UNESCOTaj Mahal
- Entry
- ₹50, plus ₹200 to enter the mausoleum · ₹1,100, plus ₹200 to enter the mausoleum foreign
- Hours
- 30 minutes before sunrise – 30 minutes before sunset
- Closed
- Friday
- Needs
- 2–3 hours
Turn for the guide’s part →
Licensed tour guides · Agra, Uttar Pradesh
Hire a tour guide in Agra
A licensed guide in Agra is ₹1,500 for a full day of eight hours and ₹900 for a half day of four, in English — 10 languages are available, from ₹1,200 to ₹3,000 a day. This page carries all 5 of the city's main monuments with their entry fees and opening hours, a half-day and a full-day itinerary, and the licence basis you can check before you pay.
Full day · 8 hours
₹1,500
Half day · 4 hours
₹900
Languages
10 available
Monuments covered
5
Guiding in Agra
What a guide is actually for in Agra
Agra is the one city where the guide earns their fee in the first twenty minutes, at the ticket counter. There are three ticket tiers at the Taj Mahal, a separate ₹200 ticket for the mausoleum itself, a gate you should use depending on where you are staying, and a crowd that doubles between seven and nine in the morning. A guide who knows that sequence saves you an hour before the commentary has even started.
Orientation. The Taj Mahal and Agra Fort are two and a half kilometres apart on the same bank of the Yamuna. Mehtab Bagh is directly across the river from the Taj. Fatehpur Sikri is forty kilometres west — an hour each way, which is why it is a full-day add-on rather than an afternoon one.
3 UNESCO World Heritage sites. Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri — all of which admit a licensed guide and turn an unlicensed one away at the ticket gate.
What it costs
Guide rates in Agra
The fee below is for an English-speaking guide. The guide fee is set by language rather than by city, so the ten-language table underneath applies in Agra exactly as it does in Delhi. The vehicle half of a bundled day is the site's published 4 hr / 40 km and 8 hr / 80 km rental package — every total here is two published rates added together.
Half day
4 hours, 40 km included
₹900guide only
With a vehicle and driver
- Sedan (Swift Dzire / Honda Amaze) — 4 seats
- ₹2,400
- SUV (Ertiga / Innova) — 6–7 seats
- ₹3,100
- Innova Crysta — 7 seats
- ₹3,700
Guide ₹900 plus the published 4 hr / 40 km rental package. Monument entry tickets are paid at the gate and are not included.
Full day
8 hours, 80 km included
₹1,500guide only
With a vehicle and driver
- Sedan (Swift Dzire / Honda Amaze) — 4 seats
- ₹4,000
- SUV (Ertiga / Innova) — 6–7 seats
- ₹5,000
- Innova Crysta — 7 seats
- ₹6,000
Guide ₹1,500 plus the published 8 hr / 80 km rental package. Monument entry tickets are paid at the gate and are not included.
The half-day guide fee is 60% of the day rate, rounded up to the nearest ₹50. Monument entry is extra and listed by monument below.
All ten languages, in Agra
| Language | Half day | Full day | Who it serves | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hindi हिन्दी | ₹750 | ₹1,200 | Domestic travellers from across India, and NRI families returning with relatives | Hindi in Agra |
| English English | ₹900 | ₹1,500 | United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Singapore, South Africa | English in Agra |
| Russian Русский | ₹1,500 | ₹2,500 | Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Armenia | Russian in Agra |
| French Français | ₹1,700 | ₹2,800 | France, Belgium, Switzerland, Québec, Morocco, Tunisia | French in Agra |
| German Deutsch | ₹1,700 | ₹2,800 | Germany, Austria, German-speaking Switzerland, South Tyrol | German in Agra |
| Italian Italiano | ₹1,700 | ₹2,800 | Italy, Italian-speaking Switzerland, San Marino | Italian in Agra |
| Portuguese Português | ₹1,700 | ₹2,800 | Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Mozambique | Portuguese in Agra |
| Spanish Español | ₹1,700 | ₹2,800 | Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, United States (Hispanic travellers) | Spanish in Agra |
| Japanese 日本語 | ₹1,800 | ₹3,000 | Japan — independent travellers and organised group tours | Japanese in Agra |
| Mandarin 中文 | ₹1,800 | ₹3,000 | Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia | Mandarin in Agra |
What you will see
Agra's monuments, and what they cost at the gate
Every figure is taken from this site's own published guide to that monument, linked from each card and row. Plan around the closures: Taj Mahal on Friday.
