Why this route works for children
The usual order, turned around: most tours are designed for adults who like monuments. Children like them too, for about forty minutes, then want to climb, ride or see an animal.
Every day: one big thing to do with the body, one story to hear, and a good stretch of time to do nothing at all.
A gentle curve: from the pink walled city of Jaipur to the blue city of Jodhpur, through the granite leopard country of Jawai, up to Kumbhalgarh and down to the lakes of Udaipur.
- Nights
- Ten, in five places
- Pace
- One long drive, then short hops with afternoons free
- Best months
- October to March
- Good for
- Active families, children about six to sixteen
- Starts
- Jaipur
- Ends
- Udaipur
- Jaipur: the city of the astronomer-king who measured the stars with buildings.
- Jodhpur: the desert kingdom of the Rathores, whose fort rises straight out of a cliff.
- Kumbhalgarh: the hill fortress where the infant prince of Mewar was hidden from an assassin, and where Maharana Pratap, the great hero of Rajasthani schoolbooks, was born.
- Udaipur: the city his father built on the water.
- History without a book: by the end, a child can tell you who fought whom, and why the forts are on hills.
- Kind distances: after the one long day from Jaipur to Jodhpur, no drive is more than about three hours, and each ends somewhere with space: a palace garden, a camp among the rocks, a hillside with a pool.
- Never two moves in a row: without a reason. We time drives so children sleep in the car after lunch rather than sit in it all morning.
- Animals, seen the right way: we don't book elephant rides or any show that uses wild animals.
- What you will see: leopards at a respectful distance with naturalists who know them by name, blackbuck beside Bishnoi villages, crocodiles on the Jawai reservoir, camels led by the families who raised them, langurs on the ramparts and peacocks on the lawns.
- How we choose: our page on ethical animal encounters.
Day by day, at a child's pace
- Jaipur to Jodhpur
- Five to six hours, the longest day
- Jodhpur to Osian
- About ninety minutes
- Jodhpur to Jawai
- About three hours
- Jawai to Kumbhalgarh
- About two and a half hours
- Kumbhalgarh to Udaipur
- About two and a half hours
Days 1 to 3: Jaipur, kites, puppets and a giant sundial
Arrival: at Jaipur International Airport, or by fast train or road from Delhi. Our planner meets you at the door.
An empty first afternoon: children run on the lawns, find the peacocks, swim and go to bed early. That first long sleep pays for itself all week.
Amber at opening: we walk up the old ramparts of Amber Fort or drive to the upper gate by jeep, and never use the elephants.
- What children love at Amber: the Sheesh Mahal, where one match lights a ceiling full of stars, and the narrow passages of the zenana, a maze built for hide-and-seek.
- A puzzle in stone: the stepwell of Panna Meena ka Kund next door, with criss-crossing stairs that seem to go on for ever.
- Nahargarh at sunset: after lunch, a rest and a swim, drive up to Nahargarh Fort and watch the pink grid turn gold.
- Balloons at dawn: in the cooler months hot-air balloons lift off near Amer, weather allowing, over villages and mustard fields. Operators set age and height limits, which we check for your children.
- Printing in Bagru: in Bagru a printing family lets children stamp their own scarf or tote bag with hand-carved wooden blocks.
- Jantar Mantar near midday: at the Jantar Mantar the great sundial's shadow visibly creeps across its scale.
- Evening: a kathputli puppet show and street food in the open courtyard of Masala Chowk beside the lit Albert Hall.
- For older children: a dawn cycle ride through the old city before the traffic wakes, past milk sellers, temple bells and shuttered bazaars. The best way we know to understand how the lanes fit together.
Days 4 and 5: Jodhpur, ziplines and the dunes at Osian
The long drive: Jaipur to Jodhpur, about five to six hours, with a picnic or a roadside chai, arriving for a late lunch and an afternoon in the pool.
Or the train: a good alternative between the two cities, and children love the station chaos and the chai sellers at the window.
First mirchi bada: at the clock tower market, the fat fried chilli of Jodhpur that is much milder than it looks.
