Ultimate India Itinerary – Taj Mahal, Jaipur, Jodhpur & Lake Palace Luxury Trip

Where? Rajasthan, India for a 9 day trip

Exactly? I was super lucky to be invited on the ultimate India tour by Taj Hotels, the owners of some of the most luxurious hotels in the world.

The itinerary? The usual India itinerary starts in Delhi, first stop Taj Mahal ending in Udaipur. But as some of the hotels were fully booked on the dates I could travel, we decided to do the trip in the opposite direction.

We’d already planned to fly straight to the Maldives for some beach time after the trip, so it actually worked out well for us. It’s quite a hectic and full on itinerary anyway so it’s important to schedule in some down time. So our trip started restful, got hectic in the middle and ended on the beach.

The Route

I highly recommend this route if you have time (8/9 days). Whether you decide to start in Delhi or Udaipur the amount of days we had in each destination is just perfect in order to see everything and not be too busy.

2x nights at The Taj Lake Palace – Udaipur (5/6 hour drive or 1 hour flight to next destination, Jodhpur)

2x nights at Umaid Bhawan the Taj hotel which is also partly home to the Maharaja of Jodhpur, The blue city. (5/6 hour drive to next destination, Jaipur)

3x nights at Taj Jai Mahal Palace, Jaipur, The Pink City and the location that has the most instagram sites. (5 hour drive or 1 hour flight to next destination, Agra)

1x night in Agra, literally in and out in order to see and shoot the Taj Mahal at sunrise. (4 hour drive to Delhi or a high speed train, but we found it easiest just to drive between each of our destinations.)

Ending in Delhi and the departing flight.

Here’s my Style Traveller photo diary of the hotels and the journey on the Ultimate Luxury Itinerary Through Rajasthan….

Being Chauffeured around in Style with Avis India

We travelled the whole route with our incredible chauffeur driven BMW 5 series which was sponsored by Avis India Car Rental. We had the same fantastic driver from when he met us at the airport, right through to the end of the trip.

I’ve had rental cars in India before as it’s the best way to travel between destinations as well as to individual sights. But I have to say, this one was super luxurious and the perfect oasis of calm and air conditioning to keep us out the beating sun and the intense hustle and bustle on the streets. Many times I was so pleased to see the car pulling up to pick us up and get out of the searing heat.

It was such a luxury and also doubled up as the perfect changing room for my several blogger outfit changes. The best bit is we could even book it on the Avis app before travelling which made life soooo much easier. So obviously we went for the biggest and most luxe car available :)

Bonnie wears blue dress from Shein

Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur

First stop Udaipur. Famed as the film set for the 1983 James Bond classic movie Octopussy, the floating palace has also hosted hundreds of dignitaries and celebrities over the years. From Jackie Kennedy to Hilary Clinton, Brad and Angelina to The Queen of England and practically every countries royal family to date.

Please click this link to see my full blog post all about the Taj Lake Palace.

Quite simply one of the most beautiful and instagram friendly hotels I have ever stayed at. The Taj Lake Palace floats elegantly above the calm waters of Lake Pichola. It’s a beautiful site to behold, inside and out.

To see a full review of my stay at the Lake Palace click this link. 

Pink dress above by Lovers and Friends at Revolve, below red asymmetric dress below from Little Mistress

Next stop Jodhpur…

Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur

Built between 1928 and 1943  Umaid Bhawan is one of the most impressive palaces in India and a jewel of modern Rajasthani architecture. Still the home to the Maharaja of Jodhpur, only part of the palace grounds are used as a hotel, it is the 6th largest private residence in the world.

Being awoken by the mesmerising sound of peacocks playing in the grounds at dawn, staying at Umaid Bhawan can only be described as waking up and finding that overnight you’ve turned into royalty. The view from each of the 77 beautifully appointed art deco suites and rooms is of the pristine, exquisitely manicured 26 acres of beautiful gardens and the estate.

The list of celebrity’s who’ve stayed at Umaid Bhawan is endless. From Prince Charles, Mick Jagger, Sting, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Christian Bale, Madonna. Through to Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas having their huge celebrity wedding here in December 18, some of their high profile guests included the actress who plays Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones who’s engaged to Joe Jonas.

Bonnie wears red dress from Shein
The main atrium of the palace is spectacular, an enormous entertaining space in the round, with the main dome of the palace towering above. The marble used to build Umaid Bhawan is the same marble that used in the Taj Mahal.

The Maharani suite at the hotel is one the largest and most impressive hotel rooms in the world. Being priced at £17,000 it ought to be. Complete with massage room, 16 wardrobe walk-in-wardrobe room, 10 person dining room and butlers and staff, check out my room tour over on IGTV and YouTube.

Maybe because the king of Jodhpur still lives here, staying here makes you feel like you’re royalty too. The guest to staff ratio must be insane, even at the breakfast buffet each guest is allocated a member of staff to help you pick your buffet items, so you don’t have to raise a finger!!!

Blue swimsuit and hat by Melissa Odabash

My favourite part of the trip was a super special private dinner that they created for Charlie and I up on the rooftop of the palace. With dancers, candles, flowers everywhere and the sun setting over the city it is literally one of the most romantic nights of my life. Thank you so much.

Charlie and I have a visit from the amazing Chef at dinner on the rooftop of the palace.

Bye bye Umaid Bhawan, next stop Jaipur….

Me and the gorgeous BMW 5 Series from Avis India – I’m so pleased and grateful that we had the chauffeur driven car throughout the trip. It made our incredibly long 5 and 6 hour journeys so much more bearable. It makes the whole trip, getting from sites to sites, to hotels an absolute dream.

Bonnie wears polka dot skirt and top by Shein

Jai Mahal Palace, Jaipur

Set over 18 acres of beautiful Mughal gardens, the Jai Mahal Palace built in 1745 has been the private residence of 3 prime ministers of Jaipur. Expertly restored and it is now a 5 star hotel with 94 rooms and suites in the heart of Jaipur.

The decorative interiors (see the hotels own peacock gate in the reception area below) are a pre cursor to the beautiful Mughal style decorations that await you in the bedrooms. Our suite even had a two seater Indian swing. Perfect for insta.The grounds are beautifully kept with a central pagoda in the courtyard. They decorated it for a wedding so I took the opportunity to quickly sneak in and take a few photos. Sorry bride!!

What’s great about the hotel is the location, its a mere 15 minute drive from the pink city, or the old town. So it’s close enough to visit but just the right distance to get a little peace and quiet outside of the hectic area.

Bonnie wears blue silk dress by Little Mistress 

I would highly recommend the newly decorated Jive Spa, which is built into a cluster of exotic tented buildings by the pool terrace. The couples massage was lovely and exactly what we needed after an intense day of sight seeing in town.

That’s all from Rajasthan for now. I just wanted to say a huge huge thank you to Taj hotels, Jai Mahal Palace, Umaid Bhawan and the Taj Lake Palace for letting me stay in the best hotels in India, it was an absolute dream come true for me. They are some of the best hotels I have ever stayed in, in my life. You literally made me feel like a real life Indian Princess for a week, so thank you!!

Also a huge thank to Avis Car Rental India for enabling me to travel around India in style. You guys really made my trip feel like a luxury journey, floating around Rajasthan in my slick, BMW magic carpet ride!!

Check in next time to see my list of the top 10 most instagrammable locations in Rajesthan, including the Taj Mahal and how to shoot it! And click here to see my full review of the stunning Taj Lake Palace Hotel.

Bon voyage xx