Noida weekend trips:one-day and two-day drives
Noida has the best exit in the National Capital Region: the Yamuna Expressway starts at its doorstep, so Mathura is two hours and Agra two and a half, and both are honest one-day drives. Add Garhmukteshwar on the Ganga and Neemrana on the Jaipur road for the other one-day options. The two-day list runs north-east: Haridwar and Rishikesh at four hours, Jim Corbett at five, Mussoorie at five and a half, Nainital at six, and Jaipur at five in the other direction. A sedan is ₹11/km on a 300 km per day minimum, ₹3,300 for a day and ₹6,600 for a weekend.
Updated · Fares from the published rate card, Sedan ₹11/km to Tempo ₹23/km
- One-day drives
- 5 destinations
- Two-day drives
- 8 destinations
- Agra from Sector 18
- 200 km · 2.5 hrs
- Sedan, weekend
- from ₹6,600
Distances below are from Sector 18, and they assume you join the Noida Expressway before eight. The guide is split the way people actually plan: places that give a full day and get you home for dinner, and places that need a night. There is a separate place-by-place list for Noida; this page is about how to spend the weekend.
Fares come from the published rate card: Sedan ₹11/km, Ertiga or SUV ₹15/km, Innova Crysta ₹18/km and a 12-seater Tempo Traveller ₹23/km, on a 300 km per day minimum. Tolls, including the Yamuna Expressway plazas, are paid at actual by the driver on FASTag.
One-day drives
One-day trips from Noida: out after breakfast, home for dinner
Everything here is within 200 km. Leave by seven and you have five or six hours at the destination.
Mathura & Vrindavan
Temples, Prem Mandir at dusk
The Yamuna Expressway from Pari Chowk to the Mathura exit takes ninety minutes. Krishna Janmabhoomi and Dwarkadhish in the morning, Banke Bihari before it closes at noon, Prem Mandir lit up at dusk, then home.
- Krishna Janmabhoomi
- Banke Bihari
- Prem Mandir
Agra
Taj, Agra Fort
Two and a half hours door to gate. The Taj by ten, the fort after lunch, Mehtab Bagh across the river for the sunset view, and back on the expressway by seven. Closed on Fridays.
- Taj Mahal
- Agra Fort
- Mehtab Bagh
Garhmukteshwar
Ganga ghats, quiet
The nearest Ganga ghat to Noida, via the Meerut expressway and NH-9. Quiet outside the Kartik Purnima fair in November, when it is anything but. A morning at the ghats, lunch, and home.
- Brijghat
- Ganga aarti
- Kartik Purnima fair
Neemrana
Fort lunch, zip line
Across the city on the outer ring and down NH-48. A fort lunch and the Flying Fox zip line; longer than the Agra run, but a different kind of day.
- Fort Palace
- Zip line
- Baori
Bharatpur
Winter birds
Via the Yamuna Expressway to Mathura and across. Keoladeo is a dawn park, so this is either a four o’clock start or the first night of a two-day Agra–Bharatpur loop.
- Keoladeo
- Lohagarh Fort
Two-day drives
Two-day trips from Noida: one night away
North-east via the Meerut and Dehradun expressways, or south-west to Jaipur. Book the driver for two days; the car stays with you.
Haridwar & Rishikesh
Ganga aarti, rafting
The Meerut expressway is twenty minutes from Sector 18 and Haridwar is four hours from there. Aarti at Har Ki Pauri on Saturday evening, Rishikesh for rafting and the cafés on Sunday.
- Har Ki Pauri
- Laxman Jhula
- Rafting
Jim Corbett
Safari
NH-9 through Moradabad and Kashipur. Book the Sunday-morning safari before the cab; weekend slots go early. Riverside resorts along the Kosi for the night.
- Dhikala
- Jeep safari
- Corbett Falls
Mussoorie
Hill station
The Delhi–Dehradun expressway has made Mussoorie a five-and-a-half-hour drive from Noida. Mall Road on Saturday evening, Landour and Kempty on Sunday.
- Mall Road
- Kempty Falls
- Landour
Nainital
Lake, ropeway
Via Moradabad and Haldwani. Boating and the ropeway on day one, the quieter lakes of Bhimtal and Sattal on the way home.
