I had planned a one-week tour of Rajasthan three years ago and ended up having to cancel at the last minute due to a sudden family health issue.

I'm finally taking the trip now! We will go to:
- Delhi->Jodhpur and drive to Manvar Desert Camp (1 night)
- Jaisalmer - stay at the Fort Rajwada (2 nights)
- Jodhpur - stay at the Park Plaza (1 night)
- Ranakpur (visit Jain temple)
- Udaipur - stay at Devi Garh (2 nights)

When I return I will send a report to the forum -- thanks to everyone who gave me inputs to help plan this trip 3 years ago!

Hi,
Peace be at your home and in life too.
Your tour program is really beautiful. The one hotel Park Plaza in Jodhpur is not as other hotels you choose, even then I hope and wish that you will enjoy your travel.
Wish you all the best.
Raju India.

I just returned from India and am sharing my opinions on our recent Rajasthan trip for other Fodor-ites. Thanks for everyone's help in planning this trip some years ago.

Here is my review. We traveled during the last week of December 2008:

- We first stayed at the Manvar Desert Camp for one night. The camp is halfway between Jodhpur and Jaisalmer just off the excellent highway. We enjoyed the cottage we stayed in immensely -- huge room with fabulous attached bath. Too bad the weather was too cold to use their lovely swimming pool! At night they had some Rajasthani dancers and musicians at our dinner which we enjoyed. Food was fine but just ok. We didn't go out to the desert to see the tents and the camp there, but heard from other guests that it was very nice.
On the way to Jaisalmer the following day, we stopped to see the demoiselle/Siberian cranes at the Kheechan village. What a sight! Even though it wasn't feeding time for the birds, there were still hundreds of them there. Later in our trip we discovered a lot of these cranes near Ranakpur by the way too.
- We then spent two nights at the Taj (Gateway Hotel) Rawal Kot in Jaisalmer. Originally we were to be at the Fort Rajwada which is next door, but we really really enjoyed the Rawal Kot. I believe that the Taj group of hotels has bought this property and has branded it as a Gateway Hotel. The quality was excellent. We enjoyed the property immensely which was in a peaceful location with the Jaisalmer Fort visible in the distance. The food was fantastic -- breakfast, lunch and dinner, the rooms were lovely and the entire hotel was great. The staff were really helpful as well.
The Jaisalmer fort was interesting to see although I didn't expect it to be so dirty! It was like stepping back into the 12th-century -- both the good and bad sides of that. Still, we are glad we went to Jaisalmer despite the grime. We also did a camel safari out at the Sam sand dunes. Be warned: For a huge desert, the Sam sand dunes can seem like being in a middle of a busy India city! There were TONS of people doing the same thing as we were -- which we were surprised about. Still, we did get some great camel and desert sand photos, and did enjoy the short (30-minute) camel ride.
- We drove (chauffer-driven car) straight through from Jaisalmer back to Jodhpur which was just fine -- took about four hours including a fine tea-break at the Dehra Dun Fort (I think that's what it was called) on the highway. The highway is incredibly smooth.
- Our one night in Jodhpur was well worth it. We really liked the Park Plaza hotel which was like a good Marriott or Hilton business hotel in the US. The breakfast & dinner we had there was really good and the room was fine. The pool was under renovation while we were there but it was quite cold anyway. We loved the Mehrangarh Fort at Jodhpur. After the lived-in and rather dirty Jaisalmer fort, the Mehrangarh fort was a refreshing change. It's incredibly well-preserved and we had a great guide through Registhan Tours. In our opinion, stopping at the Fort gift shop was worth it (T-shirts you won't find anywhere else!). We also saw the cenotaph for the maharaja -- also worth seeing. We got some fantastic photos from the fort of the old blue city of Jodhpur at sunset -- stunning.
- The next day we drove to Ranakpur which was a fantastic Jain temple and well worth seeing. The drive was a bit tiring because the road wasn't so good in places -- we'd been spoiled by the great Jodhpur-Jaisalmer highway I guess!
- We then spent two nights at the acclaimed Devi Garh fort-hotel. Wow. They have done a fantastic job in preserving & renovating the fort-hotel. They treat you like royalty when you arrive -- complete with a shower of flower petals! The pool was heated and we enjoyed it tremendously. The views from all parts of the hotel of the Aravalli Hills are peaceful and beautiful. We stayed in the Garden Suites which are just a few steps below the pool, and enjoyed the immense rooms with an attached veranda for snoozing and relaxing. The only negative I have for Devi Garh is that for such an expensive property the food was just ok. Hygiene was impeccable but the range of dishes and tastes were not as good as our experience at the Rawal Kot hotel in Jaisalmer. Still, of course, it was an excellent place overall. We did visit another nearby Jain temple (Nathwada I think) which was well worth the short car-trip from Devi Garh.
- We spent a few hours touring the City Palace in Udaipur just before our flight back to Delhi -- also worth seeing in my opinion. Another splendidly preserved Rajput Rajasthani fort.

If anyone has any questions about our trip, please reply here and I'll try to answer them!

Thanks for the trip report. Sounds like a great adventure. You made a good choice with the Taj in Jaisalmer. We stayed at Fort Rajwada since the Taj was fully booked and found it to be adequate at best. The rooms were clean but very basic and the food was not more than OK. The number of people in the desert for sunset is really amazing. Do you know if flights into Jaisalmer are still allowed since it's primarily a military airport and the situation with Pakistan is, shall we say, touchy?

thanks for the review....were you on your own or on an organized tour?

Marija: those flights come and go. They seem to operate October to March 31.

Anitag: I'm glad you finally made it. What were your thoughts at the end? Too little time? Too much driving or was it comfortable enough? Did you get tired? If you did it again would you do it this way?

Smart move re hotels in Jaisalmer. Fort Rajwada gets the most terrible reviews in Tripadvisor.

The fort between Jaisalmer and Jodhpur would have been Fort Pokaran

Marija - No there really aren't many flight options into Jaisalmer. We met one family at the Taj Rawal Kot who had done a hopscotch Delhi->Jaipur->Udaipur->Jaisalmer. Doesn't sound too appealing to me.
And yes, my husband walked over to the Fort Rajwada and said that the Taj Rawal Kot was far superior to Fort Rajwada from what he saw.

rhkkmk - I organized the tour myself for my family (5 of us - grandparents, parents and a teen). I worked with India Invites in Goa for the arrangements. The car and driver we had (Bhuma Ram) were excellent from Registan Tours in Jodhpur. We really liked Bhuma Ram.

Dogster: I think the trip was fine overall. We had a mix of heavy travel days and relaxing days which worked well. For us, a day or two in each location was enough. The only tiring part was driving from Jodhpur to Devi Garh via Ranakpur on terrible roads. If I were to do it again, I might do it differently: Just Jaisalmer & Jodhpur for 3-4 days. Or just Udaipur for two days. Then again, there were advantages to seeing all three cities in one (quick 7-day) trip.

npjai - No it wasn't Fort Pokaran. We drove past that. It was a dark-red facade if that helps and a fairly small property. Nice courtyard to sit and have a snack and drink. Clean bathroom.