Jaipur car tour - English-speaking local driver!

An owner-driver, which is different from a driver

The person driving owns the car and has lived in Jaipur his whole life. That is the offer here, and it is a genuinely different product from a company car with a rostered driver.

What you get is somebody's own city — where he eats, which lane is worth turning down, which viewpoint is better than the one on the map — rather than a route sheet.

What it is not

A licensed guide. Rajasthan requires a government licence to guide inside monuments, and an honest driver will tell you that rather than pretend otherwise. He can get you everywhere, tell you a great deal on the way, and wait while you go in — but for the interiors of Jantar Mantar or Amber you either read up beforehand or hire a guide at the gate.

For a lot of travellers that trade is worth it.

The route

Amber Fort on its ridge above Maota Lake, begun 1592, with the Ganesh Pol gateway and the Sheesh Mahal mirror chamber. Early, before the coaches.

Jal Mahal from the causeway — four of five storeys underwater, no entry.

Hawa Mahal, the 953-window screen of 1799, best from the street opposite in the morning.

City Palace and Jantar Mantar in the old city.

And whatever else the day suggests: Panna Meena ka Kund, the stepwell below Amber; Nahargarh on the ridge at sunset; the bazaars around Johari and Tripolia; or a lassi shop he rates.

Say what you want

The day is genuinely flexible. If you would rather spend two hours in a market than forty minutes in a palace, say so at the start.

On shopping: ask to be taken where locals buy rather than where shops pay commission. Most drivers do earn commission at emporiums and a direct request is usually respected.

Practical

Eight hours with hotel pickup. Entrance fees and any guide at the gate are separate.