Quick answer
This luxury Rajasthan tour is 14 nights by private car from Delhi through Agra, Jaipur, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Udaipur, finishing with a flight to Mumbai. Return Economy flights from the UK and the Udaipur–Mumbai flight are included, and you travel with a private driver throughout. It costs from £2,879 per person based on two sharing, with May and June 2027 the lowest-priced months. ATOL 10713 protected.
Fourteen nights, starting in Delhi and finishing in Mumbai. The nights split as Delhi 2, Agra 1, Jaipur 2, Bikaner 1, Jaisalmer 2, Jodhpur 2, Udaipur 2 and Mumbai 2. Most stops get two nights, so you unpack properly in six of the eight hotels. The two single-night stops, Agra and Bikaner, both fall in the first week. Bikaner is the exception that earns its place: your night there is at The Laxmi Niwas Palace, the only palace hotel on the route. The other stays are 4-star city and resort hotels.
Why You'll Love It
Included
Not included
Day by Day
You are met at Delhi airport and driven to Le Meridien New Delhi. The rest of the day is yours. After an overnight flight, a sleep and an early dinner at the hotel is the sensible plan before a full day of sightseeing tomorrow.
A full day with your guide. Start at Raj Ghat, the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, then the Jama Masjid in Old Delhi, one of India’s largest mosques. In the afternoon you move south to the Qutub Minar and Humayun’s Tomb, the Mughal garden tomb that set the pattern for the Taj Mahal.
After breakfast you drive to Agra. The first visit is Agra Fort, the red sandstone citadel where the Mughal emperors lived. Later in the afternoon you go on to the Taj Mahal, timed so you see the marble change colour as the light goes.
Leave Agra for Jaipur and stop on the way at Fatehpur Sikri, the abandoned Mughal capital listed by UNESCO. Your guide takes you round the Jama Masjid, the Tomb of Salim Chishti and the five-storey Panch Mahal, then the drive continues to Jaipur for two nights.
The morning starts with an elephant ride up to the gate of Amber Fort. Inside you see the Jai Mandir and the Sheesh Mahal, its walls set with mirror work. Back in the city you visit the City Palace and Jantar Mantar, the 18th-century astronomical observatory.
Drive north-west to Bikaner on the edge of the desert. You visit a camel breeding farm, then Junagarh Fort and its palace rooms. Late in the day a tuk-tuk takes you through the old-city markets to a painted Jain temple. Tonight is your one night in Bikaner.
Continue west across the Thar to Jaisalmer, the sandstone city built around its hilltop fort. After check-in you have a first look at the citadel, its Jain temples and the merchants’ havelis. The day ends with a camel ride on the dunes at sunset.
A full day in Jaisalmer. The fort is still lived in, so you walk lanes of homes, shops and small temples rather than an empty monument. Your guide also takes you to Patwon Ki Haveli and Salim Singh Haveli, the carved merchants’ houses below the walls.
Drive east to Jodhpur, the blue city below Mehrangarh Fort. After settling in you visit the fort on its cliff, then walk Sardar Market by the Clock Tower. A jeep then takes you out to a Bishnoi village to see how this community lives.
A second day in Jodhpur. You meet the city’s puppet makers and watch them work. Then your guide takes you through palace galleries of miniature paintings and the collections of the former Jodhpur rulers. Expect a fair amount of walking between the workshops and galleries.
Leave Jodhpur for Udaipur, stopping at Ranakpur, one of the most important Jain temples in India, carved from white marble. In Udaipur you visit the City Palace and its Sheesh Mahal, then the Sahelion Ki Bari gardens, before checking in for two nights.
A day around Udaipur’s lakes. You visit the Jagdish Temple and drive round Fatehsagar Lake. The main event is a shared boat ride on Lake Pichola, with the City Palace along the shore and the Jag Mandir island palace in the middle of the water.
After breakfast you are driven to Udaipur airport for the flight to Mumbai. A representative meets you on arrival and takes you to the Trident, Nariman Point. The rest of the evening is free to settle in after the last flight of the trip before home.
Take the boat from the Gateway of India to Elephanta Island and its UNESCO-listed cave temples, home to the three-headed Shiva sculpture. Back on the mainland you see the Gateway of India, Crawford Market and Flora Fountain in the old Fort district.
Breakfast at the hotel, then a private transfer to Mumbai airport for your flight home to the UK. Your flight time decides how much of the morning is left, so ask your specialist about a later check-out if the flight leaves in the evening.
Where You'll Stay
4-star hotel
A glass tower of 358 rooms on Windsor Place, where Janpath meets the government quarter of New Delhi. Connaught Place and Janpath market are within walking distance, and India Gate is a short drive. The bedrooms open off a tall central atrium served by glass-walled lifts. Your room category is confirmed in your quote.
