Ask five travelers which Indian luxury train to book and you'll get five confident, contradictory answers. That's because Maharajas' Express, Palace on Wheels and Deccan Odyssey are genuinely different trains built for different journeys, not three versions of the same experience. Through the journeys we arrange out of Palace Tours, we've found the right choice usually comes down to route, pacing, and how much of India beyond Rajasthan a guest wants to see.
All three descend from the same idea: put a hotel on rails, dress the crew in traditional Rajasthani livery, and let the country's forts, palaces and deserts unfurl past the window instead of a highway. But their itineraries, cabin styles and personalities diverge enough that the decision deserves more than a coin flip.
Palace on Wheels: the original, Rajasthan-only classic
Palace on Wheels was the pioneer, launched in the 1980s using refurbished carriages once used by Rajasthan's maharajas and the Viceroy of India, and it still runs the single itinerary that made it famous: a loop out of Delhi through Jaipur, Sawai Madhopur for Ranthambore National Park, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bharatpur and Agra before returning to Delhi. It is the most heritage-driven of the three in feel — slightly older cabins, a warm, lived-in character, and a route that guests describe less as an itinerary and more as a greatest-hits tour of Rajputana. Our guests most often choose it when Rajasthan itself, rather than a broader swing through India, is the whole point of the trip.
Maharajas' Express: newer stock, wider reach
Maharajas' Express is the youngest and, cabin for cabin, the most modern of the three, and it is also the only one that regularly ranges outside Rajasthan on some of its seasonal itineraries. Depending on departure, guests can find routes that extend to Mumbai, Khajuraho, Orchha and Varanasi, layered around the Rajasthan core of Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Ranthambore. That breadth is the train's defining advantage: a single week can combine desert forts, a tiger reserve, and the ghats of the Ganges. Suites run larger and the technology is newer than on Palace on Wheels, which is part of why it tends to sit at the top of the price ladder among India's rail trio.
Deccan Odyssey: Maharashtra's answer, with its own personality
Where the other two orbit Delhi, Deccan Odyssey is rooted in Mumbai and Maharashtra, though its multiple seasonal itineraries — Cultural Odyssey, Indian Odyssey and others — can still reach into Rajasthan and as far as Delhi and Agra. It carries its own distinct onboard character: a conference car, a spa, a small gym and a bar give it a slightly more contemporary, business-and-leisure hybrid feel alongside the heritage theming. Guests drawn to coastal Maharashtra, Goa's beaches, or the caves at Ajanta and Ellora on the way to a Rajasthan finale tend to gravitate here rather than to the two Delhi-based trains.
How the three actually compare
- Geography: Palace on Wheels is Rajasthan-and-Agra only; Maharajas' Express can extend to Mumbai and Varanasi on select routes; Deccan Odyssey is Mumbai/Maharashtra-based with Rajasthan extensions.
- Vintage and style: Palace on Wheels leans heritage and nostalgic; Maharajas' Express is the newest build with the most up-to-date suites; Deccan Odyssey sits in between, with more resort-style onboard amenities.
- Length and pacing: All three run roughly week-long itineraries, though exact nights, stops and departure calendars vary by season — always confirm current dates on the Maharajas' Express journal, Palace on Wheels journal or Deccan Odyssey journal.
- Who each suits: First-time visitors wanting the essential Rajasthan circuit often prefer Palace on Wheels; those wanting the newest hardware and a wider geographic sweep lean toward Maharajas' Express; travelers pairing western India's coast and caves with a Rajasthan finish tend to choose Deccan Odyssey.
The cities that anchor every itinerary
Whichever train you choose, certain places recur because they earn it. Jaipur's pink sandstone forts, Udaipur's lake palaces, Jodhpur's blue old city beneath Mehrangarh, and Jaisalmer's living desert fort form the spine of nearly every route. Agra and the Taj Mahal anchor the eastern end of most journeys, while Delhi serves as the near-universal starting or ending point. Trains that range further add Bikaner's camel country, the tiger habitat around Ranthambore, and Mumbai's colonial-era grandeur to the mix.
A practical note on booking
Fares and departure calendars shift by season and by which itinerary variant a given train is running that year, so we always point guests to the individual train pages for current details rather than quoting fixed numbers here. If Rajasthan is the centerpiece of a larger India trip, it's also worth reviewing our destinations overview and current departures before settling on dates. For guidance matching the right train to your itinerary, group size and travel dates, our team is glad to help — reach us through contact and we'll walk through the trade-offs in more detail.
None of these three trains is objectively "the best" — they're purpose-built for different shapes of an Indian journey. Palace on Wheels for the classic Rajasthan loop, Maharajas' Express for newer suites and a wider geographic reach, and Deccan Odyssey for a Mumbai-anchored journey that can stretch from the Arabian Sea to the Thar Desert.
