[tejas08]

Wow! A Rajasthan Travelogue at the right time.

Me and three more BHPians are about to take off for Rajasthan next weekend. Superb Photos. Just makes me feel great about the decision to pick up Rajasthan as the next destination.

Would be glad if you can answer one query. Why pick the road from Thane to Chittor via Nashik & Ratlam etc and not via Vapi, Baroda, Udaipur NH8.

Asking because we will be taking this route.

Originally Posted by dsnaveen21

Congrats for the wonderful drive to Rajasthan.
Myself planning to go, may be next week, can you let me know the hotels details for the trip and the feedback of the hotels.
Thanks,

Keep a lookout for a couple of MH registered cars with LTD stickers.

[aravindp]

Excellent travelogue with crispy details. I had been to Jaipur last month and fallen in love with the place especially for the architecture of the monuments. I would definitely visit other places across Rajasthan in future.Your travelogue will be on top for my Rajasthan's vist.

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by tejas08

Would be glad if you can answer one query. Why pick the road from Thane to Chittor via Nashik & Ratlam etc and not via Vapi, Baroda, Udaipur NH8.

Explained in post #33 of this thread. Our initial plan was to cover Mt Abu, Ajmer and Pushkar and going and returning via Chittor was working out somewhat better. You can certainly take the Udaipur route depending on what your circuit is.

By the way, this was our original plan, Mt Abu , Pushkar and Ajmer were dropped on the go.

D1 : Bangalore-Bombay
D2: Bombay-Ratlam-Chittorgarh
D3: Chittorgarh-Udaipur
D4: Udaipur
D5: Udaipur--Mt Abu
D6: Mt Abu-Kumbhalgarh-Ranakpur-Jodhpur
D7: Jodhpur-Jaisalmer
D8: Jaisalmer
D9: Jasialmer-Bikaner
D10: Bikaner-Jaipur
D11: Jaipur
D12: Jaipur-Pushkar-Chittorgarh-Ratlam
D13: Ratlam-Shirdi-Pune
D14: Pune-Bangalore

[VKM]

Wonderful travelogue, photos are awesome. Inspired to do this trip very soon. if you have to do this trip again what changes would you make, either the itinerary/route/no. of days allotted for some places/totally skipping or adding other places etc.
Thanks!

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by VKM

Wonderful travelogue, photos are awesome. Inspired to do this trip very soon. if you have to do this trip again what changes would you make, either the itinerary/route/no. of days allotted for some places/totally skipping or adding other places etc.
Thanks!

I think the only change I would make is to the route - going via Mumbai-Udaipur, and then do the Udaipur-Jodhpur-Jaisalmer-Bikaner-Jaipur-Chittor circuit.

Other than that, I would visit the same places again. The number of days spent at each place were adequate and our itinerary was quite packed. Do note that visiting Forts and Palaces , spending about a couple of hours at each place and going around can be tiring - so adding a day or two to the overall itinerary can make it more relaxing.

[couswheels]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

[b]- Watch out for cattle on the roads in Rajasthan.

- People are very warm and hospitable towards tourists. Never had any untoward or unpleasant incident anywhere.

- Coffee up North is very light and no match for the typically strong coffee we get in Bangalore . I missed my daily coffee !

- Roads and tourist infrastructure are excellent. If you have a fast , well handling car, you will enjoy the drive.

Thanks for reading. I enjoyed as much in writing the travelogue, as I did in doing the trip itself.

I did Rajasthan trip from Chennai starting from last week of September and completed by 2nd week of October and covered Udaipur - Jaisalmer - Jaipur.

Do agree with your pointers about cattle as well as coffee

Excellent travelogue and wonderful pictures.

[RoadSurfer]

Hello sdp1975.
I complimented my long vacation with a trip to Rajasthan. Inspiration was your travelogue.
We were 4 couples in a Scorpio and Dzire and visited Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Kumbhalgarh, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer starting from Nashik. Your travelogue was used as a guide. Thank you again.

[ARAY]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Day 1, October 17: Bangalore - Pune - Thane.

Day 2, October 18: Thane - Nashik - Dhule - Palasner - Manpur- Lebad - Ratlam - Chittor.

Day 3, October 19: Chittor - Udaipur.

Day 4, October 20: Udaipur local sightseeing.

Day 5, October 21: Udaipur-Kumbhalgarh-Ranakpur-Jodhpur.

Day 6, October 22: Jodhpur-Jaisalmer

Day 7, October 23: Jaisalmer-Ramgarh-Longewala-Tanot-Jaisalmer.

Day 8, October 24: Jaisalmer-Bikaner

Day 9, October 25: Bikaner-Jaipur

Day 10,October 26:Jaipur sightseeing

Day 11,October 27:Jaipur-Chittor-Ratlam-Dhule

Day 12,October 28: Dhule-Thane-Mumbai-Pune

Day 13,October 29:Pune-Bangalore

Most Rajasthan tours encompass the "circle" - Chittor - Udaipur - Jodhpur - Jaisalmer-Bikaner-Jaipur, and ours was no different.

The entire distance was about 6000km. For planning a Rajasthan trip, the RTDC website is a great place to start. Go to the "Package Tours" section where they have itineraries starting from 6 to 13 days. I customized their 10 nights/11 days itinerary to meet my requirements.

Taking my Punto to Rajasthan and back has been on the plate for quite a while now. Thanks for sharing the details and they would suit me well given the 13 day round trip you mentioned.
I would have loved to see more of your white Punto and the rapidly changing landscape of Rajasthan. Keep travelling and sharing such wonderful experiences.

[sami316]

Awesome pics and very well written travelogue. Rajasthan has always been close to my heart as I had spent 3 of my best years here. Thanks for sharing the valuable details. Will definitely come in handy as a guide for planning a Rajasthan trip. Cheers.

