Self-Launched Rajasthan Circuit: Delhi to Udaipur

Land at Indira Gandhi International, pick up an Indian SIM or eSIM on arrival, and take the Airport Express metro (about £3) or an Ola/Uber (£4-6) to your base. Base yourself in Paharganj or Karol Bagh for cheap hostels and easy access to New Delhi station. Spend the late afternoon wandering Connaught Place and getting your bearings, and sort your onward train tickets on the IRCTC app (or via the 'Foreign Tourist' quota counter at New Delhi station).

🚌Airport Express metro or Ola taxi from IGI, ~£4

🛏Paharganj or Karol Bagh hostel double room, ~£16

• →Settle into Paharganj/Karol Bagh
• →Buy/recharge SIM
• →Book onward train tickets on IRCTC or at the tourist quota counter

Do it yourself with the metro rather than a private car. Start at Jama Masjid (free, small camera fee), then ride a cycle rickshaw tour through Chandni Chowk's spice market and paratha alley, one of the city's classic experiences. Metro to Raj Ghat, then on to Humayun's Tomb and, further south, Qutub Minar and the Lotus Temple. Optional: a GetYourGuide half-day Old Delhi walking and food tour (~£15-20) if you'd rather have a local guide.

🚌Delhi Metro day travel, ~£1.50

🛏Paharganj or Karol Bagh hostel double room, ~£16

• →Jama Masjid
• →Cycle rickshaw tour through Chandni Chowk spice market (~£4)
• →Raj Ghat
• →Humayun's Tomb (~£7)
• →Qutub Minar (~£7)
• →Lotus Temple (free)

Take a morning Gatimaan Express or Vande Bharat train from Hazrat Nizamuddin to Agra Cantt (1h50, ~£8-12). Drop bags at a Taj Ganj guesthouse, then spend the afternoon at Agra Fort with a licensed local guide hired at the gate (roughly £10) and continue to Itmad-ud-Daulah (Baby Taj) and the tomb-garden at Sikandra. Buy your Taj Mahal ticket online in advance for tomorrow's sunrise.

🚌Gatimaan Express Delhi-Agra, ~£10; autorickshaw around Agra, ~£3

🛏Taj Ganj guesthouse double, ~£15

• →Agra Fort (~£6 plus guide)
• →Itmad-ud-Daulah's Tomb (~£4)
• →Sikandra / Akbar's Tomb (~£4)
• →Buy Taj Mahal e-ticket in advance

Queue at the East Gate for sunrise entry to the Taj Mahal, then walk to Mehtab Bagh for the riverside view. Mid-morning, take a bus or shared taxi to Fatehpur Sikri (~£4 by RSRTC bus, 1hr), see Buland Darwaza, the Tomb of Salim Chisti and Panch Mahal, and hop the local battery car. Late afternoon, catch a bus or train onward to Jaipur (roughly 2.5-3h, ~£4-7).

🚌Agra-Fatehpur Sikri bus ~£4; Fatehpur Sikri-Jaipur bus ~£5

🛏Jaipur hostel/haveli double, ~£16

• →Sunrise Taj Mahal (~£11)
• →Mehtab Bagh (~£3)
• →Fatehpur Sikri complex + battery car (~£6)

Take a local bus or Ola to Amber Fort (£1-2) and climb up on foot or by jeep — skip the elephant ride and its welfare concerns. Combine with the Panna Meena ka Kund stepwell nearby. Back in the city, visit the City Palace and Jantar Mantar (combined ticket around £10), photograph the Hawa Mahal from the rooftops of a chai shop opposite, and drive past Jal Mahal on the way home. Sunsets from Nahargarh Fort are a good free-ish extra.

🚌Bus/Ola around Jaipur, ~£4

🛏Jaipur hostel/haveli double, ~£16

• →Amber Fort (~£6)
• →Panna Meena ka Kund
• →City Palace (~£7)
• →Jantar Mantar (~£3)
• →Hawa Mahal photo stop
• →Nahargarh Fort sunset

Take a morning train or bus towards Jhunjhunu/Sikar and connect onwards to Mandawa (roughly 4-5 hours total, ~£6-9). Mandawa is small enough that you can self-guide: the painted havelis — Harlalka, Gulab Rai Ladia, Murmuria — are within easy walking distance and entry is a few hundred rupees each. A local guide at the haveli gate costs about £5 for a half day and is worth it for the fresco stories.

