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The Ultimate 3 Days in Varanasi - How to Spend 39 Hours - For First Timers

Recommended by 96% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Varanasi, India
  • 3 days (approx.)
  • Pickup offered
  • Group discounts
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

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Overview

Discover Varanasi, the spiritual capital of India, on this private 3-day tour. Visit the Buddhist site of Sarnath, the pilgrimage site of Assi Ghat, and the Hindu temple of Kashi Vishwanath Temple; enjoy a scenic cruise along the Ganges River; and witness the evening Ganga Aarti ceremony along the river. Accommodation and some meals are included.
  • Cruise the Ganges River and see the Ganga Aarti ritual
  • Includes accommodation in a 4/5-star hotel with breakfast
  • Intimate private tour can be customized to your preferences
  • Hassle-free airport arrival and departure transfers

What's Included

  • Private transportation
  • 4* 0r 5* Hotel Private Superior Accommodation with Bed & Breakfast Basis if you book with Hotel
  • Mineral Water Everyday
  • English speaking tour guide within the tour.
  • Hand Rowing boat tour in the morning
  • Breakfast (2)
    Breakfast
  • Gratuities
  • Sarnath Entrance Fee

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

Our Driver with an assistance will be waiting for you at Varanasi from the airport with your name paging board with written Yattri on it or hotel anywhere in Varanasi. Our services is from airport or airport / Station to station.

Itinerary

Day 1

Pick up From Airport - Sarnath - Ganga Aarti

5 Stops

Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, Varanasi (Pass By)

1

Sarnath

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

2

Sarnath Museum

1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included

3

Ganga Aarti

3 hours • Admission Ticket Included

4

Blue Lassi Shop

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Accommodation: 4/5-star Hotel Accommodation (Private Room Inc. Breakfast) Deluxe Category Rooms Check-in 02:00 Pm Check out at 11:00 AM

Meals: Not included

Day 2

Hand Rowing Boat Tour - Temples - Heritage Walk - Silk Weaving.

5 Stops

1

Assi Ghat

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

2

Manikarnika Ghat

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

3

Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple (Golden Temple)

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

4

Banaras Hindu University

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

5

Lallapura Muslim School Road

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Accommodation: 4/5-star Hotel Accommodation ( Private Room Inc. Breakfast) Premium Rooms. Check-in 02:00 Pm Check out at 11:00 AM

Meals: Breakfast

Day 3

Departure to Airport

1 Stop

1

Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, Varanasi

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Accommodation: Not included

Meals: Breakfast

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Near public transportation
  • Most travelers can participate
  • This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.8
based on 151 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
We perform checks on reviews

Magical 3 days in Varanasi with Sonny

Paul_A, Feb 2025
Sonny was a great host and tour guide. From having his driver meet us at the airport and taking to the hotel where we met Sonny and headed to the Ganges River to participate in the spectacular event of sunset boat ride where thousands of people were there. The next morning Sonny met us at hotel at 6:30 to experience sunrise along the Ganges and again seeing thousands bathing in the holy waters. After a 2 hour breakfast and break, Sonny picked us up and we did a car tour of the highlights on Varanasi included many sites and temples. We also went to a silk factory and saw classic silk weaving machines and of course had to buy some unique silk items to bring home. We then had a classic lunch together and the tour day was over. The next morning Sonny was in the lobby to make sure we got to our driver to take us back to the airport. Sonny was a great guide, took his time with us and made sure we got a full taste of Varanasi in 39 hours. Him you are going to Varanasi pick this tour and use Sonny to make your trip to this historical city magical.

Response from Host, Feb 2025

Dear Guest Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us. We want you to feel comfortable sharing the good review with us. I'm so happy that your experience with us is going as expected. I also want to thank you for putting in a good review. I'm pleased we could improve things and hope to see you again soon. Md Kasif

Wonderful guide and drive; not very nice hotel

Natalie_P, Jan 2025
I really waffled between three and four stars for this Varanasi tour. Our tour guide, Ricky was fantastic as was our driver, Balbu. They were always on time and took very good care of us. The problem we had was the hotel. It was no where near a four star accommodation. It would pushing it to say it was two stars, even in India. We actually did other tours in India and stayed at four and five star hotels - this was not one. The front desk staff were rude, but worse, the room was not clean, there were stains on walls, carpet, draperies, anything you cold imagine. Although the sheets and towels appeared clean, they were well worn. Breakfast was included and was fine which was a plus. But the price we paid for this tour was definitely not worth the hotel stay. We did not complain to the tour operator, so to be fair, did not give them a chance to remedy the situation. However, we were also told that there were basically no rooms in Varanasi during our stay, so they probably could not have moved us anyway. Regardless, we enjoyed our time there. But I would be wary about the hotel accommodations in booking this tour.

