UNESCORed Fort
- Entry
- ₹35 · ₹550 foreign
- Hours
- 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
- Closed
- Monday
- Needs
- 2–2.5 hours
Turn for the guide’s part →
Licensed tour guides · Delhi, Delhi
Hire a tour guide in Delhi
A licensed guide in Delhi 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 6 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
6
Guiding in Delhi
What a guide is actually for in Delhi
Delhi is the only city on this list where a guided day is a choice between three cities that happen to share a name: the Mughal walled city, the Sultanate ruins of the south, and Lutyens’ imperial capital. They are forty minutes apart in traffic and belong to different centuries, and a guide’s first useful act is to tell you which one you came for.
Orientation. Old Delhi sits in the north-east around the Red Fort and Chandni Chowk. The Sultanate monuments — Qutub Minar, Mehrauli, Hauz Khas — are fifteen kilometres south. New Delhi, with India Gate and the government buildings, lies between them. Humayun’s Tomb is east of centre, close to Nizamuddin.
3 UNESCO World Heritage sites. Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Humayun's Tomb — all of which admit a licensed guide and turn an unlicensed one away at the ticket gate.
What it costs
Guide rates in Delhi
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 Delhi 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 Delhi
| 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 Delhi |
| English English | ₹900 | ₹1,500 | United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Singapore, South Africa | English in Delhi |
| Russian Русский | ₹1,500 | ₹2,500 | Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Armenia | Russian in Delhi |
| French Français | ₹1,700 | ₹2,800 | France, Belgium, Switzerland, Québec, Morocco, Tunisia | French in Delhi |
| German Deutsch | ₹1,700 | ₹2,800 | Germany, Austria, German-speaking Switzerland, South Tyrol | German in Delhi |
| Italian Italiano | ₹1,700 | ₹2,800 | Italy, Italian-speaking Switzerland, San Marino | Italian in Delhi |
| Portuguese Português | ₹1,700 | ₹2,800 | Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Mozambique | Portuguese in Delhi |
| Spanish Español | ₹1,700 | ₹2,800 | Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, United States (Hispanic travellers) | Spanish in Delhi |
| Japanese 日本語 | ₹1,800 | ₹3,000 | Japan — independent travellers and organised group tours | Japanese in Delhi |
| Mandarin 中文 | ₹1,800 | ₹3,000 | Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia | Mandarin in Delhi |
What you will see
Delhi'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: Red Fort on Monday, Lotus Temple on Monday, Akshardham on Monday.
Delhi monuments · 1 of 6
Red Fort
- Entry — Indian
- ₹35
- Entry — foreign
- ₹550
- Hours
- 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
- Closed
- Monday
- Time needed
- 2–2.5 hours
Turn a card for the guide’s part
UNESCORed Fort
Sound-and-light show Tue–Sun, 7:30 PM in Hindi and 9:00 PM in English
Timings, fees and full guideUNESCOQutub Minar
- Entry
- ₹35 · ₹550 foreign
- Hours
- 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Needs
- 1.5–2 hours
Turn for the guide’s part →
Qutub Minar
Your guide covers the history, the layout and the practical sequence of the visit.
Timings, fees and full guideUNESCOHumayun's Tomb
- Entry
- ₹35 · ₹550 foreign
- Hours
- Sunrise (about 6:00 AM) – Sunset (about 6:00 PM)
- Needs
- 1.5–2 hours
Turn for the guide’s part →
Humayun's Tomb
One ticket also admits you to Isa Khan's tomb and the surrounding gardens
Timings, fees and full guideIndia Gate
- Entry
- Free
- Hours
- 24 hours
- Needs
- 1 hour
Turn for the guide’s part →
India Gate
Your guide covers the history, the layout and the practical sequence of the visit.
Timings, fees and full guideLotus Temple
- Entry
- Free
- Hours
- 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM
- Closed
- Monday
- Needs
- 45 minutes to 1 hour
Turn for the guide’s part →
Lotus Temple
Your guide covers the history, the layout and the practical sequence of the visit.
