Where to Stay in Agra: Choosing Your Best Base for the Taj Mahal | India Purple Travel Guide

Compared to Delhi, Agra has a much more limited supply of luxury hotels, AirBnBs, and homestays. If you are looking to book a high-end hotel during the main tourist season (October to March), make sure to book months in advance, as the best options fill up quickly.

Traffic in Agra is not as bad as in Delhi, but the city still has congested areas, and the general level of noise pollution is high and constant. Our advice is therefore to consider two main lodging strategies:

Option 1: Stay Near the Taj Mahal

Pros: Perfect for accessing the Taj Mahal at sunrise, especially the East Gate which is the primary tourist entrance. You can often walk to the complex.
Cons: Just be advised that the traffic noise in the areas immediately surrounding the Taj complex is deafening and constant, and air pollution can also be very bad.

Option 2: Stay in the Fatehabad Road Corridor

Pros: This corridor is home to many of the city's higher-class hotel chains and offers a slightly quieter and more contained environment for tourists. We are partial to this location, as our favorite hotel in all of India, the Courtyard by Marriott Agra, is located here, known for its excellent service and well-maintained property.
Cons: Requires a short taxi or tuk-tuk ride (about 10-15 minutes, traffic depending) to reach the Taj Mahal's perimeter.

Here you can find the accommodations that are available when you visit:

As mentioned earlier, we love the Courtyard by Marriott Agra.

Here at Backpack and Snorkel Travel Guides, we promote self-guided walking tours.
But we realize that not everybody likes to walk by themselves in a foreign city. So, just in case that you rather go with ab guide: NO PROBLEM! Please see the GuruWalk and Viator tours below.

free GuruWalk tours

paid Viator tours