National Capital Territory
Delhi
Start the Golden Triangle with a soft landing in calm South Delhi, give yourself two full days to split Old and New Delhi, and lean on the Airport Express and Uber over the touts.
Best length
2-3 nights
Airport
Indira Gandhi International (DEL), ~16km southwest of the centre
Airport to centre
Airport Express metro ~20 min to New Delhi station; Uber ~40-60 min in traffic
Best base
South Delhi (Hauz Khas/GK) for a calm first trip; Paharganj for budget and rail
In short
Delhi at a glance
Delhi is the start of almost every Golden Triangle trip and the place most first-timers under-plan: arrive into the calm of South Delhi rather than the chaos of Paharganj, give yourself two full days to split Old and New Delhi, use the Airport Express and Uber instead of negotiating with touts, and treat the half-hour time offset and the sensory overload as a day you have to ease into, not power through.
The short version
- Base yourself in South Delhi (Hauz Khas or Greater Kailash) for a soft landing; pick Paharganj only if cheap rooms by the station top your list.
- Split the city: one day for Old Delhi (Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk, Red Fort) and one for New Delhi (Humayun's Tomb, Qutub Minar).
- Take the Airport Express metro (₹60, ~20 min to New Delhi station) or a pre-booked Uber, never a tout at arrivals.
- Don't try to 'do' everything in one day — Delhi's traffic eats hours, so pick two or three sights and pace it.
- Two full days is enough before you drive on to Agra; Delhi is the trip's launch point, not its main event.
Delhi is where nearly every India trip begins, and the first-timer mistake is treating it as an obstacle to get through rather than a city in its own right. People land jet-lagged off a nine-hour flight, throw themselves at Old Delhi’s heat and crowds on day one, and leave convinced the whole country is exhausting. The fix is to arrive softly — base yourself somewhere green in the south, give the half-hour time offset a day to settle, and accept that Delhi rewards a slower read than the tour brochures suggest.
Two full days is the honest amount: one for the Mughal old city of Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk, one for the calmer monuments of Humayun’s Tomb and Qutub Minar. Resist cramming the Red Fort, India Gate and a dozen markets into a single afternoon — the traffic alone will defeat you. Below, the structured planning — where to stay, what’s worth your time, how to get in from Indira Gandhi airport, and a realistic budget in pounds — picks up from here, and feeds straight into the drive down to Agra.
Plan your Delhi trip
Keep a first trip focused: book the big timed sights, then leave room for neighbourhoods and food.
Top things to do in Delhi
Humayun's Tomb
Buy the foreign-tourist ticket at the gate or online via the ASI app and skip the touts who hover outside selling 'guided' add-ons you don't need. Come in the last two hours before closing: the low sun turns the red sandstone and white marble warm and the char-bagh gardens empty out as the day-trip coaches leave. Allow about 1.5 hours, and treat it as the Mughal style you absorb in calm before the crush of the Taj in Agra.
Qutub Minar
Buy the foreign-tourist ticket online through the ASI portal or pay by card at the gate to skip the cash queue, then treat this as half a New Delhi day rather than a quick photo stop. You can't climb the tower — it's been closed to the public since the 1981 stampede — so the visit is the courtyard, the rust-free Iron Pillar and the ruins of Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque around it. Allow an hour to ninety minutes, and go for opening at 07:00 or the last hour before sunset to dodge both the coach groups and the heat.
Red Fort
Buy the ₹600 foreign-tourist ticket online before you go, come on any day except Monday when the fort is shut, and treat it as the open-air anchor of an Old Delhi morning that starts at Jama Masjid and the Chandni Chowk lanes. Enter through the Lahori Gate, walk the covered Chatta Chowk bazaar to the Diwan-i-Am, then carry on to the marble Diwan-i-Khas and the Rang Mahal along the eastern wall. Allow 1.5–2 hours, go early before the heat builds on the open lawns, and skip it only if your Old Delhi time is tight and the mosque and bazaar already fill the morning.
Where to stay first
The areas that make a first visit easier — not an exhaustive directory.
South Delhi (Hauz Khas, Greater Kailash, Saket)
££ mid-rangeLeafier, calmer and better value-for-comfort than the backpacker zone, with good restaurants, the Hauz Khas village ruins and metro links. The sensible first-timer base for a soft landing after a long flight.
Best for: First-timers wanting a calm base
Paharganj
£ valueThe long-running backpacker strip beside New Delhi station: cheap rooms, cheap eats and the easiest onward rail, but noisy, hectic and heavy on touts. Fine if budget and train access top your list; skip it if you want to sleep.
Best for: Budget travellers near the station
Connaught Place (CP)
££ mid-rangeThe colonial-era circular shopping district at the heart of New Delhi: central, well connected by metro and walkable, though midrange-to-pricey and touristy. A practical middle-ground base between calm and chaos.
Best for: Central, well-connected stays
Aerocity
£££ premiumA cluster of international-brand hotels right by the airport, linked to the centre by the Airport Express. Soulless but useful for a one-night stopover or an early onward flight, not for actually seeing Delhi.
Best for: Airport stopovers and early flights
Airport to city centre
| Option | Time | Cost | Book ahead? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airport Express (Orange Line) metro to New Delhi station | ~20 min | ₹60 (~47p) | Fastest and cheapest; links to the main metro |
| Pre-booked Uber / Ola to the centre | ~40-60 min in traffic | ₹400-700 (~£3.10-5.50) | Best with luggage or a late arrival |
| Prepaid airport taxi (DTC/police booth) | ~45-60 min | ₹500-800 (~£3.90-6.30) | Use the official prepaid booth, never an arrivals tout |
When to go
Sweet spot: October to March is the sweet spot: dry, comfortable days of roughly 10-27 degrees and the easiest sightseeing for Old Delhi's open-air walks. November and February are peak for weather and crowds, so book hotels a few weeks ahead.
April to June is brutally hot on the plains — Delhi can hit 45 degrees, which is no fun for the fort-and-market days. The July-September monsoon is cheaper and greener but brings real downpours, and October to February can bring severe morning air pollution, so anyone with a respiratory condition should weigh the winter timing carefully.
What it costs
Direct return economy from Heathrow to Delhi runs roughly £450-£650, dipping to ~£400 on cheap shoulder-season dates and topping £700+ over Christmas and the October-February peak. One-stop fares via a Gulf hub from regional UK airports can undercut the direct price.
Daily budget per person
All rupee figures use £1 ≈ ₹128 (June 2026). Delhi is cheap on the ground — the cost trap is paying tout and 'fixed-price-tour' mark-ups instead of using the metro, Uber and the official foreign-tourist ticket counters. Carry small notes for rickshaws and chai.
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