brk01

Recalling the valuable assistance received from Fodors experts on earlier trips, including one to India in 2011 (see my trip report if interested), I am again seeking advice. This time it is for an appx two-week trip in January, mostly to Rajasthan, beginning in Udaipur (fly in from Mumbai), hitting Jodhpur, possibly Jaisalmer, Jaipur and then winding up in Delhi. Travelers are myself, plus wife and college-student son for whom this is first trip to India. We are not looking to cram too much in or hit every must-see sight, but rather experience the general sights, vibes, colors, sounds (and smells!) that define India travel. Looking for civilized comfort but not Taj or Oberoi luxury. Would plan to travel mostly by car and driver, based on assumption it will be easy to arrange them on the spot in each place through hotels or local travel agents. With all that as a preamble, here is preliminary thinking on itinerary. Questions follow.
3 nights Udaipur (Hotel Shiv Niwas Palace for Mom & Dad, guest house for son)
Overnight Kumbalgarh en route to Jodhpur.
2 nights Jodhpur (Haveli Pal Inn)
2 nights Jaisalmer (ideally travel by early train)
Return by car to Jodphur for 1 night, leave in morning for Pushkar.
Overnight 1 night Pushkar.
2 nights Jaipur (Umaid Bhawan hotel)
To Delhi, fly home.
Questions:
1. Overall, does this sound reasonable? Or is trying to get out to Jaisalmer and back maybe too much?
2. Assuming we do go to Jaisalmer, does doubling back to Jodhpur, then to Pushkar, make sense as a way to get ultimately to Jaipur? Was thinking of Bikaner or someplace else but trying to avoid too many hours driving in one day.
3. Would you agree that it will be easy to pick up cars and drivers as we go?
Many thanks for all suggestions.

rhkkmk

why include pushkar?

I have used Jaipur nicely as a beginning and ending pt for a similar trip.

look at rattan villas in jodhpur as an alternative..

I would have the same driver for the whole time. I would arrange for him in advance... I use castle and king in delhi for that

Kathie

I agree with Bob on both matters. Cut Pushkar and get a car and driver for the whole trip.

brk01

Thank you, Bob and Kathie. For better or worse, flights from Mumbai to Udaipur are cast in cement, as is return from Delhi, hence the beginning and end points. Only reason I included Pushkar was that it seemed a logical/convenient place to break up the drive from Jodhpur to Jaipur. Will keep thinking. Re Jodphur hotels, will indeed look at Rattan Villas, but would either of you have a view on the Hotel Raas? Or thoughts for a hotel in Jaisalmer? Finally, does the fact that we will not be doing a loop, but rather a series of point-to-points, alter your view on advisability of single driver vs doing it ad hoc? Really appreciate your counsel.

jacketwatch

Yep I too would skip Pushkar. Last time I was there it was a huge disappointment, a rip off really. We will be right near there in Oct. and we have no desire to go, even though its close.

progol

For so many reasons, it makes sense to have a single driver.

First of all, it is extremely helpful to have one person who will be your contact and coordinating the trip, so that you're not spending time worrying about it. I worked with an independent agent and I can't tell you what a difference it makes to know that there is someone who is making sure that things go according to plan. In the time you have, do you really want to be spending time either arranging a driver or making sure that they show up?

If you hire a driver point to point, you will still be responsible for them getting paid to return to their place of origin.

I would drop Pushkar, maybe add it to Jaisalmer -- it's a long trip to get there and, I think, worth taking a little extra time to soak in the atmosphere.

I also loved Rattan Vilas -- while not in the center of Jodhpur, it's a quick trip into the old part of the city, and such a lovely spot with the most gracious of hosts. Very, very comfortable.

In fact, given the time frame, I'm not sure I would include Jaipur. I would spend more time exploring a few of the smaller towns or other sights (ie, a luxury camp) and fly from Jodhpur to Delhi. Jaipur is a large city, and while it does have a lot to offer, it also needs time and energy to really enjoy it.

Just my thoughts

shubha_r

Progol, which luxury camp do you propose ?

Kush

progol

I'm not suggesting any in particular, just suggesting an alternative approach to their triip and giving an example. I'd actually be more inclined to a smaller town.

shubha_r

Progol, actually I am looking for recommendations on luxury desert camps

Would love to hear your suggestions !

Shubha

brk01

Thanks again; very helpful. I am now pretty comfortable with the Udaipur/Jodphur/Jaisalmer portion of this trip, and appreciate the view on skipping Pushkar. I still would like to spend at least 2 nights (i.e., one day) in Jaipur just to see the classic sights. Which leaves open the question of what might be the most interesting way to get from Jaisalmer to Jaipur. Idea of, as Progol suggests, "exploring smaller towns" while maybe breaking journey at desert camp sounds good. Will be looking at this option but would welcome suggestions. Also, on the issue of a single driver, since we will be taking a train from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer (for the adventure), is it realistic to think I could arrange a good guide/driver just out of Jaisalmer to take us on the multi-day journey to Jaipur (Understand I'd have to pay for round-trip). Finally, any idea for hotels in Jaisalmer, say at Ratan Villas level? Again, thanks to all for helpful dialog.

progol

We stayed at the Garh Jaisal, a small hotel, run by several men from Nepal, in a very exotic setting in the fort. The room has is a little window seat that overlooks the city. The room itself was built into the basic structure of the fort. We loved staying in the fort - there is a real small town feeling to the place in the morning and the end of the day.
Paule

rhkkmk

for jaislmer, we loved the nachawa haveli---lovely old house in center of city---restaurant was terrible..

if you go to bickner we loved bhanwar niwas..

julies

We spent 6 weeks in northern India two years ago and focused on some of the smaller, lesser known rural areas. As far as places that might fit your itinerary, I am copying and pasting some of the places we stayed and their prices per night. These are places I'd really recommend and would return to myself. And, they are all definitely civilized comfort despite prices that are much lower than the 5* level.

