Rajasthan - travel arrangements and advice
 

We will be in India for an extended stay, and plan to allow approx. 14 days in Rajasthan in January. Advice on any of the following topics is appreciated.

Some background: we are a couple, mid-50's, rather fit for our age (we do a lot of hiking trips; he regularly runs 6 miles in a session.) We do not need the gold-plated route, but we want a certain level of comfort and can afford staying at some nicer properties and travel arrangements, especially if it means less hassle.

(1) After some research, I think we've decided on hiring drivers for our trip through Rajastan, with perhaps one flight between cities. We are considering working with RTDC Transport for the car and driver, or asking Rajasthan Tours to handle the details. Does anyone have experience with these companies, or suggestions for other possibilities?

We need to come from New Delhi (perhaps via an overnight in Agra -- my husband has seen the Taj Mahal, but I have not.) We will fly to Goa afterwards from one of the Rajasthan cities.

(2) I've been doing a fair amount of reading in preparation for the trip, but please advise:

What was the best part of your trip to Rajasthan? What was not worth the effort?

(We are mostly focused on cultural sites, architecture, local arts, some shopping, just enjoying the view...)

Specifically, was Jaisalmer worth the trip?

(3) We tend to look forward to vacations for some rest as well as stimulation.

This is the kind of trip where we don't mind moving along, but prefer at least 2 nights in any specific place where we bed down (with few exeptions.) We're also not the type to get up with the sunrise, or want breakfast at 7 a.m. unless we have to catch a plane.

To give some perspective: this is partly why we decided not to think about the "Palace on Wheels" tour. Besides it being a stretch for the budget, it seemed like too much on-the-go packed in to one week for us. We'd rather more days, spent with more time enjoying the surroundings. Still, if it didn't seem so rushed, we could have considered this level of expense.

(4) The schedule is still in flux, but this is a rough outline. Assume that each line is a different day. Also assume that there may be a day or half day trip from some of the locations using a driver.

To Jaipur from Delhi or Agra
Jaipur
Jaipur to Bundi
Bundi
Bundi to Udaipur
Udaipur
Udaipur
Udaipur
Udaipur to Jodphur (fly?)
Jodphur
Jodphur to Pushkar
Pushkar
Pushkar to (Jaipur or Jodphur, to fly to Goa the next day or that evening?)

If we decide that there is something wonderful to see or place to stay between Udaipur and Jodphur, perhaps we'll add in a day.

Right now, we think that Jaisalmer might be too much of a hike from our plans. Similarly, we will probably miss the painted villages near Mandawa as being too much beyond the path we plan to follow for the time we have. 'Not sure if we NEED to try to see a tiger in the wild, but might do that between Jaipur and Bundi.

We might consider one-night hotel bookings if it is in an intersting property, e.g. the historic hotels. For this reason, we might break up the trip in Udaipur into two-night blocks to be able to experience different historic hotels. We'll do the due diligence at tripadvisor, but your experience is welcome.

In India in 07: Varansi 2 days, Khajuraho 2 days, Amritsar overnight, Agra overnight, Jaipur 2 days, Jodophur 1 day on way to Jaisalmer 2 days to include Thar desert trip, Ranakapur on way to Udaipur but only for 1-2 days. We found Udaipur the least interesting although lake nice. Driver a must and best way to see sites with flights to Varansi, Khajuraho and Amritsar. Pushkar is not worth the trip unless going to camel fair. We loved our trip with Delhi for only two days which was plenty but do not miss Golden Temple in Amritsar. Highlight of the trip.

we used castle and king in delhi for our entire trip with some hotel additions which i already had....we found staying at second level hotels to be perfect: sheratons, nikko in delhi...

we stayed one nite at neemrana fort palace hotel and wished we had two or more nites there....its your kick back place---not far from delhi...

i think 2 nites in agra is the best: arrive late one day, overnight, all day around agra, overnite and off to jaipur the next morning...

we had 4 nites in jaipur and could have used one more...plenty to do there..

