Suzy_Q

Hi everyone - My husband and I are looking to finalize our itinerary for January. We will be in Mumbai beforehand visiting family before going on to the north for 11/12 days. We need to fly out of Dehli, back to NY on Jan 16th. We can leave Mumbai on Jan 4th or 5th.

So we have some places in mind that we definitely want to see, but it's only coming out to 7/8 days. I wanted your feedback on additional places we can add in, or if you think our plan is too slow/fast.

Here's what we were thinking:
Fly from Mumbai to Jaisalmer, one night in Jaisalmer (do two instead?)
Drive to Jodhpur, one night in Jodhpur
Drive to Jaipur, three nights in Jaipur
Drive to Agra, one night in Agra - see the Taj Mahal at sunrise the next day and the fort
Drive to Dehli, one night in Dehli, flying out the following evening

This brings us to 7 nights. Should we stay in one of these more? What other places can we tack on en route? I realize we are leaving out Udaipur and Khujarao (both places I really wanted to see, but it looks pretty far away and would require another flight, right?)

Thanks, as always, for the advice.

indianapearl

I would dump Jaisalmer because of its location (far to the west) and spend more time in Jodhpur. Driving will be interesting, but takes up a lot of time. Fly to Jodhpur, drive to Jaipur.

dgunbug

There is no commercial airport presently in jaisalmer... Only a military one. Jaisalmer is building an airport, but it is far from ready. I agree that with so little time you should skip jaisalmer.

Suzy_Q

Oh, is 11 days really too little time to see Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Jaipur and Agra? It looked doable to me from what I was reading on the boards...

Suzy_Q

Can we fly into Jodhpur, then drive to Jaisalmer to stay there first? Then we can go back to Jodhpur, see that and go on to Jaipur, etc.

joannay

Much as I like Jaisalmer I think for such a relatively short time I'd skip it this trip in favor of more time in Jodhpur. I suggest 3 nights each in Jodhpur, Jaipur & Delhi and an overnight in Agra as you'd planned. While your original itinerary is "doable" that's not say it's advisable. 3 nights is really 2 days, not much at all to get the feel of a place. Jodhpur is dense and beautiful and I hope you decide to stay longer. Delhi is worth far more time than you have to give it but do give it those 2 days.

Suzy_Q

The more I look on Jaisalmer, the more I feel that we can not miss it. I guess we will skip Udaipur. Here is the tentative timeline right now. I have been to Dehli before and am ok not spending a lot of time there.

1/5: Fly from Mumbai to Jodhpur, and immediately drive to Jaisalmer, Overnight in Jaisalmer - 1.5 hour flight & 3.5 hour driving time
1/6: See Jaisalmer, Overnight in Jaisalmer
1/7: See Jaisalmer, Overnight in Jaisalmer
1/8: Drive to Jodhpur, See Jodhpur, Overnight in Jodhpur - 247 km - 4 hours driving time
1/9: See Jodhpur, Overnight in Jodhpur
1/10: Drive to Jaipur, Overnight in Jaipur - 352 km - 6 hours driving time
1/11: See Jaipur, Overnight in Jaipur
1/12: See Jaipur, Overnight in Jaipur
1/13: See Jaipur, Overnight in Jaipur
1/14: Drive to Agra, stop at Fatehpur Sikri on the way, Overnight in Agra - 230km - 5.5 hours driving time
1/15: Taj Mahal at sunrise, Fort, Drive to Dehli, Overnight in Dehli - 209km - 2.5 hours driving time
1/16: See Dehli, Flight out of Dehli @8pm

What do you all think? I should mention we're in our late 20s, in good health and I speak Hindi. We don't mind moving around every 2-3 days. The weather won't be as hot as it usually is, which should make things easier.

Thanks!

joannay

Just 1 thing, take 1 night from Jaipur and stay in Jodhpur for 3 nights. You won't be sorry. If possible stay in the old town in a place with a roof terrace. There's nothing like having a drink and relaxing in the evening with the fort lit above you and the life of the city below you, nothing!

Suzy_Q

Sure, I will definitely consider that, thanks for the tip, joannay!