[tsk1979]

Hi we have planned a 5 day trip ex Delhi
The route planned is
Delhi-Jaipur(280kms)
Jaipur Jodhpur(320kms)
Jodhpur-Jaisalmer(280kms)

Total=900kms.
Plan is simple
Day 1 : start 2am, reach Jaisalmer 6pm, sleep
Day 2 : See Jaisalmer, go to sand dunes
Day 3 : More Jaisalmer,
Day 4 : Come to Jodhpur
Day 5 : Jodhpur Delhi


A few questions
1. Whats the fastest route(is it doable in 14 hours)
2. Is Jodhpur a good place for a night halt in between, or while coming back we should choose another destination
3. first half of october a off season. Our dates are not certain, so we can't book any hotels. Will we be stranded with no good hotel free?
4. Any other advice on what to see or do will be great!

[arunforu1]

1. Roads on the route are good & pretty trafficc free, but 14 hours is too tight to achieve. I have done Delhi-jaiselmer on my indica.
2.you can halt at bikaner or jodhpur.
3.Hotels in general should not be a problem, as their are many, but a good hotel can be expensive in peak season, i.e. october. If you want more adventrue you can stay in camps near sam(45kms from jaiselmer).
4.Inner city, fort, sam-sand dunes, city lake. To be honest for me the way always is the target rather than destination.

I wish best for your journey.

[tsk1979]

Isn't Bikaner out of the way?
How many hours did you take to reach Jaisalmer from Delhi on the indica?

[arunforu1]

I took the route via Bikaner, as mz buddies wanted to see bikaner fort & palace. We passed near to jodhpur I guess by 60kms we bypassed it.

Route we took was, Delhi -Jaipur-sikar-Bikaner-pokhran-jaiselmer-sam.Total was appx 880kms. We took total 18 hours of driving time.

If you take delhi-gurgaon-rewari-mahendergarh-jhunjunu-bikaner-jaiselmer.It is same distance. If you choose this route dont go via narnaul, as road is not so good.

One thing, once you are into desert line, i.e. beyond ajmer or bikaner(depends on what route you choose). Tankup at first opportunity, buy something to eat or drink. You will not find anydhaba till next50-100kms.

After crossing bikaner, we found a dhaba after 55kms, one of us was not willing to get down at this small tapri, with one trucker as fellow customer. but we had our lunch & till evening we were not able to get anything else .

but it is not so scary, you will come across next farthest dhaba in no more than 4 hours at max.

Tanking up is for true, as pumps are placed very away & mostly sells kerosene laden diesel. for my Indica i tanked up from Delhi-had to next time in pokhran. Diesel in jaiselmer is also not top quality.better take jerry cans.

[tsk1979]

The route I am planning is
Delhi-Jaipur-Ajmer-Jodhpur-Jaisalmer. Won't this be shorter since we miss Bikaner?

[simply_sunny001]

How many Kms is this route,Tanveer ?

[arunforu1]

It is equal in distance & equally good road(may be better on Nh8 strech), if you dont mind tolls till Ajmer.

Take it...till Ajmer you can do it pretty fast being expressway.

[phamilyman]

You are taking wrong route mere bhai.

Please call someone like Sharma travels and all. There are different routes they take. You take a cut somewhere areound the middle etyadi. i'll leave it for hvk saab to add in!

[arunforu1]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

You are taking wrong route mere bhai.

Please call someone like Sharma travels and all. There are different routes they take. You take a cut somewhere areound the middle etyadi. i'll leave it for hvk saab to add in!

You are right there are many local routes & state-highways too. But problem is roudy rural traffic on them, even a tractorwallah wouldnot have decency to let you pass.

It is you who has to get off the road to give way to tractors, dumpers, local jeeps etc etc, forget about the sense of rural 2 wheeler drivers. I had bad experience of getting off the highway to a good looking rural road. the road was wide enough for one vehicle(but smooth road). everytime it was me who had to get down to give way, coz even tractor wont buzz. they wont take even LH side of vehicle to the shoulder.In the process I hit floor to the riased shoulder 2 times.

not to mention speed breakers as high as mountains in every village you pass. in total you will save in kms but loose in time.

[tsk1979]

The route I am talking about is
Jaipur-Ajmer-Beawar-NH14 -> NH112 to Jaitaran-Jodhpur-Jaisalmer
Bikaner is very out of way by this route and total Jaipur-Jaisalmer distance is 600kms or 9 hours.

[sudev]

@tsk : Jaisalmer by your route is shortest. First I avoid it because after Kishangarh it not a divided highway and the traffic density is high up to Beawer. Watch out for overtaking buses without care for on coming cars. Second IAC you are coming back via Jodhpur see Bikaner while going.
I did Dechu - Delhi two years back in about 12 hours including lunch and dinner. Add one and half hour to Jaisalmer.

I would that you stay at Phalodi for one night of stay at old Haweli + museum and near by Kheechan for bird viewing (although October is early). ncidentally even Jaisalmer offers stays at Hawelli's. You need I will pass on the numbers.

@arunforu : Between Bikaner and Jaisalmer excellent food stops at Bap, Phalodi, Pokharan (where byepass joins near RTDC). But on the whole I agree with you that "decent" dhabha when you are travelling with family are few.

[tsk1979]

Thanks for the tip Sudev.
While going we would like to get into Jaisalmer at one go.
.So which route do you suggest.
I think I can do Gurgaon Jaipur in about 3-4 hours easily(have done so in past). Since starting time is very early, no issues there.

While coming back we can see Bikaner or Jodhpur. while going there will be no sight seeing stop-pages.

[nickoo]

hey tsk, few years back we did the complete rajasthan tour on enfields. I would reckon you take the route that you have decided. Delhi-Ajmer(take the jaipur bypass from Chomu..BTW there's a Ajmer Bypass too for going to Jodhpur from Ajmer,i dnt remember the exact location though)-jodhpur-jaiselmer.
Jodhpur-Jailselmer had the best strech by far.
Then if you have time while coming back you can go to Udaipur from Jodhpur and then to Jaipur from Udaipur direclty.
IMO..Udaipur is far better than jaiselmer.
Jaipur-Jodhour is some 330kms and same is Jaiselmer from Jodhpur as far as i remember. We did some 4K kms in 10 days on your bikes and i think Jaiselmer-Jaipur is possible in one day!!
Hope this helps.

[rkbharat]

is'nt it too hot to be there now. I am also just thinking of a 5 days trip as well. though himachal is still my favorite, something different is good

[gd1418]

Tanveer, the route you've selected is the best and is a part of the GQ till Beawar, from where one goes to Udaipur and the other diverts to Jodhpur.

Jaisalmer via Osian is longer by 13 kms but has better roads than the regular route via keroo and balesar satan.

The way you have planned, it can be done in a day. I have and do GGN-Jodhpur in about 10-11 hrs with pit stops. I always prefer to stay in RTDC hotels as they are economy, good and safe. Ghoomer in Jodhpur and Moomal in Jaisalmer come to my mind. Safari's tankfull shall take you to Jodhpur. You can tank up there with turbojet or whatever. The fuel is clean in the city.