Your chauffeur meets you at Delhi (DEL) arrivals and transfers you to your hotel for check-in and rest.

Depending on your landing time, the afternoon can include a gentle first look at the capital, a drive past India Gate or a visit to Humayun's Tomb, or simply an unhurried evening to recover before the road trip begins.

A morning run down the Yamuna Expressway brings you to Agra, where you visit the Taj Mahal with your guide, the white-marble mausoleum Shah Jahan built for Mumtaz Mahal, and the finest achievement of Mughal architecture.

You also tour the red-sandstone Agra Fort, the imperial seat where Shah Jahan later spent his final years imprisoned, with its palaces, audience halls and views of the Taj across the Yamuna.

You drive east to Lucknow, the refined former capital of the Nawabs of Awadh, and check into a heritage haveli that captures the city's old-world grace.

As evening falls you set out on a guided kebab walk through the lanes of the old city, the legendary galawati kebabs of Tunday, rich Awadhi biryani and Lucknawi sweets, in the birthplace of India's most delicate courtly cuisine.

You explore the Bara Imambara, whose vast central hall stands without pillars and whose Bhulbhulaiya labyrinth of corridors is a highlight, then the ornate Chhota Imambara, glittering with chandeliers and gilded domes.

The afternoon turns to the British Residency, the evocative shell-scarred ruins that witnessed the 1857 siege, a poignant counterpoint to the Nawabi splendour, set in quiet gardens.

Today is the tour's one long travel day, returning west to Delhi for an overnight stay before the final leg to Jaipur.

The full road journey is long, so for comfort many travellers prefer the fast Tejas or Shatabdi Express, which we can pre-book; either way your chauffeur handles all transfers and you rest on arrival in Delhi.

A morning drive brings you to Jaipur, Rajasthan's rose-pink capital, for check-in around midday.

As the day cools you take an evening walk through the old city, the glowing facade of the Hawa Mahal, the bustle of Johari and Bapu bazaars, and the terracotta-pink walls that give the city its name.

The morning belongs to the honey-coloured Amber Fort above Maota Lake, with its Sheesh Mahal mirror hall and grand hilltop courtyards (jeep ascent included).

In the afternoon you tour the City Palace, still home to Jaipur's royal family, with its museums, the Chandra Mahal and the famous painted gates, a fitting royal finale to the trip.

After a relaxed breakfast, your chauffeur transfers you to Jaipur International Airport (JAI) for your onward flight.

If your departure is later in the day, we can add a final bazaar stop for souvenirs, block-print textiles, gemstones or blue pottery, before you head to the airport.