Guide to visit Jodhpur & Jaisalmer in 4 days

Hi readers, I am Aiswarya. I have a 9 to 7 job and love travelling. This post is to help anyone visit jodhpur and Jaisalmer on a budget. On a budget is highly subjective. In my case, this number was roughly Rs. 20,000-25,000 (including shopping). To start, I visited both the cities in Feb'23. However ideal months to travel would be between Nov-March. Post which it tends to get really hot. This post will cover day-wise itinerary, cost, accommodations, things to see, eat.

Day 1: Arrived at Jodhpur airport, took an auto to Zostel Jodhpur. Auto rides from the airport are generally expensive. The range should be between 300-350 INR. Arrived at Zostel Jodhpur, freshened up a bit. Most autos in Jodhpur would take you around the whole city and the price should range between 1500-1800 INR per day. We took an auto and started off with Mehrangarh fort. I would suggest keeping around 2-3 hrs to explore as the fort is humongous and you would get lost in the history of the fort :). It's best to have a tour guide along as it would get easier in the exploration of the fort. Post this, we stopped for lunch and had some amazing dal bati churma and beer. We then headed out to see Jaswanth Tada and Umaid Bhavan which closes at 5pm, clicked some photos by which it was sunset time. We had asked our auto driver to take us to a sunset viewpoint where we experienced one of the most magical sunset of our lives. We then went to get some shopping done (getting Bandhani and Leheriya style kurtis). Post which we headed back to our Zostel for dinner and called it a night.

Day 2 - We left for Jaisalmer at 6am (Booked a bus via redbus). The bus journey was close to 5 hours. Reached Jaisalmer at 11am. Dropped our luggage in a nearby hotel (we weren't staying at the hotel as we had opted to camp in the desert during our time), took an auto and headed out to visit the Jaisalmer Fort. Keep aside 3-4 hrs to visit the fort with a tour guide. The fort aka 'Sonar Kila' engulfs you with the history it has to offer. After completing the fort, we had our lunch in the fort. Left for our desert camping in the Sam Sand Dunes (still gives me goosebumps thinking about the dunes). Spend the night there as it'll be one of the best experiences that you would have had of your life. We made a booking to 'Sunrise Desert Resort' via makemytrip for an overnight stay at a luxury tent. The services that it includes are 2 meals - Dinner and next day breakfast. Camel Ride, Jeep Safari, and a night of Rajasthani cultural folklore. Cost for two was around 3500 INR

Day 3 - Wake up to your hair filled sandd...Just kidding :P. After having a heavy and a hearty breakfast at the campsite, we left for Patwon ki Haveli. We had used the services of the same guide who showed us around Jaisalmer Fort as well. (It's always handy to keep numbers of local tour guides ready in case you miss checking out a place). Post which we had some delicious Rajasthani thali and lassi. Later we hopped onto a bus back to Jodhpur and arrived at 7pm. At this time, we had booked our accommodation at Zostel once again. We had dinner at the Zostel and ended the day.

Day 4 - We kept the last day of our trip very light. Started off with having some breakfast at Jhankar Choti Haveli - a 2 min walk from Zostel. We had some pancakes and cold coffee. Later we went to Arora Chat Bandar and had their Palak Chaat with some lassi. A must try joint. They also have their kachori chat which is quite a bestseller among the crowd. Later we visited Toorji ka Jhalra - a stepwell to chill for a bit. You'll see a lot of boys swimming in the stepwell after finishing their school. Infact you can even strike a conversation with one of them, they're adorable! After visiting the stepwell, we stopped for lunch once again at Jhankar Choti Haveli before we left for the airport.

Before ending the post, just a few tips to keep in mind if you are planning on visiting Rajasthan

1. The weather can get super-hot - make sure you are always carrying a water bottle with you and keep sipping on it.

2. Carry your sunscreen, sunglasses, a shawl to protect yourself from the intense heat and sunburns.

3. Keep odomos and some first aid ready with you at all times

To sum it up, every nook and corner of Rajasthan oozes hospitality. There are people willing to help you out whenever you need help, all you have to do is ask for it. Hope this blog post helped you in planning your itinerary for the trip :))