Talk about distance and different options. Here is what we recommend to our students. Just expand and provide more information.
How to get to Rishikesh from Delhi?
Good question!
There are many airports in India, but Indira Gandhi Airport in Delhi is the closest one to Rishikesh.
This is the reason why if you’re coming to India for your Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh. The best decision possible for you is to book a flight from your city to Delhi.
Once you’re in Delhi, There are 4 ways to get to Rishikesh…
- Plane
- Taxi
- Train
- Bus
Get to Rishikesh by Plane
A flying… this is one of the most comfortable and fastest ways to get anywhere you want. However, it’s the same when you’re going to Rishikesh.
The most important thing you need to know is that in most of cases the flight can be cheaper than the taxi for example. As of November 2019, there are flights from Delhi-Dehradun that cost only 35 USD or 2500 rupees, which is not that much for the people who are looking for easy and comfort traveling.
The Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh is starting from 01.12.2019 and continues until July.
Just click the link and, you can easily find the perfect fitting time for you and book your flight ticket in advance!
The best websites to look for tickets Delhi-Dehradun are:
- Cleartrip.com
- Makemytrip.com
- Yatra.com
Another important thing to know is that you need to take into attention that flights are carried out from different terminal of Indira Gandhi airport. This is the reason why you need to book a plane that departs no sooner than 3 hours after your arrival to Delhi.
You need to make this, in case of delay, baggage claim, transfer from one terminal to another, and security check for the domestic flight.
In fact, Dehradun’s airport is located closer to Rishikesh than to the city of Dehradun itself. So from the airport, you can just take a taxi to Rishikesh. The price will be around 10 USD.
Get to Rishikesh by Taxi
The taxi is the second way to get to Rishikesh. It can be pretty expensive for you because the prices start from 110 USD. But this price can be shared between the passengers if there are other students of SIDHI YOGA to arrive at the same time. It takes you 6-7 hours to get to Rishikesh.
Once you choose to go by taxi, you need to be prepared for breathtaking landscapes and awesome experience which is not always pleasant for the first-timers.
The experience includes seeing your driver doing strange things like passing a car which is passing another car on a turn, quickly avoiding obstructions like rickshaws, bikes, trucks, monkeys, cows, and dogs.
India’s first driving rule is: “There are no rules!”
So beeping to each other is the only way for the drivers to understand the next move of each other.
NOTE!
This type of traveling is not for people who are too sensitive and might consider another way of traveling such as flight for example…
…But if you’re keen to travel enthusiast the things above maybe are not a problem for you, because you know that this trip can be a lifetime experience for you and your friends.
You can just hope that your driver knows what he’s doing, and simply let it go and entrust your life in his hands.
Get to Rishikesh by Bus
For the price of 7 USD, you can book a ticket for a bus that will take you directly to Rishikesh. This is a much cheaper option for you in comparison to the flight or taxi. The buses are Air-conditioned and big enough, so you can feel comfortable while traveling.
The distance from Delhi to Rishikesh is about 230 km and the journey can take about 6-7 hours, depending on the traffic…
You can book your ticket one month before the travel, but if you’re going to use bus it’ll be good for you to pre-pay a taxi from Delhi Airport to reach the BUS station.
The right webpage to book your bus ticket is www.redbus.in, but you need to know that you’ll need an Indian mobile number and Indian card for payment.
Go to Rishikesh by Train
If you’re going by train, your final destination is the city Haridwar which is located nearby Rishikesh. You can take the train from New Delhi in other words (Delhi station, depending on the train), this trip will take you from 4 to 7 hours, depending on the train.
The price of the tickets depends on the type of train and class of the carriage. It can be from 2 to 20 USD.
If your flight to Delhi lands during the evening you can book a night sleeper train and sleep all the way to Haridwar. But you need to be careful because if you fall deeply asleep you can miss Haridwar and go to another city.
If your flight to Delhi lands in the morning you can take an Express train that will bring you to Haridwar in 4,5 hours. The ticket for this train also includes breakfast served during the trip.
The daily express train 12017 Dehradun Shatabdi departs from Delhi Railway station at 6:45 and arrives at Haridwar at 11:30 AM.
There are two possible classes on this train. The first one is the Executive Class seat which will cost you around 16 USD, and the second one is the AC Chair class which will be around 8 USD.
But our advice is to take the AC Chair Class ticket because the difference in comfort is not that big.
