Rajasthan Tour Packages — How to Plan the Trip Properly, From Delhi NCR

Why Rajasthan, and who each circuit suits

Rajasthan is not one destination. It is at least four, and they are genuinely different from each other — which is exactly why people over-plan it and end up spending their holiday in a car.

Jaipur is a working city with forts in it. Jodhpur is a blue old town under one enormous fort. Jaisalmer is a sandstone town in the Thar with a fort people still live in. Udaipur is lakes, palaces and hills, and feels almost nothing like the other three. Pushkar, Bikaner, Mount Abu, Bundi, Ranthambore and the Shekhawati havelis fill in around them.

Who each suits. Families with kids: Jaipur and Udaipur, with a desert night in Jaisalmer if the children are 7+. Honeymooners: Udaipur and Jaisalmer — this pairing is the single most-requested honeymoon route out of Delhi NCR. Photographers: Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, plus Shekhawati if you have time. Older parents: Jaipur, Pushkar and Udaipur, all short drives, no desert camp. First-timers with only a week: do not attempt all four.

Which circuit should you take?

The number that matters in that table is the last column. Rajasthan's cities are far apart — Jodhpur to Jaisalmer alone is roughly 285 km of desert highway. If you are taking a week, pick four cities maximum and fly or take an overnight train into the first one instead of driving from Delhi. That single decision buys you back an entire day.

Best time to visit Rajasthan — month by month

The short version: October to March. November and February are the two best months — good weather without December's price peak. If budget is the priority and you can handle heat, late March and April give you the same forts at a fraction of the cost.

Temperature reference for the Thar specifically: summer highs run roughly 40–45°C and can touch 48°C, monsoon sits around 19–33°C, and the October–March window runs roughly 8–28°C.

Three sample itineraries

A. Classic Rajasthan, 7N/8D — the one most people should take

Day 1 — Delhi to Jaipur (approx. 270 km via Delhi–Mumbai Expressway, plan 4 hrs door to door). Afternoon at leisure or Albert Hall. Overnight Jaipur. Day 2 — Jaipur. Amber Fort at 8:00 am opening, Jaigarh, Panna Meena ka Kund, City Palace, Jantar Mantar, Hawa Mahal facade. Evening at Nahargarh. Overnight Jaipur. Day 3 — Jaipur to Pushkar to Jodhpur (approx. 145 km to Pushkar, then 190 km on; long day, plan 8 hrs total with stops). Brahma Temple and the ghats at Pushkar mid-morning, push on to Jodhpur by evening. Overnight Jodhpur. Day 4 — Jodhpur. Mehrangarh Fort in the morning — allow three hours, it is the best-presented fort in the state — then Jaswant Thada and the blue-town lanes below the fort. Overnight Jodhpur. Day 5 — Jodhpur to Jaisalmer (approx. 285 km, plan 5.5 hrs). Straight desert highway. Reach by mid-afternoon, evening in the fort. Overnight Jaisalmer. Day 6 — Jaisalmer. Jaisalmer Fort and the Patwon ki Haveli in the morning, Gadisar Lake, then out to Sam or Khuri for dunes, camel or jeep ride, folk performance and a desert camp night. Overnight desert camp. Day 7 — Jaisalmer to Udaipur. This is the hard one — roughly 490 km and 9 hours. Take the overnight train or fly via Jodhpur instead if your budget allows. Overnight Udaipur. Day 8 — Udaipur and departure. City Palace, Jagdish Temple, a Lake Pichola boat at sunset if your flight is late. Fly or train back to Delhi.

Honest note: Day 7 is the weak point of every 8-day Rajasthan itinerary sold in the market, including ours. We will tell you at enquiry stage whether to break it at Ranakpur or switch to rail.

B. Desert Circuit, 5N/6D — Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner

Day 1: Fly or overnight train Delhi → Jodhpur. Afternoon Mehrangarh. Overnight Jodhpur. Day 2: Jodhpur → Jaisalmer (285 km, 5.5 hrs). Evening in the fort. Overnight Jaisalmer. Day 3: Jaisalmer sightseeing, Kuldhara, dunes and desert camp. Overnight camp. Day 4: Jaisalmer → Bikaner (approx. 330 km, plan 6 hrs). Junagarh Fort. Overnight Bikaner. Day 5: Bikaner → Mandawa (Shekhawati havelis) → Jaipur or direct to Delhi NCR. Day 6: Return to Delhi NCR.

C. Lakes & Hills, 4N/5D — Udaipur, Kumbhalgarh, Mount Abu

Day 1: Fly Delhi → Udaipur (approx. 1h30m) or overnight Mewar Express. City Palace and Lake Pichola at sunset. Overnight Udaipur. Day 2: Udaipur — Saheliyon ki Bari, Jagdish Temple, Sajjangarh (Monsoon Palace) for sunset, old-city cafés. Overnight Udaipur. Day 3: Udaipur → Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur (approx. 85 km to Kumbhalgarh, plan a full day). Kumbhalgarh's wall is one of the longest continuous fortification walls in the world; Ranakpur's Jain temple is the most beautiful building in Rajasthan that nobody photographs. Overnight Kumbhalgarh or back to Udaipur. Day 4: → Mount Abu (approx. 165 km from Udaipur, 3–4 hrs via NH27 to Abu Road). Dilwara Temples, Nakki Lake, Sunset Point. Overnight Mount Abu. Day 5: Mount Abu → Udaipur, fly out.

