Rajasthan Multigenerational Family Holiday

Long-haul flights with children and older parents are tiring, so the first day is kept as gentle as possible. Our representative will be waiting outside the arrivals hall at Delhi airport, with a name board and enough hands to help with luggage, pushchairs and car seats. Your vehicle has already been fitted with any child seats you requested, and bottled water and a few snacks are on board. The drive to your hotel takes forty-five minutes to an hour, and your chauffeur will introduce himself properly on the way. He will be with you every day until Udaipur, so the children soon learn his name and his favourite cricket team.

Your hotel in Delhi has been chosen for its interconnecting rooms or family suites, a pool and a quiet garden, so that grandparents can rest while others swim off the jet lag. There is no sightseeing today. If everyone is awake in the evening, a short walk to a nearby market for a first taste of Indian street snacks, such as mild aloo tikki and sweet jalebi, is a good gentle start. Our tour manager will call in during the evening to answer questions, check on food preferences and give each family member a small welcome pack with a map of Rajasthan. 

Overnight stay in Delhi.

Today's tour of Delhi has been chosen with children in mind, and it starts at Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, the main Sikh shrine in the city centre. Heads are covered with scarves provided at the entrance, and after a walk around the golden-domed building and the holy pool, your guide takes you into the langar kitchen. Here volunteers cook dal and chapatis for thousands of people each day, free of charge, and children are usually invited to help roll dough or stir an enormous pot. Sitting cross-legged on the floor to share a simple meal with Delhi families is something children tend to remember long after the monuments have blurred.

After lunch, the Delhi family sightseeing continues at the National Rail Museum in Chanakyapuri (closed on Mondays), where steam locomotives, a royal saloon used by the Maharaja of Mysore and an old monorail stand in the open air. A small toy train runs around the grounds, and children can climb into several of the engines. Later, you stop at Agrasen ki Baoli, a fourteenth-century stepwell hidden between office blocks, with over a hundred steps descending into the earth; grandparents can enjoy the view from the top. The day finishes with ice cream on the lawns of India Gate as the lights come on. 

Overnight stay in Delhi.

You leave Delhi after breakfast and drive south-west on the highway towards Jaipur. About two hours out, the car turns off to Neemrana Fort Palace, a fifteenth-century hill fort built in stepped terraces and restored as a heritage hotel. Here the Flying Fox zip line course runs across the battlements and the valley below, with five lines of varying length. Children aged ten and above can take part with an adult, and the safety briefing is thorough. Grandparents can watch from the terraces with a pot of tea, or take a gentle walk through the fort's gardens and courtyards while the zip-liners fly overhead.

After lunch at the fort, you continue for about three and a half hours to Jaipur, arriving in the late afternoon. Your hotel is a heritage property with a pool, gardens and family rooms. In the evening, the family visits Chokhi Dhani, a recreated Rajasthani village on the southern edge of the city where puppet shows, magicians, camel and bullock cart rides, mehndi artists and folk dancers fill the lanes. Dinner here is a traditional thali served on leaf plates while sitting low on the floor, with tables available for anyone who finds that uncomfortable. Children usually go home with henna on their hands and a tired smile. 

Overnight stay in Jaipur.

Amber Fort is busiest in mid-morning, so you leave the hotel straight after breakfast and arrive soon after the gates open. Instead of the long climb, open jeeps carry the family up to the main courtyard, which is easy for older travellers. Your guide turns the visit into a game for younger children, setting them to find the tiny painted scorpions and flowers hidden in the marble of the Sheesh Mahal, where a single candle once lit the entire room through thousands of mirror pieces. The narrow stairs of the palace are optional, and benches in the Aram Bagh garden give grandparents a shady place to wait.

On the way back to the city, the car pauses at Jal Mahal, the water palace in the middle of Man Sagar Lake, for photos. After lunch, Jantar Mantar becomes an outdoor science class: your guide shows the children how the Samrat Yantra reads the time from its shadow, and lets them find their own star signs on the twelve zodiac instruments. Hawa Mahal is best seen from the café across the road, where everyone can count windows over a fresh lime soda. The late afternoon is free for the pool, and dinner can be taken at the hotel. 

