Rajasthan Explorer

We greet you at Delhi airport and provide a private transfer to your hotel or guesthouse. Our local manager will ensure you get settled in comfortably, introduce you to your driver and guide, and discuss the plans for the rest of your tour. Depending on your arrival time, we may include a short introductory sightseeing tour this afternoon.

Overnight:

Thikana

Your tour of India’s capital begins with a visit through the mediaeval streets around Old Delhi, taking in the world’s second largest mosque, Jama Masjid, the Red Fort and the burial ghat of Mohatma Ghandi.
We can either drop you back at your accommodation after lunch, or you can remain in Old Delhi to explore some more in the afternoon. This tour will be adjusted based on what you may have visited on your arrival day.

Overnight:

Thikana

Meals included:

Breakfast

This morning you leave Delhi and drive to Agra, stopping at Akbar's Mausoleum at Sikandra on the edge of Agra before checking into your hotel. In the afternoon you visit the Red Fort, and enjoy your first sight of the Taj Mahal from its ramparts. You may visit the Taj Mahal at sunset this evening if you wish (entry not included)

Overnight:

The Trident

Meals included:

Breakfast

Early this morning you head out to the majestic Taj Mahal and after a guided tour, you are free to explore Shah Jahan’s monument to love at leisure, watching the light change as the sun rises.
After breakfast back at the hotel, you check out and drive to Jaipur, with a stop off at Fatehpur Sikri – the deserted but wonderfully preserved former capital city of Akbar’s Moghul empire.
Your next two nights are spent in the wonderfully opulent and charaterful Samode Haveli. A wide range of other fascinating heritage hotels are also available to suit lower budgets.

Overnight:

Samode Haveli

Extras and options:

Break the Agra-Jaipur journey with a stop at Bharatpur to visit the Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary

Meals included:

Breakfast

During a full day tour in the state of Rajasthan’s ‘Pink city’ today, you visit the beautiful Amber Palace, and also tour the City Palace, Wind Palace and world famous Jantar Mantar Observatory. We also recommend a visit to the well known lassi-wallah. Late in the afternoon, we climb on board some local elephants and take a very special and unique journey through nearby woods to a clearing for a candlelit evening dinner.

Overnight:

Samode Haveli

Meals included:

Breakfast

You have most of this morning free to explore Jaipur’s busy streets and markets further.
Leaving around noon, you drive mainly on small rural roads for around 5 hours to reach Ranthambore National Park which will be your base for several safaris into the park over the next two days. These are early in the morning to try and view the wildlife in the Park before it gets too hot, and later in the afternoon as it cools down and the wildlife becomes more active again. As well as its famous tigers, the park is home to many species of deer, Marsh Crocodiles, Hyenas, Jungle Cats, Chital, Nilgai, Chinkara and Sloth Bears. There is also a sizeable bird population present throughout the year.

Overnight:

Khem Vilas

Meals included:

Breakfast, Dinner

You enjoy two safaris into the park today, one of them by ‘canter’ and one by jeep
The morning safari is by 'canter'. These are open backed trucks that can carry up to around 16 people. While they can't get as far into the park, and you are sharing with several other people, the extra height means you can see better into the long grass.
After returning to the hotel, in the afternoon, you do a jeep safari. There are only a restricted number of jeeps allowed into the park, so we need to book these well in advance for you. They do allow for a more flexible, and exploratory trip into the park and you have a more personal relationship with your guide.
If you have time available, then adding extra days and safaris here will give you a better chance to see both the tigers and other wildlife.

Overnight:

Khem Vilas

Extras and options:

Hot air balloon trip

Meals included:

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

You leave Ranthambore this morning and drive again mainly on fairly small roads to the town of Bundi. There are several things worth visiting in and around Bundi, including the Taragarh Fort overlooking the town, and the Palace underneath it (full access to the palace may not be possible, but there are great sunset views form the fort). You can also visit the 84 Pillared Cenotaph, just out of town, and in Bundi itself are several interesting and step wells (Baoris), the deepest at 46m being the Raniji-ki-Baori which has some excellent carvings.

Overnight:

Ishwari Niwas Palace

Meals included:

Breakfast

The main feature breaking today’s drive to Udaipur is the hilltop fort at Chittorgarh, which is a classic depiction of Rajput culture and values. Standing on a large site on an 180m high hill rising dramatically over the plains below, the fort was sacked three times and you’ll learn fascinating stories of thousands of men marching out to certain death while the womenfolk inside the folk commited Jauhar (an act of self immolation by plunging in a large fire).

Overnight:

Shiv Niwas Palace

Meals included:

Breakfast

The whole day is set aside today to explore this beautiful city. Visits will include the City Palace and Museum, the Jagdish Temple, Pratap Memorial. Late in the afternoon if the water levels are high enough, you can enjoy a boat-ride on Lake Pichola and enjoy excellent views of the Lake Palace and City Palace, and in the evening you can take a walking tour to explore the back streets of the city to the washing ghats on the banks of the lake.

Overnight:

Shiv Niwas Palace

Meals included:

Breakfast

You leave Udaipur this morning to drive deeper into Rajasthan, heading for Jodhpur. En-route you stop to visit the Jain temples at Ranakhpur, and reach Jodhpur late in the afternoon (approx. 7 hours driving). Jodhpur is a fascinating city, with its huge hilltop fort and blue painted houses in the old town.

Overnight:

Taj Hari Mahal

Meals included:

Breakfast

You have a full day’s tour today of the city of Jodhpur, during which you can visit Jaswant Thada, Mehrangarh Fort, Umaid Bhawan Museum, Sadar Market, Handloom House and the Clock Tower. Again this is a flexible tour and you can discuss with your guide exactly what to visit and how long to make the tour.
After an early evening meal, you board the Mandore Express for an overnight sleeper train journey back to Delhi (approx. 19.30-06.25). Travelling on Indian railways is a fascinating experience, but an internal flight option is available instead if you prefer.

Extras and options:

Internal flight from Jodhpur to Delhi

Meals included:

Breakfast

After arriving in Delhi we take you for breakfast before dropping your luggage at your hotel. Your room may not be available yet, but you can either rest and relax until it is, or start a half-day tour of the city now. Whenever you choose to start, your tour today takes in the wide leafy avenues of New Delhi, making visits to Qutb Minar, India Gate and the Lotus Temple. This tour can be adjusted based on how much or how little you’d like to do today. The rest of your day is free.

Overnight:

Thikana

Extras and options:

Internal flight from Jodhpur to Delhi

Meals included:

Breakfast

Your time is free today until we pick you up from your hotel and transfer you to the airport to catch your flight home.

Meals included:

Breakfast