Comments on itinerary

Hi,
I hope you can give me some feedback on below itinerary for a trip in september, where I hope to see quite a bit (and am in doubt if I am stretching the itinerary. The plan is to arrive on 31 August and go back home on 23 September, with just over a week in Mumbai (where my sister lives):

Arrival in Delhi, stay for 2 nights
Delhi to Jaipur (car), stay for 2 nights
Jaipur to Jodhpur (car), stay for 2 nights
Jodhpur to Jaisalmer (car), stay for 3 nights (incl. desert)
Jaisalmer to Udaipur (not sure yet), stay for 2 nights
Udaipur to Agra (overnight train), stay for 2 nights
Agra to Khajuraho (train), stay for 1 night
Khajuraho to Varanasi (Flight), 3 nights
Varanasi to Mumbai (Flight)

Can we make this trip without drowning in transport, and would you recommend us to change some of our modes of transport? for your kind information, I am a bit worried about the trains - main concern is hygeine (plan to bring own sheets and pillow though).

Thank you so much for any feedback

Hi,

If you rent a car to bring you to the next town you must also pay for the return trip of the driver.
So in your case it seems a good idea to rent the same car+driver for the first part of your itinerary.

The leg Jaisalmer-Udaipur is about 580 km and will take about 10 hours see this thread
If you drop the car in Jaisalmer, you of course have to pay for the drivers return to Delhi. And traveling by public transport from Jaisalmer to Udaipur is not easy.

I think Udaipur Agra is to long for one day per car, but if you drop the car in Udaipur you must again pay the return trip.
If you have some days left split this journey in two and stop in Bundi. Then you can drop the car in Agra and this is relative close to Delhi.

If you have nerves of steel this amount of road travel will be no problem.

The trains are not really any less hygenic than India in general.

For both Udaipur to Agra and Agra to Kharuhajo you need train 19666. Bookings for September are already open. If you want to travel 1AC or 2AC you should book asap.

Sleeping bag liner and pillow case are always worth taking,

Thanks for the advice - will look into taking the car all the way from Delhi to Agra, and then making an additional stop between Udaipur and Agra (originally wanted a Rantambhore stop but they are closed during the time we travel ).

As soon as this is settled I will make sure to book the train from Agra to Khajuraho...

Really looking forward to doing the trip, even though the transport will be a killer

I've tried to redo the itinerary a bit so that backtracking is mimimised and you get to ride on the better roads (Jaipur-Udaipur) as opposed to Jaipur-jodhpur.

Arrival in Delhi, stay for 2 nights

Delhi to Jaipur (Train), stay for 2 nights

Jaipur to Chittor and then Udaipur (hire a car), stay for 3 nights (you'll reach by end of the day you leave Jaipur)

Udaipur to Jodhpur (car), stay for 3 nights (incl. Ranakpur / Kumbhalgarh on day 1) - again you will reach only by end of the day you leave Udaipur.

Jodhpur to Jaisalmer (Car), stay for 2-3 nights - one in the fort and one in the desert.

Jaisalmer to Jaipur (Return the car here. The drive via Phalodi, Nagaur is a straight flat landscape run through some of the least traversed terrain in Rajasthan - we saw wild antelopes in Churu district on our way back. Very few tourists here). You can take the train too between Jaisalmer and Jaipur but you'd pay for the car's return travel till Jaipur anyways.

Then train to Agra - Stay overnight. Agra deserves a day and a half min including fatehpur sikri.

Agra to Khajuraho (train), stay for 1 night - I'd say 24 hours to view all the temple groups.

Khajuraho to Varanasi (Flight), 2 nights

Varanasi to Mumbai (Flight)

I'm not sure if I've exceeded the total number of your days here.

you may take a car and driver through and through until Agra as well if you get a good deal for a car in Delhi as it will allow you more flexibility around Agra.

3rd Aircon is reasonably clean (depends on the particular train though) and has sheets and pillows.

Thanks! Looking into the option of swopping around the route to optimize. There are a few days too many, but might end up forgetting about Khajuraho and go from Agra to Varanasi (my problem is I want to see everything!).

I know that it is very difficult to drop one of the places you love to visit but often it is wise to cram not too much in one itinerary. If you like your journey you will probably return another time.

It is of course your decision what you drop. But keep in mind that how great and different the Rajasthan cities are, they are all part of the same culture.

Places like Khajuraho and Varanasi are examples of something totally different.

I am going crazy (and think my travel buddy is ready to kill me with my change of heart every 10 minutes)....
Thinking of leaving Jaipur out to keep Khajuraho in and then take a trip like this:

Arrival in Delhi, stay for 2 nights
Delhi to Udaipur (flight), stay for 2 nights
Udaipur to Jodhpur (incl. Ranakpur/Kumbhalgarh in car), stay for 3 nights
Jodhpur to Jaisalmer (car), stay for 3 nights (incl. desert)
Jaisalmer to Jaipur to Agra (car and train, if necessary we will take 1 night in Jaipur before train), stay for 2 nights
Agra to Khajuraho (train), stay for 1 night
Khajuraho to Varanasi (Flight), 3 nights
Varanasi to Mumbai (Flight)

We will have to pay to get the car back to Udaipur, would it therefore be better to go back to Jodhpur rather than Jaipur or is the difference minimal (going to Jodhpur will make the train ride longer).

let me know if I once again is on the wrong track or if this sounds like a good trip :-)

Thanks again

I should leave the car in Jodhpur. Traveling long distances by car is more fatiguing than by train.
The overnight train Jodhpur - Agra, see here gives a perfect connection.

For the rest you plan is good