India Guide
Uttar Pradesh
Getting around
Agra is very spread out and its sights too widely separated to explore on foot, so wherever you're staying you'll end up spending a fair amount of time in rickshaws or taxis. Getting from one part of the city to another can prove surprisingly time-consuming thanks to the sheer volume of traffic and the poorness of the roads. Crossing from one side of the Yamuna River to the other is particularly tedious.
Cycle rickshaws are good for short trips and provide a livelihood for some of the city's poorest inhabitants, as well as being cleaner and greener than autos, but can be unbearably slow for longer journeys. Rickshaw drivers are also the single biggest source of hassle in Agra – attempt to walk anywhere, and these persistent folk will be on your case, following you down the street.
Auto-rickshaws are faster and fares, including waiting time, are very reasonable if you don't mind bargaining: sample fares from Taj Ganj are Rs30–40 to Sadar Bazaar, Rs50–60 to Agra Cantt Station, and Rs15–20 to the fort. Taxis are handy for longer trips to Sikandra or Fatehpur Sikri; agree a fare before you set off. There are taxi ranks at the stations, or your hotel should be able to arrange a vehicle. There's also a cheap and environmentally friendly electric bus (Rs5) which shuttles back and forth between the fort and the west gate of the Taj Mahal, though you could easily spend twenty or thirty minutes waiting for it to arrive.