Team-BHP - Rajasthan Trip Pune - Ahmedabad -Jaisalmer - Jodhpur - Ahmedabad

Hi,
I am planning a Rajasthan road trip in the last week of Dec '10 - 1st week of Jan '11.
My Wife, daughter and myself will be the only persons on this trip. The number of places have been kept low to enable a leasurely trip - no 1000 Km / day.
The route that I have traced (on google map) is as below.

A) Pune to Jaisalmer
Pune, Maharashtra 411027, India to Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India - Google Maps

B) Jaisalmer to Jodhpur to Pune
Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India to Pune, Maharashtra 411027, India - Google Maps

I request all gurus of this route to:
- suggest improvement to this route
- good eating places / halting joints on the road
- Hotels at Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Ahmedabad.

Thanks

The ideal route to Jaisalmer is what you have listed in the first map - via Palanpur and Barmer.

The problems with your GM routing is:
- it takes you inside Surat, whereas you actually bypass NH8
- you can take Sardar Patel Ring Road to bypass Ahmedabad and get onto the Palanpur road without any trouble

You can check out the following 2 links:
http://hvkumar.googlegroups.com/web/RajasthanTrip.xls
A very old drive to Jaisalmer on the route I mentioned above.

Or you can check out the following plan I made for a friend"
http://hvkumar.googlegroups.com/web/Ramji-Rajasthan.xls
This one is in the reverse order.

Since you want a leisurely drive, maybe what you could do is to plan your Day 1 halt at Palanpur - has couple of lovely hotels, of which I recommend the Hotel Cappal, 02742-250777/888/666 there. Palanpur is a good stopover since I think you should also see the famous Sun Templeof Modera, which is juts off Mehsana which is on your route:
Sun Temple, Modhera - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

On Day 2, you can easily reach Jaisalmer.

This route is preferable to the one via Jodhpur.

And check out Ranjit's excellent thread on hsi recent drive to RJ from Bombay, first to Jaisalmer on the route that I am suggesting:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...than-m800.html

Stay in Jaisalmer : We (2 adults/2 children) stayed at Hotel Jaisal Palace for 3 Nights in Sep 2009. It was a great experience. Room was good, service great and the flexibility for my wife to cook her style for the kids (in their kitchen) - excellent!
we even had them pack dinner for our return trip !

Many thanks to all for the inputs especially RanjitP1 for his excellent travellogue:thumbs up.

Unfortunately we cannot splurge on accomodation the way RanjitP1 has done. :Frustrati

A few more points:
- We will be starting from Pune on 30.12.10 in the afternoon and will take a break in Thane. The reason being that Pune to Ahmedabad is 700 Km+ and we have decided not to push it.
We will leave the next day for Ahmedabad.
The tentative trip details are in the attached excel sheet.
- HVK sir: Your noting about Google maps not bypassing Surat is correct. I will correct my trip plot accordingly.
- How is RTDC Moomal at Jaisalmer
mmxylorider: Does Jaisal castle have AC in the rooms and safe / ample car parking space ?

- and RTDC Ghoomar at Jodhpur

Please all you Gurus (especially Ramkya1 in Ahmedabad) to suggest clean hotels (& easy on the pocket) at Thane, Ahmedabad, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer
and
give some more pointers on road condition (besides the awesome travellogue by RanjitP1)

Thanks

RTDC hotels are normally good. I would prefer them always.
Ghodbunder has Hotel Fountain where you branch off from NH8 to come towards Pune. Rate for AC room under Rs 1,500.
Ahmedabad city - you have a couple of reasonably-priced hotels next to Ellis Bridge in the heart of the city, don't recall their names though. Outside city on NH8 towards Himmatnagar, you have Hotel Anjali.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingshukt (Post 2139060)

mmxylorider: Does Jaisal castle have AC in the rooms and safe / ample car parking space ?

