extremes.

Streetscapes flit between the mesmerising and the maddening; the pristine and the dirty; the serene and the hectic; the opulent and the impoverished. The culture is richer than you can ever imagine — from religious rituals to flamboyant clothing, from the street life to the street food, and the wildlife to the warm and friendly people. All life is here amongst the colour and noise and grime and history.

India is not for everyone, though I challenge anyone remotely curious about the world to come and experience it for themselves. It will not disappoint — all this life and rich heritage and glorious architecture and scenery is the stuff of dreams and can’t fail to thrill even the most nervous of travellers.

A country undoubtedly suited to independent travel, plenty of visitors come on escorted tours, with carefully chosen itineraries that avoid all the uncertainty and stresses of travelling alone while granting access to some of the nation’s most significant sites.

My first trip here was in 2004 backpacking for 10 weeks, figuring it out as we went along on our modest budget. My second visit sees me joining a high-end escorted tour where I discover the benefits of experiencing India as a VIP.

My tour itinerary follows a classic route through India’s Golden Triangle of Delhi, Agra and the Taj Mahal, and Rajasthan’s Pink City of Jaipur. We also stop off in Mumbai, a city close to my heart. This uniquely cosmopolitan city, where Western sensibilities mix with local tradition to deliver a fascinating metropolis, is where I picked out my engagement ring 20 years earlier.

We sleep in five-star hotels fit for Maharajahs and travel by luxury coach with our own tour guide, who proves a font of knowledge on his native country. Cutting through the countryside, we spot barefoot children working the fields, cows meandering through business yards, holy men meditating by the side of the road, and women wrapped in colourful saris carrying baskets on their heads.

In Old Delhi, we board a cycle rickshaw and whizz through the narrow laneways of Chandni Chowk market where vendors are getting ready for Diwali. We stop at the garden where Ghandhi drew his last breath and negotiate traffic around India Gate, an imposing war memorial that commemorates 82,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives in various battles, including the First World War.

Next, it’s on to Agra where we first glimpse the iconic Taj Mahal through smog and a heat haze. Next morning we visit with throngs of tourists and drink in the serenity and exquisite craftsmanship that makes this marble mausoleum the world’s most impressive monument to love. Despite having visited

before, it still mesmerises with its intricacy and beauty.

Leaving this modern wonder of the world again we head for the train station to experience what is, arguably, a rite of passage in India, a journey on the legendary Indian railway. Cutting through the countryside, we climb to Ranthambhore, a region I haven’t visited before.

We’ve come to see Rajasthan’s famous Ranthambhore National Park, once the private hunting grounds of the Maharajahs of Jaipur and now the protected home of the endangered Bengal tiger. Fewer than half of the visitors here will spot the elusive tiger but it seems the elephant-headed deity, Ganesha, is smiling down on us as we come across a magnificent beast lounging in the grass.

Women walking amidst the intricate buildings of Jaipur's Amber Fort

Just as we are about to drive off she stands up, and walks towards our convoy, all flaming fur, bold black stripes, and startling amber eyes. Emerging by the roadside, metres from our vehicle, she strolls past swishing her tail and leaving our group speechless.

Not to be outdone by this queen of the jungle, Ranthambhore’s many wildlife put on quite the show for us. From elegant sambar deer with huge antlers, cheeky langur monkeys, wild boar, armour-plated crocodiles, and a coterie of vibrantly plumed birds, a safari here is a thrill.

Next stop is Jaipur, to visit the 16th century Amber Fort, an imposing citadel high on a hill overlooking the fabled Pink City. After viewing the royal halls with their exquisite handiwork, we’re served lunch of traditional thali in 1135AD, an opulent bejewelled restaurant within the fortress walls. Royalty no longer live here unlike our next stop, the City Palace, a seven-storeyed citadel where we’re granted surprise access to the private living quarters of the present-day Maharajah of Jaipur.

Our whistle-stop tour finishes with a flight to Mumbai, where a local guide takes us through the old city to witness Victorian Bombay in all its architectural splendour. The British Raj truly made their mark here and it’s interesting to see how their landmark buildings have been assimilated into modern, independent India.

Fortuitously — or maybe because Ganesha is looking out for us again — it’s Diwali today, the Hindu festival that’s India’s most significant celebration. Here amongst the prestigious hotels, designer boutiques, roadside hawkers and bustling Crawford Market there’s a palpable buzz in India’s most populous city.

We dine in a chic restaurant filled with well-heeled families before joining Mumbaikars on the street to witness the fireworks filling the skies above Marine Drive. The beautiful boulevard curves around the Arabian Sea and my seafront suite at the swanky Oberoi looks towards the famous Chowpatty Beach. As the fireworks fill the inky sky with kaleidoscopic brilliance, I’m reminded that this country always puts on a wonderful show for all who dare to visit.

Escape notes

Escorted India

Below is a selection of escorted tours ot India, exploring The Golden Triangle. Some also include tiger safaris. The following list is by no means exhaustive.

Classic India with Tiger Reserve

11 nights, small group, Delhi, Agra, Kalakho, Sariska tiger reserve, Jaipur, Udaipur, fully guided, four and five-star hotels, €2,607. International flights not included.

insightvacations.com

India’s Golden Triangle and Ranthambohre

10 nights in Delhi, Jaipur, Ranthambhore, and Agra, four and five-star hotels, €2,299.

traveldepartment.ie

National Geographic Journeys Discover India

15 days, from Delhi to Delhi including Rajasthan, Ranthambore National Park safari, Lucknow, Udapur, Jaipur, and Agra. International flights not included, €2,499.

gadventures.com

India’s Golden Triangle

Eight days, from Delhi, Agra, rural Kalakho, Jaipur. €809. Combine this itinerary with the four-day Ranthambore wildlife extension, €680. International flights not included.