Travel inspiration in Rajasthan

Rajasthan is India's largest state, and its distances are covered mostly by road. To take in its variety — colour cities, forts, desert — without rushing from one stage to the next, we suggest allowing at least ten to twelve days on the ground. In two weeks, you can comfortably add the Golden Triangle — Delhi, Agra and the Taj Mahal, Jaipur — and a longer immersion in the Thar Desert. Tailor-made is precisely what lets you fine-tune that pace: a few more nights in the cities you love, less driving on transfer days. Better to see a little less, but take your time.

The most classic itinerary traces a loop starting from Delhi, the main gateway to North India. You first reach Agra and the Taj Mahal — ideally at opening time, before the crowds — often via Fatehpur Sikri, the former Mughal capital. Then it's on to pink Jaipur and Amber Fort, before heading south to Udaipur and its lakes, blue Jodhpur at the foot of Mehrangarh, and Jaisalmer, the golden city at the edge of the Thar Desert; many add a stop at Pushkar and its sacred lake. This route is by no means fixed: depending on your length of stay and your wishes, we extend it, tighten it, or open it up to more off-the-beaten-track stops.

You reach Rajasthan by air. The state has one international airport, in Jaipur, but it's less well connected, with longer routings. In practice, most trips begin in Delhi, the capital, better served and ideally placed to combine the Golden Triangle before heading down into Rajasthan — reachable direct from some cities, with a single connection from many others. From Delhi, the rest is done by road, with your private driver, at the pace of your stages.

The best time to visit Rajasthan runs from October to March: the desert climate brings sunny days and pleasant temperatures, ideal for exploring forts, palaces and desert towns, with October, November, February and March being the most favourable months. We have a slight preference for March, marked by very popular festivities (Holi, Gangaur) and beautiful spring light. Nights in December and January can be cool. April remains a good period, before the heat rises sharply in May, then with the arrival of the monsoon in June. July is the trickiest month of the year, with heavy rain across nearly the whole state. From August, the monsoon already eases in places — more noticeably in the desert west (Jaisalmer, Bikaner) than in the wetter south and highland areas (Udaipur, Mount Abu). By September, the weather improves quickly.

There's no single price: the budget for a tailor-made trip depends on length of stay, level of comfort (standard or high-end), season — flight and accommodation prices fluctuate a great deal — and the experiences you choose. As a rough guide, a two-week tour in standard comfort typically comes to between and per person, excluding international flights, and more for high-end addresses or nights in a palace hotel. Rather than quoting a fixed price, we put together a detailed, transparent quote, at a fair price and without intermediaries, adjusted until it matches what you're after.

Yes: most drivers in Rajasthan have a good working level of English, more than enough for your transfers, stops and day-to-day needs. Travelling through our agency, you're driven by a private driver who knows the region well. On top of that, throughout your tour, we arrange certified English-speaking guides wherever it's useful. And we're there for you throughout your trip — by message, email and phone.

A must-do stop on a family trip to Rajasthan, Ranthambore Tiger Reserve can only be visited on an organised safari, aboard a Gypsy — an open-top 4x4 seating six, the most sought-after vehicle for its manoeuvrability — or a larger canter. The park is divided into ten zones; zones 1 to 5, known as the core zone, statistically account for the most tiger sightings and remain the most requested. Every safari is subject to a strict quota of vehicles per zone and per time slot, set by the Rajasthan Forest Department, and bookings only open two months before the safari date: you need to book as soon as the window opens to have a chance at a spot, especially in a core zone. We naturally handle this for you: once your dates are set, we book your Gypsies and secure your slots, so you don't have to track the booking window yourself.