- Mehrangarh at opening: climb through gates scarred by cannonballs at Mehrangarh, stopping at the small handprints by Loha Pol to tell their story quietly.
- The museum: the armoury, the howdahs and the cradles hold children better than any painting.
- The Flying Fox: a run of six ziplines over the walls, battlements and lakes on the fort's northern side. Riders must meet age, height and weight rules, which we confirm for each child.
- For younger ones: the trails of the Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park, looking for lizards and birds among the volcanic rock.
- Osian at sunset: about ninety minutes north to Osian, where old temples sit at the edge of real desert. Children ride camels led by village herders onto low dunes, then eat around a fire.
- A night on the sand: families can sleep at a tented camp near Osian instead, and we adjust the next day.
Days 6 and 7: Jawai, leopards on the granite
The Bishnoi villages: early, south through the Bishnoi villages, where a community has protected trees and animals as a matter of faith since 1485.
Potters and blackbuck: children meet potters at their wheels and see blackbuck grazing near the houses, unafraid.
On to Jawai: about three hours, arriving for lunch, a rest and the first evening leopard drive.
- Not a national park: Jawai is farmland, villages and granite hills full of caves, and the leopards live among the people.
- The last hour of light: leopards climb onto the rocks to look over their territory, and can be seen clearly against the stone.
- The drives: around three hours in open jeeps with a naturalist and a local tracker. Camps set their own rules on young children, and we check before booking.
- Sundowner: on a granite outcrop, with the reservoir below and a fire crackling.
- Day seven: a dawn drive and breakfast in the bush, then a walk with a Rabari herding family and their flock.
- The herders: men in white with red turbans and women in heavy silver, who can tell from a pugmark which leopard passed in the night.
- The reservoir: mugger crocodiles bask on the banks and, in winter, bar-headed geese graze the fields. One last drive at dusk, then dinner by the fire.
Day 8: Kumbhalgarh, a night inside the great wall
Into the Aravallis: about two and a half hours east from Jawai to a hillside hotel below the fort by early afternoon.
Up at four: the wall runs for some 36 kilometres over the ridges, and children who walk a stretch usually announce it is better than the Great Wall of China.
- Badal Mahal: the palace of clouds, for the late light.
- Panna Dhai's story: the nurse who saved the baby prince Udai Singh by putting her own son in his bed, and carried him to safety in a basket of fruit. Children never forget it.
- After dark: a light and sound show in Hindi, which our guide translates in whispers, then the walls and bastions lit against the black hills.
- Bring a warm layer: the hilltop is cold on winter nights.
Days 9 to 11: Udaipur, boats, palaces and a puppet museum
Sunrise on the wall: for families who like early starts, when mist often fills the valleys.
To Udaipur: about two and a half hours south after breakfast, and an afternoon by the pool.
A private boat: on Lake Pichola in the hour before sunset, past the Lake Palace and the stone elephants of Jag Mandir, as the City Palace turns from cream to amber.
- City Palace at opening: climb the City Palace to the peacock mosaics of Mor Chowk before the crowds.
- Fountains and cars: Saheliyon ki Bari, which children enjoy more than they expect, and the late Maharanas' vintage car collection, which they enjoy exactly as much as they expect.
- Puppets: Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal, the city's folk-art museum, has a fine collection.
- The ropeway: climbs Machhla Magra to the Karni Mata temple for a view over the lake.
- Brass pots: in the evening the folk dancers at Bagore ki Haveli balance tall stacks on their heads.
- The last morning: a slow breakfast, a final swim and a short drive to Maharana Pratap Airport at Dabok for Delhi or Mumbai and home.
Where you'll stay, and why each suits a family
Jaipur: Rambagh Palace or The Oberoi Rajvilas
Rambagh Palace: once the home of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II and Maharani Gayatri Devi. Children love its lawns, its peacocks and the polo ground next door.
- The Oberoi Rajvilas: 32 acres outside the city, like a walled village, calm and easy with small children.
- Jai Mahal Palace: with long Mughal gardens, a third family choice we like.
