I, too, am going to Rajasthan in November, for 3 weeks. What I'm struggling with is whether or not all nights in lodgings should be booked in advance.

Based on previous trips (such as to Kenya, where I served in the Peace Corps) I know that over-planning a trip can be very stifling. It effectively eliminates those spontaneous opportunities to head somewhere off the beaten track as per the recommendation of a fellow traveler, stay an extra day in a place you love, or find yourself spending the night somewhere unforgettable (for better or for worse!).

On the other hand, my husband and I would hate to find ourselves closed out of at least a semi-decent place to stay the night because we failed to secure a room in advance. We're long beyond the age where we can adapt to just about anything.

Finally, has anyone gone to the tiger sanctuary in Ranthanbhore? Is it worth it? Recommendations of where and how long to stay? Thanks!

Lodgings, especially upscale lodgings are in short supply in India. Others on this board may have some more specific ideas than I do on "semi-decent" places but you should, at a minimum reserve your first and last night's lodging. You will absolutely need to reserve both lodging and game drives in advance. Go for the semi-private jeep, not the bus-like cantor.

Ranthambore was definitely worth it for us. We spent two nights, did 3 game drives and saw 1 tiger. The park is beautiful and there is much more to see than just tigers. Do not spend all of your time on game drives as you will want to visit the fort and perhaps spend some time checking out the surrounding area. We stayed at Sher Bagh, which is a fairly upper-end tented camp that we would highly recommend.

Oops - In the above post, I should have placed the last 2 sentences in the first paragraph at the end of the second paragraph so it reads like this:

Lodgings, especially upscale lodgings are in short supply in India. Others on this board may have some more specific ideas than I do on "semi-decent" places but you should, at a minimum reserve your first and last night's lodging.

Ranthambore was definitely worth it for us. We spent two nights, did 3 game drives and saw 1 tiger. The park is beautiful and there is much more to see than just tigers. Do not spend all of your time on game drives as you will want to visit the fort and perhaps spend some time checking out the surrounding area. We stayed at Sher Bagh, which is a fairly upper-end tented camp that we would highly recommend. You will absolutely need to reserve both lodging and game drives in advance. Go for the semi-private jeep, not the bus-like cantor.

Thanks so much for that info, Craig. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and reserve in advance. However, some of the places are so reasonable that I think I could even cancel a night and forfeit the cost just to be able to head off in an unexpected direction.

Glad to get your feedback re. the tiger sanctuary. It sounds wonderful. We may do that tented camp as well. A bit pricey but sounds well worth it.

We also stayed at Sher Bagh and visited Ranthambore, based on Craig's Recommendation.

While we never did see a tiger, we loved the park and the lodgings. Well worth the price, especailly as Sher Bagh was able to get us on jeeps each of our 3 tours. I was really glad, as the cantors looked pretty crowded and uncomfortable.

Having been a very spontaneous traveler in my younger days, I too have a hard time pre-booking everything. The bottom line though, is that you will always have a nice place to stay.

If you can afford to cancelling a night here or there if you change your plans seems a good compromise.

India's nice hotels are very, very popular these days.

This was helpful to hear. I think that I will go ahead and book the special places now while I have the chance. Your and Craig's recommendations re. Sher Bagh have made up my mind. Hopefully they will have room for us.

Any other accomodations that you especially liked? I have places in Delhi (at beginning and end of trip) and Jaipur. Everything else is still up for grabs. Thanks! Stephanie

I would agree that there are more tourists needing good quality hotel rooms in Rajasthan than there are presently good quality hotel-rooms available in Rajasthan, esp in the high season months, one of which is November. So you can see that going without reservations can be an issue. In cities like Delhi that is even more so the case as you are competing with business people needing rooms. However, I agree that being spontaneous is great if you can do it. To the extent you can make bookings without committing to pre-paid nights or non-refundable deposits, I would try to do that. Although many people on this site seem to pre-pay or have reservations with non-refundable deposits (sometimes almost a year in advance), that has never been my experience in traveling in India even in high season, so I believe it is possible by booking directly with the hotel to avoid this (other than of course quite late cancellation like less than 24 hours notice). The room rates may cost you a bit more, but for the freedom of flexibility, you may think this worth it.

For hotels generally in India, a very useful website is at http://sawdays.co.uk/, click on the book for India. You can also buy the book, but the website will give you a very long list of hotels to start with. The vast majority of these hotels are not in the luxury range and some are in the budget range, but all look interesting and several, like the Imperial in Delhi, are outstanding. A good source to start. (I am dying to try the tented camp on the reservoir at Chhatra Sagar near Jodhpur, take a look at http://www.chhatrasagar.com) The best Indian hotel operator IMO is Oberoi (www.oberoihotels.com), also try neemranahotels.com as they run interesting hotels, and tajhotels.com which is another good Indian operator. I also like the “high end” reccos from the Lonely Planet book (although even they now recco the Imperial which while a fantastic hotel, is hardly in the budget range). I would just caution that some of these places, while extremely charming and historical (like the “heritage hotel” palaces) are going to be somewhat rustic in terms of bathrooms, older furniture and somewhat erratic service. If that is not a problem for you, you will enjoy them a lot.

Ranthambore is one of my very favourite places, I agree that even if you don’t see tiger it is a wonderful place to see all kinds of wildlife and birdlife.

I truly appreciate the point of view of those of you who have traveled where we're heading. I plan to find good places to stay, book them (thanks, Cicerone, for the great links to other sources of input) and yet build in some flexibility by staying in more basic accommodations that can be changed with little impact. I hadn't thought about the fact that if one books directly with a place, it is much easier to cancel with proper notice. Some of the internet booking services make cancelation a painful affair.

Looking ahead, I wonder if anyone has been to Pushkar during the camel fair. Does it make sense to try to be there then? Stephanie

I have been to Pushkar, but not during the camel fair. It is a mob scene when a city is stretched to 5 to 10 times its capacity. But also perhaps an experience of a lifetime. The Pushkar Palace is a superb hotel. Try for one of the "single" rooms with a double bed. These rooms are at each end of the hotel with windows on three sides overlooking the lake. A magnificent room!

In Mandawa, try the Mandawa Palace for a modestly restored palace where every room is different and all (I saw) authentic. The outside dinner on the grass under the tents was my finest meal in India for the ambiance, entertainment and fresh buffet of countless Indian foods. This is not a Westernized version of a palace, but an Indian restoration.