- Naini Lake
- Snow View
- Bhimtal
Jaipur
Forts, bazaars
The one two-day trip that goes south-west: outer ring to NH-48. Amber and the old city on Saturday, Nahargarh at sunset, City Palace on Sunday morning.
- Amber Fort
- Hawa Mahal
- Nahargarh
Dehradun
Caves, springs, FRI
The gentle option: a valley town with a river cave, sulphur springs and the Forest Research Institute, with Mussoorie an hour above it if you want a taste of the hills on day two.
- Robber’s Cave
- Sahastradhara
- FRI
Lansdowne
Quiet pine hills
Via Meerut, Bijnor and Kotdwar. A cantonment town with no Mall Road; the point is the silence and the forest.
- Bhulla Lake
- Tip-n-Top
- St Mary’s
Chandigarh
Planned city
Outer ring to NH-44. The calmest city weekend in the north, and Kasauli is an hour further for the second night.
- Rock Garden
- Sukhna Lake
- Kasauli beyond
Weekend trips from Noida: one-day and two-day
Distances from Sector 18. One-day trips bill ₹3,300 for a sedan (the 300 km minimum); two-day trips bill ₹6,600 unless the round trip exceeds 600 km.
| Destination | Trip | Distance | Drive time | Road | Sedan fare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garhmukteshwar | One day | 90 km | 2 hrs | Meerut expressway, NH-9 | ₹2,750 (local + km) |
| Mathura–Vrindavan | One day | 140 km | 2 hrs | Yamuna Expressway | ₹3,300 |
| Neemrana | One day | 150 km | 2.5 hrs | Outer ring, NH-48 | ₹3,300 |
| Bharatpur | One day or two | 190 km | 3 hrs | Yamuna Expressway, Mathura | ₹3,300 |
| Agra | One day or two | 200 km | 2.5 hrs | Yamuna Expressway | ₹3,300 |
| Haridwar | Two days | 220 km | 4 hrs | Meerut expressway, NH-334 | ₹6,600 |
| Jim Corbett | Two days | 240 km | 5 hrs | NH-9 via Moradabad | ₹6,600 |
| Dehradun | Two days | 240 km | 5 hrs | Delhi–Dehradun expressway | ₹6,600 |
| Rishikesh | Two days | 245 km | 4.5 hrs | Meerut expressway, NH-334 | ₹6,600 |
| Lansdowne | Two days | 250 km | 5.5 hrs | Meerut, Bijnor, Kotdwar | ₹6,600 |
| Mussoorie | Two days | 270 km | 5.5 hrs | Delhi–Dehradun expressway | ₹6,600 |
| Chandigarh | Two days | 270 km | 5 hrs | Outer ring, NH-44 | ₹6,600 |
| Nainital | Two days | 280 km | 6 hrs | NH-9 via Moradabad | ₹6,600 |
| Jaipur | Two days | 300 km | 5 hrs | Outer ring, NH-48 | ₹6,600 |
Sedan ₹11/km on a 300 km per day minimum. Garhmukteshwar bills on the local package: ₹2,200 for 4 hr / 40 km plus ₹11 for each extra kilometre. Tolls at actual.
Why Noida is different
Why are Mathura and Agra one-day trips from Noida but not from the rest of the NCR?
Because the Yamuna Expressway begins at Pari Chowk. From Sector 18 you are on the Noida Expressway in ten minutes and on the Yamuna Expressway in twenty-five, and from there Mathura is ninety minutes and Agra two hours at expressway speed. Gurgaon needs the KMP loop to reach the same road and Ghaziabad has to cross the city; Noida just drives.
That single fact shapes the guide. The Braj towns and Agra are day trips from Noida in a way they are not from anywhere else in the region, and the trip that suffers by comparison is Jaipur, which sits on the far side of the city and needs the outer ring road.
Mathura · 140 kmA one-day plan
How do I do Agra from Noida in one day without rushing?
Leave Sector 18 at six. You are at the Taj east gate by half past eight, before the tour buses, and out by eleven. Lunch near the fort, the fort itself from one to three, then Mehtab Bagh across the river for the late-afternoon view of the Taj with nobody behind you. Back on the expressway by five, home by eight. The Taj is closed on Fridays and the moonlight viewing nights around the full moon need separate tickets.
