need more help..Udaipur vs. jaipur
 

need help with reworking itinerary.....someone on this board suggested I skip udaipur
was looking like:
New Delhi
Jaipur
Agra
New Delhi
Shimla

But now considering
New Delhi
Udaipur
Agra
New Delhi
Shimla

or
New Delhi
Shimla
New Delhi
Udaipur
Agra
which is better to see..I know this is subjective but...udaipur or Jaipur...will likely be staying at Oberois.......the Oberoi seems to favor Udaipur over jaipur..any reason?

Please be patient with me.....I need lots of advice.
Julia

Considering Jaipur versus Udaipur only and not considering logistics or the heat, I favor Udaipur. All of the Oberois are pretty spectacular - I have only stayed at Rajvilas in Jaipur but those that have stayed at Udaivilas have loved it. Udaipur's City Palace complex dwarf's Jaipur's and the lakes provide a magnificent backdrop. While you could have all of your meals at Udaivilas, there are several good restaurants with fantastic lake views at night. While Jaipur has the Amber Fort, Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds) and Jantar Mantar (astronomical observatory), two of the most impressive sites in Rajasthan, Kumbhelgarh Fort and the Jain Temple at Ranakpur can be seen on a day trip from Udaipur.

I agree with Craig about Udaipur, although I would spend as little time in Delhi and Agra as possible. Check travelocity.in.co for flights in and out of the various cities of interest. Smaller cities don't always have flights every day.

Although I enjoyed seeing the Taj, I found Agra to be thoroughly unpleasant. As I said in another post, check the water level before you make a last decision on U. The lakes are very shallow (about 15-20 feet), so if there's no water, the lake beds might be unattractive.

why little time in delhi?

There are 15 million people in Delhi, all honking their horns at the same time.

Well...after my last trip, I have concluded that there are one BILLION people in INDIA, all honking their horns at the same time :-).

I loved Udaipur even though I only saw a bit. Udaivillas was absolutely lovely--you could spend your whole time there. The service incomparable. Our guide took us through the open air market there since I love people photography and it was a delight. Also the hotel shops are quite nice and silver jewelry shops in town are great. It was the end of an India trip for us so we weren't as adventuresome as at the beginning. Still some of my favorite photos are from Udaipur.

Udaipur is really lovely, and a lot quieter feeling than Jaipur. But definitely take time away from Delhi and Agra before you minimize time in Rajasthan--Agra is generally miserable except for the Taj Mahal, and Delhi just has less charm. Lots more info and pics in our India posts at http://patrinadoestheglobe.blogspot.com/

According to me Visiting Udaipur is better than Jaipur because of its weather conditions are favaourable for tourists . Its a lake city and u will find many ancient monuments there. It has "city palace" that is larger than jaipur's city palace.Jaipur is having only forts to travel .Nothing else. But Udaipur is combination of diffrent places.

I preferred Jodphur to Udaipur because we did some things off the beaten track there, but Udaipur is a bit quieter. Agra is worth a one day trip just for the Taj Mahal alone, but doesn't offer much else. Visit it in the morning and the afternoon if you can. If you can get to Varanasi, it's not to be missed.
More details on my travel blog: http://wildwanderlust.blogspot.com/2009/11/udaipur.html