If you arrive in Delhi during the afternoon there is another Shatabdi Express Train, 12055 which departs, from New Delhi Train Station at 3:20 pm and arrives at Haridwar at 7:30 PM.
The prices here are even better than the morning express. The prices for AC Chair Class seats are starting from 7 USD for AC Chair Class seat, following by 2 USD for Second Class seat.
Our advice is to check the timings of the trains at sites like Yatra.com, Cleartrip, and Makemytrip.com. The reason behind this advice is that these web pages have better navigation and usability than the Indian Government site.
If you’re going to use the train to go to Rishikesh the first thing you need to do is to make a good plan for your trip.
Here You Can Check Our Plan
The first section of the plan is to take either metro or train to New Delhi after you arrive in the Indira Gandhi Airport. Another option is to take a pre-paid taxi to the New Delhi train station, which you can order at the airport.
After that, you need to take a train to Haridwar from New Delhi Train station. Once you’re there you can take a taxi to Rishikesh.
If you’re going for our Yoga Teacher Training we’ll give you the address of the retreat…
There is a second option for going to Rishikesh from Haridwar and it’s taking the bus. This is better if your budget is lower because the price of the ticket will be 1 USD. This bus comes to Haridwar bus station once or twice per hour. And the traveling time is about an hour.
Once you’re in Rishikesh bus station, you can take a rickshaw to your final destination.
As you can see this the most adventurous and exciting way to travel through India but here are some important things to know.
- Haridwar is not the final stop of your train!
You need to be careful while you’re traveling by train because Haridwar is the station before Dehradun.
To make sure you won’t miss it you’ll need to know the estimated time of arrival to Haridwar. So you need to change your clock to local Indian time, and also set an alarm.
In India, often the stations will not be announced and this is something normal.
So in case of missing your stop, you can still go to Rishikesh…
…But if you start from Dehradun the road will be one hour long and the buses will not be as frequent as in Haridwar.
- Avoid the “waiting list” tickets
This here is something you MUST know…
And it’s to avoid one special type of ticket which is called the “waiting list” ticket. Now let us tell you more about this.
When you’re buying your train ticket on the website, it’s possible for them to sell you a waiting list ticket. And that basically means that you gave money for a ticket that actually doesn’t give you a seat, and the only way you can have seat is if someone cancels their ticket at the last moment.
But these chances are pretty thin…
So once you miss your train, this causes disruption to your overall travel plans, and it’s not good at all.
To say this shortly: don’t buy “waiting list” tickets.
- Before buying your ticket, it’ll be good for you to know what is actually the meaning of different sorts of classes, such as AC Chair Car, AC2, AC3, and
If you buy “Sleeper” you need to be prepared for seeing people without tickets or those on the “waiting list” can still travel in carriages of sleeping class.
In fact, they are supposed only to be standing there, but if they are cheeky enough you can see them sitting (or sleeping) on your seat.
You want more comfort in your travel?
Don’t worry here is the answer, you can just get a ticket in AC2 or AC3 types of carriage (for sleeping overnight), or AC Chair Car during the day.
For the people who don’t have a problem to spend some extra money, the best class possible is “Executive Chair class”, so if you’re interested you can check them also.
AC3 and AC3 classes are air-conditioned sleeper carriage with 3 benches at each side of the compartment for AC3, and 2 benches at each side of the compartment for AC2.
AC Chair Car might be your preferred choice for express trains because this class is more of a high-end and air-conditioned.
And the Executive Chair Car is simply AC Chair Car with more space between the seats which will be newer as other classes, and a little touch of Indian luxury.
- And last but not least
If you don’t want to hang from the window for the entire 7 hours of your trip, you better buy a ticket for the better classes.
India is a big country and the tickets are reserved quite quickly, so sometimes you’ll need to buy them way in advance before flying to India.
The best spot to buy your ticket is on the official site of the Indian railway, or Makemytrip and Cleartrip.com. The right time to do that is 2 weeks before your journey, just to be sure your place is assured.
And after you saw every possible way of traveling to Rishikesh, there is only one thing left out there…
…It’s just to take the first step and go through this beautiful country one way or another. You can go by plane, bus, train or Taxi, but you need to know only one thing about the trip.
IT’LL BE WORTH IT!
So once you’re in Rishikesh you’ll feel the atmosphere of this incredible location for practicing yoga.
And once again, the right time to book your place in our Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh is now.
So if you’re interested just click here and you’ll be able to read more about this super offer.
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