How to use this list
Nobody should do all of these. Choose four or five that make you both smile, and let us build the journey around them.
One moment a day: a sunset boat, a palace dinner or a safari. The rest of the day belongs to the two of you.
Two nights everywhere: one-night stops mean packing every morning. Honeymoons should mean unpacking once.
Facts to know
- Pick
- Four or five ideas, not fifteen
- Pace
- Late starts, long lunches, early evenings
- Drives
- Under five hours a day where possible
- Flights
- Udaipur, Jaipur and Jodhpur all have airports
- Mix the moods: a lake, a desert, a palace and somewhere wild. Each one feels different, and the contrast makes the journey.
- Leave a free day: couples who plan nothing for one day always tell us it was the best day.
- The ready-made shapes: our Rajasthan honeymoons journey, Rajasthan for Two and the Udaipur and Jaisalmer honeymoon are the routes we use most.
Local tip
Tell us early if it is your honeymoon. Many hotels quietly add flowers, a cake or a better room when they can, but only if they know in advance.
On the water in Udaipur
Udaipur is the reason many couples choose Rajasthan. The lakes turn rose at sunset, the palaces float, and the evening breeze off the water feels made for two.
1. A private boat on Pichola at sunset
- The moment: an hour on the lake as the City Palace turns pink and the ghats light up.
- Why private: no loudspeaker, no crowd, and the boatman knows when to stay quiet. See our page on a boat on Lake Pichola.
2. Sleep on the island
- Where: the Taj Lake Palace, built between 1743 and 1746 as a summer palace and reached only by boat.
- Why: after the last boat crosses, the island falls quiet and the lake belongs to the guests.
3. Dinner on Jag Mandir
- Where: Jag Mandir, the island palace with stone elephants at the water's edge.
- The moment: a boat out at dusk, dinner on the terrace and the city lit across the water.
4. A view across the water
- Where: The Oberoi Udaivilas or The Leela Palace Udaipur on the western shore, looking back at the City Palace.
- Why: space, gardens and calm, with the old city one boat ride away.
5. Sunset at the Monsoon Palace
- Where: Sajjangarh, the Monsoon Palace on its hill west of the city.
- The moment: the whole lake country below you as the sun drops behind the Aravallis.
6. A green monsoon honeymoon
- When: July to September, when the hills turn green and the lakes fill.
- Why: fewer visitors, dramatic skies and lower demand. Our monsoon in Mewar journey is built for it.
Local tip
Take your sunset boat on the second evening in Udaipur, not the first. By then you know the lake, and you can tell the boatman exactly where to stop.
A night in a maharaja's palace
Every honeymoon in Rajasthan deserves one truly grand night, with peacocks on the lawn and a corridor longer than your street at home.
7. Rambagh Palace, Jaipur
- The palace: the home of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II and Maharani Gayatri Devi, a hotel since 1957, in walled gardens.
- The moment: tea on the lawns as the peacocks call, then dinner under gilded ceilings.
8. Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur
- The palace: built between 1929 and 1943, art deco and domes on Chittar Hill, with the former royal family in one wing.
- The moment: Mehrangarh glowing on its ridge across the city at night.
9. Inside the City Palace, Udaipur
- Where: Fateh Prakash Palace or Shiv Niwas Palace, within the palace complex above the lake.
- Why: you sleep inside the history, and the old city is a short walk away.
10. A private dinner on a rampart
- The moment: a table for two on a fort rampart, a palace terrace or a courtyard lit with lamps, with a musician playing at a distance.
- How: our page on a private palace dinner explains where we arrange them.
Out in the desert
The Thar is where couples go quiet. The dunes turn gold, the Manganiyar singers begin, and the stars come out in numbers city people have never seen.
11. A night in a luxury camp
- Where: The Serai, SUJAN's tented camp on a private estate east of Jaisalmer, or Manvar Desert Camp between Jodhpur and Jaisalmer.
- Why: silence, stars and canvas, with proper beds and hot water. See our guide to luxury desert camps.
12. Sunset on a quiet dune
- Where: away from the crowded dunes at Sam, on a ridge we choose for its emptiness.
- The moment: a rug, a flask of chai and the sun sinking into the sand.
13. Stargazing
- When: a moonless winter night, after the camp lights are dimmed.
- How: a telescope and someone who knows the sky. Our stargazing page explains.
14. Songs by the fire
- Who: Manganiyar musicians of the Thar, who have sung for their patrons for generations.
- The moment: a song with your names woven into the verse. Read about the Manganiyar singers.
15. A fort hotel of your own
- Where: Suryagarh, a modern fort hotel in Jaisalmer sandstone on the Sam road.
- Why: the golden fort by day and real quiet at night, with pools and a spa.
