Rajasthan or Kerala for a first trip to India

Rajasthan and Kerala often end up on the same shortlist for a first trip to India, and they could hardly be more different. Rajasthan is a desert state of forts, palaces, painted towns and markets, where history sits on every hill and the days are full. Kerala is a green coastal state of tea hills, spice forests, backwaters and beaches, where the days are shaped by water and the pace is gentler. One is about seeing; the other is about slowing down.

Neither is the better choice in general. The right one depends on how you like to travel, when you can go and how much time you have. Below we compare them on pace, season, cost and the kind of traveller each suits, then suggest the journey we would start from. If you have two weeks or more, you can also do both, linked by a flight, and we explain how that works at the end.

Rajasthan is a journey between cities, and the distances are real. Jaipur to Jodhpur is about 340 km and 6 hours by road, and Jodhpur to Udaipur about 250 km and 5 hours with a stop at the Ranakpur temples. Each city deserves two or three nights, and the days are full: Amber Fort and the City Palace in Jaipur, Mehrangarh in Jodhpur, the lake and the palace in Udaipur. It rewards curiosity and a little stamina, and it gives a great deal back.

Kerala moves more slowly. Kochi to Munnar is about 130 km and 4 hours, Munnar to Thekkady about 90 km and 3 hours, and Thekkady to Kumarakom about 115 km and 3.5 hours. The roads wind, but the sights are fewer and quieter: a tea walk, a spice garden, a night on a houseboat, a beach. Many guests spend whole afternoons doing nothing at all, which is part of the point, and the hotels are built for exactly that.

Both are winter destinations, but their calendars differ at the edges. Rajasthan is best from October to March, with Jaipur at about 8–23 °C in January and dry, clear days. From April to June it is very hot, often above 40 °C in May, and we do not recommend it. The monsoon from July to September brings green hills around Udaipur and lower rates, though Ranthambore's core zones close for those months.

Kerala is best from November to February, when Kochi is about 23–32 °C and dry, and Munnar cools to about 10 °C at night. March and April grow hot and humid. The south-west monsoon usually arrives in early June and brings heavy rain until about September, which is the traditional season for Ayurveda treatments and a quiet, green time to visit. May, hot and stormy before the rains, is the month to avoid.

The table sums up the differences for a first visit. Prices are the indicative starting prices of our own journeys, per person, twin sharing, at the hotels named and without international flights. Drive times are by private car and allow for the usual traffic on the way out of each city, but not for long lunch stops or detours to sights along the route.

Rajasthan costs more per night at the top level, because its palace hotels are among the most expensive in India. Our Palaces of Rajasthan journey, 11 nights at Samode, Rambagh, Umaid Bhawan, the Taj Lake Palace and Udaivilas, starts from INR 6,50,000 per person. A shorter route through the Aravalli forts and lakes, 7 nights, starts from INR 3,10,000. In Rajasthan the room category matters a great deal, and the best rooms add noticeably to the price.

Kerala's best hotels are smaller and more relaxed, and prices per night are lower. Our Spice hills to backwaters journey, 10 nights, starts from INR 3,25,000 per person, and the grand tour of Kerala, 14 nights, from INR 4,20,000. In both states, the price includes a private car and driver throughout, private guides and the hotels named, and it rises over Christmas, New Year and Diwali, when many hotels also set minimum stays.

The two states also eat and celebrate differently. Rajasthan's kitchen grew up in the desert: dal baati churma, laal maas, ker sangri and slow-cooked royal dishes served in palace dining rooms. Kerala's is coastal and spiced: appam with stew, karimeen pearl spot from the lakes, fish moilee and a full sadya on a banana leaf. In both states we arrange cooking sessions and market walks with people who know the food well, which is often the part of the trip guests talk about most.

Culturally, Rajasthan is about courts and crafts: block printing at Bagru near Jaipur, miniature painting in Udaipur, folk music at dinner in a fort. Kerala's arts are performed: Kathakali in Kochi, the martial art of Kalaripayattu in Thekkady and, from about November to May, the Theyyam rituals of North Malabar. Either way, a private guide turns a sight into a conversation.

If you are still unsure, ask yourselves whether you want to see a great deal or to slow down. Travellers who want to see a great deal are usually happiest in Rajasthan, where every day brings a new fort, market or palace. Travellers who want to slow down, after a busy year or a wedding, usually prefer Kerala. Neither choice is wrong, and each makes a fine first trip with the right pace.

• Rajasthan suits history lovers, photographers and anyone who wants the India of forts and markets on a first visit.
• Rajasthan suits families with older children, who enjoy forts, camels and a tiger safari at Ranthambore.
• Kerala suits couples and honeymooners who want rest, Ayurveda and water views.
• Kerala suits travellers who find big cities tiring, and those returning to India for a slower second trip.
• Both suit seniors at the right pace: shorter driving days in Rajasthan, fewer hill drives in Kerala.

With 14 nights or more, you can combine the two. The usual pattern is Rajasthan first, while you have energy for forts and markets, then a flight south to Kochi for a week of hills, backwaters and beach to finish. There is no sensible overland link between them, so the connection is by air, often through Mumbai, Delhi or Bengaluru, and it takes most of a day; routes and schedules change, so check current status before you travel.

A balanced two-state trip might be Jaipur 3 nights, Jodhpur 2 and Udaipur 3, then Kochi 2, Kumarakom 2 and Marari 3. It is a long journey but never rushed, and it shows two very different sides of India: the dry, royal north-west and the green, coastal south. We plan these as one itinerary, with one team looking after you from arrival to departure.