Why Rajasthan suits a traveller on their own
You will rarely be alone unless you want to be. Your chauffeur will become your first friend in Rajasthan, your guides the second and third, and your planner will be a message away on WhatsApp for the whole journey.
We understand the worry: the cities are loud, the crowds are large, and the first hour in Old Delhi can feel like being dropped into a river.
One of the gentlest places in India to travel alone: especially when you have people looking after you.
- Nights
- Twelve
- Pace
- Easy, two or three nights everywhere
- Best months
- October to March
- Good for
- Travellers on their own, women travelling alone
- Starts
- Delhi
- Ends
- Udaipur
- Cities built for walking: at dawn and dusk.
- Hotels that are homes: often of the families who run them, where the host will sit with you after dinner.
- A culture of hospitality: a guest on their own is treated with particular care.
- The classic route, for good reason: the classic places have the best guides, the best hotels and the easiest connections.
- The shape: Delhi, the train to Jaipur, the holy lake town of Pushkar, across Marwar to Jodhpur, and three slow nights in Udaipur.
- Company in every place: a cooking lesson, a walk with a craftsman, a shared dinner in a family haveli.
- An empty afternoon in every place too: because solitude is part of the point.
- Who travels with us alone: widows and widowers making the trip they always meant to make with someone, women on sabbatical, young professionals between jobs, writers, photographers and people who simply prefer their own company.
- What they share: a wish to go at their own pace, with nobody to negotiate with, and to feel safe without feeling supervised.
Day by day, at your own pace
- Delhi to Jaipur
- A little over four hours by train
- Jaipur to Pushkar
- About three hours
- Pushkar to Jodhpur
- About four and a half hours
- Jodhpur to Udaipur
- Five to six hours, via Ranakpur
Days 1 and 2: Delhi, two cities in one
Met inside the arrivals hall: however late your flight lands, and driven to your hotel. Sleep in.
Afternoon: walk the gardens of Humayun's Tomb with your guide as the light softens, then dinner at your hotel.
- Day two, Old Delhi early: with a guide who grew up near its lanes. Walk Chandni Chowk before the shutters open.
- The Jama Masjid: climb to its courtyard.
- Eat your way through: parathas, jalebi and chai in small glasses. Our journal's Old Delhi food walk gives you a taste.
- Why a food walk suits you: everything is shared and everybody talks.
- The afternoon: is yours.
Days 3 to 5: Jaipur, walking the Pink City
The morning train: a little over four hours and far more relaxing than the road. We book your seat, see you onto the train and meet you on the platform.
Late afternoon: walk into the walled city for chai on a rooftop opposite Hawa Mahal.
- Day four, at opening: Amber Fort. Stand alone in the Sheesh Mahal, the hall of mirrors, before the groups arrive.
- A cooking lesson: with a family cook who measures in handfuls, and stay to eat what you made. Our haveli cooking class explains how it works.
- Day five: a morning with a block-printing family in Bagru, printing a length of cloth yourself.
- Afternoon: the City Palace.
- Evening: walk to the lit Albert Hall and Masala Chowk, where street food is gathered into one clean, open courtyard.
Days 6 and 7: Pushkar, the lake and the quiet
About three hours west: to one of Hinduism's holiest pilgrim towns, built around a sacred lake with 52 ghats.
Used to solo travellers: Pushkar has welcomed people on their own for half a century, and it has a gentle, unhurried feel.
- Evening aarti: your guide finds you a quiet step on the ghats as lamps, bells and conch shells set the lake glowing.
- Day seven before dawn: climb Ratnagiri hill to the Savitri temple and watch the town wake below you.
- Breakfast: hot malpua and lassi, then the Brahma temple.
- The main bazaar: prayer beads, rose water and silver.
- Yoga: if you practise, we can arrange a private morning class.
- Afternoon: a rooftop café over the lake with a book. Pushkar is vegetarian and alcohol-free, and nobody will mind if you sit alone for hours.
Days 8 and 9: Jodhpur, the blue city on foot
About four and a half hours west across Marwar: past mustard fields and small towns, arriving for a late lunch.
Late afternoon: walk the blue-washed lanes below the fort to the clock tower and Sardar Market.
- Sunset: at the stepwell of Toorji ka Jhalra, where locals sit on the steps.
- Day nine, at opening: a long morning in the palaces and museum of Mehrangarh.
- Walk down: past Jaswant Thada, the white marble memorial on its lake.
- Afternoon: the Bishnoi villages outside the city, where blackbuck graze near the farms, with a stop at a potter's or a durrie weaver's.
- Evening: dinner with Manganiyar musicians playing just for you, a very different experience from a crowded show.
Days 10 to 12: Udaipur via Ranakpur, and three slow days
The most beautiful drive: over the Aravallis.
Ranakpur: the fifteenth-century Jain temple of 1,444 carved marble pillars. Walk it slowly. It is one of the best places in Rajasthan to be alone with your thoughts.
- Arrive in Udaipur: for the evening light.