Overnight stay in Jaipur.

Jaipur is famous across India for its kite-flying festival in January, and this morning your guide takes the family to the kite-makers of Haldiyon ka Rasta in the old city. Here, paper kites and wooden reels called charkhi are made by hand, and each child can choose a kite to take away. A local kite-flyer then leads a lesson on a flat rooftop overlooking the old city, teaching everyone how to launch, steer and cut a rival's string. Grandparents often turn out to be surprisingly skilled at this. A short walk through Bapu Bazaar follows, with stalls of colourful slippers, bangles and cotton quilts.

After lunch and a rest at the hotel, the evening is reserved for a film at the Raj Mandir Cinema, a 1970s art deco movie palace with pink meringue-style interiors and a sweeping lobby. Even though the Hindi films are shown without subtitles, the songs, dancing and loud audience reactions make it easy to follow. Your guide will book seats in the upper level and can explain the story at the interval. Before the show, a stop at Patrika Gate on Jawahar Circle gives you a beautiful painted archway for a family photograph. Dinner is at a family restaurant that serves both Rajasthani and continental dishes. 

Overnight stay in Jaipur.

After a relaxed breakfast you head south-east towards Sawai Madhopur, the town on the edge of Ranthambore National Park. The highway passes through farmland and small villages, and your chauffeur will make stops whenever someone needs a break; the Bunas river bridge and roadside stalls selling guavas and roasted peanuts are favourites. You arrive at your jungle lodge in time for lunch. Family lodges near the park have large gardens, swimming pools, cottages with extra beds and kitchens used to preparing mild dishes for children, so the stay here feels relaxed after the cities. Grandparents tend to appreciate the slower rhythm, with long lunches on a shaded verandah and birdsong instead of traffic.

At about 2:30 pm the open jeep collects you for your first afternoon safari, which lasts until sunset. Each six-seat gypsy carries your family, a naturalist and a park guide, which means you can stop as long as you like at a sighting. Ranthambore is one of the best parks in India for seeing tigers in daylight, but even without them, there are spotted deer, sambar, peacocks, langur monkeys and mugger crocodiles in the lakes. Children under five may find the three-hour safari long, so the lodge can arrange babysitting if parents prefer. A campfire with stories about the park's famous tigresses ends the day. 

Overnight stay in Ranthambore.

The morning safari starts early, at around 6:30 am in winter and earlier in summer, so the lodge hands out warm blankets, hot chocolate and packed breakfasts for the jeep. Mornings are often the best time to find tigers on the move, and the old ruined chhatris, banyan trees and lakes of Rajbagh and Padam Talao make wonderful backdrops for photographs. Your naturalist will teach the children to listen for the alarm calls of sambar and langurs, which often warn of a tiger nearby, and to spot pugmarks in the dust. Zones are allotted by the forest department, so each safari will cover a different route.

After a late breakfast, the family visits the Ranthambore School of Art, where local artists paint tigers and other wildlife to raise awareness of conservation. Children can take a short painting lesson and bring home their own tiger on handmade paper. Grandparents who prefer to rest can stay at the lodge, read by the pool or enjoy an Ayurvedic massage. The afternoon safari offers one more chance to see the big cats, or the family may decide to send only the keenest members and let the others stay at the lodge. Dinner tonight is a barbecue in the lodge garden. 

Overnight stay in Ranthambore.

This is the longest drive of the trip, so it starts early and is broken into easy sections with plenty of stops. The route runs west through Tonk and Ajmer, and after about four hours you reach Pushkar, a small holy town built around a sacred lake surrounded by fifty-two bathing ghats. Your guide will lead a short, flat walk to the Brahma Temple, one of very few in India dedicated to the creator god, and then down to the water's edge, where pigeons and priests share the steps. Lunch is at a rooftop café overlooking the lake, serving pizzas, falafel and Indian dishes that please every age group.

After lunch, the drive continues for another four hours across the open countryside of Marwar to Jodhpur, with stops for tea and stretching legs. Your chauffeur may bring out a list of road games or a playlist of Bollywood songs to keep the children busy. You arrive in Jodhpur in the early evening and check in to a heritage hotel with a pool and views of Mehrangarh Fort, lit up in gold on the hill above the city. After a long day on the road, dinner is served at the hotel, and an early night is recommended for everyone. 