Jodhpur: Umaid Bhawan Palace or Bal Samand
- Umaid Bhawan Palace: a royal home with a hotel inside it, built between 1929 and 1943, with gardens, a famous Art Deco indoor pool and views to the fort. Grand without being stiff.
- Bal Samand Lake Palace: a red sandstone summer palace above its own lake, with orchards and gardens where children can roam.
Jawai: SUJAN JAWAI
SUJAN JAWAI: a camp of luxury tents among the granite, with excellent naturalists and a firm line on ethical safaris.
- What children remember: meals out among the rocks and evenings by the fire.
- The right tents: tell us your family's ages and we ask the camp for those that suit you.
Kumbhalgarh: a hillside hotel below the fort
A handful of resorts: heritage-style, on the slopes a few minutes from the fort gate, comfortable rather than grand, with gardens and pools.
- Their great virtue: you stay for the lit walls after dark and walk the rampart at sunrise without a long drive.
- A palace instead: RAAS Devigarh lies between the fort and Udaipur, though further from the evening show.
Udaipur: The Oberoi Udaivilas or a palace inside the palace
The Oberoi Udaivilas: gardens on the western shore of Pichola, with space to run and attentive staff.
- The Leela Palace Udaipur: next door.
- Inside history: Fateh Prakash Palace and Shiv Niwas Palace stand within the City Palace complex.
- Taj Lake Palace: magical, but its island suits families with older, calmer children best.
What each age loves most
Little ones, under seven
The formula: short outings, long naps and animals everywhere.
Animals to find: peacocks on the palace lawns, camels at Osian, pigeons at Badi Chaupar, crocodiles from a safe distance at Jawai.
- Monuments: an hour at most, with snacks and water, and the day built around a pool.
- Guaranteed hits: puppet shows and boats.
- Leopard drives: depend on the camp's rules. If young children can't join, one parent goes while the other stays for a lazy morning.
The middle years, seven to twelve
The golden age: for this journey.
- What they love: the hide-and-seek passages of Amber, the sundial at Jantar Mantar, block printing their own cloth, camel rides, the stories of Panna Dhai and the cannon at Mehrangarh.
- Ziplines: many are old enough.
- A notebook or a camera: ask them to keep a list of every animal they see. By Udaipur it runs to several pages.
Teenagers
Doing, not just seeing: the dawn cycle ride in Jaipur, the ziplines at Mehrangarh, a long walk on the Kumbhalgarh wall, photography on the leopard drives and an evening learning to tie a turban.
- A little independence: choosing a restaurant, or haggling politely in a bazaar with our guide close by.
- The best part: many tell us it was the conversations with the Rabari herders.
When to go, and how school holidays fit
October to March: warm, sunny days and cool nights.
Winter starts: pack hats, gloves and fleeces for open jeeps at Jawai and the ramparts at Kumbhalgarh.
- Season
- October to March
- Cold mornings
- December and January, in jeeps and on ramparts
- Busiest
- Christmas and New Year
- Kites
- Around 14 January in Jaipur
- Not for children
- May and June
- April
- Afternoons can pass 40°C
- Late February: the days warm up again, and the light is beautiful. Our best time to visit Rajasthan guide goes month by month.
- October half-term: often coincides with the Rajasthan International Folk Festival at Mehrangarh, and in some years with Diwali, when the bazaars are lit end to end.
- Christmas and New Year: the busiest weeks of the year, with the best palace rooms booked months ahead.
- Kite day: around 14 January, Makar Sankranti turns Jaipur's rooftops into a kite battle, and children who join in never forget it.
- Easter: possible but warm. We shorten the days, lean on early starts and pools, and may swap the order so you end in the hills.
- The monsoon: July to September is green and quiet, and Udaipur and Kumbhalgarh are beautiful in the rain, but Jawai drives can be cancelled by storms and some camps close.
Food, health and the small things that matter
Palace kitchens: cook beautifully for children, from plain dal and rice to pasta and pancakes, and every kitchen on this route is used to families.
Mild if you ask: Rajasthani food can be gentle.
