Travel advice needed-Mumbai-Rajasthan

gitts

Hi
I would be traveling with my wife and a couple of friends by road from Mumbai to Rajasthan and back. I intend on covering Mt Abu, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Ranthambhore & Udaipur.
Following is my planned itenerary:
Day 1-Mumbai-Mt Abt (Day 1 and Day 2 night at Mt Abu)
Day 3-Mt Abu-Jodhpur(Day 3 & Day 4 night at Jodhpur)
Day 5-Jodhpur-Jaipur(Day 5 & Day 6 night at Jaipur)
Day 7-Jaipur to Ranthambhore(Day 7 & Day 8 night at Ranthambhore)
Day 9-Ranthambhore to Udaipur(Day 9 and Day 10 night at Udaipur)
Day 11-Udaipur-Mumbai.
I would appreciate if anyone who has done this kind of trip can give their feedback/comments about this itenerary as well as the approx driving time between the destinations planned considering the roads in Rajasthan.

Regards

ashwinnaagar

I would suggest you to leave out jaipur and add jaisalmer. In that case go to mt. abu, then to udaipur, then to jodhpur(ranakpur and kumbhalgarh on the way), then jaisalmer and back.

hvkumar

Bombay-Mt Abu should take you approximately 12-14 hours.
Mt Abu-Jodhpur is a half-day drive.
Jodhpur-Jaipur should also take you approximately 3/4th of a day
Jaipur-Udaipur is a 6-8 hour drive
Udaipur-Bombay is a 10-12 hour drive

You can track the distances in the following links:

http://groups.google.com/group/hvkum...adakh-sep-2009
This one has Bombay-Udaipur-Jaipur, onward and return

http://groups.google.com/group/hvkum...rajasthan-1999
This has Bombay-Mt Abu-Udaipur-Bombay, but this one was on old-fashioned 2 laned roads. However, you will find the distance details for Himmatnagar-Mt Abu useful

http://groups.google.com/group/hvkum...rajasthan-2000
This one has the Bombay-Jaisalmer-Jodhpur-Bikaner-Jaipur-Udaipur-Bombay route details

All roads in Rajasthan are good and very fast.

__________________
H V Kumar

gitts

Thanks ashwinnaagar but i have to go to Ranthambhore. If i go to Jaisalmer which is in the far west of the state i will not have time to go to Ranthambhore. And thats why i have added Jaipur as Ranthambhore is essential.

Thanks hvkumar but do you think this is a good itnenerary to follow or would you suggest any other place/different route considering i would like to stop directly in Rajasthan(thats why i have chosen Mt Abu) after leaving from Mumbai and i would like to stop directly in Mumbai(Thats why i have planned udaipur to be the last place in Rajasthan) after leaving from Rajasthan ?

hvkumar

Yes, entirely doable. Making it on Day 1 to Mt Abu is not difficult for a fast driver and an early morning start.

When returning from Ranthambhor, you can come to Udaipur via Kota and Chittorgarh instead of via Jaipur.

gitts

Thats great info hvkumar.
Would anyone recommend any particular hotels/B&B inns in all the places mentioned. We emphasize more on cleanliness and spacious rooms rather than luxury and over the top facilities. We would be traveling on 14th Nov and coming back on 25th Nov.

hvkumar

I have stayed in mostly RTDC - in Bikaner, Jaipur & Ajmer.
They offer decent accommodation with good car parking, although service and food are nothing to write home about.
Mt Abu has lots of small hotels, I cannot think of any specific hotel one could recommend.
Chittorgarh has RTDC Panna and Hotel Padmini.

gitts

Thanks hvkumar.

Can anyone suggest which places i can visit (day visit) en route considering my travel plan? Also, any recommended restaurants/dhabas which i could stop for lunch while moving from one city to another?

hvkumar

At Mt Abu, the prime attraction are the Dilwara temples.
Why not Ranakpur on the way from Mt Abu to Jodhpur?
On the way from Jodhpur to Jaipur, Ajmer and Pushkar.
Chittorgarh is on the way from Jaipur to Udaipur via Bhilwara.

ashwinnaagar

Nathdwara on the way to kumbhalgarh has some great gujarati thali places all over, ranakpur temple also serves luch during certain timings of which i am a fan.