Comfort
During your ride, you will stay in different types of accommodation.
Nights in hotels: hotel nights will be in twin bedded rooms with a private bathroom. Hotels are of a high standard. They are often previous palaces converted into hotels, retaining much of their original charm.
Nights at camp: safari style camp with large spacious tents. Each tent has two made up beds with comfortable mattresses. Separate toilets and showers are set up, with hot water available in the morning and evening.
Enjoy sumptuous meals, carefully prepared, freshly cooked and delicately spiced.
Meals
Hotels: On most hotel nights a choice of meals will be available, with wine and spirits also available. Breakfast will be a choice of various fruits, cereals, toast and some cooked items too.
Camping :A help yourself breakfast of toast and cereals with eggs cooked to order if you wish. You have a hot lunch and then another hot meal in the evening around the camp fire. The food is varied and tasty Indian cuisine.
Contrary to popular belief, all Hindus are not vegetarians and strict vegetarianism is limited to the south. However, you are unlikely to be served beef steak as the cow is sacred. You can expect to eat either goat or chicken.
Water:
Take care and do not drink water unless it out of a bottle. It is better to buy mineral water when staying in the towns. The water you will be offered along the trail will be treated.
There will be limited alcohol to purchase and a variety of soft drinks.
Climate
Rajasthan has a hot dry climate. The monsoon is from June to September during which it is particularly hot. Rain outside the monsoon months is unlikely.
The rides are scheduled for the cooler months and at this time the maximum temperature would be around 24°C during the day. Please be mindful that evenings can be cool (c. 5°C) and you should bring a warm sweater and be prepared for a chilly morning just in case there is a snow fall in the Himalayas as the temperature does drop suddenly at times. When camping, the nights can be cold are felt much more and you are advised to bring warm clothes for sleeping.
Tips
Tipping is popular in India and it is customary to tip not only your team (guide, cook etc) but also staff in hotels and restaurants.
After the ride, guest usually collect the money in an envelope and hand it over to either your guide Bonnie or Sunayana (his assistant) with the instructions to divide it among the whole team – grooms, camp cook and staff, jeep drivers etc… Budget for c. £40-50 per person in total.
At the hotels, tipping is absolutely discretionary. The bell boys at the hotel handling the baggage do expect a small tip. If you are happy with their services, they may give them around Rupees 50 to 100 – but again, it is absolutely discretionary.
Be careful not to tip too much - being overly generous can affect the general standard of living and destabilise the local economy. If children earn more money than their fathers by begging or asking for money for photos then this can create major distortions within the family.
Packing list
Please pack in accordance with local religious and traditional cultures - it is important to keep your shoulders and knees covered when meeting local populations. Please do not wear shorts or strappy tops in towns and villages. You will also require some smart casual clothes for your hotel nights.
Head
- Equus Journeys strongly recommend that you wear a riding helmet and that you take your own to ensure a correct fit. There are many lightweight options available nowadays
- Sunhat for when not riding
- Sunglasses - with a cord attached so they don't fly off when riding
- Wooly hat
- Buff or Bandana to protect against sand, sun and dust
Upper body
- Long sleeved shirts provide protection from the sun and are an extra layer
- T-shirts
- Lightweight fleece or jumper
- A light waterproof jacket
Legs
- Lightweight, comfortable riding trousers or jodhpurs - we recommend riding in them at home before taking them on holiday to ensure they don't rub
- Casual trousers for the evenings.
- Swimsuit to enjoy the swimming pool of the hotels
Hands and Feet
- Comfortable riding boots. We recommend short boots with half chaps. We don't recommend taking your favourite long leather boots in case they get damaged
- Trainers or equivalent light shoes for the evenings
- Socks
- Gloves - your hands are particularly exposed to the sun
Our Recommendations
- Please don't take a hard sided suitcase. Your luggage should be soft sided with a capacity of about 80 litres. We recommend taking a backpack or similar.
- Backpacks cannot be worn whilst riding. MAX LOAD is 15kg.
- We recommend a small bumbag or a coat with pockets so that you can carry small items with you during the day (camera, sunscreen, lipbalm etc) and whilst riding.
- We recommend travelling in your riding boots and carrying your hat and some riding clothes in your hand luggage - then if your luggage goes astray you are still able to ride.
- Tall riders may benefit from taking a pair of long stirrup leathers with them (the local stirrups are adjustable but are sometimes limited in length)
Other useful items
- Towels - camping ones will both dry and pack more easily
- Small backpack 25-30 liters
- Camera and high capacity memory card. Spare battery
- Bumbag for carrying your camera and small items whilst riding
- Headtorch or small torch for moving around camp at night - bring spare batteries and bulbs
- Water bottle (2 litres or 2 x 1 litre)
- Swiss army knife
- Wet Wipes or equivalent (for when washing facilities aren't available)
- Toilet paper and a lighter to burn it with
- Small plastic bags for rubbish
- Ear plugs (for light sleepers)
In your hold luggage
- Any liquids, such as shampoo, moisturiser, deodorant unless they are less than 100ml and all bottles can fit in a small, clear, plastic ziplock bag. We recommend biodegradable washing products where possible.
- Swiss army knife (or equivalent)
In your hand luggage
- Any valuables, such as your camera, ipod, ipad etc.
- Travelling in your riding boots and carrying your hat and some riding clothes is highly recommended - then if your luggage goes astray you are still able to ride!
Medical kit
- Any medication you regularly take
- Sunscreen and lip balm - should be high factor
- Insect repellent, preferably containing deet
- Blister plasters in case of any rubs
- Antiseptic cream, plasters, aspirin, anti-histamine, insect-bite salve etc...
- Spare prescription glasses/contact lenses
- Eye drops
- Imodium or similar anti-diarrhoea medication
- Re-hydration sachets
- Water purification tablets
- Antiseptic wipes
- Handwash gel
Miscellaneous
- We recommend taking a copy of your passport and insurance documents with you in case you lose your originals
- Please take your rubbish home with you. There are no recycling facilities in Rajasthan, so take your used batteries, aerosols etc back home and dispose of them appropriately. Try to leave excess packaging material at home before travelling
- You may wish to take some photographs or postcards of your home with you to show your hosts. You may also wish to take some crayons, colouring books etc for the children
- If you prefer travelling in a "light way" please choose a biodegradable soap or washing powder/liquid.