Children's favourites: dal baati churma, crisp wheat rolls with lentils and a sweet crumble, plus parathas, kachori and the sweet, cold lassi of Jodhpur.
- The dishes explained: our Rajasthani food guide. Our guides know which street stalls are fresh and busy.
- Water and fruit: bottled or filtered water only, and fruit you can peel.
- Street food: eaten hot from the pan in the morning, never food that has been sitting.
- In every car: water, wipes, snacks and a basic first-aid kit.
- Doctors: good private hospitals are within reach of Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur, and our planners know the doctors who visit hotels.
- Vaccinations: speak to your own doctor well before you travel, and read our page on health and safety in Rajasthan.
- Sun and heat: the real risks, even in winter. Hats, sunscreen and plenty of water are non-negotiable on the forts.
- Monkeys: langurs and macaques on the walls are bold, so we teach children to keep food out of sight and never feed or touch them.
- Camels: rides on the dunes are short and led on foot.
- More for parents: our guide to travelling with children.
Make it yours: shorter, longer and different
Seven or eight nights
Drop Kumbhalgarh: drive from Jawai straight to Udaipur in about three hours.
- Or skip Jodhpur: fly from Jaipur to Udaipur, then add Jawai from there.
- The trade: you lose the ziplines or the great wall, but keep the leopards and the lakes.
Twelve or fourteen nights
Tigers: two nights at Ranthambore after Jaipur.
- Desert: a full night in a camp near Osian or at Manvar.
- A village fort: Rohet Garh gives children pony rides and farm life, and its Marwari horses are a joy for young riders.
Tigers instead of leopards
- Set on a tiger: our Jaipur, Ranthambore and Udaipur family journey is built around Ranthambore National Park, where tigers prowl among the ruins of an old fort.
- Both big cats: our Palaces and Tigers journey.
With grandparents
- Three generations: we slow the pace, add a night here and there, and choose hotels where everyone can be in one place.
- How we plan: our multi-generation journeys page.
Adding Delhi or Agra
Delhi: many families fly in there. Spend a night to rest, then take the fast train to Jaipur.
- The Taj Mahal: add a night in Agra before Jaipur.
- On the way: the Abhaneri stepwell, which children find astonishing.
How we look after your family
One private vehicle: spacious and air-conditioned for the whole journey, with child seats when you ask and room for a pushchair.
Guides good with children: they tell stories, keep visits short and know where the clean toilets are.
- Met at the door: at the airport or station, with help with bags at every hotel.
- Family rooms: connecting rooms or family suites wherever the hotel has them, booked well ahead for the holiday weeks.
- Trains and flights: trains where they save time and add fun, flights if you want to shorten the longer legs.
- Your planner on WhatsApp: answers quickly, changes plans when someone has a bad night and finds a doctor if you need one.
- No published prices: every family is different. We quote after one conversation about your children, your dates and how you like to travel.
Who will love this journey, and who won't
Active families: with children from about six to sixteen who like the outdoors and don't mind early starts for the best moments.
A mix: history, animals and adventure.
- Real people: for parents who want their children to meet printers, potters and herders, not only see buildings.
- Five hotels in ten nights: it works brilliantly for families who travel well together and are happy with that.
- Not ideal for: babies and toddlers who need one base and no long drives, or children whose main wish is a tiger.
- One base instead: stay longer in Jaipur and Udaipur only, with day trips.
- For tigers: choose the family journey through Ranthambore.
- Three generations, different energy: start with our family journeys overview and we'll help you choose.
What we tell parents before they come
One big thing a day: not three. Children remember the zipline, not the fourth temple.
Use the afternoons: between one and four the sun is strongest, so that is pool and nap time.
- Pack layers: winter mornings in an open jeep or on a fort wall are much colder than you expect.
- Give each child a job: animal spotter, photographer, keeper of the map. It turns long drives into a game.
- One greeting: khamma ghani, the Rajasthani hello. Shopkeepers and grandmothers light up when a child says it.
- Ask before photographing people: and encourage children to ask too. Most people say yes with a smile.
- Snacks out of sight on the forts: the monkeys know exactly what a crisp packet looks like.