Agra monuments · 1 of 5
Taj Mahal
- Entry — Indian
- ₹50, plus ₹200 to enter the mausoleum
- Entry — foreign
- ₹1,100, plus ₹200 to enter the mausoleum
- Hours
- 30 minutes before sunrise – 30 minutes before sunset
- Closed
- Friday
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
Turn a card for the guide’s part
UNESCOTaj Mahal
Your guide covers the history, the layout and the practical sequence of the visit.
Timings, fees and full guideUNESCOAgra Fort
- Entry
- ₹40 · ₹550 foreign
- Hours
- 6:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Needs
- 2 hours
Turn for the guide’s part →
Agra Fort
Your guide covers the history, the layout and the practical sequence of the visit.
Timings, fees and full guideUNESCOFatehpur Sikri
- Entry
- ₹50 · ₹610 foreign
- Hours
- Sunrise (about 6:00 AM) – Sunset (about 6:00 PM)
- Needs
- 2–3 hours
Turn for the guide’s part →
Fatehpur Sikri
One ticket covers every monument in the complex. 40 km from Agra, about an hour each way.
Timings, fees and full guideItimad-ud-Daulah's Tomb (the Baby Taj)
- Hours
- Sunrise – Sunset
- Needs
- 45 minutes
Turn for the guide’s part →
Itimad-ud-Daulah's Tomb (the Baby Taj)
Your guide covers the history, the layout and the practical sequence of the visit.
Mehtab Bagh
- Hours
- Sunrise – Sunset
- Needs
- 45 minutes
Turn for the guide’s part →
Mehtab Bagh
The Mughal garden across the river that frames the back of the Taj at sunset
| Monument | Entry — Indian | Entry — foreign | Hours | Closed | Time needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taj MahalUNESCO | ₹50, plus ₹200 to enter the mausoleum | ₹1,100, plus ₹200 to enter the mausoleum | 30 minutes before sunrise – 30 minutes before sunset | Friday | 2–3 hours |
| Agra FortUNESCO | ₹40 | ₹550 | 6:00 AM – 6:00 PM | Open all days | 2 hours |
| Fatehpur SikriUNESCO | ₹50 | ₹610 | Sunrise (about 6:00 AM) – Sunset (about 6:00 PM) | Open all days | 2–3 hours |
| Itimad-ud-Daulah's Tomb (the Baby Taj) | Not published | Not published | Sunrise – Sunset | Open all days | 45 minutes |
| Mehtab Bagh | Not published | Not published | Sunrise – Sunset | Open all days | 45 minutes |
3 of 5 carry a published entry fee. Where one is not shown it is because this site holds no verified figure for it, and a gap is better than an unchecked number.
Do you need a guide at each one? An honest answer per monument
The shape of the day
A half day and a full day in Agra
Both plans are written against this city's own monument opening hours, which is why the start times are what they are.
Half day · ₹900 guide
Sunrise Taj Mahal and Agra Fort
The half day that most people actually want in Agra, and the only one that gets you the marble before the crowd.
- 05:15
Hotel pickup
Early, and worth it. Tajganj hotels are five minutes from the East Gate; Fatehabad Road is ten.
- 05:45
Taj Mahal, first entry
In with the first batch, 30 minutes before sunrise. Two hours inside: the gateway, the mausoleum, the mosque and the Mihman Khana, and the marble changing from grey to pink to ivory while you stand there.
- 08:15
Agra Fort
Opens at 06:00, so there is no wait. The Diwan-i-Khas, the Sheesh Mahal, and the Musamman Burj where Shah Jahan spent his last eight years looking at the Taj.
- 10:00
Drop
Hotel, station or onward to Delhi. The 4 hr / 40 km package covers this morning as laid out.
