Luxury travel in India and Nepal with children

Every one of our seven lands can work with children, but not at every age. Goa is the easiest: an airport an hour from the beach hotels, flat sand, warm sea from November to March and drives of under an hour on most days. Kerala comes next, with houseboats, tea hills, elephants seen at a respectful distance in Periyar, and calm lagoon resorts. Both suit toddlers as well as teenagers, and both have family journeys that rarely ask for more than four hours in a car.

Rajasthan, Nepal and our Taj-and-tigers route in Uttar Pradesh suit children from about six, when they can enjoy a fort, manage a 3-hour jeep safari and sleep in a different room every few nights. Sikkim works from a similar age. Ladakh is the land to think hardest about: Leh is at about 3,500 m, and many doctors advise caution for children under about five, mainly because they cannot describe the symptoms of altitude sickness clearly.

The North East suits children who love animals and open space: Kaziranga's rhinos are seen from open jeeps, and Meghalaya's living root bridges suit fit children over about eight, as the walks involve hundreds of steps. Uttar Pradesh pairs the Taj Mahal, which most children find more impressive than they expect, with tiger country at Dudhwa, about 5 hours by road from Lucknow.

The table compares our family journeys. The longest drive is the single longest road day on that route; most days are much shorter. Prices are indicative, per person, twin sharing, and child rates depend on the hotel and the child's age. The ages are our guide rather than a rule, and you know your children better than we do.

The roads are the hardest part of India with children, more than the food or the heat. A 300 km day in Rajasthan is 5 to 6 hours, and hill roads in Kerala, Sikkim and Nepal average 30 to 40 km an hour. We plan family routes around a few simple rules, and we build in time for a pool, a nap or a game of cricket on a hotel lawn, which children often remember longer than a fort:

Trains make a good change from the car for children over about eight. The Shatabdi express services from Delhi to Agra and to Jaipur have reserved, air-conditioned chair cars, and a run of two to four hours lets children watch the country go by and stretch their legs. We meet you with the car at both ends. Internal flights save the most time on longer legs, though schedules change, so check current status before you travel.

• Keep most drives under 4 hours, and no more than one day over 5
• Stop every 90 minutes or so, at places we know have clean toilets
• Stay at least two nights everywhere, and three where there is a pool
• Fly the longest legs, such as Jaipur to Udaipur or Kochi to Goa
• Plan one main visit each morning and keep afternoons free
• Start early in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to beat the midday heat

A tiger, a rhino or a leopard is often the high point of a family trip, and our lands have some of the best parks in Asia. Most safaris are by open jeep and last about 3 hours, starting at dawn or in the mid-afternoon. Ranthambore, Jawai, Kaziranga, Dudhwa and Chitwan all welcome children in jeeps, though each park and lodge sets its own rules and these change, so check current status before you travel. From about six, most children manage the early start and the need to sit quietly.

Walking safaris are different. At Chitwan and Bardia in Nepal, naturalists set a minimum age for walks in the forest, and children under about 12 usually join jeep and dugout canoe safaris instead. Some tented camps also set minimum ages, which we confirm when we book. For families with younger children in Nepal, we usually suggest Chitwan, with its shorter transfer and reliable rhino sightings. We do not book elephant rides anywhere.

The best family hotels have space to run, a pool, food a child will eat and staff used to children. In Rajasthan, The Oberoi Rajvilas in Jaipur and The Oberoi Udaivilas in Udaipur are set in large gardens, and Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur gives children a real palace with its own museum. In Goa, Taj Fort Aguada and The Leela Goa have long beaches and big grounds. In Kerala, Marari Beach and Spice Village are low-rise and green, and in Nepal, Meghauli Serai at Chitwan and The Pavilions Himalayas near Pokhara suit families well.

We ask every hotel for connecting rooms, a suite or a villa where they have them, and we confirm cots, extra beds and children's menus before you travel. Palace hotels can have steep stairs, low parapets and deep pools, so we tell you where to keep a close eye. Some heritage hotels are better for teenagers than toddlers, and we say so.

Guides matter as much as hotels. We choose guides who are good with children, keep visits to about two hours, and turn a fort into a story of sieges and secret passages rather than a list of dates. Hands-on afternoons often work better than another sight: block printing in Bagru near Jaipur, a cooking class in a Kochi home, kite-flying on a Jodhpur rooftop, or rafting in Nepal for teenagers, where operators usually set a minimum age of ten to twelve.

Children usually eat well in India. Hotels make plain dal, rice, pasta and grilled dishes on request, and many children love dosa, naan and mild paneer. Drink bottled or filtered water only, avoid ice outside the hotels and peel fruit. See your doctor or a travel clinic six to eight weeks before you leave for vaccines and malaria advice for your route. Child car seats are not standard in Indian cars; we can arrange one where available, but the safest plan is to bring your own.

• Pack high-factor sun cream, hats and light long sleeves
• Carry a small medical kit with rehydration salts and children's paracetamol
• Bring headphones and downloads for the longer drives
• Allow a quiet first day for jet lag before any sightseeing

October half-term and Diwali suit Rajasthan, Nepal and Uttar Pradesh, though the Nepal festival weeks are busy. Christmas and New Year are the peak in every land, and the best family rooms in Goa and Rajasthan go months ahead. The Easter holidays are already hot on the plains, so we suggest Nepal, the Kerala hills or the Goa coast. In July and August, Ladakh is at its best for older children, while Kerala's monsoon brings low rates and green hills, with heavy rain on many days.