Overnight train to Jaisalmer (I’d wondered whether to go to Jaisalmer because it would be too touristy. Turned out to be a favorite of ours on our trip.)
• Jaisalmer-- Hotel Victoria 3 nights $72 (breakfast & a thali dinner included)
• Jodphur—Juna Mahal 3 nights (didn’t arrive until nearly midnight) $45
• Fort Bhadrajun 1 night $51
• Fort Dhamli 2 nights $83 (all meals & a daily guided walk included)
• Castle Bera 2 nights $160 (all meals & 2 safaris each day)
• Udaipur--Jagat Niwas 1 night $80 for lake facing room with jhakaro

We typically never use an agent, but I had a really good one for the Rajasthan portion of the trip. He arranged the car and driver for us. We took the train both ways to Jaisalmer (going there from Dehli and then to Jodphur on the return) and were fine with that approach, but train tickets need to be booked very far in advance.

You might be interested in skimming through the relevant portions of my looooong trip report to see the info that pertains to the places I've suggested. These places will give you a very different picture of India than the typical tourist route everyone here seems to take.

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...ited-india.cfm

rajnarang

I would suggest that you do a mix of train travel & road travel. All highways are not in a good condition, and it gets frustrating to travel by road. Currently the highway between Delhi and Jaipur is in a very bad shape and construction is going on in many place, hence it take alot of time to reach these cities. Trust me you would equally enjoy the train journeys. You check the train departures on the following website: http://www.indianrail.gov.in/

Last week only I went to Pushkar, and I didn't like it that much, being an Indian atleast, may be you might.

Most of your itinerary seems fine to me but don't forget camping & desert safari in Jaisalmer.

I would suggest that you create your travel plan on the following website: http://www.justorbit.com/asia/india/udaipur-48512/
it is a good travel planning tool/website. You can add each city to your Map/Travel Plan and then see how your entire plan looks like. It also give suggestions of number of days required in each city...this should help you too.

Enjoy your trip.

manup

Do not book any hotel room in advance. You just go that place. see room through your eyes and then book. Take list of possible hotel with you.

anuragg

First there are three direct flight from Mumbai to Udaipur. Shiv Niwas Palace is Deluxe Heritage hotel, however other hotels mentioned by you are of standard category. While in India, it is good idea to experience the stay in a Palace hotel. I suggest you to go to Jaisalmer and experience the desert in Jaisalmer. From Jaisalmer, you can either take an overnight train to Jaipur or can include Bikaner and mandawa in your tour rather than coming back to Jodhpur from Jaisalmer and then Pushkar. Or you can also opt a drive from jaisalmer to Nagaur to Pushkar and then to Jaipur.
I am not sure you have visited Taj Mahal, if not, then you can drive from Jaipur to Agra and see Taj mahal and next day drive to Delhi.

brk01

Thanks to everyone for the helpful suggestions so far. At this point I think I am all set up to Jaisalmer (staying at Garh Jasail, thanks for the tip, progol). Still undecided on route from Jaisalmer to Jaipur; we have with two nights to spare in between the two places. Tentative plan is to return to Jodhpur to stay at Raas Hotel as a splurge, next day go by car to Kishingarh (Phool Mahal Palace) before going on the next day to Jaipur. But I am re-thinking this. Questions:

Is the Raas hotel a wise choice for a splurge?
If we shifted gears, based on advice from this forum, would the way to do it be to drive from Jaisalmer to Bikaner, spend one night there, next night in Mandawa, then on to Jaipur? Is there interesting stuff (villages, whatever) to see on this mini road trip?

progol

Bk,
I didn't travel through the Shekhawati region, but it was the one area that I was sorry we didn't get to. The region is known for it's painted havelis, and I'm sure it would fit the bill for you. Others can be more detailed about the specifics, but it sounds intriguing enough to make your road trip a worthwhile one.

http://www.rajasthantourism.gov.in/d...hekhawati.aspx

progol

Bk,
I also want to add that Bikaner & Mandawa look like the best stops for the Shekhawati region - as the above post indicates. I was sorry to miss this region.
Paule

brk01

Thanks again. I am now looking to nail this down. I know Bob (rhkkmk) had nice things to say about a hotel in Bikaner; would welcome suggestions for Mandawa. Of more interest is transportation. I am basically planning it step by step, hiring cars on the spot, maybe a train, until Jaisalmer. For the Jaisalmer-Bikaner-Mandawa-Jaipur trip (3 days, two nights) I will follow the consensus recommendation and get one car and driver. In reading julies' very thorough trip report I noted her recommendation of TGS out of Jaipur. Since I understand I will have to pay for a round-trip even through I am going point-to-point, I was thinking of contacting them to come get us in Jaisalmer. My question (having never booked a car like this in advance) is this: do they merely provide transportation, or can I look to the driver to plan sightseeing en route? Or is this a question to ask them? Thanks again.