- At opening: the City Palace of Udaipur.
- A private boat on Lake Pichola: in the last hour of light, as lovely alone as in company.
- A morning with a miniature painter: in the old city. Try a line or two yourself.
- The evening folk dance at Bagore ki Haveli: where you will share a bench with half of Udaipur.
- One afternoon completely empty: for a spa, or a terrace and a long, slow lunch.
Day 13: Onward
- To the airport: your chauffeur drives you to Udaipur's airport for a flight to Delhi or Mumbai and home, and very likely asks you to send a postcard.
Where you'll stay
Delhi: The Imperial
A grand hotel of the 1930s on Janpath: central enough for easy outings.
- The feel: long colonial corridors hung with old prints and a calm garden.
- Dining alone: feels perfectly natural here.
Jaipur: Samode Haveli
A nobleman's painted townhouse: inside the walled city, with a pool in the garden and a mural-covered dining room.
- Walking distance: of the old city, which matters more when you are on your own.
- For grandeur: Rambagh Palace is the classic alternative.
Pushkar: a resort outside the town
Two we use: The Westin Pushkar Resort and Spa and Ananta Spa and Resort, in the countryside around the holy town, with pools, gardens and hill views.
- The ghats: minutes away by car from either.
- Compare them: our guide to luxury stays in Pushkar.
Jodhpur: RAAS Jodhpur or Ajit Bhawan
- RAAS Jodhpur: in the old city directly under the walls of Mehrangarh. Walk out of the gate into the blue lanes, with the floodlit fort in your window at night.
- Ajit Bhawan: a family-run palace that feels like staying with an old Jodhpur family, which many solo travellers love.
Udaipur: inside the City Palace or on the lake
- Shiv Niwas Palace and Fateh Prakash Palace: inside the City Palace complex, so you can walk its courtyards after the visitors leave.
- The Taj Lake Palace: floats on Pichola and is reached only by boat, the most romantic place in India to be entirely by yourself.
About single rooms
Priced by the room: most luxury hotels in India price by the room, not the person, so a solo traveller usually pays close to the price of a double.
- How we choose: hotels that are kind to single guests, and rooms picked for their light and view rather than their size.
- Plainly explained: we set out the options when we quote.
Company when you want it
Learn something with your hands
Classes along the route: a cooking lesson in a Jaipur haveli, a morning with block printers in Bagru, an hour with a miniature painter in Udaipur.
- In Jodhpur: a lesson in the art of the Rajasthani turban.
- Why crafts work: they are the easiest way to talk with people, because there is always something to laugh about.
Walk the old cities at dawn
- Before the traffic: our heritage walks and dawn cycle rides through Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur.
- Your guide knows the lanes: and the families in each, so you will be offered tea more than once.
Eat at a family table
In family-run heritage hotels: the host often joins guests after dinner.
- The talk: cricket, weddings and the price of maize, sometimes until midnight.
- A home-cooked meal: with a family we know in Jaipur or Udaipur, on their terms and at their table.
Music and evenings out
- Where locals and travellers mix easily: the folk dance at Bagore ki Haveli, the evening aarti on the Pushkar ghats, and a rooftop above Pichola at dusk.
- An evening alone with a view: our rooftop dining page lists the terraces we like best.
The hours we'd keep for yourself
- Delhi
- Humayun's Tomb, late afternoon
- Jaipur
- Nahargarh ramparts, before sunset
- Pushkar
- The ghats at dawn
- Jodhpur
- Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park, early
- Udaipur
- Ambrai Ghat at dusk
Delhi, the gardens of Humayun's Tomb
- Go back without a guide: in the late afternoon of your second day, and sit on the lawns as the red sandstone turns warm.
- What you hear: parrots arguing in the trees, families picnicking, and the city's noise falling away behind the walls.
Jaipur, the ramparts of Nahargarh
- An hour before sunset: our chauffeur takes you up the ridge and waits.
- Walk a little away from the viewpoints: and watch the grid of the Pink City turn from pink to gold below you while kites circle overhead.
Pushkar, a step on the ghats at dawn
Before the town wakes: find a quiet step and leave your shoes beside you.
- Watch the pilgrims: come down with brass pots and marigolds. Nobody will disturb you.
- Camera away: and simply watch the mist lift.
Jodhpur, the rocks below the fort
- Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park: beside Mehrangarh, with walking trails over volcanic rock planted with the native plants of the Thar.
- Early morning: the fort looms above and the only company is a few birds.
Udaipur, Ambrai Ghat at dusk
Across the lake from the City Palace: the steps of Ambrai Ghat face the whole palace facade.
- A cup of tea: as the lights come on one by one along the water.
- Just as good on your own: one of the most peaceful evenings in India.
Staying safe, and feeling at ease
Uncertainty is what tires people: which taxi to take, which guide to trust, which lane to walk down after dark. On this journey those questions are answered before you arrive.
People we know: your chauffeur is with you throughout, every guide is someone we know personally, and every hotel is one we have stayed in.
Your planner on WhatsApp: throughout, and knows where you are each day.
