Mumbai to Jaisalmer With a Dog
Roughly 1170km by road, which is around 18 hours of driving. Almost nobody does this by car with a dog. Train or plane is the sensible route.
The route works the same from either end, so read it whether you are starting in Mumbai or in Jaisalmer.
Do not drive this one
At roughly 1170km each way this is two full days on the road in each direction. The railhead for Jaisalmer is Jaisalmer station, connected to Jodhpur and Delhi.
Leaving Mumbai
Jaisalmer lies due north of Mumbai, roughly 1170km by road. Getting out of Mumbai is the journey's hardest hour. The Expressway and the eastern exits both jam from about 7am, and weekend departures are worse than weekday ones. Leaving before 6am is the single change that most improves a Mumbai road trip.
Where to break this journey
Driving means two or three days each way, and these are where those days end.
- Rann of Kutch , desert in Gujarat, around 64% of the way
- Mount Abu , hill in Rajasthan, around 68% of the way
- Udaipur , heritage in Rajasthan, around 68% of the way
Of the 57 destinations we cover, Jaisalmer is the 21st closest to Mumbai.
Closer from Mumbai, if this is further than you wanted
- Mumbai to Gokarna , about 13 hours, beach in Karnataka
- Mumbai to Udaipur , about 12 hours, heritage in Rajasthan
- Mumbai to Goa , about 12 hours, beach in Goa
Jaisalmer in one paragraph
Desert heat is a serious risk for dogs outside deep winter, and sand reaches burning temperatures. Camel safari operators generally do not accommodate dogs. Nights get genuinely cold in winter.
The full Jaisalmer guide sets out the terrain, the restrictions and the hazards worth knowing before you arrive.
Veterinary access at the far end
Limited. Basic care in Jaisalmer town, with anything serious meaning a long drive to Jodhpur, roughly 5 hours.
Know where the nearest twenty four hour option is even if the local one looks fine, since local ones close. Emergency vets by city.
Timing it from Mumbai
Humidity rather than heat is the Mumbai problem. Skin and ear infections are constant, and the monsoon adds standing water, which carries leptospirosis risk for dogs who walk through flooded streets.
Monsoon, roughly June to September, brings paw infections, leptospirosis risk and dogs who will not go outside. Ganpati and Diwali both bring firework and crowd stress.
Set that against Jaisalmer, where the advice is to go november to february and avoid March to September. The overlap between those two windows is your actual travel season, and it is usually narrower than either one suggests on its own.
Doing this journey with your dog
At around 18 hours of driving this is two days each way, which is the argument for the train. Plan the first stop before you leave, not when the dog starts complaining. Somewhere with shade and a patch of grass inside the first ninety minutes sets the pattern for the rest of the 18 hours, and it tells you early whether this dog travels well. The stop you improvise on a highway shoulder helps nobody.
Our breed climate checker scores how your breed copes with the conditions at Jaisalmer, and the travel hub has the other 56 destinations if this one turns out to be the wrong fit.
Questions people ask
How far is Jaisalmer from Mumbai?
Roughly 1170km by road, due north of Mumbai, which is around 18 hours of driving. At that distance almost nobody drives it with a dog, and the figure is an estimate rather than a looked-up number.
Should I fly or take the train from Mumbai to Jaisalmer?
Depends entirely on size. Under about 7kg and the cabin is realistic, which makes flying to Jaisalmer the sensible choice. Above that you are looking at the hold, and at that point the train from Mumbai is both cheaper and kinder.
Can I drive from Mumbai to Jaisalmer with a dog if I want to?
You can, over two or three days. Rann of Kutch, Mount Abu, Udaipur sit broadly along the corridor and make sensible overnight stops.
What is the best time to visit Jaisalmer with a dog?
November to February. Avoid March to September, because extreme desert heat.
Do I need to book pet friendly stays in Jaisalmer ahead?
Yes, and confirm by phone rather than trusting a listing. Properties marked pet friendly frequently turn out to mean small dogs only, or specific rooms, or an undisclosed fee. Get the size limit in writing.
What should I pack for Mumbai to Jaisalmer?
Water and a collapsible bowl, their own food rather than a new one, the physical vaccination card, any medication, a spare lead, poo bags and an old towel. The vaccination card is the item people leave behind and then need.
Treat the numbers as a planning figure rather than a measurement. They come from a model fitted to 56 routes with known drive times, and the real number depends on your exit from the city and on the final stretch.
Get a day by day version
Enter your dates and the planner lays out the journey, the stops and the return in order.
Plan it outMore on Jaisalmer: the full destination guide.