A First-Timer's Guide to Rajasthan

Rajasthan is the easiest state in India to plan badly. The distances look short on a map, the list of forts is long, and it is tempting to try and see all of it. Most first trips would be better with two fewer cities and two more days.

Pick three cities, not six

Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur over eight days is the route we recommend most. Each one is genuinely different — Jaipur is commercial and busy, Jodhpur is vertical and blue, Udaipur is soft and built around water — and the drives between them are manageable.

Add Jaisalmer only if you specifically want the desert, and only if you have ten days. It is a long way west and doubles back on itself.

The single decision that matters most

Visit monuments at opening time. Amber Fort at eight in the morning and Amber Fort at eleven are not the same place. The heat arrives with the coaches, and both are avoidable if you are willing to have breakfast afterwards instead of before.

Where to stay

Rajasthan is one of the few places where the hotel is part of the itinerary. A restored haveli in Jodhpur or a small lakeside property in Udaipur will shape the trip more than an extra monument would. Mid-range heritage stays start far below palace-hotel prices.

Getting between cities

• Jaipur to Jodhpur: about five hours by road, or six by train.
• Jodhpur to Udaipur: five hours, with the Ranakpur temple complex on the way.
• Udaipur to Jaipur: seven hours by road — fly or take the overnight train instead.
• Ranthambore sits between Jaipur and Agra and adds two nights for a safari.

When to go

October to March, without much argument. December and January are the most comfortable, though desert nights get genuinely cold. March is a quieter, cheaper alternative if you can handle warm afternoons. April to June is very hot, and we would only plan short heritage-hotel stays in that window.

Buy from the makers

Ask to visit workshops instead of showrooms. Block printing in Bagru, blue pottery in Jaipur, and the mirror-work villages outside Jodhpur all take visitors, and what you pay goes to the person who made the thing.

Three cities, eight days, early mornings. Everything else about a Rajasthan trip is negotiable.