Hello! we are planning a 10 day trip to Rajasthan in Dec with our son who will then be 9 months old. We do not want to cover too many places / check in and out very often with him in tow. So, we want to choose any two places where we can split the time available. This is our first trip to Rajasthan. Would you recommend Jaipur and Udaipur or Jodhopur and Jaisalmer. We are completely torn and are to unable to decide!!
Also, how many days would you recommend in each place?

Thanks!!

TTT
Or should we be doing Udaipur and Jodhpur - drive from Udaipur to Jodhpur with an overnight stopover some place in between? How does this itinerary look??

Days 1, 2 - Stay in Udaipur
Day 3 - drive from Udaipur to Kumbalgarh and Ranakpur. Overnight in Ranakpur (any recommendations here?)
Day 4 - Drive from Ranakpur to Jodhpur
Days 5,6- Stay in Jodhpur
Day 7 - fly back

Please critique this itinerary! Thanks!

Oh, we realized we can do only a 7 day trip after all

That is so funny, becuase I was writing a post to suggest that you actually do that when your own reply came up! I think that is a better use of 7 days, and will involve the least amount of driving, which is probably want to keep to a minimum with an infant. (While I think infants are lulled by a car, I would not say that is true of Indian roads which involved potholes, horn honking and veering to pass or avoid
cars, trucks and cows.)

I just posted on another thread that in the Ranakpur area there is the Adohi hotel, which I don't know but seems to be the only game in Kumbalhgharh, but the same group runs a hotel in Ranakpur too. I also think that Chatra Sagar looks quite interesting, but may be too far north to make it a good stopover if you want to see Ranakpur and Kumbalgarh. You could of course see the latter as a day trip from Udaipur, it's about 2.5 horus each way; not sure how good that is for a day trip with an infant. There are spots closer to Udaipur that may be more better. For the Adohi see http://www.eternalmewar.in/User/Trav..._Retreats.aspx, this will also give a link for their hotel in Ranakpur. There is also a wildlife preserve at Kumbhalgarh which might be of interest. These are not really halfway as they are closer to Udaipur, but they are quite interesting and worth the stop, IMO. For Chhatra Sagar, see http://www.chhatrasagar.com)

I think Udaipur and Jodphur would give you a nice combination of the museums and artisans of Udaipur and the lake (although water levels are very low now and monsoon is poor this year) plus the impressive fortress and nice old town areas of Jodphur. The tourist bits of Udaipur are quite compact and walkable, probably the easiest in all of Rajasthan so good for a baby I would think. Jaipur offers to most to see and do, but is much larger so you don't get as much of a feel as a desert town as you will in Jodphur.

Cicerone, thanks for your response. I read somewhere that Devigarh resort (a palace + hotel) is somewhere close to Udaipur. (I am sorry, i tried searching this forum, but could not find the answer to this question) is this close to Ranakpur so we can use this for our overnight? Thanks

Devigarh is about 19 miles from Udaipur. You may as well stay in Udaipur, perhaps in Oberoi Udai Vilas or the Lake Palace, if budget allows. Devigarh is without a doubt a fine property but doing an additional 38 miles a day, for sight seeing, with your young child, is not recommended.
At Ranakpur, Fateh Bagh is a nice property & so is Maharani Bagh, an orchard retreat, close to Ranakpur temples.

i think i spelled wrongly - is Deogarh the place i was mentioning which is midway between Udaipur and Jodhpur?
Also are two days each sufficient for Jodhpur and Udaipur (excluding the trip to Ranakpur and overnight there)? Thanks!!

Also, any other hotel options (preferably forts) within USD 300 price range in Udaipur and Jodhpur? Thanks!!

Again the serendipity is freaking me out, I am going to Devi Garh this weekend…

As for Deogarh, I have not been, looks lovely indeed. It does seem a bit strange to me to stay there to see Ranakpur and Kumbalgarh, I think, because you would really be backtracking on the same roads back to Udaipur for about 2.5 hours, and then you would have a long drive to Jodhpur in the same day, so that does not really solve your problem. That was my concern with Chhatra Sagar, which is in the same neighborhood as Deogarh (relatively speaking). You could of course stop at those sights on the way out to Deogarh day, perhaps that would work. But I am guessing that with an infant, trying to see those two sites in one day even in the cool December weather, may be a bit much. (I am going back to both this weekend for the second time, as you really can’t see all of either of them in one visit.) If you want to see those two sights, IMO you are better off staying in Ranakpur or Kumbalgarh for the night. Or skip them and go to the Deogarh and see what is in that neighborhood.

Devi Garh, which is about 20 miles outside Udaipur, would save you some time on the trip to Ranakpur/Kumbulgarh, but I would agree that it is not that convenient for getting into Udaipur, which I would recommend for a first-time tourist. (I don’t know that I myself will make it into Udaipur at all on this 3-day trip to Udaipur. If I had wanted to see the city again, I would have stayed closer. I am staying at Devi Garh to concentrate on the countryside to do some trekking and horseback riding in addition to seeing Ranakpur/Kumbalgarh.)

