Rajasthan Itinerary - Thoughts?
Replies: 9 - Last Post: Nov 16, 2012 3:58 AM Last Post By: nicklikestotravel
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Rajasthan Itinerary - Thoughts?
Hi all,Going to India for the first time with the Mrs from mid Dec to early Jan for 17 days ish.
We arrive in Delhi and fly out so are trying to do a 'loop' through Rajasthan that goes like this:
16 Dec - Delhi (arrive day 1 stay 1 night)
17 Dec - Agra (driver and stay 1 night)
18 Dec - Jaipur (driver drops us off here, stay 2 or 3 nights? and bus/train to Ajmer)
21 Dec - Ajmer (stay 2 nights then bus/train to Udaipur)
23 Dec - Udaipur (stay 3 nights and bus/train to Mt Abu on a day trip or should we do this as a separate overnight stay at Mt Abu?)
26 Dec - Jodpur (stay 2 nights and bus/train to Jaisalmer)
28 Dec - Jaisalmer (stay 2 nights and bus/train to Bikaner)
30 Dec - Bikaner (stay 2 nights and hopefully overnight train back to Delhi, is it possible?)
2 Jan Delhi (fly out on the 3rd Jan)
Is this do-able? We looking at having a driver from Delhi to Jaipur then use buses or trains. Should we consider pre-booking transport for the rest of the trip or just organise it a few days before departing each place? Are there even trains connecting all of these cities/towns?
Any ideas, suggestions most welcome. Really trying to get a feel for how long we should be spending in each place and if we are trying to cover too much ground in too short a time. Don't want to spend a huge amount of time on the road travelling and would probably pick up a night bus or night train if it is going to be beneficial.
What are the night buses like? Comfortable enough to get some sleep?
Sleeper trains would be ideal but do they run between these places?
What sort of times are we looking at from going from place to place? Don't want to spend 6 hours on the road every 2 or 3 days when we could be exploring and having our adventure
Thanks!
Nick
1
Welcome Nick, Ya, it's doable. That's a lot of moving around though. A common India rookie mistake is taking western travel habits and applying them to India. India travels very slowly; people get sick, trains and buses get cancelled and delayed, things just happen in India which seem to slow your pace of travels down.Without trying to nit-pick; I'd take an afternoon / evening train from Delhi to Agra (not a driver) and spend the night in Agra in a hotel near the East gate of the Taj. There are several there. You can then get up early and see the Taj at sunrise. Apart from the beauty of the Taj at that hour, the crowds will be nonexistent and you'll have a much better experience. You can spend three hours or so and leave about the time the masses from Delhi start to arrive.
Jaipur is a horrible place. Spend your two days there so you can see a few sights and then move on. Udaipur is much nicer.
Good luck.
2
by train:Delhi to Agra = http://erail.in?T=NDLS::AF:
Agra to Udaipur = http://erail.in?T=AF::UDZ:
by bus = Udaipur to Abu Road (Mt Abu) = by bus
Abu Road to Ajmer = http://erail.in?T=ABR::AII:
Ajmer to Jaipur = http://erail.in?T=AII::JP:
Jaipur to Jodhpur = http://erail.in?T=JP::JU:
Jodhpur to Bikaner = http://erail.in?T=JU::BKN:
Bikaner to Jaisalmer = http://erail.in?T=BKN::JSM:
Jaisalmer to Delhi = http://erail.in?T=JSM::NDLS
http://irfca.org/faq/faq-map-03.html#map
http://irfca.org/faq/faq-map-02.html#map
5
Nick, it is definitely do-able. you will be better off using sleeper overnight trains to make best use of your time. they are also much more comfortable than the bus. remember winter nights in rajasthan are very cold. the jodhpur - jaisalmer sector is not connected to udaipur by train so you will have to either depend on the bus or do something like the following itinerary:Delhi - Jodhpur (overnight train). 1-2 days in Jodhpur.
Jodhpur - Jaisalmer (overnight train). 2-3 days in Jaisalmer.
Jaisalmer - Jaipur (overnight train). 2 days in Jaipur
then do the Jaipur - Ajmer - Udaipur - Mount Abu circuit
You can always do a 2 day trip to Agra from Delhi.
Book your train tickets now else you will not get them. use makemytrip.com. it is better than the awful irctc.co.in website.
6
18 Dec - Jaipur (stay 2 or 3 nights? )
Consider just 1 day here. It's an unpleasant city.
23 Dec - Udaipur (stay 3 nights and bus/train to Mt Abu on a day trip or should we do this as a separate overnight stay at Mt Abu?)
Stay for one overnight in Mt. Abu. There's a few nice places to visit there.
26 Dec - Jodpur (stay 2 nights and bus/train to Jaisalmer)
Only one day /night there. The old fort for a few hours is the highlight. The market /clock-tower and are worth a visit.
28 Dec - Jaisalmer (stay 2 nights and bus/train to Bikaner)
30 Dec - Bikaner (stay 2 nights and hopefully overnight train back to Delhi, is it possible?)
30 Dec - Bikaner (stay 2 nights and hopefully overnight train back to Delhi, is it possible?)
Have an extra day or two in Jaisalmer. One day in Bikaner for Kani Mater (rat temple) and the marble Jain temple which has the frescoes, are both worth visiting.
There is a direct train to Delhi. Given you are going to be travelling during the peak time, you would be well advised to book a couple of your trains in advance.
7
The itinerary is a little rushed. Wintertime is foggy time and trains can be late , though Rajasthan should be less affected.Why don't you consider retaining the car and the driver throughout?
8
I agree that you should factor in some time, there bound to be many delays in trains and buses.Also, Jaisalmer/Bikaner has camel safari, where you can stay overnight in the desert. You can choose 2D1N or 3D2N. You may want to take this into consideration.
Have a good trip, Rajasthan is a beautiful place!
9
Thanks everyone for the feedback. Will look at changing a few things around with how long we are staying in some areas and book some trains too.While it would be nice to have a driver for the entire time, that would get quite expensive would it not? And maybe take away from some of the experience?
We might evne look at canning the stop in Bakimer and go all the way through to Delhi to give us a few extra nights to use somewhere else. Not too sure as yet.
A lot more reading this weekend and maybe a few more Q's getting fired down the line too.
Thanks!