Full day · ₹1,500 guide
Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri
The full Mughal sequence in chronological order — Akbar’s capital, Akbar’s fort, Shah Jahan’s tomb — which is a better day than the usual order.
- 06:00
Hotel pickup
Guide and car together. The order below puts Fatehpur Sikri first, against the traffic and before the heat.
- 07:15
Fatehpur Sikri
An hour out on the Agra–Jaipur road. The Buland Darwaza, the Panch Mahal, Jodha Bai’s palace, and the Diwan-i-Khas with its single carved pillar where Akbar held his inter-faith debates. One ticket covers all of it.
- 10:30
Drive back to Agra
An hour. Most itineraries stop at a marble-inlay workshop on this stretch; say so if you would rather not.
- 12:00
Lunch on Fatehabad Road
Mughlai if you want the local thing — Esphahan or Pinch of Spice. Paid separately.
- 13:30
Agra Fort
Two hours. Akbar built it, Shah Jahan rebuilt it in marble, and Aurangzeb imprisoned his father in it — the whole dynasty in one building.
- 15:30
Taj Mahal
Afternoon light on the west face, and a thinner crowd than the morning. Two hours inside.
- 17:45
Mehtab Bagh (October–March) or drop
In the winter months the sun sets late enough for the garden across the river. In summer the Taj closes too late for it and the day ends at the gate.
- 18:30
Drop at hotel or station
The 8 hr / 80 km package covers Agra city plus the Fatehpur Sikri run.
The fare, stated plainly
What is in the price and what is not
What the fare covers
- A Ministry-of-Tourism licensed Regional Level Guide for the Northern Region
- The guide’s licence card photographed and sent on WhatsApp at confirmation, before anything is paid
- An AC vehicle with a driver on the published rental package, if you take the bundled rate
- Driver waiting at every stop for the full package duration — no re-booking between sights
- Fuel, tolls within the package distance, parking at the monuments, and the driver’s allowance
- Ticket-counter help: which tier to buy, which gate to use, and which queue is the short one
What it does not
- Monument entry tickets, paid at the gate — the Agra figures are in the table on this page
- Meals, shopping and any optional activity during the day
- Distance beyond the package’s included kilometres, at the published per-km rate
- Guide and driver gratuity, customary but never compulsory
- Monument camera or video charges where the monument levies them
Ministry of Tourism, Government of India
Regional Level Guide (RLG)
- Language examined in
- Ten languages
- Licensing region
- Northern Region
- Full day · 8 hours
- ₹1,500
- Half day · 4 hours
- ₹900
Every licence card carries a photograph, a licence number, the issuing region and the languages the holder is examined in. We send a photograph of the card on WhatsApp when a booking is confirmed, before you pay anything, so you can check the number, the region and the language against the guide who meets you.
The credential
What a government guide licence is, and how to check one
A Regional Level Guide licence is issued by the Ministry of Tourism after a written examination, an interview and a training course run through the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management. It is issued for a tourism region, not for the whole country, and it names the foreign languages the holder is examined in.
Archaeological Survey of India monuments admit licensed guides and turn away unlicensed ones at the ticket gate. An unlicensed "guide" who approaches you outside the Taj Mahal or Amber Fort cannot accompany you inside, which is why the pitch is always made in the car park.
In Agra: Northern Region — Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh
Questions people ask
Guides in Agra
FAQs
The Taj closes every Friday for congregational prayer at the mosque inside the complex and does not sell tickets at all. Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri, the Baby Taj and Mehtab Bagh are all open, so a Friday in Agra becomes the Fatehpur Sikri day and the Taj moves to Thursday or Saturday. If your dates are fixed and Friday is your only day in Agra, say so when you book and the guide will plan around it rather than around the Taj.
Still have questions?
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Book a licensed guide in Agra
Send your dates, the language you want and whether you need half a day or a full one. We come back with a licensed guide, a photograph of their licence card, and the total in writing before anything is paid — from ₹900 for a half day in English.
We send the guide’s licence card before you pay anything. Nothing is charged to confirm.