Overnight stay in Jodhpur.

Mehrangarh is a fort built for drama, rising straight up from a cliff above the blue houses of the old city, and it is also one of the easiest forts in Rajasthan for older visitors, thanks to a lift that runs from the lower gate to the palace level. Your guide shows the family the cannonball marks on the outer walls, the royal cradles in the museum, and the gallery of elephant howdahs, including one in silver. The Moti Mahal and Phool Mahal show how the royal court once lived. Out on the ramparts, the children can spot the giant cannons and look down on the Jodhpur blue city spreading in every direction.

For teenagers and adults with a taste for adventure, the Flying Fox zip line at Mehrangarh offers six lines that fly over the walls, lakes and towers of the fort. The course takes about ninety minutes and is suitable for anyone over ten; grandparents can enjoy a cool drink at the café in the fort courtyard. In the late afternoon, the family walks around Sardar Market at the foot of the clock tower, where the famous Omelette Shop has been serving egg sandwiches for decades. A sweet saffron lassi from a nearby shop is the perfect end to the day. 

Overnight stay in Jodhpur.

After breakfast, the car heads south through the Aravalli hills towards Udaipur, with a stop at Ranakpur at around midday, when the Jain temple opens to non-Jain visitors. The main Adinath temple is built entirely from white marble and supported by a forest of carved columns; the guides like to say that no one has ever counted them correctly, which children always want to test. Look for the carving of a single body with five heads near the entrance, and the column that leans slightly, said to be left that way on purpose. The temple is cool and calm inside, and the floors are smooth and easy to walk on for older visitors.

After lunch at a resort near the temple, where children can play on the lawns, the road winds through forested hills for about two hours to Udaipur. Monkeys often sit by the roadside, and your chauffeur will slow down so everyone can watch them. Your hotel in Udaipur is a lakeside or garden property with family rooms and a pool. After the long drive, the evening is free. If energy remains, a stroll along the lakeside promenade at Fateh Sagar, where families gather to eat corn on the cob and ride the small boats, is a pleasant way to start your time in the city. 

Overnight stay in Udaipur.

Your last full day begins at the City Palace, the largest palace complex in Rajasthan, which the Mewar royal family has held for more than four centuries. Your guide keeps the route to the main courtyards and the best rooms, avoiding the steepest stairs, and points out the glass peacocks of Mor Chowk and the painting of the legendary horse Chetak, who carried Maharana Pratap from battle. Children usually enjoy the room of old toys and the views of the lake from the balconies. Afterwards, Shilpgram, a crafts village outside the city, offers potters, weavers, folk musicians and camel rides in a relaxed, open setting.

In the late afternoon, a boat takes the family out on Lake Pichola, passing the white Lake Palace hotel and stopping at Jag Mandir, an island palace with stone elephants guarding its steps. As the sun sets over the hills, the lake turns orange and the city's ghats glow. In the evening, you attend the Dharohar folk show at Bagore ki Haveli, where puppets dance, a woman balances up to eleven brass pots on her head, and the music is lively enough to keep even the youngest awake. A farewell family dinner at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the lake completes the holiday. 

Overnight stay in Udaipur.

Breakfast is unhurried this morning, and if your flight is not until later, there is time for a last swim or a walk to the ghats for a few final photographs. Your chauffeur will drive the family to Udaipur's Maharana Pratap Airport, about forty minutes from the city, in good time for your domestic flight to Delhi. This is the moment to say goodbye to the man who has driven you across Rajasthan, and children often leave him a drawing or a note. The flight to Delhi takes about an hour and a half, and our team will have already checked your baggage allowances.

On arrival in Delhi, our representative meets you at the domestic terminal and helps the family move to the international terminal or to a hotel near the airport if your onward flight leaves the following night. If there is a long gap between flights, a day room can be booked so that everyone can shower, rest and repack. Our Jaipur office stays in touch until you are checked in. We hope that the grandparents, parents and children have all found their own favourite moments in Rajasthan, and that the stories from this trip are told at family gatherings for many years to come.