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Grand Escapades’ Budget Guide To Rajasthan

One Of The Cheapest Places To Splurge A Little Or Upgrade Your Travel Style…

In the streets of Bundi, Rajasthan, India

In the streets of Bundi, Rajasthan

Type Of Travel

The 3 trips to Rajasthan were quite different, and this shows in the budget spent:

  • During the first 2 trips, with limited time at hand (each time 12 days) and India being a rather cheap country, I opted against traveling low budget. Instead I frequented “mid-range” hotels or Havelis and pleasant local restaurants (classic Flashpacking trip). This trip could definitely be done a lot cheaper than spending 44 and 48 Euros per person per day (this amount does not include the international flight or the visa fees).
  • The third trip, I was traveling with my 77 year old father and went for the “upper mid-range” type of travel to ensure a nice level of comfort and enhance the mobility: nice Havelis or small Boutique hotels, nice restaurants, at times a car with driver… The budget almost doubled.

Itinerary & Time Of The Visit

In April 2012 I had my first brush with India, to be precise eastern Rajasthan: for eleven days I gazed at the most incredible Moghul architecture in Agra and Jaipur. I also threw in a bit of wildlife by visiting Ranthambhore National Park. When I returned in March 2013, I headed for the southwest of Rajasthan for twelve days, to marvel at these impressive forts & palaces in Udaipur, Kumbhalgarh, Bundi, Chittorgarh and last but not least Pushkar & Ajmer. Delhi was my hub during both trips.

In March 2015, I returned to Rajasthan for one month, and made an extensive loop through this area of India: Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Jaipur, Pushkar, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Kumbalgarh, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner & Nawalgarh. I ended the trip in Amritsar to marvel at the Golden Temple.

Global Budget

Costs per Person per Day in € 2012 2013 2015
Long Distances’ Transport € 5,30 € 8,60 € 12,10
Short Distances’ Transport € 2,80 € 4,20 € 4,70
Total Transport € 8,10 € 12,80 € 16,80
Hotels € 17,20 € 16,70 € 38,90
Restaurants & Food € 10,40 € 12,40 € 13,20
Drinks & Going Out € 0,00 € 0,00 € 7,90
Every Day Life (& Souvenirs) € 1,20 € 1,60 € 2,80
Total Living € 28,80 €30,70 € 62,80
Visits & Tours € 6,80 € 4,90 € 6,30
Activities € 0,00 € 0,00 € 0,80
Total Tours & Activities € 6,80 € 4,90 € 7,10
Total Country: € 43,70 € 48,40 € 86,70

Hostels & Hotels

Outside of Delhi, an average of 30 to 40 Euros per night was the rule. Comfortable guesthouses with air conditioning or beautiful Havelis, former homes of noblemen, make all the difference and offer a welcome retreat after long walks through India’s hectic cities…

City
(2012)
Hotel Name Type of
Accommodation
Price
(€ per Day)
New Delhi K One One Guesthouse 69,23
Agra Hotel Taj Plazza Hotel 22,15
Jaipur Atithi Guesthouse Guesthouse 23,59
New Delhi K One One Guesthouse 69,23
Total 38,32
City
(2013)
Hotel Name Type of
Accommodation
Price
(€ per Day)
Udaipur Jagat Niwas Palace Guesthouse 28,98
Bundi Hotel Bundi Haveli Guesthouse 43,16
Pushkar Inn Seventh Heaven Guesthouse 26,96
Delhi Wood Castle Hostel 36,76
Total 33,41
City
(2015)
Hostel / Hotel
Name
Type of
Accommodation
Price
per Night (€)
Evaluation
(1 to 5 Stars)
Delhi Devna Bed & Breakfast Guesthouse 74,33 *****
Agra N Homestay Guesthouse 28,57 ***
Jaipur Hotel Pearl Palace Hostel 20,00 *****
Pushkar Inn Seventh Heaven Guesthouse 31,50 ****
Chittaurgarh Padmini Haveli Guesthouse Guesthouse 57,14 ****
Udaipur Jagat Niwas Palace Guesthouse 45,09 *****
Jodhpur Singhvi’s Haveli Guesthouse 35,29 ****
Jaisalmer KB Lodge Guesthouse 52,67 ***
Bikaner Hotel Jaswant Bhawan Guesthouse 18,18 ****
Nawalgarh Rajesh Jangid Tourist Pension Hostel 16,29 ***
Amritsar Hotel City Park Hotel 40,20 ****
Delhi Devna Bed & Breakfast Hotel 43,75 *****
Total India 40,22  

Restaurants & Food

There I splurged and sampled delicious meals three times at day, mainly at my hotels, because the other restaurants – if there were any – did not come close in quality.

