Our verdict in brief
What it does best: you unpack once and wake in a new city most mornings. No other way of travelling covers this much of Rajasthan so easily.
What it does worst: you see the great monuments at the train's hour, not the quiet one. A week of group days can feel like a highlight reel.
- Cities
- About eight in a week
- Pace
- Brisk, with early starts
- Sightseeing
- Mostly in groups, on a set programme
- Cabins
- Cosy rather than large
- Best months
- November and February, in our view
- Who it suits: first-time visitors, travellers a little nervous of India, railway romantics and couples celebrating something.
- Who it doesn't: anyone who likes to linger, eat where the locals eat, or decide the day over breakfast.
- Our advice: book it if the idea thrills you, then add at least two nights before or after somewhere the train can't reach.
- Check before you dream: the season, departures and stops change from year to year. We confirm them with the operator before we plan anything.
A train born from the maharajas' saloons
The princely railways: several states built their own lines. Jodhpur and Bikaner ran a railway together across the desert, and rulers travelled to each other's weddings in private saloons.
The launch: the Palace on Wheels first ran on 26 January 1982, a joint venture of the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation and Indian Railways.
- The first coaches: it began with old royal saloons, later replaced by purpose-built carriages decorated in the princely manner.
- Named for kingdoms: coaches carry the names of the former states of Rajputana, so you might sleep in Jaipur or Udaipur before you reach them.
- The model for the rest: every Indian luxury train since, including the Maharajas' Express, followed its idea of sleeping on board and sightseeing by day.
- A long life: it has been refurbished more than once, paused during the pandemic and returned. Its operating arrangements have changed over the years, which is one reason we check every season.
What the Palace on Wheels does beautifully
Unpack once: for a week your clothes stay in one cupboard. After a few days of road travel, guests realise how much that is worth.
Rajasthan in seven days: the classic loop reaches Jaipur, Ranthambore, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bharatpur and Agra. By car that would take two weeks or more.
- Night travel: the train mostly moves while you sleep, so the long desert distances vanish. Jodhpur to Jaisalmer is five hours by road. On the train it happens over dinner.
- The window at dawn: the Thar pink before it turns gold, peacocks on fence posts, camels at level crossings. Ask for early tea and sit by the glass.
- Everything arranged: guides, coaches, entries and lunches are handled. For a nervous first visit, that removes almost every worry.
- Regional character: of the two great trains, this is the one most rooted in Rajasthan, in its decoration, food and route.
- The company: dinner in a dining car with fellow travellers suits sociable people, and friendships form quickly over a week.
Where it falls short, in our view
The wrong hours: a train's programme can't take every guest to Amber at opening time or to the Taj Mahal at first light. Some days you'll meet the crowds.
Group sightseeing: days are mostly in groups, with the train's guides and coaches. If you dislike waiting for others, it can grate.
- Early starts, full days: wake-up calls can be early and afternoons short. Several guests find the second half of the week tiring.
- Short stops: a day is enough for a highlight tour of a city, not for its lanes, food or the second look that makes a place yours.
- Small cabins: even the best train cabin is smaller than a palace hotel room, and an Indian railway at night moves gently but noticeably.
- No villages: the train reaches cities with stations. The family forts, leopard hills and desert camps that make Rajasthan unforgettable are off its map.
- Fixed dates: departures are set, so your trip bends to the train rather than the other way round.
The classic week, stop by stop
Delhi: boarding
- The start: you board in Delhi in the evening. Arrive rested. Coming straight off a long-haul flight is the commonest mistake.
- Our addition: a night or two first, with Humayun's Tomb and Old Delhi. See our Delhi guide.
Jaipur: the Pink City
- On the programme: usually Amber Fort, the City Palace and Hawa Mahal in a single day.
- What you'll miss: the walled city at dawn and the bazaars at dusk. Our Jaipur guide shows what a second day adds.
Sawai Madhopur: Ranthambore
- On the programme: a safari in Ranthambore, with tigers seen on some drives and not others.
- Our honest note: one safari is a lottery. Tiger lovers should add two or three nights at a lodge another time.
Chittorgarh: the fort of sieges
- On the programme: the vast fort of Chittorgarh, with the towers of victory and fame and the stories of the sieges.
- Worth knowing: it is one of the stops the train does well. The fort is large and best seen with a guide, which the programme gives you.
Udaipur: the lakes
- On the programme: the City Palace and Lake Pichola.
- What you'll miss: a sunset boat and a night on the water. Many guests come back for three nights at the Taj Lake Palace.
Jaisalmer: the golden fort
- On the programme: the living fort, the carved havelis and often an evening on the dunes.
- Our view: the long run west across the Thar is the train's great journey. See Jaisalmer.
Jodhpur: the blue city
- On the programme: Mehrangarh and the old city below it.
- What you'll miss: the Bishnoi villages and family forts around Jodhpur, which need a night or two of their own.
Life on board, honestly described
Cabins: compact and prettily furnished in the princely style, with private bathrooms. Think of a cabin on a classic ship rather than a hotel suite.
Dining: dining cars serve Rajasthani and continental food, and dinner as the dark country slides past is the train's most romantic hour.
- The lounge bar: where guests gather in the evening. Sociable people love it, private people find a corner.
- Staff: attendants are assigned to each carriage, and many guests remember their attendant as vividly as any palace.
- Sleep: the train moves at night. It is gentle, but light sleepers should pack earplugs and expect the odd jolt in a station.
