Rajasthan
Udaipur
The slow, romantic counterweight to the Golden Triangle: give it two or three nights, pay for a Lake Pichola view, see the City Palace early, and admire the Lake Palace from your rooftop rather than visiting it.
Best length
2-3 nights
Airport
Maharana Pratap (UDR), Dabok, ~22km east of the lake
Airport to centre
Pre-booked car or Ola/Uber ~40-50 min
Best base
Hanuman Ghat or old city for a Lake Pichola view
In short
Udaipur at a glance
Udaipur is the slow, romantic counterweight to the Golden Triangle: give it two or three nights, base yourself for a Lake Pichola view rather than chasing the cheapest room, see the City Palace early and the lake at sunset, and treat the famous Lake Palace as a photograph from your rooftop rather than a hotel you can casually visit.
The short version
- Two or three nights is the right length — Udaipur is a wind-down stop, not a sightseeing sprint.
- Pay up for a Lake Pichola-facing room on the Hanuman Ghat or old-city side; the view is the entire point of coming here.
- The Taj Lake Palace floating on the water is a hotel, not an attraction — you can't visit unless you're staying or have a dinner booking.
- Do the City Palace first thing and save the boat trip on Lake Pichola for the golden hour before sunset.
- Udaipur pairs naturally onto Jaipur by a short domestic flight or the overnight train, not a long day's drive.
Udaipur is where a Rajasthan trip is supposed to exhale. After the forts and traffic of the Golden Triangle, it offers a different rhythm: a cluster of lakes, palaces that seem to float on the water, and a rooftop culture built around watching the light change over Lake Pichola. The mistake first-timers make is treating it like another box to tick — one rushed afternoon between trains — when the whole value is in slowing down. The other mistake is the room. Udaipur is cheap to be in but expensive to look at, and a generic budget room a few lanes back from the water misses the entire point of having come.
So the two planning calls are simple: give it two or three nights, and pay up for a genuine lake view on the quieter Hanuman Ghat side rather than chasing the lowest rate. Don’t expect to wander into the famous Lake Palace — it’s a hotel you sleep in, not a sight you visit — and don’t try to drive yourself anywhere. Below, the structured planning — where to stay for the view, what the City Palace and the boat actually cost, how to arrive from UDR, and a realistic budget in pounds — picks up from here.
Plan your Udaipur trip
Keep a first trip focused: book the big timed sights, then leave room for neighbourhoods and food.
Top things to do in Udaipur
City Palace
Rajasthan's largest palace complex, a wall of carved stone, balconies and cupolas rising straight off the east bank of Lake Pichola. Go when it opens to beat the heat and the tour-bus crush. The Mor Chowk peacock mosaics and the lake views are the highlights; the separately ticketed Crystal Gallery is an optional add-on.
City Palace Udaipur
There is no skip-the-line here — you queue and buy the City Palace ticket at the Badi Pol gate on the day — so arrive at the 09:30 opening to be ahead of the late-morning coach groups and the worst of the Rajasthan heat. The base museum ticket gets you the courtyards, the Mor Chowk peacock mosaics and the lake views; the Crystal Gallery and the audio guide are separate add-ons bought at the same window. Allow 2–3 hours, dress for a lot of stairs and uneven stone, and pair it with a late-afternoon Lake Pichola boat rather than stacking another sight on the same morning.
Where to stay first
The areas that make a first visit easier — not an exhaustive directory.
Hanuman Ghat (west bank)
££ mid-rangeThe quieter old-city side across the water, with rooftop guesthouses and cafes looking straight back at the City Palace and the Lake Palace. The best value for an actual lake view and calmer evenings than the main bazaar.
Best for: Lake views, couples, calmer evenings
Old City / Jagdish Chowk (east bank)
££ mid-rangeThe heart of the action by the City Palace and Jagdish Temple: tightest lanes, most restaurants and shops, and the easiest walking to the main sights. Busier and noisier, with tuk-tuks and touts in the narrow streets.
Best for: First-timers wanting to walk to everything
Lal Ghat
£ valueThe strip of lake-facing guesthouses just north of the City Palace, popular with backpackers and mid-range travellers. Good rooftop views and easy boat access, but rooms are small and the lanes get crowded in season.
Best for: Value lake-view stays near the boats
The lake islands and luxury hotels
£££ premiumThe Taj Lake Palace and the Leela on the water, and Oberoi Udaivilas across the lake, are the splurge tier — heritage-hotel territory for one big night. Stunning but isolated from the old-city lanes, so factor in boat or car transfers.
Best for: A one-night heritage-hotel splurge
Airport to city centre
| Option | Time | Cost | Book ahead? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-booked hotel car / driver | ~40-50 min | around ₹800-1,200 (~£6-9.50) | Easiest after a long-haul arrival |
| Ola / Uber app cab | ~40-50 min | around ₹600-900 (~£4.70-7) | Cheapest reliable option |
| Airport prepaid taxi | ~45-55 min | around ₹900-1,100 (~£7-8.60) | Fixed fare from the rank |
When to go
Sweet spot: October to March is the sweet spot: dry, comfortable days around 10-30°C, ideal for the lake, the palaces and rooftop dinners. September and the dying days of the monsoon are quietly lovely too, with the lakes at their fullest and greenest.
Winter (November-February) is peak season — best weather, biggest crowds and highest room rates, so book the lake-view places 2-3 months ahead. April to June is brutally hot, often well above 40°C, which empties the city and slashes prices but makes midday sightseeing punishing. The July-September monsoon is the time to see the lakes brim and Sajjangarh live up to its 'Monsoon Palace' name, though downpours can disrupt boat trips.
What it costs
There are no direct UK flights to Udaipur — you fly Heathrow to Delhi or Mumbai (UK return roughly £450-£650), then a domestic hop on IndiGo or Air India to UDR, usually £40-£90 each way. Many people reach Udaipur overland from Jaipur (~6-7h by car) or on the overnight train instead, folding it into a Rajasthan loop.
Daily budget per person
All rupee figures use £1 ≈ ₹128 (June 2026). Udaipur is cheap day to day; the splurge is the room. A single night at the Taj Lake Palace or Oberoi Udaivilas runs into many hundreds of pounds, so most people enjoy the view from a rooftop cafe instead.
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