City
(2015)
Restaurant
Name
Type of Meal Type of
Restaurant
Price
Food (€)
Evaluation
(1 to 5 Stars)
Agra Pinch Of Spice Lunch Restaurant 10,34 ***
Agra Lakshmi Vilas Lunch Restaurant 3,63 ***
Agra Hotel kamal Dinner Hotel 1,64 ***
Agra Dasaprakash Lunch Restaurant 6,80 *
Fatehpur Sikri Rajasthan Motel Lunch Restaurant 8,96 **
Jaipur Peacock Rooftop Restaurant Dinner Hotel 5,43 *****
Jaipur Peacock Rooftop Restaurant Breakfast Hotel 3,15 ***
Pushkar The Sixth Sense Dinner Hotel 5,00 ***
Chittaurgarh Padmani Haveli Lunch Hotel 6,43 ****
Udaipur Shiv Niwas Palace Hotel Breakfast Hotel 14,57 ****
Udaipur Jagat Niwas Palace Dinner Hotel 7,39 ****
Jodhpur Singhvi’s Haveli Dinner Hotel 3,68 ***
Jodhpur Pal Haveli Dinner Hotel 11,44 ****
Jaisalmer KB Lodge Lunch Hotel 5,53 ****
Jaisalmer Saffron Dinner Hotel 5,74 ***
Bikaner Hotel Jaswant Bhawan Dinner Hotel 4,05 ****
Nawalgarh Tourist Pension Dinner Hotel 5,30 ***
Delhi Pindi Lunch Restaurant 15,08 ***
Delhi Nawanda’s Dinner Restaurant 18,48 ***
Delhi Devna Dinner Hotel 7,56 ****
Amritsar Neelam’s Lunch Restaurant 3,90 ***
Amritsar Laguna Restaurant / Grand Hotel Lunch Hotel 9,89 ****
Total India 7,45  

Drinks & Going Out

As everywhere, drinks add-up quickly, especially if you take anything else than beer…

City Bar
Name
Type of Drink Type of
Bar
Price
Drink (€)
Evaluation
(1 to 5 Stars)
Agra SaniyaPalace Hotel Beer Hotel 3,43 ***
Agra Kamal Hotel Beer Hotel 2,86 ***
Jaipur Peacock Rooftop Restaurant Wine Bottle Hotel 8,57 ****
Udaipur Jagat Niwas Palace Beer Hotel 4,50 *****
Udaipur Jagat Niwas Palace Wine Bottle Hotel 11,91 ****
Jodhpur Singhvi’s Haveli Beer Hotel 2,50 ***
Jodhpur Pal Haveli Cocktails Hotel 6,16 *****
Jaisalmer Saffron Beer Hotel 2,55 ***
Bikaner Hotel Jaswant Bhawan Beer Hotel 2,44 *****
Delhi Nawanda’s Wine Bottle Restaurant 12,14 ****
Delhi Devna Beer Hotel 3,04 ****
Amritsar Bottoms Up / Grand Hotel Beer Hotel 3,48 ****
Total India 5,30  

Tours & Activities

Do not underestimate these expenses! Entrance fees always come for locals and for foreigners. It added approx. 7 Euro per person per day to our budget. But this is also what you come for, to visit all the sights!

Transport

Trains in India are not only cheap, they are the most efficient way to travel from one city to the other. On the 13 trains I took, none had more than 15 minutes delay. Besides being a very efficient and comfortable way to discover India, trains is also a very social one! I learned so much just by chatting with our Indian travel companions… I must add there that I always travelled in the highest available class available (first AC or second AC). These classes must be booked in advance, which can be done very conveniently (the registering can be challenging) through an online reservation system.

Also worth considering is chartering a car between cities if you have points of interest in between, like Fatehpur Sikri & Abhenari between Agra & Jaipur or Kumbalgarh & Ranakpur between Udaipur & Jodhpur. A taxi will normally cost you 7 to 8 Ruppies per kilometer (do not forget to calculate the way back, though), including waiting time…

From
(2012)
To Transport Distance
(Km)
Travel Duration
(Hours)
Price
(€)
Price per
100 km (€)
Delhi Agra Train 188 02:50
Agra Jaipur Train 241 04:55
Jaipur Sawai Madhopur Train 131 02:05
Sawai Madhopur Jaipur Train 132 02:05
Jaipur Delhi Train 307 06:10
From
(2013)
To Transport Distance
(Km)
Travel Duration
(Hours)
Price
(€)
Price per
100 km (€)
New Delhi Udaipur Plane 575 01:45
Udaipur Bundi Train 248 04:25
Bundi Chittaurgarth Car 194 03:15
Chittaurgarth Ajmer Junction Train 186 03:00
Ajmer Delhi (DLI) Train 443 08:15
From
(2015)
To Transport Distance
(Km)
Travel Duration
(Hours)
Price
(€)
Price per
100 km (€)
Delhi Agra Train 188 3,00 9,14 4,86
Agra Jaipur Car 240 8,00 35,71 14,88
Jaipur Ajmer Train 134 2,00 30,06 22,43
Pushkar Chittaurgarh Car 212 3,50 32,14 15,16
Chittaurgarh Udaipur Car 117 2,50 17,14 14,65
Udaipur Jodhpur Car 257 7,50 30,00 11,67
Jodhpur Jaisalmer Train 301 5,75 15,43 5,13
Jaisalmer Bikaner Car 331 5,00 41,67 12,59
Bikaner Churu Train 181 2,60 9,41 5,20
Churu Nawalgarh Car 59 2,50 18,94 32,10
Nawalgarh Churu Car 59 2,00 18,94 32,10
Churu Delhi Train 267 4,80 9,41 3,53
Delhi Amritsar Plane 415 1,15 44,48 10,72
Amritsar Delhi Plane 415 1,15 44,48 10,72
Total 3.176 51,45 356,95 11,24

Splurge At Reasonable Costs?

You could spend tons of money in India! Staying in one of the former palaces of a Maharaja can be done for a few hundred dollars a night!

Take home some beautiful handicrafts, carpets, jewelry, colorful Indian style clothes, saris, scarves… What really tempted us were miniature paintings and plates with inlay-work done from semi-precious stone. What kept us from buying those was that we had not the slightest clue of what a realistic price or these things was.

Reduce Costs?

I did not try to reduce the budget in any way, so I will not be the best source for budget traveling in India… But yes, you can travel a lot cheaper than I did and still tremendously enjoy your visit.

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