4-star hotel
A modern hotel about 2 km from the Taj Mahal, which matters on a one-night stop with a dusk visit. There is an outdoor pool and a spa for the hour you get back. The rooftop restaurant, Kebab-E-Que, looks towards the Taj, so it is worth booking a table for dinner. Room category is confirmed in your quote.
4-star hotel
A 151-room hotel on the Delhi Road at Kukas, about 12 km north of Amber Fort. That puts you close to the fort for the morning visit and away from city traffic, though the drive into the City Palace is longer. There is an infinity pool facing the Aravalli hills, and four places to eat and drink.
4-star hotel
Your one palace hotel night. It was built for Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner and designed by Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob in the Indo-Saracenic style, in the grounds of the Lalgarh Palace complex. King George V and Queen Mary were among the Maharaja's guests. The public rooms keep their carved sandstone, painted ceilings and gilded frescoes. Arrive in daylight to see the façade.
4-star hotel
A 118-room hotel in the hotel area on Sam Road, about 15 minutes' drive from Jaisalmer Fort and on the road out towards the dunes. Rooms range from Deluxe and Heritage rooms to suites. After the long drive from Bikaner, the outdoor pool, spa and poolside bar are what you will use most.
4-star hotel
A 96-room modern hotel in Jodhpur, convenient for Mehrangarh Fort and the old-city markets. Superior rooms are about 30 square metres, with suites above. Facilities include an indoor pool, a spa, a rooftop terrace and two restaurants. It is a practical base for two busy sightseeing days rather than a heritage stay.
4-star hotel
A 63-room resort on four floors below the Sajjangarh hill, about 1 km from the Sajjangarh Biological Park and 2.3 km from Fateh Sagar Lake. Rooms run from Deluxe and Superior to Premium rooms and the Sajjangarh Suite. The outdoor pool is open from 7am to 7pm, which suits a swim after a day in the old city.
4-star hotel
A 35-storey hotel at the southern end of Marine Drive, the curved seafront known as the Queen's Necklace. Its 555 rooms face either the sea or the city skyline, and Club rooms sit on the 28th to 31st floors. There is a large outdoor pool and a spa. Ask for a sea-view room for the night-time view of the bay.
All prices are per person based on two adults sharing. Includes return flights and accommodation. Click any month to enquire.
| ✈ Flights | Return flights from UK included |
| 🧳 Baggage | 23kg checked baggage |
| 🏛 Hotel | 14 nights accommodation |
| 🚌 Transfers | Private airport transfers |
| ✈ Airport Taxes | All airport taxes included |
| 💳 Deposit | 30% per person to secure booking |
The order is deliberate. Delhi and Agra come first, while you get over the flight. Then the road heads west into the Thar as far as Jaisalmer, before turning south to the lakes at Udaipur. From there you fly to Mumbai rather than face a drive of around 11 hours back to Delhi. You fly home from Mumbai too, so the UK flights are open-jaw.
Be honest with yourself about the car. There are six road days of four to six hours each. Two are broken by long stops, at Fatehpur Sikri on the way to Jaipur and at the Ranakpur temple before Udaipur. You travel by private air-conditioned car with a driver, not by coach. On the longer days, ask about start times: the FCDO highlights India's high road-accident rate and advises against travelling at night.
Our wider range of luxury India holidays includes shorter first-timer routes. If you would rather finish in the hills than by the sea, there is the same desert loop extended to Shimla.
October to March is the comfortable window. October and November follow the monsoon, with clear skies and warm days. From mid-December to mid-February the days are mild, but night-time lows fall to around 4–9 °C.
March warms up quickly, and by May daytime highs of 40–47 °C are normal across Rajasthan. The monsoon arrives in late June and withdraws during September, with July and August the wettest months. The lower-priced months on this tour are the hot ones. They work if you are happy to sightsee early and rest through the afternoon, but the desert legs are hard going.
From October to February the FCDO warns of severe air pollution in north Indian cities, Delhi included. Two nights there is short, but mention it to your GP if you have asthma or a heart condition.
UK passport holders need a visa and can apply for the e-Tourist Visa on the Indian government's own site. Apply at least four days before arrival and no more than 120 days ahead. Your passport needs six months' validity from arrival and two blank pages. Fees and the arrival card are covered in our full India entry checklist.
TravelHealthPro rates malaria risk as low in Rajasthan, Delhi, Agra and Mumbai, so the advice is bite avoidance rather than tablets. Hepatitis A, tetanus and typhoid are the usual vaccines. Book a GP or travel clinic appointment well before you go.
Shoes come off at every temple. At the Jain temples in Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Ranakpur, cover shoulders and knees and leave leather belts and bags in the car.
It suits a first or second trip to India for couples or friends who want a guide at each stop and a driver waiting outside. You need to be fine in a car for most of a day, six times. It does not suit anyone after beach time or long, lazy hotel afternoons. For that, add a few nights somewhere else at the end.
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