14 daysIndiaAges 18–40
14 days · Delhi, Varanasi & Udaipur
Rajasthan & Varanasi is a 14-day group trip for solo travellers aged 18 to 40 that puts the Ganges and the Taj Mahal in the same two weeks as Rajasthan. You start in Delhi and take the fast train to Varanasi, then an overnight train to Agra. From there you head through Jaipur and Pushkar and finish with three nights by the lakes in Udaipur. Your Trip Host is with the group the whole way, and one departure is timed for Holi.
Updated
From, per person
$830 / £622 / €730 / A$1,180 / CA$1,170 / NZ$1,460 / ₹79,680
Free to reserve
Sarthak's best travel memories come from going solo: hostel dorms, a new activity most days, new cultures and new food. SoloNomads grew out of that.
Sarthak travels with every group, from the first day to the last, so there's always someone on hand to sort things out when plans change and to make sure nobody gets left out.
In every country, a licensed local agency and licensed local guides look after the ground services, so you get local know-how too.
Delhi to Udaipur, 6 stops in 14 days.
6 stops
14 days
Day 1
Arrive whenever your flight lands and check in at the hotel near Connaught Place. The Trip Host meets everyone in the early evening for introductions and a run-through of the trip. Then we walk to dinner together.
Day 2
A morning in Old Delhi with a local guide: Jama Masjid, then cycle-rickshaws through the lanes around Chandni Chowk, with parathas, chaat and sweets on the way. That's lunch. After a rest we visit Gurudwara Bangla Sahib and its free community kitchen, and finish at Humayun's Tomb in the late-afternoon light. It's an early night, because tomorrow's train leaves at 06:00.
Day 3
The Vande Bharat Express leaves New Delhi at 06:00 and reaches Varanasi at 14:00, with breakfast and lunch served at your seat. The old city's lanes are too narrow for cars, so we walk the last part to our guesthouse near the ghats. At dusk we find a spot on the steps at Dashashwamedh Ghat for the Ganga aarti, when priests with fire lamps, bells and conch shells perform the evening ritual to the river.
Day 4
Before sunrise we take a rowing boat along the ghats while people bathe, pray and do yoga at the water's edge. Then we walk the ghats with a local guide, passing Manikarnika, the cremation ghat, quietly and without cameras. After lunch we drive 30 minutes to Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first sermon, and visit the Dhamek Stupa with a licensed, ASI-approved guide.
Day 5
The morning is yours: a lassi in the old city lanes, the Kashi Vishwanath temple (phones and bags go in lockers), or the campus and museum at Banaras Hindu University. In the late afternoon we board the overnight train to Agra. We travel in 2nd-class AC, where each berth has a curtain, and pick up dinner in town before we go.
Day 6
The train reaches Agra at about 06:35. We go straight to the hotel for showers, breakfast and a rest. Late morning, a licensed guide takes us round Agra Fort. In the afternoon we visit the Taj Mahal with a licensed, ASI-approved guide and stay until it closes, when the marble turns gold and pink in the low light.
Day 7
After breakfast our van heads west to Jaipur. We stop at Fatehpur Sikri, the Mughal capital that was abandoned within a few decades, and at Chand Baori in Abhaneri, a deep stepwell with thousands of steps cut into its sides. We reach Jaipur in the late afternoon, and the evening is free.
Day 8
We walk up to Amber Fort in the cool of the morning, about 20 minutes on foot. We don't ride the elephants that carry tourists up. Then back into the old city with a licensed guide for the City Palace, Jantar Mantar's stone instruments and the view of Hawa Mahal. At sunset we drive up to Nahargarh Fort on the ridge to watch the city light up.
Day 9
A free morning in Jaipur, then a three-hour drive to Pushkar after lunch. The Trip Host walks us down to the lake and explains how the ghats work: shoes off, no photos of people bathing, and a polite no to anyone who hands you flowers and offers a blessing for money. We watch the sun go down over the water. On the Holi departure, tonight is Holika Dahan, when bonfires are lit across town.
Day 10
If you're up for it, we hike up to Savitri Temple for sunrise. It's about an hour's climb, or there's a cable car. The rest of the day is free for the bazaar, rooftop cafes and the Brahma Temple. On the Holi departure, this is Holi: we celebrate with the Trip Host and a local guide in the morning, based at a rooftop cafe, and you can join in as much or as little as you like.
Day 11
The longest drive of the trip, five to six hours, with stops for chai and lunch on the way. We reach Udaipur in the afternoon, check in near the lake and walk over the footbridge at Gangaur Ghat as the lights come on around Lake Pichola.
Day 12
A licensed guide takes us through the City Palace, the huge complex of courtyards, mirrored rooms and balconies above the lake, then to the Jagdish Temple nearby. The afternoon is free. In the evening we go to the folk dance show at Bagore ki Haveli, with puppets, drummers and dancers balancing pots on their heads.