Timings, fees and full guideAkshardham
- Entry
- Temple free; exhibitions ₹260 adult, ₹160 child 4–11
- Hours
- 10:00 AM – Last entry 6:30 PM
- Closed
- Monday
- Needs
- 4–5 hours with the exhibitions
Turn for the guide’s part →
Akshardham
Musical fountain ₹110 adult, ₹80 child, about 7:30 PM depending on season. Phones and cameras are not admitted.
Timings, fees and full guide| Monument | Entry — Indian | Entry — foreign | Hours | Closed | Time needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red FortUNESCO | ₹35 | ₹550 | 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM | Monday | 2–2.5 hours |
| Qutub MinarUNESCO | ₹35 | ₹550 | 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Open all days | 1.5–2 hours |
| Humayun's TombUNESCO | ₹35 | ₹550 | Sunrise (about 6:00 AM) – Sunset (about 6:00 PM) | Open all days | 1.5–2 hours |
| India Gate | Free | Free | 24 hours | Open all days | 1 hour |
| Lotus Temple | Free | Free | 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM | Monday | 45 minutes to 1 hour |
| Akshardham | Temple free; exhibitions ₹260 adult, ₹160 child 4–11 | Temple free; exhibitions ₹260 adult, ₹160 child 4–11 | 10:00 AM – Last entry 6:30 PM | Monday | 4–5 hours with the exhibitions |
6 of 6 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 Delhi
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
Old Delhi in a morning
The only half day in Delhi that does not spend its time in traffic — everything below is within two kilometres of the Red Fort.
- 08:30
Hotel pickup
Guide and driver together at the lobby. Plan the morning over the first five minutes rather than on the move.
- 09:30
Red Fort
Gates open at 09:30. The first hour is the quiet one — Lahori Gate, the Diwan-i-Aam, the marble pavilions of the Rang Mahal.
- 11:15
Jama Masjid
Five minutes from the fort. Courtyard for 25,000; the southern minaret is climbable for the rooftop view over the old city.
- 12:00
Chandni Chowk on foot and by cycle-rickshaw
Dariba Kalan for silver, Kinari Bazaar for wedding trim, Paranthe Wali Gali for lunch. Walking is the only way in; the guide leads.
- 13:30
Drop
Back at the hotel, or onward — the guide signs off here and the car stays with you if you booked the full package.
Full day · ₹1,500 guide
Mughal, Sultanate and imperial Delhi in a day
Three cities in one day. The driving between them is what the day costs; the order below keeps it to about 35 kilometres.
- 08:00
Hotel pickup
An early start matters here — the Red Fort is calm at 09:30 and full by 11:00.
- 09:30
Red Fort
Two hours inside, finishing at the Rang Mahal and the Khas Mahal with the river-facing side explained.
- 11:30
Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk
Mosque courtyard, then the lanes on a cycle-rickshaw as far as Dariba Kalan.
- 13:00
Lunch in the old city or Connaught Place
Paranthe Wali Gali for the street version, Karim’s for Mughlai, CP if the group wants a table and air conditioning. Paid separately.
- 14:15
Humayun's Tomb
The building the Taj Mahal was drawn from, forty years earlier. One hour, including Isa Khan’s tomb on the same ticket.
- 15:45
Qutub Minar and the Mehrauli complex
The Sultanate layer — the minaret, the Iron Pillar, the Alai Darwaza, and the ruins of the mosque built from twenty-seven dismantled temples.
- 17:15
India Gate and the Rajpath drive
The imperial axis at the end of the day, when it is lit and the lawns fill up.
- 18:00
Drop at hotel
Guide signs off. The 8 hr / 80 km package covers the day as laid out above.
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 Delhi 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 Delhi: Northern Region — Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh
Questions people ask
Guides in Delhi
FAQs
Yes — Delhi is a single licensing region, so one Northern Region guide covers the Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Humayun’s Tomb and everything in between. That is not true once you cross into Rajasthan: Jaipur needs a Rajasthan-licensed guide, which is why a Golden Triangle tour changes guide at the state line and keeps the same car and driver.
Still have questions?
Our team is here to help. Contact us for personalized assistance.
Narrow it down
By language, by city, or by everything else here
A specific language in Delhi
Guide hire in another city
Everything else in Delhi
Book a licensed guide in Delhi
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.