Unforgettable Varanasi: Private 1-Day Spiritual Awakening

I had a wonderful experience exploring Varanasi. The guide was knowledgeable, friendly, and made every moment meaningful. From the Ganga Aarti to the narrow old lanes, everything was explained beautifully. Highly recommended

The good: the early morning boat ride along the ghats, the sunrise was spiritual and calming. The evening aarti was good too. The bad: The tour primarily involved driving, not guiding. We have hoped to learn about Varanasi, ancient culture, spiritual and historical facts, we did not get much of it. There wasn’t a lot of information sharing. For Sarnath we had to ask for tics to museum and archaeological site, otherwise we would have returned by just taking a glimpse of it. We visited these places without the guide, so felt like missed opportunity to learn. No water was provided, no coffee/tea was asked. The viewpoint to evening aarti was also no ideal. We were taken to a silk shop in the pretext of silk factory, which was unexpected. We have taken many tours in other parts of India, this was not well managed. Overall we were not satisfied with the tour.

We did this Varanasi Day Tour as a couple, and overall, the experience had some amazing moments — but also a few disappointments that made the day feel uneven. The morning was absolutely wonderful. The sunrise boat ride on the Ganges was magical, the temples were fascinating, and the visit to Sarnath was really meaningful. Our guide was very knowledgeable, kind, and shared a lot of interesting explanations. We definitely recommend him for the quality of his guiding. However, I’m giving 3 stars because the tour tries to cover too many things in one day, and the execution didn’t match what was advertised. The experience was sold as a full-day tour from 5 AM to 9 PM, but it ended around 4:45 PM — so we felt like a big portion of the experience was missing. Lunch was also a strange part of the day. We hoped to try some authentic Indian food, but we were taken to a restaurant that didn’t feel very local. We finished eating in about 40 minutes but were asked to stay for an hour and a half, which made the day suddenly slow and awkward. From that point on, we could feel that our guide and driver were very tired and becoming impatient, which made us uncomfortable at times. After Sarnath, we were brought to a silk shop where the seller was unfortunately very rude and pushy. He made me feel disrespected for bargaining, and the atmosphere there was unpleasant. He also spoke negatively in Hindi about us while we were right there, and his behavior felt aggressive and manipulative. We later discovered that one of the products sold to my fiancée wasn’t real pashmina — they fortunately accepted a refund the next day (from another location), but the whole situation left a very bad impression. They had real silk, but their so-called “100% pashmina” was a blend. The seller was unfortunately extremely rude. He spoke negatively about me in Hindi while I was standing right in front of him, and he implied that I was being disrespectful simply for bargaining. His attitude felt aggressive and condescending, and he seemed determined to pressure us into buying something regardless of honesty or respect. It was clear he did not appreciate that we questioned the authenticity of the products. Warning: Be vigilant in this store. We asked for a burn test to verify the fabric, as we are familiar with the process, but the seller refused and became visibly frustrated when he realized we knew the difference in product quality. The last part of the tour was supposed to include the Ganga Aarti ceremony. Our guide asked multiple times if it was okay to end the tour early, which made us feel like he didn’t want to continue. We assumed he would accompany us, explain the ritual, and stay with us — but instead we were left on our own. He did ask if it was fine with us, but by then we felt the day was already over for him, so we agreed. We gave a much smaller tip because of how the tour ended. In summary: Morning: 5 stars ✨ Afternoon: 2 stars 😕 Great guide in terms of knowledge, but the day feels too long and too full for the team to keep their energy. The tour advertises about 13 hours, but it was significantly shorter. I still think the tour has a lot of potential and beautiful moments, but it needs better pacing and a more consistent experience throughout the day.

We had a truly excellent time in Varanasi. Sunny was an incredible guide, and we are grateful that he made the experience so wonderful for us. I highly recommend!!!

Incredible experience. Sunny, our guide, was fantastic all day. He picked us up early and was full of energy throughout. Amazing experience. Varanasi is so much more than I thought and I thought it would be a huge experience, it did not disappoint.

We saw the sunrise on a boat tour on the Ganges, multiple temples in Varanasi including the beautiful Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple at Banaras Hindu University Campus, the Scared tree at Sarnath, and then the Ganga Aarti ceremony in the evening. Plus along the way visits to cafes, shops and a particularly interesting silk weaver's workshop. Sunny was incredibly knowledgeable and a great guide around the city. Distances covered in the car were always comfortable with welcome AC inside! Altogether it was about 5km of walking spread over the day with no particular difficulty. The pick up for the sunrise was early (6.20 for us) then back to the hotel for 8.30 and then picked up again at 11 until drop off at the Bangra Aarti ceremony at around 6. We then made our own way back to the hotel after the ceremony. Can't imagine a better tour. Thank you very much.

Varanasi is magical, but can be overwhelming at the beginning. This tour was perfect for us. Ballu was very patient and kind. He helped us understanding the city and guided us through an amazing and immersive experience. I’m really grateful.

Great Tour with Sunny. We had a very nice day, the boat ride in the morning was beautiful. Then it was really nice to visit the university and Sarnath - somewhat less chaotic than other parts of Varanasi. A long day but a fulfilling one.

This tour is fantastic! The best way to see all of Varanasi in one day. Kasif, my guide, and Sheru, the driver, were superb. Kasif was very knowledgeable about each and every site. While, yes, the tour starts early and ends in the evening, my experienced guide and driver made great use of time and built in a break for breakfast and a rest at my nice hotel (which made things even better!). If you only have one day in Varanasi, as I did, look no further than this tour!

This is a very full day but it gives you a brilliant insight into Varanasi. I am a solo traveller of a certaon age and so I booked the private tour so that I could go at my own pace. Ballu met me at my hotel and took me down to the Ganges for the sunrise boat trip. That was amazing and the day just got better. I do have some mobility issues but Ballu factored that in and helped me through the day. I highly recommend this trip.