AC in the room I had (family suite - 4 bedded, 1500 /night inclusive of breakfast and all taxes). Since I did not drive down, so no idea about safe/dedicated parking. IIRC though, there was reasonable amout of open space outside the hotel.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hvkumar (Post 2139137)

HVK: Hotel Anjali off NE1 / NH8 sounds interesting.
I found contact details on the internet (Indiahighway@yahoogroup.com):).
Do we turn left or right on to the Sardar Patel ringroad off NE1 (Baroda to Ahmedabad) for Hotel Anjali?

Do you have the contact details of Hotel Fountain at Ghodbunder so that I can tie up with them ?

Thanks

Hotel Anjali, 079-23272069/98/99, on NH8, between Ahmedabad & Himmatnagar, 7 kms from Chiloda Circle when coming from Ahmedabd side, 44 kms to Himmatnagar.
If you are exiting from Baroda expressway, get onto the Sardar Patel Ring Road towards Udaipur, and you will reach Ranasan Circle which is the point where you join NH8. From there it is 14 kms to Chiloda Circle and then 7 more kms to Hotel Anjali, which is on teh right side.
You can refer this log book, which has the exact particulars:
http://groups.google.com/group/hvkum...Sep%202009.xls

Hotel Fountain, Ghodbunder, on NH8, at the junction of the road coming from Ahmedabad, going to Bombay city and Thane/Pune. Ideal place to stay overnight for those wishing to avoid expensive Bombay city. Tariffs Rs 1000 and thereabouts. Telephone 022-28456222
HOTEL FOUNTAIN

Hi all.

Just returned from my trip to Jaisalmer.

I would like to close this thread with a few teasers. (writing a travellogue gives me more shivers than the cold climate of Jaisalmer:))

HVK met us on the way to Ahmedabad. We also had dinner together. In-fact he waited patiently for us en-route at Thane. It was a pleasure meeting him.

This is the photo of the border outpost (ground zero) at Tanot

Ramkya1 and his family met us at Ahmedabad on the way back.
His family went out of way to help us (my wife actually) shop at places where you would never know existed. This photo is to say thank you..

This is the photo of beach in a place known as Bordi.
We reached a place @ 115 kms from Vapi ~ 12:00 noon. Not knowing where to go to spend the rest of the day and the night we phoned up HVK. He suggested Bordi. It is a quaint little town near Dahanu (near Mumbai). Bordi has an unspoilt / clean beach, quaint resorts owned by very friendly Parsis and is a soothing getaway for a city dweller.

Sorry stupid:for the photos bunched at the bottom. I could not arrange them with the explaination at the top.

Congrats, Kingshukt, on a wonderful drive to Rajasthan & back.
Great occasion meeting you and your family on your way to Jaisalmer, and thanks for hosting the dinner!
Those border pictures at Tanot look forbidding, can't even imagine how oppressively hot it must be during the summer in those parts, a gruelling test for man and machine manning those check posts.

Hai Kingshukt,

It was nice meeting you and family too, we enjoyed the dinner too.

Only my wife and her colleagues in her school know the whole sale alleys of A'bad apparal market; I dread to go there, would get lost inside the labyranth.

In your way in, I was worried that you lost time reaching Hotel Sahi Palace, but relieved that you exited A'bad clean and fast towards Mehsana. Looking forward to your story and more photos.

--Ramky

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingshukt (Post 2203026)

Hi all.

Just returned from my trip to Jaisalmer.

............

HVK met us on the way to Ahmedabad. We also had dinner together. In-fact he waited patiently for us en-route at Thane. It was a pleasure meeting him.

.......................

Ramkya1 and his family met us at Ahmedabad on the way back.
His family went out of way to help us (my wife actually) shop at places where you would never know existed. This photo is to say thank you..

........................

Sorry stupid:for the photos bunched at the bottom. I could not arrange them with the explaination at the top.

@kingshukt : I am sure HVK,ramkya1,Ranjitp and others including me look forward for you to shake your fears and come out with an excellent travelogue in addition to more snaps and narration on your rajasthan trip.

and please be fast you know we all have limited patience..... :D