Two days is really not enough in either place to be honest, but will give you enough for a flavour. There is more to do in Udaipur, but even just 2 days in Jopdhur will be quite filled between the fort and the town and if you want to get out to some of the villages in the area.

In Jodhpur quite frankly I would stay at the Taj, a perfectly fine hotel and good location. You could look at some others, but reviews are mixed on most of them. IMO the Umaid is not worth the money and the location is not ideal, it’s outside of town. Do go have a meal there as it is something to see. In Udaipur I would say to look at the Trident which is next door to the Udaivilas but cheaper (run by the Oberoi as well however), or consider one of the more boutiquey heritage hotels in the main tourist part of the city. The Lonely Planet guidebook actually has a good list for Udaipur, you might also check the Sawdays guide mentioned below.

A very useful website for hotels in India is http://sawdays.co.uk/, click on the book for India. You can also buy the book, <i>Special Places to Stay India</i>, but the website will give you a very long list of hotels to start with. A lot of these hotels are in the budget range, and all seem interesting (that is where I found the Chhatra Sagar hotel) and several, like the Imperial in Delhi, are outstanding. See if there are any in towns along your route. There is a small Indian chain called Neemrama which operates a number of unique hotels in palaces and other old buildings and could be something to consider if you want a different experience. Go to http://www.neemranahotels.com.

cicerone, from the map (in the hotel site), it seemed like deogarh is halfway between udaipur and jodhpur. So, i thought we could visit Ranakpur and Kumbhalgarh and then drive further on to Deogarh to spend the night there. The next morning, we would drive from there to Jodhpur. Did i do a mistake here? Could you please check and confirm? Thanks!!

I think Deogarh is actually a bit closer to Jodphur (its 135 km to Udaiur and 66 km to Jopdur according to my distance calculator); but overall as I said in my post while I think two adults alone could do the trip you suggest in a day, with an infant it might be quite a bit for one day. You would have like a 2.5 hour drive from Udaipur to Kumbulgarh, spend 2-3 hours there, then mabye half an hour or more to drive to Ranakpur, and you would want about 2-3 hours there. Then you have probably have another 2.5 hours to get to Deogarh. So that's at least 5 hours in the car and at least 4 hours of sightseeing, with no hotel room for the baby to take a nap, prepare a bottle, etc. It's up to you whether you want to do this in one day with an infant. (I plan to do just about this same trip myself on Saturday, to and from Devi Garh, I will let you know how it goes. But I know it will be a long day. But I am not with an infant. I am keeping flexiblity to jettison Ranakpur if the trip up takes too long or it is too hot or rainy -- the two latter issues you won't have -- but the baby could make its own agenda of course.) That is why I was suggesting you stay in Ranakpur to break up the trip better.

cicerone, it is amazing how you know this area in and out. Do come back with a report of how the trip on Saturday goes - i will wait to hear from you before making the bookings. Meanwhile DH seems to feel that doing Kumbhalgarh, Ranakpur may be too much in one day with the baby - so, why not simply do 2 days in Jodhpur and 2 days in Jaisalmer he says (though it does involve driving, he seems to feel that this is fairly straightforward compared to the Udaipur - Jodhpur itinerary). So, we are still thinking. Will keep you posted. Thank you for all the help and suggestions. Appreciate it.

We are thinking of staying in the Taj Hari Mahal in Jodhpur. Anybody stayed here? How far is it from the attractions / city center?
Also, in Jaisalmer, we are looking at Pleasant Haveli and Mandir palace. How good are these places? Any other recommendations?

We liked the Taj Hari Mahal in Jodhpur. The staff are very helpful, there's a pool and an outdoor area where there was a dance/puppet show in the evening which was attended by Indian families, not tourists. You need a car to get to the Fort and city center.

how easy is it to get a cab to go to the city center from Hari Mahal? Or should we be renting a car and driver for the whole time we are going to be there? Will that be more convenient given we will be traveling with an infant? Thanks!!

<b>love_travel11 </b>It will be no issue to get a cab from the Taj hotel to the Fort area, you can either have the hotel get you one, or step outside the grounds of the hotel and dozens of cabbies will be waiting for you. (I don’t think the 3 of you would fit comfortably in an auto rickshaw, but you could try. Certainly cheaper.) Taxis and auto rickshaws don’t have meters, so you have to negotiate. Check something like Lonely Planet to see if they estimate typical fares. It is about 5-6 miles to the Fort, so it is really just a matter of a few minutes in a car.