- Dress: smart casual by day, a little dressier at dinner, and a shawl for cool desert nights.
- Luggage: space is limited. A soft bag fits far better than a large hard case. We keep the rest for you in Delhi.
What you see from the window
Leaving Delhi: flat, green and crowded farmland, with wheat and mustard in winter.
Towards Ranthambore: the Aravalli hills rise, low and broken, and the dry forest of the tiger country begins.
- Into Mewar: around Chittorgarh and Udaipur the hills close in, with lakes in their folds and white temples on the ridges.
- Across the Thar: heading west the country empties, the fields shrink and lone khejri trees, the desert's sacred tree, stand in the sand.
- The stations: a chai seller with a brass kettle, porters in red shirts, a stationmaster with a flag. Wave first and the platform waves back.
- The level crossings: camel carts waiting, boys on bicycles racing the train, women with water pots walking the embankment.
What train guests most often wish they'd known
Rest in the afternoons: with early starts, a nap after lunch on board keeps the week enjoyable to the end.
Skip an excursion if you like: you don't have to join every outing. A quiet morning in your cabin, watching the country, is allowed.
- Pace the shopping: stops may include shops. You are never obliged to buy, and our shopping guide explains how to buy well.
- Keep a day bag ready: water, sunscreen, a hat, a scarf for temples and dust, and shoes that slip off easily.
- Bring layers: desert mornings and nights are cold in winter, middays warm, and the air-conditioning on board is cool.
- Carry medicines in your day bag: with any prescriptions in their original packets.
- Read before each city: ten minutes with a guide page the night before makes a short stop far richer. Start with our Udaipur guide.
Palace on Wheels, Maharajas' Express or a private journey
Choose the Palace on Wheels if
- Rajasthan is the point: its route stays almost entirely within the state, through its royal cities.
- You like history: it is the original, with a strong regional character and a long story of its own.
Choose the Maharajas' Express if
- You want more space and polish: it is the newer and more lavish of the two, run by IRCTC since 2010.
- Your journey continues: some of its itineraries reach Mumbai or the holy cities of the Ganges. Read our Maharajas' Express guide.
Choose a private journey if
- You want the quiet hours: a private car and guide put you at Amber or the Taj at first light, with time to linger.
- You want the places between: village forts, leopards and desert camps. Our Royal Rajputana journey covers the same cities with two nights or more in each.
How we make a Palace on Wheels week better
A soft landing: a night or two in Delhi before you board, at a calm hotel, so you start the week rested.
A private guide at a stop: where the operator allows it, we arrange our own guide for a deeper look at one city.
- Before
- One or two calm nights in Delhi
- After
- Two or three nights off the rails
- Our favourite after
- Jawai, for leopards
- Book
- Many months ahead for the best cabins
- Confirm
- Season and stops, every year
- After the train, go where it doesn't: Jawai for leopards on granite hills, or a family fort such as Rohet Garh for Marwari horses and Bishnoi villages.
- Go back to your favourite: many guests return to Udaipur after the train for three unhurried nights.
- The full plan: our Palace on Wheels and beyond journey shows how we wrap the week.
- No fares here: prices change with season and cabin. We quote clearly once we know what you want.
Getting to the platform, and home again
Arrive a day early: a long-haul flight can be late, and Delhi fog in December and January delays more. A spare night protects the departure.
Stay somewhere calm: a quiet Delhi hotel, such as The Leela Palace, New Delhi, makes the night before feel like the start of the holiday.
- The station transfer: your chauffeur takes you to the right station at the right hour. Departure stations can change, so we check for your date.
- Leave heavy bags behind: we keep large suitcases in Delhi and return them when you step off.
- On the last morning: don't book a flight home the same day if you can help it. Trains can run late, and a final night is kinder.
- Or keep going: fly to Udaipur or Jodhpur for the drive of about three hours to Jawai, and let the rest of the trip be slow.
When we would travel on it
November: clear skies, warm days, comfortable nights. Our favourite month on the train.
December and January: cool, sometimes cold at night in the desert. Fog around Delhi can delay the start or end, so never book a tight flight connection.
- February: perhaps the most pleasant month of all, with long sunny days and the mustard in flower.
- The shoulder months: at the start and end of the season afternoons can be warm, especially in the desert.
- Festivals: the train's programme won't always stop for the Pushkar Camel Fair or the Desert Festival. Add nights by road if you want them.
- Exact dates: the first and last departures change from year to year. Ask us, and we will confirm the current season.
Before you book, check these
Is it running on your dates? confirm the season and departures with us or the operator first.
What is the exact programme? read the day-by-day plan, including wake-up times and which stops are half days.
- Which cabin? cabin types and sizes vary. Ask what you're booking, not just the category name.
- Mobility: stepping onto platforms, coaches and monuments every day is demanding. Tell us early if anyone finds steps hard.
- Children: policies vary, and younger children often find the days long. A family journey by road may suit better.
- Insurance and documents: carry your passport every day, and check your travel insurance covers the dates.
Who should book it, and who should not
Book it if: you want to see a great deal of Rajasthan in a week without packing every morning, and you enjoy a well-run programme.
Book it if: railways move you. A week on a royal train is a story you will tell for years.
- Book it if: it is your first time in India and you want everything arranged around you.
- Skip it if: privacy and control of every hour matter more than ease.
- Skip it if: you sleep lightly, dislike early starts or want long, lazy afternoons.
- The alternative: a private chauffeur journey covers the same cities at your own pace. Our luxury trains overview compares the options in full.