Udaipur – Pushkar – Jodhpur – Jaisalmer - Bikaner - Delhi

Hi,

I'll be in this region of India in the first / second week of November, however I can't spend any longer than 7 days as I have to catch an onward flight from Delhi. I have looked at itineraries and they suggest the following:

1. Udaipur
2.Pushkar
3. Jodhpur
4. Jaisalmer
5. Bikaner
6. Delhi

As I only have 7 days I'm looking to cut down the list above but wanted suggestions as to what to cut out?

I don't particularly want to do a camel safari, I just want to ensure the culture of the areas and if possible not spend all my time in large cities. Also, any suggestions on transport would be helpful as I have found limited information so far. I do not want to fly as I have a limited budget so will be taking the bus / train.

Many thanks

For your seven days do Udaipur, Jodhpur, Pushkar and Delhi.

Have you skipped Agra on purpose?

Take a cab between Udaipur and Jodhpur seeing Ranakpur and Kumbhalgarh. It might cost around Rs 4000/- in a basic non-ac car.

For trains between 2 cities check www.erail.in.

My recommendation would be to spend the time as follows:
a) 1-2 in Delhi. If you have the opportunity to visit again, spend a day recovering from the flight or to get there, else spend 2 soaking in the major sights.
b) 2 days Jaisalmer - without a camel safari, 2 would suffice. It isnt a large city by Rajasthan standards. Stay in the fort.
c) 3-4 days in Udaipur. 2 days for the city proper, 1 for day trip to Chittorgarh fort. 1 for day trip to Ranakpur.

Jodhpur is great but you do not have that much time and the cities above are very unique and different from each other hence my recommendation to drop it. It's between Udaipur and Jaisalmer though and if you can drop delhi, you may add Jodhpur. Go straight from Udaipur to Ranakpur (stop overnight) and then to Jodhpur and finally to Jaisalmer. Bus between Udaipur and Jodhpur and train between Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. Train back to delhi from JSM.

Pushkar, in your case is merely inconveniently located and personally, i have a very low opinion of the place. Bikaner doesnt compete with any of the other places, honestly.

Good luck whatever you choose!

- Vaibhav

Thanks for your recommendations - I am actually spending time in Delhi and Agra at the start of my trip - so I just needed advice on where to spend my last 7 days and it was between the above places I'll need to look in more detail at transport between the different places but i'm trying to catch night trains / buses if possible in order to save time (& money!)

Thanks

Most of the places that you mention are quite well connected with Delhi by rail but not all are well connected with each other.There is a good overnight train (# 12963) from Hazrat Nizamuddin station in Delhi to Udaipur or vice versa. There are trains from Delhi to Jaisalmer via Jodhpur.

If you are planning to travel in early November you should start firming up your plans soon as the reservation window for most trains is already open. For a plan with a tight time schedule like yours you really need to book in advance to be certain of getting the trains that you want. The process of opening an account to buy rail tickets from outside Indian can be time consuming. Have you seen this thread?

http://www.indiamike.com/india/india...012-a-t165379/