[ajayclicks]

Dear Team-Bhpians,

This is yet another road trip query from Bangalore to Rajasthan, and back. I am aware of a few other threads on this topic, and it is reading these threads that has given me the confidence that "It can be done." Let me explain my plans in details.

Wife is looking forward to visiting Jaipur for a while now, and we finally decided that we should visit during this Dussera break (have two school going children). Return airfares to Jaipur are in the region of INR 45K, so thought of driving down. I have been itching to drive to Leh anyways, so this trip becomes like a "practice/ dry- run" - though Jaipur is 2/3rds of the route to Leh.

In summary:

Where: Bangalore- Rajasthan- Bangalore
When: Oct 2016 (~ 7th- 17th)
How: XUV500 W8 AWD
Who: Me, wife + 2 brats. I will be the sole driver
Past driving experience: Driven a Swift extensively in South India- including Bangalore- Kanyakumari (without a night halt). Driven the XUV till Goa and Pondycherry.

Proposed Itinerary:


I am not a sedate driver and can comfortably drive @ 100- 120 kmph, road and traffic conditions permitting. I will be driving during the day and on NH highways. Morning departures earlier than 7.00 am might not be very practical for me. From a sightseeing perspective, keeping in mind that I have small children with me, i do not expect to spends hours in each palace/ fort (did that on a previous trip when I was solo).

Please note the following:
1. I will stop overnight at Pune at a relative's place.

2. Would I lose a lot of time if I stop at Baroda (incase I wish to meet any acquaintance in evening)? Should I stop at Ahmadabad (will reach Udaipur faster) while going to Rajasthan and at Baroda on my return?

3. Definitely plan to go to Ranakpur while at Udaipur and at Sam dunes while at Jaisalmer.

4.Read about Longewal on another thread- not sure if I can reach Jaisalmer by afternoon, go to Sam dunes in evening. Then next day go to Longewal, and then do the city fort in evening. Wonder if this will become hectic, or if I will be able to get permission in time. A haveli or two would have to be sacrificed, which might not be a big loss as my kids would be reluctant to walk and climb up those stairs.

5. Can this route be optimized? For some reason, I wanted to do Mount Abu while returning- should I do it while going towards Rajasthan instead.

6. My current odo reading is 5.5K. I expect to hit 10K when I would in my trip. Can I delay my second service, and do it when I return- say the odo would be around 11- 11.5K. Else will have to do it in Jaipur (as i will be staying for a day). Any specific recommendations on which authorized service center to go to?

7. Any latest updates on road conditions, safety aspects etc.

8. Anything else that I should keep in mind, any tips or suggestions etc.

Cheers,
Ajay

[ajayclicks]

Originally Posted by ajayclicks

Where: Bangalore- Rajasthan- Bangalore
When: Oct 2016 (~ 7th- 17th)

Suddenly having second thoughts about Jaisalmer (being so close to the border). But, no news of Rajasthan being on alert (vacating border villages etc.). Heck, whats life without some adventure.

[couswheels]

Originally Posted by ajayclicks

4.Read about Longewal on another thread- not sure if I can reach Jaisalmer by afternoon,

Cheers,
Ajay

Have to be too aggressive to reach Jaisalmer in the afternoon and practically impossible too. Beyond Jodhpur the roads are two lane with speed breakers at many places. Further the landscape will change dramatically from Udaipur to Jodhpur if you take NH76 and you should enjoy the scenery with sedate driving. From Jaisalmer Sand dunes is less than an hour drive.

[ajayclicks]

Originally Posted by couswheels

Have to be too aggressive to reach Jaisalmer in the afternoon and practically impossible too. Beyond Jodhpur the roads are two lane with speed breakers at many places. Further the landscape will change dramatically from Udaipur to Jodhpur if you take NH76 and you should enjoy the scenery with sedate driving. From Jaisalmer Sand dunes is less than an hour drive.

I was hoping to target about 4.00pm but will take it as it comes. There is a small change in the itinerary i posted a above. From Ahmedabad, I will be first going to Mount Abu. Ofcourse, I do not think the route from Mount Abu to Jaisalmer differs significantly from route from Udaipur- atleast going by what google maps says.

[roshanjathanna]

Hi All,

I'm planning to do a road trip on this weekend. The plan is Bangalore - Pune - Vododara - Jodhpur - Mount abu - Ahmedabad - Pune - Bangalore.

I am planning to leave Bangalore on 29th morning.

29th Oct - Reach Pune and stay at Pune.
30th Oct - Reach Vododara and stay.
31th Oct - Leave Vododara and Reach Udaipur
1st Nov - Sight seeing Udaipur
2nd Nov - leave Udaipur, visit Jodhpur spend 2 hours and head toward Mount abu.
3rd Nov - Leave Mount abu and reach Ahmadabad.
4th Nov - Leave Ahmadabad and Reach Pune
5th Nov - Leave Pune and reach Bangalore.

Please share about road condition details and the road to avoid or bypass. I am travelling in i20 Crdi. Thank you.

[timuseravan]

30th Ocotber - Pune to Vadodara.
Instead of taking the normal route via navi mumbai, I would recommend you to take the Katraj exit at expressway, then onto Murbad, Shahapur, Wada and rejoin the normal route at Manor. This increases the distance by about 50km but you completely avoid the traffic nightmare of navi mumbai and Thane. The detour route is good for most part.

2nd Nov - leave Udaipur, visit Jodhpur spend 2 hours and head toward Mount abu.
Seems extremely rushed. Does it make sense to travel 400km just to spend 2 hours in Jodhpur? Either extend your time or skip Jodhpur.