Somewhere wild
Nothing bonds two people like whispering at dawn while a leopard decides whether to stand up. A few wild nights give a honeymoon its best stories.
16. Leopards on granite at Jawai
- Where: the granite hills of Jawai, where leopards live among Rabari herders and their flocks.
- Stay: SUJAN JAWAI, a small tented camp, with drives at dawn and dusk and firelit dinners.
17. Tigers at Ranthambore
- Where: Ranthambore, with its ruined fort, lakes and tigers.
- Stay: Aman-i-Khas, SUJAN Sher Bagh or The Oberoi Vanyavilas. Our journal on Jawai or Ranthambore helps you choose.
18. A balloon at dawn
- Where: over the hills and villages around Amer, north of Jaipur, in the cool months.
- Read: our journal on ballooning over Jaipur. Keep a spare morning in case the wind says no.
19. A ride at dawn
- Where: from a village fort such as Rohet Garh, on Marwari horses past Bishnoi hamlets and grazing blackbuck.
- Who: confident riders, or beginners at a walk with a groom alongside.
Hill palaces and quiet forts
Between the great cities lie palaces on hills and forts in villages, where the only noise at night is a peacock on the wall.
20. A marble hill palace
- Where: RAAS Devigarh, an eighteenth-century palace of the Delwara nobles, restored with minimal marble interiors, about 28 kilometres from Udaipur.
- Why: design, calm and views over the Aravalli valley. It is how our Udaipur romance journey ends.
21. Dinner by a lamplit stepwell
- Where: Rawla Narlai, a seventeenth-century hunting lodge below a granite hill crowned by a white stone elephant.
- The moment: the steps of an old well lit with hundreds of lamps, and dinner for two at the bottom.
22. A warrior fort on a hill
- Where: Alila Fort Bishangarh, on a granite hill about an hour and a half north of Jaipur.
- Why: drama, silence and sunsets from the battlements.
23. The great wall of Kumbhalgarh
- Where: Kumbhalgarh, whose walls run for kilometres over the hills of Mewar.
- The moment: a walk on the ramparts in the late light, with hardly anyone else in sight.
Small, slow and secret
Some couples want the opposite of grand. For them we suggest the small towns where Rajasthan still feels like it did when our grandparents were young.
24. A haveli roof in Bundi: dinner under the lit palace of Bundi, in a family house with a handful of rooms and no car in the lane.
25. A painted bedroom in Shekhawati: wake among frescoes in the painted towns. Our journal on the best havelis to stay in lists our favourites.
- 26. A lake palace in Dungarpur: Udai Bilas Palace, still the former royal family's home, with birds on the lake and almost no other visitors.
- 27. The painted palace of Samode: a night at Samode Palace, with its Sheesh Mahal seen by lamplight.
- Why small works: fewer people, slower days and more conversation with your hosts. It is a different kind of luxury, and many couples prefer it.
Things to do together
The honeymoons couples remember are full of small shared things: a meal you cooked, a scarf you printed, a song with your names in it.
28. Cook together: a lesson in a family kitchen, then eat what you made on the roof. See our haveli cooking class.
29. Dress the Rajasthani way: a sari or lehenga for her, a tied safa turban for him, for one evening's dinner. Our page on turban tying explains the styles.
- 30. A miniature portrait: an artist in Udaipur paints the two of you in the Rajput miniature style from a photograph. See miniature painting.
- Henna for the bride: a mehndi artist comes to your room. Our mehndi page explains the art and its meanings.
- Print your own: a morning with a block-printing family in Bagru, each of you carving a pattern for the other.
- A spa afternoon: many palace hotels have excellent spas. Our spa and ayurveda page explains what to expect.
- Jewellery, carefully: Jaipur is a great gem city, but we take you only to family jewellers we have known for decades, never to commission showrooms.
Where to stay, by mood
The hotel shapes a honeymoon more than any sight. These are the pairings we suggest when couples describe how they want to feel.
Ask for the right room: a lake view in Udaipur, a garden room in Jaipur, a tent facing open desert. We choose each room with care.
Facts to know
- Fairy tale
- Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur
- Grand and royal
- Rambagh, Umaid Bhawan
- Space and calm
- The Oberoi Udaivilas, The Oberoi Rajvilas
- Wild
- SUJAN JAWAI, Aman-i-Khas
- Under the stars
- The Serai, Manvar
- Hidden away
- RAAS Devigarh, Rawla Narlai
- Mix grand and small: one palace, one family fort and one camp makes a richer honeymoon than three palaces in a row.
- End somewhere calm: a hill palace or a lake hotel for the last two nights, so you go home rested.
- Compare the hotels: our guides to luxury hotels in Udaipur and luxury hotels in Jaipur set them side by side.
When to go, and which festivals to catch
Rajasthan's calendar is full of festivals about marriage, which makes it a lovely place to begin one. Time it well and a whole city celebrates around you.
