Ten days, three ways: palaces, backwaters or Taj and Varanasi

Ten days is nine nights, and after a long-haul flight that is enough for one region and three or four stops, not a tour of the country. The three routes we are asked about most are a palace circuit in Rajasthan, the hills and backwaters of Kerala, and the Taj Mahal with Lucknow and Varanasi. Each works in nine nights at an unhurried pace, each has a clear best season, and each ends at an airport with onward flights, so none of them wastes a day getting back.

We have set them side by side below, then taken each in turn. Prices are indicative per person, twin sharing, at the hotels named, with a private car, driver and guide throughout; they rise in the peak weeks of late December and early January.

The table gives the shape of each journey; the sections that follow give the detail.

Two things the table does not show. Rajasthan's distances are the longest, so expect two days of four to five hours on the road. Kerala's route costs the least because its best hotels cost less than Rajasthan's palaces; the experience is not lesser, only different. The Taj and Varanasi route has the most early starts, and the best of it happens before 7 am.

Fly into Jaipur and spend two nights at Rambagh Palace, with Amber Fort at opening time and the City Palace in the afternoon. Drive about 180 km, or 3.5 hours, to Ranthambore for three nights at The Oberoi Vanyavilas and four to five safaris in the national park, where tigers are seen often but never promised. A night in Bundi, a small fort town with painted chambers and stepwells, breaks the long drive south. End with three nights in Udaipur at the Taj Lake Palace or The Oberoi Udaivilas, with a sunset boat on Lake Pichola.

This is the most visual of the three and the one most first-time visitors picture. The trade-off is driving: Ranthambore to Bundi and Bundi to Udaipur are full days. Ranthambore's core zones close for the monsoon, usually from 1 July to 30 September, and the route is at its best from October to March; check current status before you travel. From ₹5,20,000 per person.

• Days 1–2: Jaipur, Amber Fort and the City Palace
• Days 3–5: Ranthambore, morning and afternoon safaris
• Day 6: Bundi, the painted Chitrashala and stepwells
• Days 7–9: Udaipur, the lake, the City Palace and the old city
• Day 10: fly out from Udaipur

Fly into Kochi and drive about 4 hours up into the Western Ghats for three nights at Windermere Estate near Munnar, with an early jeep ride to Kolukkumalai for sunrise above the clouds. Come down to Vembanad Lake for two nights at Kumarakom Lake Resort, then spend a night alone on a private kettuvallam, a converted rice barge with its own cook, moving through the canals of Kuttanad. Finish with three nights on the beach at Marari, a coast of fishing villages and coconut groves.

This is the slowest and most restful of the three, with the shortest drives and no early starts unless you want them. It suits honeymoons and families, and pairs well with Ayurveda. November to March is dry; the monsoon from June to September brings rain, lower prices and green hills. From ₹3,00,000 per person, or ₹3,25,000 for our ten-night version, which adds Fort Kochi and the Periyar forest.

• Days 1–3: Munnar, tea estates, spice gardens and Kolukkumalai
• Days 4–5: Kumarakom, the lake and village canals
• Day 6: a night on a private kettuvallam
• Days 7–9: Marari, beach, Ayurveda and fishing villages
• Day 10: fly out from Kochi

Arrive in Delhi and drive about 230 km on the expressway to Agra, roughly 3.5 to 4 hours, for two nights at The Oberoi Amarvilas, where the rooms look towards the Taj Mahal. See it at sunrise from inside, and at sunset from Mehtab Bagh across the Yamuna. Continue to Lucknow for two nights of Awadhi kebabs, the Bara Imambara and chikankari embroidery, then finish with four nights in Varanasi, split between BrijRama Palace on Darbhanga Ghat and Taj Nadesar Palace in its gardens.

This is the richest of the three for history, faith and food, and the one with the most early mornings: dawn on the Ganges by rowing boat is the point of Varanasi. Winter fog from mid-December to January can delay trains and flights and hide the Taj at dawn, so we keep spare time. The Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays. Our eight-night version is from ₹3,90,000 per person; add a ninth night in Varanasi for a day at Sarnath.

• Days 1–2: Agra, the Taj Mahal at sunrise and Mehtab Bagh
• Days 3–4: Lucknow, the Bara Imambara and Awadhi kebabs
• Days 5–8: Varanasi, dawn boats, the old lanes and the aarti
• Day 9: fly out from Varanasi

Start with the month. From April to June, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are too hot for comfortable sightseeing, while Kerala is warm and humid before the monsoon. From July to September, only Kerala, in its green season, makes sense of these three. From October to March all three work, and the choice comes down to what you want to feel at the end of the ten days.

Families with young children usually find Kerala easiest, with a pool at every stop and short drives. Couples on a first trip tend to choose Rajasthan. Travellers who have already seen Rajasthan, or who are drawn to religion and ritual, find Varanasi stays with them longest. We are happy to talk the choice through before you commit to anything. If two of you want different things, say so early: a spare afternoon, a cooking class or a day at the spa can often settle it without changing the route.

• Choose palaces for spectacle, forts and a real chance of a tiger
• Choose backwaters for rest, water, slow lunches and short drives
• Choose Taj and Varanasi for history, ritual and the best food of the three
• Choose two only if you have 14 nights or more

Ten days suits one region. With 14 nights, the joins that work best are Agra to Rajasthan by road, and Rajasthan or Varanasi to Kerala by flight, usually with one change. Our eight-night journey from the Taj into Rajasthan, from ₹4,60,000 per person, makes the first join for you. We would not try to fit all three ways into one fortnight: the flights eat the days and the pace stops feeling private.

With fewer days, each route shortens well. Rajasthan can drop Bundi and one Ranthambore night; Kerala can drop Alleppey and one night at Marari; and the Taj and Varanasi route works in six nights without Lucknow, from ₹2,90,000 per person.