10–14 days

What 10 to 14 days actually buys you

Two weeks is the length most people book, and the reason is arithmetic. Ten days covers one region properly. Fourteen days covers a country, or two regions of a large one, without turning the holiday into a series of long drives.

Fifteen trips sit at this length: six in India, three in Nepal, six in Sri Lanka. Prices start between EUR 750 and EUR 1,910 per person for the land arrangements. Bhutan is not here — the three Bhutan trips run six and eight days.

All of them are private. Your own vehicle, your own driver, your own German-speaking guide, your own dates. No scheduled departures, no other travellers in the car. At this length that matters more than it does on a short trip: a fortnight has enough slack in it that a rest morning, a second night somewhere you liked, or swapping a temple for a beach is a conversation with your guide rather than a lost booking.

India: six routes, 10 to 14 days

The shortest is The magic of Rajasthan — 10 days from EUR 1,000. Delhi, an afternoon jeep safari in Sariska, two days in Jaipur, two safaris in Ranthambhore, then Dholpur and the Chambal reserve before the Taj Mahal. It is the cheapest way into Rajasthan in the catalogue.

At 14 days, three Rajasthan routes go in different directions. Rajasthan – The Land of Kings (EUR 1,800) heads west: Shekhawati, the Thar desert, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, the Aravalli hills, Udaipur. Royal Rajasthan & Varanasi (EUR 1,520) trades the desert for the Ganges — Ranthambore, the Keoladeo bird park, Agra, then two days on the ghats in Varanasi and a flight back to Delhi. India – from North to South (EUR 1,840) runs the Golden Triangle and Ranthambore, then flies Jaipur to Kochi for Kerala: Periyar, a spice plantation, a backwater houseboat, and a finish on Marari beach.

Two more sit outside that pattern. South India – Exotic World (11 days, EUR 1,570) starts in Chennai and works through the temple towns — Pondicherry, Darasuram, Tanjore, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai — before Periyar and the backwaters. Colourful Rajasthan & Himalayas (12 days, EUR 1,910, the highest price on this page) pairs Shekhawati, Jaipur and Agra with a flight to Bagdogra, Kalimpong, a sunrise at Tiger Hill and a ride on the mountain railway.

Nepal: it comes down to the trek

Three Nepal trips carry this length, and the real question is whether you want to walk for five days.

Trekking tour through Nepal (11 days, EUR 1,575) and Culture and Himalayan hiking (14 days, EUR 1,760) run the same five stages out of Pokhara: Nayapul at 1,070 m, up to Ghorepani at 2,850 m, a pre-dawn climb to Poon Hill at 3,210 m, then down through Ghandruk. Teahouse nights, real ascent, nothing technical. The 14-day version adds two days in Chitwan and more time in the Kathmandu valley; the 11-day version fits in Lumbini instead.

Temples, shrines & Himalayas (14 days, EUR 1,350) has no multi-day trek at all — Kathmandu, the monasteries at Pharping, a day hike to Ramkot, Pokhara and a Himalayan sunrise, then three days in Chitwan. It is the cheapest Nepal trip on this page and the one to take if you want the country without the walking.

Sri Lanka: six trips, 13 to 14 days

Sri Lanka is where two weeks goes furthest, and the prices show it. The wonderful world of Sri Lanka is 13 days from EUR 750 — the lowest price on this page. Galle, Kataragama, Ella with the Ella Rock hike, World's End in Horton Plains, Kandy, Dambulla, Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya, Anuradhapura, and a night at Negombo to finish.

The five 14-day routes differ by what they add. Culture & nature (EUR 1,120) and Forests, tea plantations & culture (EUR 1,140) both climb Adam's Peak — over 5,000 steps through the night to the 2,243 m summit for sunrise, alongside pilgrims. Between culture and jungle (EUR 1,380) gives two full days to the Sinharaja rainforest and adds Udawalawe. Sri Lanka's glory (EUR 1,050) puts four nights on the beach at Nilaveli in the middle of the route rather than at the end. Breathtaking nature & culture (EUR 1,220) covers Sigiriya, Yala and Galle, then flies you to the Maldives for four nights at a resort you choose — that resort stay is priced on top.

What the price covers

Hotel accommodation, breakfast, a German-speaking guide, a bottle of water on arrival, and someone reachable 24 hours a day for the length of the trip. Domestic flights written into an itinerary — Jaipur to Kochi, Delhi to Bagdogra, Varanasi to Delhi — are in. International flights are not. Lunches and dinners are not listed as included; breakfast is the meal you can count on.

Rooms come in four tiers: Standard, Deluxe, Superior and Executive. There is no five-star tier, and we would rather say so here than after you have booked. The prices quoted are the starting figure at the lowest tier — moving up raises them.

Picking your months

Nothing here has a fixed departure date, so the calendar is yours. That makes "when" the first real decision rather than the last, and the right window differs by country and by region within a country. We have written it out month by month for India, Sri Lanka — with a fuller weather breakdown — Nepal, and the Maldives if you are adding island days. Still choosing between two countries at the same length? India or Sri Lanka sets out the trade-off.