If you want Fatehpur Sikri as well, that is the version that needs a night; the same-day tour page lists what fits in a day and what does not.
A two-day plan
What is the best two-day trip from Noida for a first weekend away?
Haridwar and Rishikesh, and it is not close. Four hours up the Meerut expressway puts you at Har Ki Pauri for the Saturday evening aarti; Sunday is Rishikesh, twenty-five kilometres on, for rafting from Shivpuri, which in a normal year runs from September to June, the Laxman Jhula strip and the quieter aarti at Triveni Ghat, with the drive home after it. The two towns are different enough that the weekend never repeats itself.
Corbett is the alternative for families with children, provided the safari is booked before the cab. Nainital and Mussoorie are the choices for a long weekend, when six hours each way stops mattering.
Haridwar · 220 kmCost
What does a weekend cab from Noida cost?
A one-day trip to Mathura, Agra, Neemrana or Bharatpur bills ₹3,300 for a sedan: the 300 km per day minimum at ₹11/km. A two-day trip to anything within 300 km bills ₹6,600. An Ertiga is ₹4,500 and ₹9,000 for the same, an Innova Crysta ₹5,400 and ₹10,800, and a 12-seater Tempo Traveller ₹6,900 and ₹13,800. Fuel and the driver are inside those numbers; tolls are extra, and on the Yamuna Expressway they are the largest single item, so budget for them.
For Garhmukteshwar, or anything else within about a hundred kilometres, the 4 hour / 40 km local package at ₹2,200 with extra kilometres at ₹11 is the better product.
Season
Which Noida weekend trip is right for this time of year?
October to March is the season for the one-day list: Mathura, Agra, Neemrana and the winter birds at Bharatpur, plus Garhmukteshwar’s Kartik Purnima fair in November. From April the same list turns hot, and the two-day list takes over: Mussoorie, Nainital, Lansdowne and Dehradun through June, Rishikesh for rafting until the monsoon closes it, usually in early July.
In the monsoon, Haridwar and Rishikesh are green and quiet, but rafting and the riverside camps stop. Corbett’s Dhikala zone usually opens from mid-November to mid-June; the buffer zones run through the rains.
Fare box
One day or two, from Noida
The one-day column is what Mathura, Agra or Neemrana bills; the two-day column covers a night in Haridwar, Rishikesh, Corbett, Mussoorie, Nainital, Chandigarh or Jaipur. Fuel and driver included, tolls at actual.
- Outstation trips bill a 300 km/day minimum; tolls, parking and state permits are extra at actual.
- Driver allowance and fuel are included. No advance for most bookings; pay after the trip.
- Fixed fares, no festival or weekend surge.
| Vehicle | Seats | Rate | One-day trip | Two-day trip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sedan (Swift Dzire, Etios) | 4 | ₹11/km | ₹3,300 | ₹6,600 |
| Ertiga / SUV | 6 | ₹15/km | ₹4,500 | ₹9,000 |
| Innova Crysta | 6–7 | ₹18/km | ₹5,400 | ₹10,800 |
| Tempo Traveller (12-seater) | 12 | ₹23/km | ₹6,900 | ₹13,800 |
300 km per day minimum. Trips whose round trip exceeds 600 km bill the actual distance.
In pictures
Down the expressway and up to the hills
One day · 200 kmMehtab Bagh, Agra
The late-afternoon Taj, from across the river.
One day · 140 kmBanke Bihari, Vrindavan
Darshan before noon, then Prem Mandir at dusk.
Two days · 245 kmRam Jhula, Rishikesh
Day two of the Ganga weekend.
Two days · 240 kmCorbett Falls
The stop between the two safaris.
Two days · 270 kmLal Tibba, Landour
Above Mussoorie, above the crowds.
Three things the drivers would tell you
Be on the Yamuna Expressway by seven
The Noida Expressway is clear at six-thirty and crawling at nine. For the one-day list, the whole day depends on that half hour.
Fridays close the Taj
If the weekend starts on a Friday, make Friday the Mathura day and Saturday the Agra day, not the other way round.
Book the safari, then the cab
Corbett weekend safari slots go a week or more ahead. Fix the slot, tell us the time, and the driver plans the departure around it.
Questions people ask
Frequently asked questions
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