[Jignesh]

Originally Posted by Topolino

From Udaipur you can take NH 8 and visit Kailashpuri & Nathdwara and from Nathdwara you can go to Kumbhalgarh.

I, too would not advise you to leave Kumbhalgarh after sunset. The situation has improved only for the public transport buses, still incidences of stone throwing and robbing by tribals has happened with the people travelling by cars.

Thank you Topolino. Yes I am also not keen on driving at night in unknown places. Infact I am not planning to drive at night in my entire Rajasthan trip.

Originally Posted by carboy

How about mid to 2nd half of February - is that still peak season? How is hotel availability at that time & also weather?

Hello Carboy,

Just to let you know my experience. It seems it is marriage season & people have booked entire hotels for their guests attanding marriage ceremonies.

Also whenever I call for advance booking, it seems to me that hotel owners are just creating a picture that their Hotel is totally occupied. I will share two experiences: When I called a good budget hotel, they first told me there are no room on mentioned dates. Then after some time, they told me that there is only one (last one) 'Deluxe" room very large in size & I will have to pay almost double the nornal rates for that room.

Another hotel first quoted me high rates for non-lake view (street facing) room) when I started negotiating, he offered me lake view room at same rates.

Thus my policy has always been to reach there on spot & get a best bargain & this has always worked out. It is only this time that I will reach Udaipur late at night after full day of driving, I am planning to book a hotel in advance there.

Thanks,

[Jignesh]

Hello Experts,

Just to keep you all informed, my plans have changed (once again, but this is going to be last time for sure).

I am now travelling to Rajasthan one week late i.e. I am now starting from Mumbai on 21st January 2012. So now I will be travelling from 21st to 31 January 2012.

The reason for this delay - this week I gave my WagonR for servicing & they found Engine oil leak in one of the Spark Plug well. Also the muffler was making some strange noises. They had to open the Head, clean the same & change various piston & valve rings. Also the entire exhaust assmebly was changed.

Now the mechanic has advised to drive the car in city for 100 / 150 kms before taking it to Rajasthan.

Luckily, my office seniors were kind enough to approve my new leave plan.

Thanks,

[gd1418]

While your plan, as approved by HVK, is good enough, I would suggest you to go through this travelogue of mine to get a detailed info on Jaisalmer & Jodhpur along with some adjoining areas.


http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...r-gurgaon.html

[Jignesh]

Originally Posted by gd1418

While your plan, as approved by HVK, is good enough, I would suggest you to go through this travelogue of mine to get a detailed info on Jaisalmer & Jodhpur along with some adjoining areas.


http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...r-gurgaon.html

Hello GD1418,

Thank you very much for the link to your Travelogue.

Yes it will be useful to me in planning my days in Jodhpur, Jaisalmer & Bikaner. The information presented by you in the Travelogue is really detailed.

Thanks again,

[sudev]

Yesterday driving back from Ahmadabad I took a break for Lunch at Aaram Bagh (about 35kms south of Udaipur). A lovely place nestled in a valley cut off from highway but just 200~300meters off NH8. Has nice acco but may be a bit pricey (4~6k/night).

If you are adventurous I can suggest go without booking but with one or two caveats:
One: Always start early
Two: Plan for reaching destination latest by 4pm

This way you will travel less but get sufficient time at each destination to get a nice & bargained acco. Always bargain. Yesterday even the Aaram Bagh waiter serving lunch said "Raat ka 6ooohai, par discount milta hai!"

[tbppjpr]

I think you should leave Jaipur this time or extend your Jaipur visit for one more day. Jaipur is a heritage city and there are many sights of heritage interest. If you want to explore Jaipur then I would recommend you to on first day leave your car at hotel have a walk-visit inside walled city with occasional rickshaw hiring. You can visit Hawa-Mahal, Jantar Mantar, Chopar and adjoining old markets. You can cover Albert Hall too in this first day. On the next day hire a taxi and visit Amer, Jaigarh, Nahargarh, City Palace, Kanak Vrindavan, Jal-Mahal. In the evening you can go to Chokhi-Dhani village restaurant for dinner which is again worth to visit. You can adjust the Chokhi Dhani visit to first day if you get spare time on that day.

You can skip Jodhpur and Bikaner for now, Jaisalmer and nearby places are enough to enjoy desert. There is road widening work is also in progress between Sikar to Jaipur stretch and that will consume lot of time when you will be coming to Jaipur from Bikaner. You can adjust this saved day in your Jaipur visit.

As Fauji and Sudev also recommended, spend more time in Udaipur belt itself, there are lot of sights to enjoy. I think you should concentrate more on Udaipur, Jaipur and Jaisalmer.