Gangaur: in March or April, married women pray to the goddess Gauri for a long and happy marriage, with processions in Jaipur and boats on Pichola in Udaipur.
Teej: in the monsoon, women celebrate the reunion of Parvati and Shiva in green and leheriya, with swings in the trees and ghevar in every sweet shop.
Facts to know
- Best months
- October to March
- Most popular
- November, December and February
- Coldest nights
- December and January, especially in the desert
- Monsoon
- July to September, best in Udaipur
- Too hot
- April to June, except for the hills
- Diwali: in October or November, cities glow with lamps. Lovely, but hotels fill early.
- Holi: in March, joyful and messy. We arrange it in a private garden with friendly families, never in a crowd.
- Christmas and New Year: the busiest weeks of the year. Book very early, or come in late January instead.
- Dates move: festivals follow the lunar calendar, so we confirm the dates each year. See our best time to visit guide.
Three honeymoon shapes we love
These are the routes our couples choose most often. Every one can be stretched, shortened or turned around.
Eight nights: palace, desert, lake
- Route: two nights in Jaipur, three around Jaisalmer including a desert camp, and three on Lake Pichola.
- The journey: Rajasthan for Two.
Ten nights: palaces and leopards
- Route: three nights in Jaipur, two in Jodhpur, two at Jawai and three in Udaipur.
- The journey: Rajasthan honeymoons.
Nine nights: lake to dunes
- Route: four nights in Udaipur, one at Narlai, one in Jodhpur and three around Jaisalmer.
- The journey: the Udaipur and Jaisalmer honeymoon.
Just four nights
- Route: three nights by the lake in Udaipur and one in a hill palace.
- The journey: Udaipur romance, four nights.
What most honeymooners miss
Couples tend to book the famous moments and skip the quiet ones. These are the small things we always slip into a honeymoon.
The first hour of light: Rajasthan is at its most beautiful just after sunrise. One early morning in each city, then sleep in on the others.
The rooftop at dusk: in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur, a rooftop at sunset with chai or a drink beats most planned outings.
- A walk with no plan: an hour wandering the old city lanes with a guide a few steps behind, stopping wherever you like.
- The temple bells: an evening aarti at a small neighbourhood temple, watched quietly from the back.
- The long lunch: a palace garden in the heat of the day, with nowhere to be until four.
- Saying thank you: to the boatman, the driver, the cook. Our money and tipping guide explains what is usual.
- Doing nothing: a whole free day by the pool at the end of the journey, before the flight home.
Good to know before you go
A few local customs and practical points help a honeymoon run smoothly. Our grandmother would want you to know them.
Affection in public: Rajasthan is warm but conservative. Holding hands is fine. Kissing in temples, villages and old city lanes is best kept for the hotel.
Dress: shoulders and knees covered in temples and villages. A light scarf solves almost everything.
- Photo shoots: many monuments need permission for professional cameras, tripods and drones. Tell us if you plan a shoot, and we arrange what is allowed.
- Temples: shoes off, leather sometimes not allowed, and no photographs of deities without permission. Our temple etiquette guide explains.
- Alcohol: served in most hotels, but not in holy towns such as Pushkar, and not on dry days. See dry days and alcohol.
- Pacing: couples who try to see everything argue in the car. Couples who see half of it come home happier.
Local tip
If you want to propose to each other again on the trip, or renew a promise, tell us. A quiet blessing on a terrace at dusk takes an afternoon to arrange and stays with you forever. See vow renewals.
Who a Rajasthan honeymoon suits
Rajasthan suits most couples beautifully. It suits a few less well, and it is kinder to say so before you book.
Romantics: lake palaces, sunset boats and lamplit dinners. Udaipur alone could fill a week.
The curious: forts, bazaars, crafts and stories in every town. You will never run out of things to talk about.
- Adventurers: dunes, leopards, tigers and dawn rides. Mix in two wild places and the honeymoon becomes an expedition.
- Food lovers: palace kitchens, street food walks and family cooking. Our food guide is the place to start.
- Less suited: couples who want a beach and nothing else. For them, we suggest a week here followed by a few days by the sea, and our journal on Rajasthan or Kerala helps you weigh it up.
How we plan a honeymoon
Every honeymoon starts with a long conversation, usually over a video call, often with a lot of laughter.
We listen first: to what you both love, what you are dreading and how much you want to do.
We suggest a shape: three or four bases, the ideas from this list that fit you, and the right room in each hotel.
- We look after the rest: a private chauffeur, local guides, flights where they save time and a planner on WhatsApp.
- No packages, no prices here: we quote after that first conversation, once we know what you want.
- Surprises welcome: if one of you is planning a surprise for the other, we keep every message private. Read our journal on proposal ideas in Udaipur.