why pushkar?? the camels are in november/december

a.Two weeks in Rajasthan is a good time to visit some of the representative features of this destination. But I am alarmed at your plans to get the RTDC to handle all details! The RTDC is a govt. organization with a very ‘chalta – hai’ (lackadaisical / carries on) attitude, towards duty.
b.The best point for you to fly to Goa direct would be from Jaipur. There is a morning flight from here.
c.Let me assure you a great itinerary lies in store for you given the interests you have talked about in your post. Jaisalmer is always worth a trip, but the problem is it’s connectivity. It is far flung area & addition of Jaisalmer will stretch the plan.
d.Tigers have been an integral part of Rajasthan & a stay at Sawaimadhopur is definitely a ‘must do’. It breaks the monotony of the tour…not only tiger sightings but a bit of stimulation in the way of tracking on the soft ground to see what animals passed that way, a night before. Take a look at Khem Villas & read all the reviews on tripadvisor for this property.
e.Four nights in Udaipur should be reduced to three.
f.No question of flying between Udaipur >> Jodhpur. You can’t miss Ranakpur Jain temples & the sceneries of this delightful route! A night’s stay in this region is definitely called for.
Happy Travels!

In the post above micarda has made good suggestion, though I do not know much about Amtrisar which I believe is a place of pilgrimage. I intend repeating www.goldentriangletour.com for the expert advice received during the previous trip to India that proved economical too. One visit is just not enough as there is so much to see (and feel) in India. Good luck!

Thank you so much for all the advice, including the impressions about the RTDC for travel arrangements.

To be honest, with a night's sleep, we are still waffling about just booking with one of the tour groups (perhaps back to the Palace on Wheels thing. A compressed tour, but you see a lot and much of the physical travel is overnight.) This might allow some time for Amritsar, etc. if booking a tour shortens our trip. While we've traveled in many parts of the world, mostly independently, the idea of making arrangements every step of the way in this part of the world seems more daunting. Again, we're happy to pay somewhat more to let someone else worry about the details.

We'll definitely see Agra at some point as we arrive and depart from New Delhi, and time is somewhat flexible.

Re: Pushkar: I heard it was atmospheric and something of a holy place (but touristy, admittedly.) I knew that the camel fair would not be held at this time, but was curious. Honestly, even in the tentative schedule shown above, that was the place that was most likely to be knocked out as it might add more complications to the need to get to an airport in Jodphur or Jaipur.

I'll start a different thread about any thoughts re: the Palace on Wheels -- I think it is sometimes easier for Fodorites to respond to a specific post like that. Again, the tour sounds ambitious, but has the advantage of covering alot of ground overnight. While I usually like to look out the train window to see what's going by, there is less of that option given the schedule of this tour.

(We are fans of train travel for comfort and viewing the scene, but insist on comfortable train travel -- God bless the Swiss!!! Admittedly, we usually don't do the level of an Orient Express, but are willing to use that service in this part of the world.)

Frankly, I just did a search about the Palace on Wheels, and it does not seem as wonderful as billed. 'Will proabaly look for something else.

I drove around Rajasthan for 2 weeks in February. Used Rajasthan 4 Wheel Drive and overall they were good. Obviously, it depends on who your driver is but we had a very good driver for most of the trip. We flew into Jodhpur - very interesting city for two days. Then we spent two nights between Jodhpur and Udaipur and saw Kumbalgarh Fort and Ranakpur Temple. The drive itself in the countryside, with rolling hills and some real pastoral life was probably the best part - Kumbalgarh is very interesting. Then a night in Udaipur - stayed at the Udaivilas as a break - but Udaipur overall seemed a bit touristy and somehow not worth it all, but we didn't linger. Including Bundi will definitely extend driving - it's a bit of an effort to make the loop to get there but Bundi was definitely worth it....small enough, atmospheric.....very interesting. I think one really needs to decide what makes sense and almost divine a 6th sense on your itinerary....avoid the tourist destinations, or at least budget time appropriately there.

i used compass tours and was very satisfied with them ...

Like Bob (rhkkmk) we used castle and king in delhi for our entire trip. They'll arrange everything for you from hotel to transport to guides and you can use as much or as little as you want of their services. Like you I usually arrange almost all of my trips completely on my own but in India it does make a big difference in ease and comfort. Arvind completely personalized the trip for us. His email: [email protected]

'Just to follow up with this post. We had to cancel this trip for a number of reasons, but will definitely keep everyone's advice for the future. Thank you all for your help.