Response from Host, Jan 2025

Dear Sir On behalf of the Yattri Family, I sincerely regret any negative feelings or embarrassment you may have experienced. We never intend to make anyone feel this way, so please know that we take your feedback very seriously and will look into what happened during your visit with us. Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us. We want you to feel comfortable sharing the good review with us. I also want to thank you for putting in 4 stars. I'm pleased we can improve things and hope to see you again soon. Kasif

Mixed experience

Lauren_B, Dec 2024
Abhishek was a nice tour guide, very amusing and fun. He gut us wonderful seats on the roof for the Ganga Aarti for an additional fee. However, many times we felt rushed. For instance, we didn't feel we had enough time at the ghats or in the central/old part of Varanasi. He did try to wait for us sometimes, but other times he would sometimes take off into a crowd of people, and we'd have to call out after him. Varanasi is extremely crowded with tiny alleyways, so it will always be difficult regardless if who is your guide. Regardless, we felt this could have been done better. We felt VERY heavily pressured to buy at the loom stop. They showed us piece after piece even when we told them we were not interested ("only" 150 dollars!, about 140 euros). It's very common in India for vendors to be pushy (I know this from 1 month in India), but they took this to a whole new level. After we spent about 3000 rupees there, they asked for a tip as well. I wish we'd asked to skip it. At the tea shop, they were much more polite. But they put perfume on my friend's hands even though she said "no" multiple times and even tried to pull her hand away. Though the perfume is natural, she is very sensitive skin, and she had an uncomfortable skin reaction. I also had to heavily press to do things that were included in the itinerary, such as the street food tour and Blue Lassi shop. The Blue Lassi shop is not to be missed! The base of any lassi is very simple. What sets Blue Lassi apart is the variety of flavors you can get, and the garnishments as well! We tried a pear, pineapple, and pomegranate/apple/chocolate lassi. I LOVED the pear and pomegranate/apple/chocolate! I've been in India for 1 month and have not seen this kind of variety anywhere (Rajasthan, Delhi, UP, Goa, Bombay). Usually it's just sweet/salty plain, mango, banana, and maybe strawberry. You can also see them make the lassi out front. The food that Abhishek took us to in Varanasi was top notch! Also, it's worth noting that we had booked train tickets to go to Agra but were not confirmed. Abhishek worked with his company, and they were able to get us confirmed tickets using their quota for 350 rupees a piece. Totally worth it, and we appreciated this a lot.

Response from Host, Dec 2024

Dear Sir On behalf of the Yattri Family, I sincerely regret any negative feelings or embarrassment you may have experienced. We never intend to make anyone feel this way, so please know that we take your feedback very seriously and will look into what happened during your visit with us. Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us. We want you to feel comfortable sharing the good review with us. I also want to thank you for putting in 3 stars. I'm pleased we can improve things and hope to see you again soon. Kasif

Amazing tour

Ryoko_N, Jul 2024
We were very satisfied and happy with this tour and itinerary. There are so many places to see and things to do in Varanasi. Our tour guide Arvind was knowledgeable, flexible and considerate. Our driver Abhishek was an amazing driver on busy streets of Varanasi. They were always on time and very professional. We did everything we wanted to do in a relaxed pace in 3 days. I highly recommend this tour!

Response from Host, Jul 2024

Dear Mam Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us. We want you to feel comfortable sharing the good review with us. I'm so happy that your experience with us is as per expectations. I also want to thank you for putting in a good review. I'm pleased we were able to make things better and I hope we see you again soon. Md Kasif

Varanasi Tour

Miguel_R, Jul 2024
Beautiful tour with amazing temples and full of ancient history. Arvind was an amazing tour guide. Highly recommend the 3 day Varanasi tour.

Response from Host, Jul 2024

Dear Mam Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us. We want you to feel comfortable sharing the good review with us. I'm so happy that your experience with us is as per expectations. I also want to thank you for putting in a good review. I'm pleased we were able to make things better and I hope we see you again soon. Md Kasif

Classroom experience

Daniel_D, Dec 2023
We enjoyed a lot our experience in Varanasi, Raj was our tour guide and he was amazing, we learned a lot about Hinduism, Buddhism and ancient Indian history. Totally recommended.

Response from Host, Dec 2023

Dear Sir Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us. We want you to feel comfortable sharing the good review with us. I'm so happy that your experience with us is as per expectations. I also want to thank you for putting in a good review. I'm pleased we were able to make things better and I hope we see you again soon. Md Kasif

Unforgettable and perfectly run tour!

David_I, Oct 2023
Unforgettable experience. Absolutely every aspect of how Yattri handles business glowed with professionalism and virtue and they went above and beyond to ensure our happiness. Arvind was our guide and he was stellar. He made sure we had a chance to feel each experience, and provided riveting and fascinating commentary. What a privilege to hang out with him for 3 days. Hotel bookings were also wonderful and gave us a safe haven to relax in between exploring the bustling city of Varanasi. Also, everything happened on time and with great communication and we felt 100% safe and in good hands. The driver was a very friendly and dependable person. Book this tour!!

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Dear David, Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us. We want you to feel comfortable sharing the good review with us. I'm so happy that your experience with us is as per expectations. I also want to thank you for putting in a good review. I'm pleased we were able to make things better and I hope we see you again soon. Md Kasif

From $125.59

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up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

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On average, this is booked 119 days in advance.

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