Booking, payments, darshan, hotels, guides and what actually happens on the ground. If your question is not here, call us — a planner in Varanasi will pick up.
Send your dates and rough plan through the Book Now button on any page, on WhatsApp, or by phone. A planner replies with a day-by-day itinerary and a price break-up. Nothing is charged until you have read it and asked for whatever changes you want.
Usually twenty-five percent to hold the hotels and the vehicle, with the balance payable before departure. On festival dates the hotels themselves demand more up front, and we will say so clearly in the quote rather than surprising you later.
UPI, bank transfer, all major cards and cash at our Varanasi office. International guests usually pay by bank transfer or card. You get a GST invoice for everything.
Cancel more than fifteen days before departure and you lose only what the hotels have already charged us, which is usually nothing. Inside seven days the hotel and transport penalties become real, and we pass on exactly what we are charged - no cancellation fee of our own on top.
Yes. A GST invoice with our registration number, itemised so you can see what the hotel, the vehicle, the guide and the entry tickets each cost.
Two nights and three days is the honest minimum. That covers a sunrise boat, the Kashi Vishwanath corridor, one evening aarti and Sarnath without rushing. Add a night if you want a free morning for the lanes and the food.
October to March for comfortable weather and the full festival calendar. April to June is hot but the ghats are empty and rates drop sharply. July to September is the monsoon - the flooded ghats are a genuine sight, but boat rides can be cancelled on high-water days.
Yes, and it is our most requested route. Five days is comfortable: two in Varanasi, one at the Sangam in Prayagraj and two in Ayodhya. We drive the whole thing in a private vehicle so your luggage stays with you.
Eight to twelve weeks for Dev Deepawali, Mahashivratri and the Kumbh. Riverside hotels sell out first and their rates roughly double in the final month.
Regularly, and for solo women travellers in particular. The vehicle and guide are private either way; only the per-person cost changes because there is nobody to share it with.
Where the temple trust offers an official paid slot we book it and show the cost on your quote. We do not pay touts for queue-jumping, and we will tell you honestly when a wait is simply unavoidable.
Most temples in Varanasi welcome visitors of any faith, including Kashi Vishwanath. A small number of shrines restrict the inner sanctum, and your guide will tell you which before you reach the door rather than at it.
Phones, cameras, bags and leather items are refused at Kashi Vishwanath and at the Ram Janmabhoomi complex. There are free lockers at the gates but the queue for them is its own queue - travel light and you will save half an hour.
No. Photography is forbidden at Manikarnika and Harishchandra ghats. They are functioning cremation grounds and the families there are burying someone. Anyone offering to let you photograph for a fee has no standing to give that permission.
Around 6.45 p.m. in summer and closer to 6.00 p.m. in winter, running about forty-five minutes. The ghat begins filling a full hour beforehand, which is why we put guests on a boat instead.
Yes, on every booking, at any hour. We track the actual train or flight arrival rather than the scheduled one, so a four-hour delay at 2 a.m. still means a driver on the platform with a name board.
Our own serviced, air-conditioned fleet - sedans, SUVs and tempo travellers depending on group size. Toll, parking and the driver allowance are inside the quote, never added at the end.
The old-city lanes are narrow and uneven and no vehicle can enter them. We plan shorter walking loops, drop as close as the road allows, and arrange a wheelchair at the ghat steps or at Mahabodhi with a day of notice.
Yes - Bodhgaya, Rajgir and Nalanda in Bihar, Haridwar and Rishikesh in Uttarakhand, and Nepal for the Pashupatinath and Lumbini circuit.
Whatever suits the trip - riverside heritage havelis, comfortable mid-range properties near the ghats, or clean, plain three-stars by the station. We tell you honestly which ones are worth the extra and which are not.
Extremely. Varanasi is overwhelmingly vegetarian and much of the old city is strictly so. Jain meals can be arranged with a day of notice, and we will point you at the places our own staff eat.
Generally yes, with sensible rules - hot food cooked in front of you, busy stalls with high turnover, bottled water only and no cut fruit. Our guides will steer you to the corners they eat at themselves.
Every one of them is licensed by the Ministry of Tourism. You can see the roster, their languages and their years of experience on our Guides page, and request a specific person when you book.
English, Hindi, Bengali, Japanese, French and Spanish across the current roster. Tell us which you need when you enquire and we will match the guide before you arrive rather than on the morning.
Yes. Name them when you book and we will hold their dates if they are free. If they are already committed we will tell you straight away and suggest the closest match rather than quietly substituting someone.
A licensed guide at each sightseeing point is included in our tour packages. If you only want a car and driver, the guide is a separate line item you can add or drop.
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