- Driver
- With you from the first day to the last
- Guides
- All known to us personally
- Hotels
- All stayed in by us
- Planner
- Knows where you are each day
- Dress
- Shoulders and knees covered, a scarf
- Women travelling alone: sometimes find the attention of strangers tiresome, mostly staring and requests for selfies rather than anything worse. A polite, firm no is understood everywhere.
- Read more: our guide for women travellers, and our journal's plain answer to is Rajasthan safe.
- Dress modestly: shoulders and knees covered. It makes temples easier and attracts less attention in the bazaars. A scarf is useful everywhere.
- Only our cars, guides and boats: never accept a tour, a shop visit or a blessing from a stranger who approaches you.
- The Pushkar flower: politely refuse anyone who presses a flower into your hand on the way to the ghats. It ends with a request for a large donation.
- Valuables close: in crowded bazaars and at the big monuments, where pickpockets work.
- After dark: take the car rather than walking back through quiet lanes, and tell your planner your plans for the evening.
- Holi: join a hotel celebration or go with a guide, rather than alone in the street crowds.
- Stay reachable: buy a local SIM card or an e-SIM when you land. Our guide to SIM cards and internet explains how.
When to go
October to March: warm days and cool nights, perfect for long walks.
December and January: the coldest months, with chilly mornings and fog that can delay flights and trains around Delhi, so we build in a little buffer.
Also the busiest: the big monuments are crowded at midday.
- Season
- October to March
- Calmest
- October, November, February, early March
- Coldest and busiest
- December and January
- Very hot
- April to June
- Monsoon
- July to September, green in Udaipur
- The shoulder months: October, November, February and early March are calmer, with gentler crowds and easier hotel choices.
- Festivals suit solo travellers: everyone is out, and everyone talks to you.
- The Pushkar fair: in Kartik, in October or November, an extraordinary spectacle but very crowded, and the town's best rooms go months ahead.
- Easy to join with a guide: Diwali in Jaipur, Makar Sankranti on 14 January and the Desert Festival in February.
- April to June: very hot.
- The monsoon: July to September is green and quiet in Udaipur, if you like the rain. Our Monsoon in Mewar journey is built for it.
- Month by month: our guide to the best time to visit Rajasthan.
Make it yours
A shorter version, eight nights
- The shape: one night in Delhi, three in Jaipur, one in Pushkar and three in Udaipur, flying from Jaipur to Udaipur.
- The trade: you lose Jodhpur and the Ranakpur drive, and keep the best walks and classes.
Add the desert
- On from Jodhpur: two nights in Jaisalmer and a night in a desert camp, where guests share dinner by the fire and the stars are the best in the state.
- The same road: our Under the Thar Sky journey.
Slow down with yoga
- More nights: in Pushkar, or a wellness retreat near Udaipur.
- A whole trip of it: our yoga and Ayurveda journey builds around practice and rest.
Add the Taj Mahal
- A night in Agra: between Delhi and Jaipur, to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise.
- The shape: our Golden Triangle and Udaipur journey.
For photographers and repeat visitors
- Photographers love travelling alone: nobody minds waiting an hour for the light. Our photographer's Rajasthan adds Bundi and Jaisalmer.
- Repeat visitors: often swap Delhi and Jaipur for Bundi and Dungarpur on our Offbeat Rajasthan route.
How we look after you
Met and seen off: inside the arrivals hall in Delhi, and onto your flight home in Udaipur.
One private chauffeur: for the whole road journey, chosen for his calm driving, good English and good humour.
Trains and flights: we use the train from Delhi to Jaipur because it saves time and is a pleasure, and can add a flight wherever a long drive would be tiring.
- Arrival
- Met inside the arrivals hall in Delhi
- Driver
- One chauffeur for the road journey
- Train
- Delhi to Jaipur
- Planner
- Checks in each evening
- Prices
- Quoted after one conversation
- A local guide in every city: someone who grew up there, for as many or as few hours as you like.
- Your planner on WhatsApp: for the whole journey, checking in each evening with a short message about the next day.
- Change anything: from a restaurant to a whole city. Tell us and we rearrange it.
- No commission: our guides are paid properly and take none, so no one will lead you to a shop you didn't ask for.
- No published prices: every solo journey is shaped around you, so we quote after one conversation about your pace, your interests and the rooms you like.
- Meet the team: read about our planners and guides.
Who will love it, and who might prefer something else
Freedom with a safety net: travel at your own pace, linger or move on, knowing someone has your back.
First-time visitors to India: find it a reassuring introduction.
- Women travelling alone: appreciate the care and the trusted people around them.
- Repeat visitors: enjoy the classes and the walks, and seeing familiar places with new eyes.
- Not for you if: you want to meet lots of other travellers every day, as on a group tour, or to backpack independently and find your own way.
- Where your company comes from: guides, hosts and craftsmen rather than fellow tourists, because this is a private journey.
- Travelling with a partner after all: Rajasthan for Two is our favourite journey for couples.
