How many days do you need for Rajasthan?

Rajasthan is large, and the distances between its cities are longer than the map suggests. Jaipur to Jodhpur is five hours; Jodhpur to Jaisalmer another five. Any itinerary that ignores this ends up being a driving holiday.

Here is what each trip length realistically covers.

Two nights each in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur. This is the version we book most often, and it works because it gives you one major fort per day rather than three.

Jaipur covers Amber Fort, City Palace and the bazaars. Jodhpur is Mehrangarh and the blue city. Udaipur is the City Palace and a boat on Lake Pichola. Ranakpur fits neatly as a stop between the last two.

Jaisalmer is the one addition most worth the extra days. The living fort, the havelis and a night at a desert camp on the Sam dunes are a genuinely different experience from the other three cities.

It costs you two travel days, so nine nights is the minimum for a comfortable version. Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Udaipur, in that order.

With twelve you can add Pushkar, Bikaner, Mount Abu or Ranthambore for a tiger safari. Ranthambore needs at least two nights to make two safari attempts worthwhile — one safari is a coin flip.

This is also the point at which we would suggest slowing down instead: three nights in Udaipur rather than two, and an afternoon doing nothing in each city.

Pick two cities, not three. Jaipur and Jodhpur, or Udaipur on its own with day trips to Kumbhalgarh and Chittorgarh. Trying to fit the triangle into four nights means roughly fifteen hours in a car.

October to March. November to February is the most comfortable, with cool mornings and warm afternoons. April to June regularly crosses 40°C — the hotels are cheap for a reason, though a pool-heavy heritage property and early starts make it survivable.

The monsoon months bring a brief green to the state and are underrated for photography, particularly around Udaipur and Mount Abu.