Varanasi Trip Cost for 2 or 3 Days: What a Family Actually Pays

A Varanasi trip with us costs ₹3,999 per person for 2 days and one night, or ₹6,499 per person for 3 days and two nights, both on twin sharing. That covers the hotel, an AC car with a driver, breakfast and a sunrise boat. GST, temple fees, lunch and dinner come on top, so read the next bit before you line our number up against anyone else's.

People usually ask us this right before they pay an advance somewhere, and fair enough. So here's our own card, line by line, plus the bits we honestly can't price for you.

The short answer: 2 days and 3 days, per person

You might spot a different range on our FAQ page: ₹1,999 to ₹24,999. That top figure is the seven-day Buddhist circuit, which isn't really a Varanasi trip. For a standard Varanasi trip (not a festival date or a photography tour) you're looking at ₹1,999 to ₹6,499 per person.

What the price includes and what it leaves out

On the two-day Kashi Darshan you get one hotel night on twin sharing, all transfers in an AC vehicle, the sunrise boat, breakfast, and the driver and fuel. Varanasi & Sarnath at a Human Pace, our three-day trip, gives you a second night, breakfast each day and a guided walk through the old city early in the morning while it's still quiet. Funnily enough, that walk is the hour people remember, more than any monument.

Neither trip includes GST, temple fees or a darshan slot, and lunch and dinner are on you. On the two-day one there's no boat on the aarti evening. On the three-day one, entry at Ramnagar Fort isn't covered. We'd rather tell you now than have you find out at the ticket window.

Car, boat, darshan: the parts that move the bill

The car's already inside the price, so nobody's watching a meter. On Kashi Darshan the driver and fuel are written into the package, and the three-day trip has an AC vehicle throughout. For a sense of the distances, Varanasi airport to Godowlia is 25 km by road, and Godowlia to Sarnath is 9.5 km.

Every package in the table above has a sunrise boat in it. A second boat at aarti time isn't part of the two-day price, so just ask us about that one when you book.

Kashi Vishwanath's general darshan is free. You pay in time instead: our FAQ puts the queue at three to six hours on weekends and festival days. If you'd rather skip most of that, the temple trust sells Sugam Darshan for ₹300 per person on its own portal. It isn't offered at aarti times or on special days, and we don't bundle it, so book it yourself and send us your slot. We'll plan the day around it.

Sarnath is easy on the wallet. The archaeological museum asks ₹5 a head, kids under 15 get in free, and it's shut on Fridays. The archaeological park is ₹25 for Indians and ₹300 for foreign visitors. We got the park figures from the Museums of India portal, as we couldn't find them on an ASI ticket page.

So for a family on the two-day trip, the extras stay small. The one that adds up is Sugam Darshan at ₹300 a head, though the temple trust's page says children under 12 don't need a ticket. Say two adults take Kashi Darshan: that's ₹3,999 each for the trip, plus ₹300 each if you both book Sugam Darshan, with GST on top of the trip price.

Hotels and food: what we can and cannot quote

We can't give you a hotel price outside our packages, and we're not going to invent one. The package hotel is twin sharing, which is why every price on this page is per person. Three of you in one room, or kids along? Message us and we'll work it out properly.

Food's the same. Lunch and dinner are yours, and the bill depends entirely on where you eat, so we've left it out. Breakfast is included.

2 days or 3?

Two days gets you the core: Kashi Vishwanath, the Ganga aarti, a sunrise boat and a short look at Sarnath. Trouble is, there's no slack if the temple queue drags. The third day costs the gap between ₹3,999 and ₹6,499 per person, and what it buys is time, not another monument. You get the old-city walk, Sarnath as a proper half day, and room to soak up a long queue.

Our honest take? If you've got the days, take the third one.

Thinking of adding Ayodhya? Our Varanasi & Ayodhya trip is ₹7,999 per person for 3 days, though day 2 is a long one, 440 km there and back. With grandparents along, we'd usually suggest an extra night.

Get a quote for your dates

Send us your dates, how many of you are coming and who, grandparents and children included. We'll reply on WhatsApp with a price for that group and the exclusions written out, so you can hold it up against any other quote. You can also call us on 7233999686.

One thing to check on any quote, ours too: is GST inside the number or on top? Ours is on top. Ask, because it changes the total.