Jaisalmer - December last week good idea or bad?

Indic

Hello everyone

is the last week of december a good time to be in jaisalmer with two kids? Weather,crowd and activity wise? Would one need to book hotels well in advance, is December end a very busy season?

thanks in advance

Indic

p.s In case anyone who had seen my post recently on kerala forum wondering...flight tickets too expensive there so a change of plans

kristinm

We're going first week in Jan and already some places are booked out - we're staying at Fifu and their suite is booked for instance - so I guess you'd need to book now.

goyaltanuj

Yes Jaisalmer is a good idea in december...and yes december is a peak season..so you must book hotel earlier..

Aishah

Last year between Christmas Eve and up to New Year all hotels were packed and you couldn't find a room - this is due to the huge influx of Indian tourists. Absolutely necessary to book ahead, early. The other thing is prices skyrocket at this time - a cruddy room is going for 1000 rupees, 1000 rupee rooms anything up to 3000 rupees! If you book early you might strike a good bargain.

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troppo

Indic, we are also going to be in Jaisalmer in the last week of December with 2 children aged 6 and 8.

We have already booked a hotel but are thinking of also booking a camel safari in advance, if it is going to be as busy as it sounds.

Aishah, thanks for your helpful advice on this and other threads. Have things settled down since the troubles in the last few days? Also, I was wondering whether anything happens in Jaisalmer on Christmas day? I have no particular interest in celebrating it while we are there, but our boys might be interested in doing something to mark the day.

Thanks.

Aishah

Things are settling back today, read my morning's post for what happened - we are all in shock I might add. But as is 'normal' for India these things die away very rapidly. I am quite confident you will have no troubles at all by December. Some of the larger hotels will do 'Christmas Dinner' for foreigners (some Indians go too). There is St Paul's a Catholic church which will have services. You can do your own pressies thing! I did Christmas years ago in Hampi with my daughter - there was no sign of Christmas stuff anywhere, but we all had a nice time just the same - went to a 'good' restaurant for dinner.
I don't think you need 'advance booking' on camel safari if you use one of the town 'agents'. Your hotel maybe able to arrange it for you - keep in mind, terribly busy out there both in Sam and Khuri. Other places for doing safaris are Bikaner, Pushkar, Jodhpur - you can have a camel riding experience here also, just and idea if you are in a less busy date at any of these places. Also, the desert here is not your Sahara! It is scrubby Ozzy sort of desert, with occasional sand dunes.. Great for people who have never seen sand dunes but for me, brought up on NZ and Australian beaches, very ho! hum! Not denigrating the experience in any way because the total safari thing is quite amazing!

dhans

Hi we went to Rajasthan over X-mas with the kids last year. The report is a work in progress, but you can find the start here: our journal. For general tips: see the link below.

Hans

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Tips for trips to India with (young) children: India with kids
Stories about our travels in India: Journal

Aishah

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