Delhi in 5 Days on a Budget (With Daily Costs)
Five days in Delhi: the monument route plus a real market day
Five days takes the 4-day plan’s Old Delhi, New Delhi, Qutub Minar, and Lotus Temple/Akshardham route, then adds a fifth day built around Karol Bagh’s markets and Bangla Sahib Gurdwara’s free langar meal. Nothing from the first four days changes, this is an extension, not a rewrite. Figure Rs 2,000-3,200 a day per person across the trip.
| Day | Focus | Rough spend (1 person) |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Red Fort, Chandni Chowk, Jama Masjid | Rs 1,800-2,800 |
| Day 2 | Humayun’s Tomb, India Gate, Connaught Place | Rs 2,200-3,500 |
| Day 3 | Qutub Minar, Hauz Khas Village, Lodhi Garden | Rs 2,200-3,200 |
| Day 4 | Lotus Temple, Akshardham, Dilli Haat | Rs 1,500-2,500 |
| Day 5 | Karol Bagh markets, Bangla Sahib Gurdwara | Rs 1,000-2,000 |
Book these before you go:
- Old Delhi food and heritage walk : weekend slots fill up days ahead.
- Red Fort skip-the-line ticket : worth it with a monument booked on most of these five days.
- Your Delhi hotel : five nights in peak season sells out popular budget picks first.
Where to stay for 5 nights
Karol Bagh itself is worth considering as a base for this longer trip: budget-to-mid hotels, less touristy than Connaught Place, and now day five’s sights are a walk from your room instead of a Metro ride. If you’d rather stay central for the first four days, Connaught Place or Hauz Khas Village both keep every day’s sights within a reasonable Metro hop.
Day 1: Old Delhi on foot and by rickshaw
Start at the Red Fort at opening, Rs 500-600 foreigner ticket, closed Mondays. Short cycle rickshaw into Chandni Chowk, fare agreed first, lunch at Paranthe Wali Gali, Rs 60-150. Jama Masjid’s courtyard in the afternoon, free outside prayer times, dinner at Karim’s, Rs 200-400 a head.
Day 2: Humayun’s Tomb, India Gate, and Connaught Place
Humayun’s Tomb in the morning, Rs 550 foreigner ticket, open daily. Metro to India Gate and Kartavya Path at midday, free. Afternoon in Connaught Place’s arcades, cheap thali lunch, slow walk back before dinner.
Day 3: Qutub Minar and the trendier side of South Delhi
Qutub Minar in the morning, Rs 550 foreigner ticket; the minaret has been closed to climbers since a 1981 stampede, ground-level viewing only. Afternoon in Hauz Khas Village beside its 13th-century reservoir, then Lodhi Garden before sunset, free.
Day 4: Lotus Temple, Akshardham, and a crafts market dinner
Morning at the Lotus Temple , free, closed Mondays, then the Akshardham complex in the afternoon, free darshan, exhibitions extra at roughly Rs 170-260. Dinner at Dilli Haat, gate fee under Rs 50.
Day 5: Karol Bagh’s markets and a free meal that isn’t a gimmick
Spend the morning shopping Karol Bagh’s local markets, genuinely cheaper than Connaught Place or Khan Market for clothing and shoes, and expect to bargain. In the afternoon, visit Bangla Sahib Gurdwara near Connaught Place: free entry, and a free vegetarian meal (langar) served to thousands of people daily, one of the more striking free experiences in the city. Spend the evening packing or revisiting whichever of the last four days’ sights you rushed.
Is 5 days enough time for Delhi?
Enough for the paid monuments, both free UNESCO-adjacent landmarks, and a genuine local-market day without feeling rushed on any of them. What’s still missing is a proper rest day and Old Fort/Purana Qila, both of which the 6-day plan adds on top of this exact five-day base.
How much does 5 days in Delhi actually cost on a budget?
Figure Rs 10,000-16,000 per person total: four nights in a budget-to-mid room, three monument tickets at the foreigner rate, Metro fares across five days, and meals split between street food, casual restaurants, and one free langar meal.
Lean harder on hostel dorms and street food and that falls closer to Rs 7,500-9,500, since day five costs almost nothing beyond bargaining at the markets.
Buy the three-day Tourist Smart Card to cover the busiest three days, then single tokens for the rest; recharging a card you already have beats buying a new one every couple of days.