For just a trip to the Fort for a day or afternoon, you don’t need to hire a car, IMO. You won’t have any issue getting a taxi back to the hotel. However, the one advantage to you of a car is that you could keep baby stuff in it and not have to lug it around, so you may want to consider this. It would not be expensive. I would not go through the hotel but would find a local service. You could also work out an arrangement with a cabbie you meet and like who you can pay for a day or a few hours.

You could also consider hiring a car and driver for the entire Rajasthan portion of your trip, as you seem to have ruled out flying or trains. Then you would use the driver as much as you could. I don’t have any reccos, as I generally fly or train and then hire locally, or hire one-way, but I think other on this board have recommendations for longer-term drivers, so run a search.

I assume you are planning on bringing a car seat for the baby because it is quite unlikely that taxis or cars/drivers you hire will have them. For short trips within town if you don’t want to lug the baby seat, you will just end up holding the baby.

I also wanted to give you an update on my recent trip to Udaipur and to Kumbhalgarh/Ranakpur which I did last weekend. Due to the completion of the highway, the trip from Udaipur to Ranakpur should take you something under 2 hours one way. From Udaipur to Kumbhalgarh will be about the same, maybe a little longer (while further north, you are on the fast highway for longer). In either case, once you are off the highway, the trip on the back roads is marvelous - - lots of villages and farms. The distance between Ranakpur and Kumbhalgarh is about 50 minutes. I managed to do both in a day, but I did not spend much time at Ranakpur. I wanted to concentrate more on Kumbhalgarh, which is much larger.

Frankly, having now seen the Jain temples at Delwara, which is a town outside Udaipur where the Devi Garh hotel is located, I am not sure that I would bother with Ranakpur for someone with a limited amount of time. I thought that the small temple at Delwara was as interesting and the carvings as beautiful. (This temple was in fact the model for the more famous temple at Mount Abu). One could make a trip to Delwar from Udaipur (about 40 minutes) to see the Jain temple and the Hindu temple in Eklingji and have a meal or tea at Devi Garh rather than making the trek to Rankapur. The village of Delwar is quite interesting as well and worth a walk, quite untouristed. (The hotel takes guests on a guided walk for free, if you stop for a meal they may or may be willing to do the same for you, I could not say for sure. But you can also walk around yourself.)

I did stop for lunch at the Aodhi, and saw some rooms (my driver knows the general manager). While not luxurious, they seemed perfectly comfortable and are in a nice green setting within about 50 yards of the first gate of Kumbhalgarh. I would like to go back myself at some point and spend time in the nature reserve there, as you can take horseback riding trips to see wildlife (I believe jeep trips are also possible). If you consider staying here, I would probably suggest what I believe are called the “tiger theme” rooms as they seemed the newest and nicest and had good-size balconies.

Whether you would want to drive from Udaipur to Jodhpur with a stop at Kumbhalgarh without an overnight there is a question, as it would still be a long day for you. The drive from Udaipur would take about 2 hours. I think you need about 2 hours at the fort. Then I <i>think</i> the drive on to Jodhpur from there would be about 3.5-4 hours, maybe a bit more maybe a bit less. You could also consider driving from Kumbhalgarh to Deogarh and staying there for the night, which according to their website, is 2-2.5 hours from Kumbhalgarh. You would then have a short drive the next day to Gopher of like 1-2 hours.

Just to add in my two cents as to your itinerary, IMO Jodhpur and Jaisalmer are so similar that to visit them both may not be that interesting. Both are towns in the desert which are dominated by their huge forts. You may not find the contrast very significant between the two. (Don’t get me wrong, they are quite interesting, but perhaps not together and to the exclusion of any other towns in Rajasthan.) Udaipur is set in the bit greener and very lovely Arvalli hills, and the lake setting of Udaipur is quite unique. (Although Jaisalmer has a pretty lake as well, but the setting is not the same IMO, and I think the lake is quite low at this point due to the poor monsoons in that area in the last few years.) The contrast between Udaipur and Jodhpur/ Jaisalmer is greater and may be more interesting from that respect. I would also say that the drive between Jodhpur and Jaisalmer is virtually all 4 lane highway and is quite boring (other than the general thrill of living through a long drive in India as your driver careens around cows and motorcycles/cars/trucks at breakneck speed) as you won’t get a chance to drive back roads where you can see village life. So you would need to make sure you take time to get to smaller countryside areas outside either to see something of village life.

We just came from Udaipur and Ranakpur today. I am writing you from our midpoint stop of the Rawla Narlai Resort, just down the way from temple (magnificent). After two nights at Rawla Narlai (free internet), we are headed to Jodhpur. We too had to eliminate something and it was Jailsamer (spelling?). Fort at Jodhpur supposed to be 3 stars. Love India--truly cultural overload--camels pulling overloaded carts of wheat through fields and highways (the wrong direction) studded with a multitude of cell towers among fields being worked by women in the most colorful saris. Must get back to chilling with husband--looking forward to a day without sightseeing after two weeks in India. Come visit ---fascinating!!!!!