Itinerary advice needed!

chris0304

no i understand, but i do have a copy of LP but it is already 2years out of date and especially for the larger cities, it has lots of options which are all pretty much the same and i was just hoping people could [u]recommend[u] places. without being rude thats what site like this are for. as i've never been to rajasthan I was hoping people who have been there before could shed some light, evidently not....

camelgirl

It's harder than it seems to make a recommendation as we all have a different notion of what "budget" means. We once stayed at a place for $12 a night and thought it was a real budget find, until we met someone staying for 25 cents a night. It made us suddenly feel very un-budget.

I agree that any guidebook would be a good idea. LP, Rough guide, Footprints, etc. Our most recent Rajasthan trip in Nov. 2006 we used our guidebook and called a whole bunch of places the day before we needed a place until we found one that was available. A couple of places were wonderful, a couple were disappointing, so we moved.

I can't recommend anyplace because I think our hotel budget which ranged between $25 to $90 a night is not in your range.

But you will find places from your guidebook. Even if it's a bit out-of-date. It just means the prices will be higher.

chris0304

yeah, I think my idea of budget is £5/500INR/$10 per night for a room! cheap cheap!!

Mickey S

I recently used that two-year-old LP in India, and found that very little had changed - the hotels they mention will still be there are will have changed little. The advantage of Lonely Planet is that they divide accommodation into price categories and list properties in order of preference. The drawback, generally, is that almost every traveller has a copy of LP and is heading to the same hotels as you: for that reason, I tend to use Rough Guide when selecting accommodation.

I don't think you need to worry unduly about accommodation, though, as August is low season in Rajasthan: there'll be plenty of accommodation available and you'll be able to negotiate a considerable discount off the normal price. Just make sure you see the room before committing - check for things you might not normally think of, such as whether there's electricity and/or hot water 24 hours a day.

incitatus

Finding lodging at this price will not be difficult as there are plenty of cheap places.A/C will not be possible at that price and remember it will be very hot and humid.
If you're staying in Delhi there's a wide selection in Main Bazaar ,handy for the railway station.There's plenty reviewed in the Hotel section.-Smyle Inn, Namaskar etc both good.

In Jaipur I'd recommend the Hotel Pearl Palace .
http://www.hotelpearlpalace.com/
Rooms start at Rs250/- single. It has an excellent rooftop restaurant.
Also on the roof is a bathroom where you can have a wash after your daytrip to Amber and before catching your train if you wish to freshen up.

At Udaipur try the Udai Niwas http://hoteludainiwas.com/INDEX.html.
Clean and good value and fairly central.Rooms start at Rs250/-

In Jodhpur Yogi's Guest house is an old favourite
http://www.yogiguesthouse.com/default.htm - it's probably in LP.

I stayed in these 3 last year-I didn't go to Jaisalmer on that trip so I can't recommend anywhere but I'm sure there are loads of places under Rs500 esp at that season.

One last word -if you're getting off the plane at midnight and catching the Shatabdi at 06'10 this will be irrelevant ,but- if the opportunity exists I would suggest taking the train to Jaisalmer first and working your way back.The reason is that if you're on a tight schedule and have to get back to Delhi to fly out it's easier to get back to Delhi quickly from Jaipur than it is from Jaisalmer.Train delays do happen esp in the rainy season.
Good Luck.

chris0304

thats really helpful about accomodation, thankyou. I was eyeing up the pearl palace in Jaipur, it has got good reviews online.

I'm not qte sure what you meant about the trains, I don't land at midnight anywhere...? I realise that theres a very good chance that trains will be delayed, especially at this time of year, I have given myself enough time after arrivals.

Just a a couple of quick questions for people in the know; - Can anyone tell if there are buses from kumbalgarh to jodhpur? and if so how frequent? or would I have to go back to Ranakpur?

thanks

ranjan154

As far as accommodation in any visiting cities are concerned, I recommend you to go through the lonely planet guide book, for whatever budget you have. That would be a great help.

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Rakesh Ranjan
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/travinfoindia/

hfot2

Not specifically about accomodation, but, for what it's worth -

We, too, used an old LP and made the pleasant discovery that the entrance charges for the World Heritage sites had actually gone down. Our LP had long discussions on how the fees were too high for, say, the Taj and there were plans to lower these fees. Well, just in case your book is as old as ours, know that the fees were lowered.

So sorry, I asked you about your budget after you had already stated it - I just wanted more specific clarification as camelgirl describes. And along with camelgirl, we can't help here, we are out of your price range - sorry.

distaff half of hfot2

Aishah

Chris - I agree with incitatus - first take a car if you can afford it from Udaipur to Jodhpur then you have no problems with timings, can visit Ranakhpur on your way which is definitely worth seeing. Also Pearl Palace in Jaipur is great value - cheaper rooms and excellent restaurant. Try Haveli on the Lake in Udaipur and see if you can get a single room for 500 rupees, if they are not too busy this may be possible. LP also has some cheaper budget places in Lal Ghat area which will still be the same even 2 years later - one I have also stayed in and is clean and cheap is Kumbha Palace run by a Dutch lady and her Indian husband. You could get cheaper than 500r. there for sure. Also good rooftop restaurant and in nice location near lake, palace and market etc.