Delhi With Kids
What Delhi with kids really looks like, from a family that plans these trips for a living.
Nicole Damiano, ASTA Verified Travel Advisor with FG Luxury Travel
Is Delhi too much with kids?
No, with a plan. Do one big sight a day, use the Metro and a private driver, keep a calm hotel with a pool, and Delhi is not only doable but memorable for kids.
How many days?
Two to three in the city, plus a day for Agra. More if you are running the full Golden Triangle on to Jaipur.
Do we need to book anything ahead?
Book a good hotel and a car with a driver ahead, and Taj Mahal and fast train tickets for the Agra day. The Delhi monuments you can do as you go.
Do we need a car?
Not your own. The Metro covers the center, and a hired car with a driver for the day is cheap and the sane way to reach the spread out sights. Never drive yourself here.
When should we go?
October through March for the cooler, drier weather. Avoid the brutal heat of April through June and the heavy monsoon rains of July and August.
India’s Overwhelming, Rewarding Front Door
I will be straight with you, Delhi is a lot. It is loud, huge and intense, and it is also one of the richest history lessons on earth and the gateway to everything families come to India for. With the right plan and the right pace, it is doable with kids, and worth it.
You have a thousand years of empires stacked in one city, a fort the size of a town, a tower older than most of Europe’s cathedrals, rickshaws threading the old bazaars, and the Taj Mahal a morning away. It is a place to go slow, do one big thing a day, and let a curious kid be amazed.
Getting Around
Do not drive yourself, and do not let the kids loose on the roads, the traffic is chaos. The Metro is the secret, clean, cheap, air conditioned and easy, with a women and children friendly car up front. Hire a car with a driver for the day for the spread out sights, which costs less than a taxi at home, and use the Metro for the rest.
Neighborhoods worth basing in
Old Delhi
The old walled city, intense and wonderful, with the Red Fort, the great mosque and the bazaars of Chandni Chowk. You visit here, you do not sleep here. A cycle rickshaw through its lanes is the ride kids never forget.
New Delhi & Connaught Place
The wide, green, colonial planned city with India Gate, the government buildings and the leafy roundabouts of Connaught Place. Calmer and easy to base in, close to the Metro and the main sights.
South Delhi
The leafier, quieter south, near Qutub Minar, Humayun’s Tomb and the best family hotels and restaurants. A gentler base with parks and space, a short Metro ride from the center.
The Imperial New Delhi
An art deco landmark with gardens, a pool and old world service in the heart of New Delhi, the splurge that makes an intense city feel calm. A real treat and a soft landing for a first India trip.
The Lodhi
A quiet luxury hotel in leafy South Delhi with big rooms, a great pool and calm, a gentle, family friendly base away from the noise. Well priced for what it is and the one I point most families to.
Bloomrooms New Delhi
Bright, clean and cheap, central and near the Metro, with the space and the simplicity families need after a busy day. It does the job and keeps a first India trip easy on the budget.
The Three I Build Every Delhi Trip Around
The Red Fort and Old Delhi
The Red Fort is a massive red sandstone fortress, the seat of the Mughal emperors, and walking its gates and halls is walking straight into the history a kid has read about. Right beside it, Old Delhi’s Chandni Chowk is a wall of noise and color and smells, best seen from a cycle rickshaw. Go in the morning, hold hands, and let it wash over everyone.
Qutub Minar and Humayun’s Tomb
Two of Delhi’s wonders sit in the greener south. The Qutub Minar is a soaring victory tower more than eight hundred years old, and Humayun’s Tomb is a garden tomb of red stone and white marble that was the rehearsal for the Taj Mahal. Both are calm, walkable and full of space for kids to run.
India Gate and a Rickshaw Ride
India Gate is the great war memorial arch at the end of a grand avenue, lit up at night with families picnicking on the lawns, and it is the easy, happy side of Delhi. Pair it with a cycle rickshaw ride through the old city earlier in the day and the kids see both faces of the place.
Family Time, Built In: Delhi With Kids
Delhi asks more of a family than most cities, and it gives more back. One huge sight a day, the Metro to move, a hotel pool to reset in, and plenty of water and snacks. Do that and even little kids come away wide eyed instead of worn out.
The harbor ferry to the beach
Sunday fish market
Paddle boats on the the Yamuna
Planten un Blomen
Qutub Minar plaza
PARK & DOWNTIME PICK
Lodhi Garden, a beautiful green park in the middle of New Delhi with old tombs, lawns, birds and joggers, is the reset the city needs. Come in the late afternoon, let the kids run, and watch Delhi relax around you.
Five Things To Eat In Delhi
Butter chicken
Chaat
Paratha
Biryani
KulfiNicole’s Perspective
A thousand years of empires in one city
I taught social studies and the ancient world for eight years, and Delhi is the richest classroom I can think of. It has been the capital of empire after empire for a thousand years, and you can stand in a Mughal fort in the morning and an eight hundred year old tower in the afternoon. A kid who loves history will not stop asking questions here.
I have planned and priced a lot of India for families, and Delhi is where the trip begins and the Golden Triangle opens up. It is the front door to Agra and Jaipur, and with a good driver and a calm hotel it is far more manageable than its reputation. When a family is ready for India, this is where I start them, gently.
The Day Trip: Agra and the Taj Mahal
Agra and the Taj Mahal are the day everyone comes for, about three or four hours by the fast train or a private car. The Taj at sunrise, white marble turning gold, is one of the few things that lives up to every photo, and the Agra Fort nearby is worth the stop. Go early, beat the heat and the crowds, and let the kids see a real wonder of the world.
Things I Would Tell A Friend Before They Booked
How Many Days
Two to three full days covers Delhi, plus a day for Agra. That is Delhi as a real stop and the front of a Golden Triangle trip.
Day one, Old Delhi, the Red Fort and a rickshaw through Chandni Chowk in the morning, India Gate at night. Day two, Qutub Minar, Humayun’s Tomb and Lodhi Garden in the calmer south.
Day three, the drive or fast train to Agra for the Taj Mahal and the fort. From there the road runs on to Jaipur and the rest of the Golden Triangle.
If all you have is a night in transit, do India Gate and one big Mughal monument, and save the rest for a real trip.
Delhi With Kids, Answered
Is Delhi too much with kids?
No, with a plan. Do one big sight a day, use the Metro and a private driver, keep a calm hotel with a pool, and Delhi is not only doable but memorable for kids.
How many days?
Two to three in the city, plus a day for Agra. More if you are running the full Golden Triangle on to Jaipur.
Do we need to book anything ahead?
Book a good hotel and a car with a driver ahead, and Taj Mahal and fast train tickets for the Agra day. The Delhi monuments you can do as you go.
Do we need a car?
Not your own. The Metro covers the center, and a hired car with a driver for the day is cheap and the sane way to reach the spread out sights. Never drive yourself here.
When should we go?
October through March for the cooler, drier weather. Avoid the brutal heat of April through June and the heavy monsoon rains of July and August.
Ready To Put Delhi On The Calendar
Send me your dates and your kids’ ages and I will build you a Delhi and Golden Triangle plan that is paced for a family, not a guidebook.
Keep exploring from Delhi
Nearby cities, the country, the whole region.
Click any card to open that page
Zoom out
All of India
All of Asia