🚌Train/bus Jaipur-Mandawa, ~£8

🛏Mandawa haveli guesthouse, ~£14

• →Harlalka Haveli
• →Gulab Rai Ladia Haveli (~£1)
• →Mandawa Fort
• →Bazaar walk

Bus or shared jeep to Bikaner (around 3-4h, ~£5-7). Check in near the old town and spend the afternoon at Junagarh Fort — hire the audio guide (~£2) instead of a live guide. Wander to Bhandasar Jain Temple for its extraordinary painted ceilings (free) and see Lalgarh Palace from the outside. If you have time and energy, a shared taxi to the Karni Mata rat temple at Deshnoke is 30km each way and a surreal evening trip (~£8 split).

🚌Bus Mandawa-Bikaner ~£6; local autos ~£2

🛏Bikaner guesthouse double, ~£14

• →Junagarh Fort (~£5 plus audio guide)
• →Bhandasar Jain Temple
• →Lalgarh Palace exterior
• →Optional Karni Mata Temple at Deshnoke (~£8 shared taxi)

Take an early sleeper or daytime bus/train south-west to Jaisalmer (roughly 6h, ~£7). In the afternoon head into the Sam or Khuri dunes for a camel ride and sunset, and stay in a standard desert camp with Rajasthani folk music and dance around the fire — these are bookable directly with camps for around £18-25 including dinner, or via GetYourGuide/Viator from ~£20-30.

🚌Bus Bikaner-Jaisalmer ~£7; camp transfer included

🛏Standard desert camp near Sam dunes (twin tent), ~£22 incl. dinner

• →Camel ride in the Thar desert
• →Sunset on the dunes
• →Rajasthani folk music and dance at camp

Return to Jaisalmer town and explore the living Jaisalmer Fort on foot — it's free to enter and full of Jain temples, shops and homes. See the Jain temple complex (~£2), Patwon-ki-Haveli (~£3) and Salim Singh-ki-Haveli, then walk to Gadisar Lake for sunset. Optional Lakmana/Salman chai and a rooftop dinner overlooking the fort. Thar Heritage Museum is small and cheap if museums are your thing.

🚌Bus back from Sam, ~£2

🛏Jaisalmer haveli guesthouse double, ~£15

• →Jaisalmer Fort
• →Fort Jain temples (~£2)
• →Patwon-ki-Haveli (~£3)
• →Salim Singh-ki-Haveli
• →Gadisar Lake sunset

Morning bus or train to Jodhpur (about 5h, ~£6). Arrive early afternoon and head straight for Mehrangarh Fort, whose audioguide is excellent (~£2 extra) — allow 2-3 hours. Walk down to Jaswant Thada's white marble cenotaphs and photograph the blue city from the old town rooftops. Umaid Bhawan Palace's museum is a short auto ride away (or visit the rather better-value Balsamand Lake gardens for a quiet evening).

🚌Bus Jaisalmer-Jodhpur ~£6; autos ~£3

🛏Jodhpur old town guesthouse double, ~£15

• →Mehrangarh Fort (~£8 incl. audio guide)
• →Jaswant Thada (~£2)
• →Blue city walk
• →Umaid Bhawan museum or Balsamand Lake

Hire a shared taxi or join a small-group day transfer (roughly £20-25 per person) from Jodhpur through the Aravalli hills to Ranakpur, where the 15th-century marble Jain temple complex is the highlight of the drive. Continue to Udaipur arriving in the evening. Cheaper but slower option: bus to Falna or Nathdwara and change (about 7h, ~£7).

🚌Shared taxi Jodhpur-Ranakpur-Udaipur, ~£22

🛏Udaipur guesthouse or lakeside hostel double, ~£16

• →Ranakpur Jain Temple complex (~£2)
• →Aravalli hill drive

A full self-guided wandering day. Start at Jagdish Temple, then the City Palace (~£5) and Bagore-ki-Haveli's museum or its famous evening Dharohar folk dance show (~£3). Walk the Ambrai Ghat ghats, ride the Ropeway up Machla Magra for a city overview (~£1.50), and finish with a shared boat trip on Lake Pichola at sunset (~£5-8, book at Rameshwar Ghat). Fateh Sagar Lake and Saheliyon-ki-Bari are a short auto ride away.

🚌Autos and walking, ~£4

🛏Udaipur guesthouse or lakeside hostel double, ~£16

• →Jagdish Temple
• →City Palace (~£5)
• →Bagore-ki-Haveli + Dharohar dance show (~£3)
• →Udaipur Ropeway (~£1.50)
• →Lake Pichola boat ride (~£6)
• →Fateh Sagar Lake

Slow morning at a rooftop cafe over the lake, last-minute shopping for block prints and miniature paintings in Hathi Pol, then an auto or Ola to Maharana Pratap Airport (~£6) or an overnight train onwards. If you're flying via Delhi, add a domestic flight booking (~£35-50) or a long train ahead of time.

🚌Ola/auto to airport, ~£6

🛏—

• →Rooftop breakfast by Lake Pichola
• →Hathi Pol shopping
• →Airport transfer