A private guide to the Taj Mahal is the only way to go and Culture tours delivered - We left our cruise ship and were picked up in Cochin port and taken to the airport when we flew to New Delhi. Our driver was there waiting for us with a welcome garland of flowers and bottles of cold water and we made our way out of the city in very heavy traffic.. arriving in Agra close to midnight. We had arranged to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise and our guide was there waiting for us at 5.00 so we had tickets and were there when they opened the gates at 5.45..it was cool and uncrowded and as magical as we had dreamed it would be and Shubham was an excellent guide, easy to understand and extremely knowledgeable about the fascinating history surrounding this memorial to love ❤️ We returned to our hotel before 9.00 a.m. when it was starting to get very hot.. had breakfast and then with driver and guide continued on to see the baby Taj and the incredible fort. A memorable and exciting day.. we were returned to Delhi Radisson Blu hotel and our driver collected us and returned us to the airport the following morning when we flew to Goa to connect with the cruise ship. Culture tours met our expectations in every way. Unlike fellow travelers who stayed in Delhi the first night and there were two bus loads that arrived at 10.30 at the Taj and by midday several had suffered heat exhaustion, one needing to be resuscitated and held up one of the buses so long that they missed out on seeing anything else in Agra.. Our trip cost almost half of the tour organized by the ship! Well done Culture tours. We booked them again in Mumbai for a private tour.