Day 13
A slow morning, then a cooking class in a local home, where you learn a few Rajasthani dishes and eat them for lunch. In the late afternoon we take a boat out on Lake Pichola, past the island palaces, as the sun sets behind the hills. We end the trip with a farewell dinner on a rooftop by the lake.
Day 14
The trip ends after breakfast. Udaipur airport is about 40 minutes away by taxi and has direct flights to Delhi and Mumbai. Staying on? The Trip Host can suggest where to go next.
Prices are per person, and reserving is free. A date goes ahead once about 10 travellers have joined. You pay nothing until then. Once it's confirmed, we send you an invoice for the full price, and you have 7 days to pay it (or until the trip starts, if that's sooner).
14 Nov – 27 Nov 2026
AvailablePushkar Camel Fair departure: in Pushkar 22 to 24 Nov, fair dates still estimatedMax 16 people
Price
$830 / £622 / €730 / A$1,180 / CA$1,170 / NZ$1,460 / ₹79,680
16 Jan – 29 Jan 2027
AvailablePeak season; fog buffer on the trainsMax 16 people
Price
$830 / £622 / €730 / A$1,180 / CA$1,170 / NZ$1,460 / ₹79,680
13 Mar – 26 Mar 2027
AvailableHoli departure: Holika Dahan 21 Mar and Holi 22 Mar in Pushkar (some lists say 23 Mar)Max 16 people
Price
$890 / £668 / €780 / A$1,270 / CA$1,260 / NZ$1,570 / ₹85,440
You pay nothing to reserve your spot, and reservations close 7 days before departure. Once enough travellers have joined, usually around 10, we confirm the departure and email you a confirmation with an invoice for the full trip price, paid by card or bank transfer within 7 days. You can pay in US dollars, pounds, euros, Australian dollars, Canadian dollars, New Zealand dollars or Indian rupees, and the price shown for each date is what you pay.
It's timed so that the Holika Dahan bonfires fall on Day 9 and Holi itself on Day 10, both in Pushkar, and nobody travels on Holi day. The exact dates are in the departure note. Calendars can differ by a day, so we confirm the final day with our Pushkar hosts before you travel. The rest of the itinerary is the same as every other date.
Solo travellers aged 18 to 40, most of them on their own and some with a friend. The maximum for each departure is shown with its dates, and it's never more than 16.
The Trip Host travels with the group for all 14 days, sorts out every train, ticket and check-in, and is the person you go to if anything goes wrong. At the monuments and on the Varanasi walk, a licensed guide leads the visit.
It starts at our hotel in central Delhi on the evening of Day 1, and we send the address when you book. It ends in Udaipur after breakfast on Day 14, so book your flight home from Udaipur on that day. Udaipur has direct flights to Delhi and Mumbai, where you can connect to an international flight, and you should leave at least three hours between landing and an international departure.
From October to March, when the days are dry and warm. December and January nights get cold, and winter fog can delay the trains, so we leave a buffer around them. We don't run it from April, when the plains get very hot. The air in Delhi, Agra and Varanasi is often poor from October to February, and November is often the worst month. If you have asthma or a heart or lung condition, talk to your doctor before you travel, and bring a well-fitting N95 mask.
Yes. Most nationalities need a visa for India, and most can apply for an e-Visa online on the official site, indianvisaonline.gov.in. You also have to file India's free online e-Arrival card within 72 hours of landing and, for now, a health self-declaration. Rules change, so read our India visa guide for your passport before you book flights.
In small hotels and guesthouses with air-con and private bathrooms, and a haveli, a traditional townhouse, in Udaipur. In Varanasi we stay by the ghats, and in Udaipur close to the lake. You share a twin room with a traveller of the same gender. The one night on a train is in 2nd-class AC, where each berth has its own curtain, and sheets, a blanket and a pillow are provided. The train leaves Varanasi in the late afternoon and reaches Agra early the next morning.
Eighteen meals are included. A thali or a curry in a local restaurant costs about 200 to 500 rupees, and street snacks are much less. Budget roughly 1,000 to 1,500 rupees a day for the meals that aren't included, plus drinks.
Clothes that cover your shoulders and knees for temples, mosques and the ghats, and a scarf. Shoes that slip on and off easily, a warm layer for the train and for early mornings from November to February, and a padlock and a small bag for the sleeper train. On the Holi departure, bring old clothes you're happy to throw away and sunglasses.
Insurance is a condition of joining, and it must cover medical treatment and evacuation. For vaccinations, check with a travel health clinic or your doctor at least six weeks before you go. The NHS fitfortravel site and the US CDC keep up-to-date advice for India.
Holi in the street is crowded, and groping under cover of the colour play is widely reported. On Holi day we stay together as a group, keep to a set time window in the morning, and have a rooftop cafe as our base, so you can watch from above and join only as far as you want. Bhang, the cannabis drink sold openly at Holi, is strong and slow to kick in, so we suggest you skip it.
Ask here and someone on the team will email you back within 1 to 2 business days.
From
$830 / £622 / €730 / A$1,180 / CA$1,170 / NZ$1,460 / ₹79,680