Dilwara Temples practical note: open to non-Jain visitors from 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm — mornings are reserved for prayers. Entry is free. No cameras or phones inside, and modest dress covering shoulders and knees is required. Plan your Mount Abu day around that noon opening or you will arrive to a closed gate.

What Rajasthan costs

₹32,000–₹68,000* per person (indicative · 7N/8D · ex-Delhi · twin sharing · excludes GST & TCS)

₹18,000–₹38,000* per person (indicative · 4N/5D · ex-Delhi · twin sharing · excludes GST & TCS)

*\Indicative market range as of Aug 2026. Contact us on +91 97299 91755 for a current quote.

Palace-hotel Rajasthan — Umaid Bhawan, the Oberoi and Taj lake properties, Alila Fort Bishangarh — is a different product entirely and starts several times higher. We quote it separately.

What moves the price most, in order

1. Whether you fly or drive from Delhi. Flying into Udaipur or Jodhpur and out of Jaipur saves two full driving days. It usually costs more in airfare and less in vehicle days, and it makes the holiday materially better.
2. Hotel tier. Heritage havelis versus 3-star chains is the biggest single line item.
3. Season. Late December carries a genuine premium; April–September is the cheapest period.
4. Desert camp category. Jaisalmer camp tariffs have historically ranged from roughly ₹1,000 per night in the shoulder weeks to around ₹4,000 at New Year, and luxury Swiss-tent camps sit well above that.
5. Group size. A Tempo Traveller across eight people is dramatically cheaper per head than two sedans.
6. Safari and activity add-ons. Ranthambore, camel safari, boat rides, cooking classes.

Typical inclusions vs exclusions

Getting there from Delhi NCR

By road. Delhi/Gurugram → Jaipur is now roughly 3.5 hours via the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway's Sohna–Dausa section. That is the natural land entry point. Delhi → Udaipur or Jodhpur by road is 9–12 hours and we generally advise against it unless you specifically want the drive.

By train. The Mewar Express (12963) leaves Hazrat Nizamuddin at 19:00 and reaches Udaipur City at 07:20 — about 13 hours over 569 km, running daily with AC First, 2A, 3A, 3E and Sleeper. It is the single most useful train in this cluster because it converts a driving day into a sleeping night. The Runicha Express (14659) runs Old Delhi 05:35 to Jaisalmer 11:55 next day — about 18h20m over 921 km, 40 stops. Long, but it puts you in Jaisalmer without a Jodhpur transfer. Vande Bharat services also connect Udaipur with Jaipur and with Agra Cantt.

By air. Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur have year-round flights from Delhi. Jaisalmer Airport is seasonal — it broadly operates a winter schedule from October to March. Air India has operated a double-daily Delhi–Jaisalmer non-stop on the A320 across the winter season. Do not build a summer itinerary around a Jaisalmer flight.

Where to stay, by tier

Budget (₹1,500–₹3,000/night). Clean 3-star chains and family-run guesthouses. In Jaisalmer, staying inside the fort is atmospheric but the fort has genuine drainage and conservation pressures — we usually recommend a haveli just below it instead. Mid (₹3,500–₹8,000). Converted havelis — this is the sweet spot in Rajasthan and where the state genuinely outperforms the rest of India on value. Jodhpur and Udaipur have the best stock. Premium (₹10,000+). Heritage forts and lake palaces. Book 3–6 months ahead for December and February. Desert camps. Standard Swiss tent, deluxe, and luxury. Ask specifically about attached bathroom, heating, and distance from the dunes before booking anything.

Food worth naming

Dal baati churma and laal maas everywhere. Mirchi bada and the mawa kachori in Jodhpur. Pyaaz kachori and ghewar in Jaipur. Ker sangri — a desert-bean-and-berry dish that only really makes sense once you have seen the landscape it comes from. In Udaipur, the rooftop restaurants around Lal Ghat for the view rather than the food, and the old-city places off Jagdish Chowk for the food. Bikaner for bhujia, obviously, and for rasgulla which fewer people know about.

Weekend variants from Delhi and Gurugram

• Jaipur 2N/3D. The default NCR weekend. Friday night out, Sunday evening back.
• Pushkar + Ajmer 2N/3D. Quieter than Jaipur, and Ajmer Sharif is a genuine draw.
• Mandawa / Shekhawati 1N/2D. Painted havelis, about 4–5 hours from Gurugram, almost no tourists.
• Neemrana or Alwar–Sariska 1N/2D. Closest heritage-fort night to NCR.
• Ranthambore 2N/3D. Two safaris, October to June only.

Common mistakes we see

1. Trying to do six cities in seven days. The driving eats the holiday.
2. Driving Jaisalmer to Udaipur in one day. Nine hours. Break it or take the train.
3. Booking Ranthambore in July, August or September. Closed.
4. Going in May with children. 45°C is not a number you can push through.
5. Under-packing for a December or January desert night. It genuinely gets cold.
6. Arriving at Dilwara Temples in the morning. Non-Jain visitors are admitted from noon.
7. Booking Pushkar during the Camel Fair three weeks out. Book three months out or don't go that week.
8. Assuming Jaisalmer has flights year-round. It doesn't.

Ready to plan it?

Send us your dates, group size and the two or three cities you care most about, and we will tell you honestly what fits and what doesn't. WhatsApp +91 97299 91755.