Nainital is around 300 km from Delhi and it is nice weekend getaway near Delhi. It is better to start your journey in night due to reduced traffic at night and early arrival in nainital at hotel checkin time. We started in night from 12 am by own car and arrived at 7.30 am. you can also take volvo buses from delhi to nainital and train (Ranikhet express) from delhi to kathgodam. From Kathgodam take taxi which can be hired on sharing basis or as a whole. price for one person is 125 approx by sharing taxi and 600 for fully owned taxi.......as it was peak time due to New year we get hotels almost at double or triple price as compare to non peak time.
We booked our hotel with treebo oak ridges near tallital bus stand but i was alloted other small room other than i booked. so in last minute rush i booked Radha continental hotel, which was 3500 per day and it was as 0.5 Star hotel but it was our need to stay near naini lake so we stayed in it.
After some rest we reached mall road for some refreshing air and it is the time when you can enjoy both sunshine with cold breezes. do not expect snowfall during this time in nainital.
Explore mall road by foot if you want to experience something different otherwise you can take rickshaw which is owned by government and cost only 12 rs. per person. you can take ticket by booth near bhotia market.
You can do shopping for very cheap winter clothes here but dont expect too much because these are non branded items and you can also bargain less than 50 % of said cost. but it needs your bargaining skills.
New year eveving -
It was nothing but just a drunk crowd looking like zombies and roaming here and there. you should be very aware if inside the crowd because these persons are actually acted like zombies and pickpocketers and drunken devils are also inside this and during last few hours of new year bash even Police are unable to control crowd. So safety in your hands.
Prefer outside food other than hotel foods due to high quality of food and cheap price. You can go to various restaurents near bhotia market and can enjoy variety of foods.
Places to visit-
Naini lake - You can visit nanini lake by boating from either side of mall road and it costs around 150 per person for boat ride. Do not litter inside lake as it is a punishable offence.
Zoo - Naninital zoo is a must visit place. Entry timings are 9 to 5 and closes on 6 pm. You can experience Bengal Tiger , Fox and Leopard very closely. there are other animals also which makes this zoo a complete package.
Snow view point - You can take ropeway near bhotia market for Rs. 190 for Adult(Both Side). You can view himalayan peakscovered by snow by telescope. There is nothing much to do but you can relax and chill here for hours and yes you can enjoy tastyy maggie.
Naina Devi Temple - It is situated at one corner of naii lake and you can go here by Boat from nainital or by foot from bhotia market. It is one of the sacred temple of Hindu religion and also a shakti peeth. Must visit temple .
Other places which will bring no thrill other than disappointments are Love point, suicide point ,Bara patthar etc etc. but if you are going first you can visit if you have extra time.
After two days in nainital we headed towards Bhimtal to end our journey. it is 30 km far from nainital and situated other side of Route to delhi. You can add some Thrill to your journey if you are having your own car by Taking this route. This has some mythological importance as well and nice place to visit. you can also do some water activities here.
So , Nainital is my favourite place to chill in summers of NCR but you should plan it approx 10 days before to avoid extra charges and unnecessary extra cost to trip.