If you are planning a Jaipur trip with family and do not want
to rush then 3 Nights and 4 Days is necessary. However, most people are only able
to manage 3 Nights-2 days and to me that is too short to cover a place as
gorgeous and full of activities as jaipur, but sometimes when you are
travelling and wanting to cover a country that is the maximum you can spend at
one location. So here are some suggestions to make the most of your time.
When travelling with the family, picking the right
location to stay is very important. It will be great to stay on the M.I.
Road as there are many restaurants here as well it leads to most of the
historical sites. If that does not work out then you may look at hotels on The
JLN Marg or Tonk Road- again 2 major roads that run through the city and have
great connectivity and loads of hotels in every budget and every category possible.
DAY1:
Assuming you reach by 11 a.m.- change, grab a quick bite at the hotel leave
for your sightseeing tour by 1:00 p.m.
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| HAWA MAHAL |
Second Stop: JANTAR
MANTAR: This is an 18th
century Observatory and is great for those who have not been to The Jantar
Mantar at Delhi. The architecture is very interesting and its a great learning
/educational experience. There are audio guides available at the ticket counter
in various languages, must take one if you are not taking a guide otherwise
nothing will make sense!
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| JANTAR MANTAR |
CITY PALACE
OF JAIPUR: If you still have time and energy left you can cover The
city palace. The City palace is a great mix of traditional Rajasthani &
Mughal Architecture. Withinthe City Palace, you can see the textile and costume
museum, arms and armour museum, art gallery and hall of public and private
audience. Please Note: The City Palace and S.M.S II Museum. Opening Hours: 9:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Again they have great audio guides in many languages and it
makes a lot of sense to take one and then tour the palace. Read more about City
Palace on my tripadvisor review page:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g304555-d324468-r25078887-City_Palace_of_Jaipur-Jaipur_Rajasthan.html
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| CITY PALACE |
If you are tired with all the sight-seeing then you can move
to your hotel, order room service and take a Nap.
M.I. ROAD
FOR DINNER: Later in the
evening if you are not interested in ordering at the hotel, you can explore one
of the many restaurants of
M.I. Road
for Dinner. Some suggestions, in no order of preference: Niros (Non-Veg), Handi (Non Veg), Copper Chimney (Non Veg), Moti Mahal
Deluxe (Non-Veg), Dasaprakasa (Veg), Niros (Non Veg), Surya Mahal (Veg), Natraj
(Veg) and for the non experimental types we also have KFC
& McDonalds at M.I. road.
For fine dining, go to the end of M.I. road to Country Inn & Suites- and
try one of the 4 restaurants there- Chinese/ Indian/ multi-cuisine coffee shop
or The Lebanese Lounge. For great dining options read the section on EATING
OUT/
http://thejaipurguide.blogspot.in/search/label/food%20guide%20jaipur
DAY 2:
AMBER FORT: Start
your day early (appropriately and start with Amber Fort. Here you and your family can enjoy an Elephant ride.
You can leave your car/ taxi at the lower parking area and take an elephant all
the way up to The Amber Fort. The ride costs approx INR 1000 for one Elephant
(2 persons can fit in one Elephant) and those are one way charges i.e. just to
go up, to come back you will have to shell out the same amount. If you are not interested in the elephant
ride and don’t want to walk all the way up there is a way to go all the way
up-to the main entrance.
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| AMBER FORT |
STOP 3: NAHARGARH
FORT: Nahargarh is mostly in ruins and is no-where as grand
as Amber but if you are very keen on history then go ahead and see Nahargarh.
However if you have had your dose of forts then skipping Nahargarh is perfectly
OK.
JAL MAHAL: After
the dose of Forts, drive down to Jal Mahal. Jal Mahal also known as "The
Water Palace" for a photo session. The Jal Mahal is a palace located in
the middle of the Man Sagar Lake. The palace and the lake around it were
renovated and enlarged in the 18th century by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Amber.
The palace is being converted into a resort and will very soon open to general
public via a boat ride.
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| JAL MAHAL |
If you have missed
the City Palace on Day 1, you can cover it after Jal Mahal. Refer to more
details on city palace on day1 part of the itinerary.
