Private Taj Mahal at Sunrise and Agra Day Tour from Delhi

Well worth putting in the long day to visit this incredible building. Plenty of time to see both the Taj and Fort.

Early start but easy to nap in car ride. Prem was excellent driver and stopped at a truck stop (interesting experience) for me to have coffee and use the facilities. Sun wasn’t making an appearance but the early morning mist created a dreamy atmosphere. Guide Rocky was very knowledgeable about mogul history and answered my many questions. The Taj is worth every penny and every missed minute of sleep. Breakfast afterwards was at a lovely hotel where I was given an hour to eat and absorb the morning alone - perfect. Then on to the fort and to the baby Taj (which I paid for). There were too many stops with sales people pressing for business and not enough stops to see the beauty and uniqueness of Agra. But Rocky was an excellent host. Easy to understand and talk to. And Prem was the perfect driver.

We really enjoyed our tour. Our driver and tour guide were great - very friendly and knowledgeable. The Taj Mahal and Agra Fort are incredible. The breakfast was delicious. We were disappointed with the shopping as it was very specific shops only when we thought it was going to be more of a market, but it wasn't enough to detract from everything else.

The Agra tour by Trip Advisor was overall a huge disappointment. Our guide Tony made our experience feel unsafe, shallow, and aimed at making you spend money at every turn. Breakfast I asked if we could eat breakfast at a well-reviewed south Indian restaurant, and our guide avoided the question and acted like we had to eat at the Trident Hotel (a place that is part of a more expensive trip advisor package). Our guide said the south Indian restaurant was disgusting, and we shouldn’t go. I then asked what his favorite local restaurant was, as he was from Agra, and he said Trident Hotel was the best. This was our first red flag. Shop Scams Before visiting Agra, I reached out to trip advisor about the itinerary, and explained that we were not interested in shopping. I read several reviews saying that other people were taken to shops by their tour guide so if they bought something the guide would get a portion of the money. I received feedback from trip advisor saying we didn’t have to go shopping, and we could in fact go anywhere in Agra, even if it wasn’t on the tour, we would just have to pay the entrance fees. Conclusion During the entirety of our tour at the Taj our guide Tony talked about the stonework and the inlaid gemstones at the Taj. He took us to a shop afterwards that specializes in this kind of gem and stonework. While the craftsmanship at the shop was high quality they have a display area out front with workers displaying how they supposedly make everything by hand. It felt like a tourist display and the prices for the goods were very high. After the marble shop we went to Agra Fort, which was the least appealing of the forts we visited in India and he talked endlessly about tapestries they would hang that are of course no longer present. After telling us a little about the fort and a focus on the tapestries he then insisted we go to a tapestry shop to see their wares. We told him we were not interested and did not want to buy a tapestry but he insisted. Only after telling him a second time we did not want to go to a shop and instead wanted to visit the gardens across from the Taj did he concede and the mood of the tour changed entirely. He became distant and reluctant to respond to our questions and you could hear a level of scorn in his voice for us not wanting to do things as he had planned. This not only made us uncomfortable riding with him but also having all of our belongings in a car with him as we walked the gardens on our own.

Overall a nice trip, with punctual and professional driver. Well organized from a timing standpoint. Friendly and helpful guide, good breakfast, and enough time to explore Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. The only negative was the "forced stop" at the handicrafts store(s). Since we were time-pressed to return to Dehli by a certain time we only visited one of the stores (the marble inlay one). The demonstration was nicely done, but the visit to the gallery/store was not as "no pressure at all" as was mentioned several times by the person who welcomed us. While the craftsmanship of the items was good, the prices were very high and you should be able to haggle down to about one-third to half of the original asking price. In the end I decided against buying what I liked, because I didn't like the sales tactics, being surrounded by 4 or 5 people trying to have me buy a $100 coaster set, which started with a much higher asking price. I worked in tourism and even as a tour guide for years so I understand the shop visits and reliance on commission for extra income, but in the end these visits should not distract from the tour, and partially spoil the experience of visiting one of the must-see places on earth.

Very good experience and enjoyed it very much. the guide Rocky kept pointing out certain details in the architecture of the Taj and could tell a lot about the history. He did that in a funny way making the experience more memorable. Definitely something one would not want to miss when visiting India. The driver picked us up in time and brought us save and sound back to the hotel which was very much appreciated given the traffic in India

It was a memorable experience! Everything that we wanted and so much more. Professionally organised and executed. Our driver was so caring and reminded us of our pick up venue way in advance and our guide (Rocky) was the highlight. He walked us through the historical timeline of the Moghul Empire and culminating in the reasons for building the "Taj Mahal". Our guide Rocky is amazing in taking excellent photographs. We brought back wonderful pleasant memories. Thank you Viator!

We could have skipped the shopping tours.. It was actually fun and a good learning how they trying to sell products.. It was insightful, but waking up early, and a having a full day tour maybe they should incorporate a massage for free and then sell whatever they want to sell:)

Prior to our trip our driver sent his picture and reconfirmed our 2:15 am hotel pick up in Delhi. He was on time and drove us the 3 hours to meet our day guide at the Taj Mahal. Early is the key as we were first in line to enter the gate and quickly made our way to the best photos with virtually no one else in them. Our guide was a photo expert and historian and moved us around with great ease capturing each essential, once in a lifetime photos. Breakfast at a local hotel was very good and a much needed break before heading to Agra which was a bit disappointing. We passed on the ceramics shop as we preferred an earlier return to Delhi. Thank you Viator for vetting your supplies and providing an outstanding day trip

Guide had excellent knowledge of area and conveyed a lot of interesting facts and figures about the Taj Mahal and Agra in good English. the breakfast was most enjoyable. a pleasant location. personally, i didnt need to go outlets that wanted to sell their products. the drive to and from Delhi was long but the driver excellent and i enjoyed the trip. the driver was very patient in the afternoon traffic when getting my safely back to my hotel. Not sure who the person was who drove with us from Delhi to Agra?? He didnt have a lot of English that i could understand and slept most of the way... a nice (long) day out :)