By the time you finish the Forts & Palace, it will time
for lunch. Now there are 2 ways to go about it:
ONE- The Touristy way, where you stay close to the sightseeing area
and go to a place like LMB (Laxmi Mishthan Bhandar) or one of the many
restaurants at M.I. Road. (Moti Mahal Deluxe (Non-Veg), Dasaprakasa (Veg),
Niros (Non Veg), Surya Mahal (Veg), Natraj (Veg), Handi (Non Veg), KFC,
McDonalds etc.)
LMB: I personally
feel, this is over-rated. The Ghevar is great here but the food on the whole is
average. However its located very close to the main sight-seeing stuff, so one
can grab a quick lunch and get going. Read more about LMB on my tripadvisor
review page:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g304555-d2073244-r115744520-Laxmi_Mishthan_Bhandar_LMB_Restaurant-Jaipur_Rajasthan.html
TWO- U can relax
a bit and go for a nice leisurely lunch at a great food place. Read the section
on Eating Out/ Recommendations; also see the pictures of each of the suggested
places and take a call accordingly.
After lunch, I
strongly recommend a nap. So go back to the hotel and chill for a bit. But
if you don’t want to head back, shopping is an option.
BAPU BAZAR: Go
to Bapu Bazar for souvenirs, quilts, bangles, cotton kurtis and suits, knick-knacks,
mojaries (the typical rajasthani footwear), cheap jewellery, puppets,
handicraft items etc. Make sure you bargain & haggle to get the best deal! The
shops here are open till about 8:30p.m/ 9:00p.m. You can also find henna
(mehendi) artistes sitting by the road and can get a henna tattoo done on one
hand for approximately 100 Rupees.
If you want more shopping go to Saraogi
Mansion at the entry of Bapu Bazar and you will find all the big Saree
Emporiums- Nikhaar fashions, Pratapsons, Utsav etc here. At the basement level of
Saraogi Mansion are many stores selling beautiful footwear, handbags, bangles,
nightwear and cosmetics.
For more on shopping and bazaars read shopping section.
For any shopping related queries or
personalised shopping assistance and a shopping tour with a guide, write to me
on anubanerjee@hotmail.com
THE LIGHT & SOUND SHOW (SONNET
LUMINAIRE JAIPUR): This
is a unique experience by itself! The Light & Sound show at Amber- The
sonnet luminaire is a wonderful thing to do with family. The show is set at the
base of amber fort- known as Kesar Kyari; with the panoramic view of the Amber
Fort & Palace Complex in the backdrop, the rising Jaigarh on the left, the
hills at the back. It runs on daily basis at 6:30 pm (Hindi Language ) and in
English at 07:30 pm This show is for 50 minutes & approx Tariff for Indian
Nationals is Rs.100 and Foreign Nationals Rs.200.
Post shopping, you can explore one of the many wonderful restaurants.
Below are a few places you can look at as dinner options. For more details and pictures visit the section on eating out.
Saffron at Marriot
for wonderful Rajasthani & Awdhi cuisine
1135 Ad for a
royal ambience and typical rajasthani pre-fixed menu
Steam at The Rambagh
Palace for a quiet evening at an unique ambience with global food
Spice Court- for
a not very expensive dinner with a large selection of Rajasthani Fare. You can
also find a few continental selections here and in winters there are cultural
shows or puppets shows every evening.
Dragon House at The
Country Inn & Suites: Although many restaurants serve Chinese but the
most authentic one is DRAGON HOUSE: Country Inn & Suites, Khasa Kothi
Circle, M.I. Rd. Slightly expensive but worth every penny. The ambiance is very
oriental and the food delectable.
Peshawari at Rajputana
Sheraton: This is a high end Restaurant. An average meal for 3 without
drinks will cost you INR 3000+ taxes. The Menu is not very elaborate but the
food and ambience amazing.
Handi: I have
been going to Handi for the past 10 yrs now. This was one of the only non-veg
places (apart from Niros) jaipur had till just a few years back. HANDI is a
place for the non-pretentious. It is no fine dining restaurant and do not go
with that expectation. It spells, Good Food at a great price at the heart of
the city! Read more about Handi on: http://www.handirestaurant.com/Default.htm
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/rajasthan/jaipur/restaurants/indian/handi-restaurant
