Varanasi Travel Itinerary
Places to Visit in Varanasi in 2 Days
Check out our visit to Varanasi and Sarnath for further inspiration: Discovering Varanasi and Sarnath: A Tale of Mystical Ghats and Buddhist Heritage. We travelled in January 2023 and this itinerary closely matches the places that we visited.
Flights to and from Varanasi are infrequent. This schedule assumes you have 2 full days (i.e. around 48 hours). Tailor the schedule based on your arrival and departure times.
Day 1: Schedule
Afternoon
- Arrive in Varanasi, get settled in your hotel and familiarise yourself with the city layout.
Head down to Dashashwamedh Ghat
and soak up the hustle and bustle ahead of the Ganga Aarti.
and soak up the hustle and bustle ahead of the Ganga Aarti.
Evening
Ganga Aarti
. An amazing experience, your Varanasi adventure peaks early!
. An amazing experience, your Varanasi adventure peaks early!Day 2 Schedule
Morning
- A pre-dawn start, back down to the ghats and a Dawn Boat Tour.
Start early and have a big breakfast. There is a lot to see before a late lunch!
Dawn Boat Tour
. The pre-dawn start is certainly worth it as you see a different, serene side to Varanasi when taking to the water early.Return to your hotel for breakfast and to recharge.
A Walking Tour of the Old City
. Getting up close and personal with Manikarnika Ghat, the alley ways of the Old City and the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor.
. The pre-dawn start is certainly worth it as you see a different, serene side to Varanasi when taking to the water early.
. Getting up close and personal with Manikarnika Ghat, the alley ways of the Old City and the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor. Afternoon
Banarasi Silk Weaving. We’ve not given this a rating as we did not do this, opting instead to explore Glass Bead wholesalers for personal reasons. Our guide did recommend it and I am sure it would be fascinating, but we can’t comment as we have no personal experience.
Mother India Temple
. The highlight is the huge marble map, and the very concept. Shri Vishwanath Temple at Banaras Hindu University
.
. The highlight is the huge marble map, and the very concept. Evening
Evening Ganges Boat Cruise
. Varanasi is all about the river! You need to book ahead to get a seat.
Day 3 Schedule
Morning
Sarnath Temple
. An education in Buddhism and the historic Bodhi tree. Dhamek Stupa and Deer Park
. The site of the Buddha’s first sermon and ruins of Emperor Ashoka’s city. Sarnath Museum
. A grand building, but with just one amazing highlight – the Ashoka’s Lion Capital, the symbol of India.
Afternoon
Head back to the airport. It is not a busy airport so you should not need too long to go through security.
If you have an extra day then either give yourself some extra rest as this itinerary is full on, or for inspiration of what else to fit in check out our Varanasi Travel Itinerary: 3 Days.
Recommended Hotels
Taj Ganges Hotel
- This is where we stayed as we felt that it was a safe option.
- The hotel infrastructure needs renewing, it is definitely showing signs of wear and tear.
- Probably one of the worst Taj hotels that we’ve stayed in, but the room was clean and two restaurants were ok – it served it’s purpose.
- Relatively close to the ghats.
Taj Nadesar Palance
- This is one of the Taj Palace Hotels and hence would expect next level of experience.
- I would however recommend that you save your money on this trip and put it towards one of the Palace hotels in another location – Udaipur or Mumbai for example.
- This hotel shares the ground with the Taj Ganges. Therefore, I walked around and, from the outside, it was nothing special.
Radisson Hotel Varanasi
- Our niece and her friend stayed here when they visited Varanasi.
- A standard Radisson experience. Nothing to write home about, but the hotel is not the reason you are visiting Varanasi!
Brijrama Palace Hotel
- We saw this hotel when we were in Varanasi. It is in an amazing location on the ghats.
- Rearching it afterwards, this is definitely where we would stay if we were to return to Varanasi. Certainly we would pick it ahead of the Taj Nadesar when comparing the top end luxury hotels.
- However, we’ve never been into it so this is not based on any personal experience. I just wish I’d known about it before we travelled, hence I’m sharing!
Trip Highlights
This ancient city is all about the influences of Shiva and Ganga, which is centred around the ghats. No surprises then that our two standout highlights, not just of this trip but of all our trips in India so far are:
- Ganga Aarti. What is not to love about a city singing “good night and thank you” to the river. The mesmerizing Ganga Aarti is where the city’s spiritual energy comes alive in a symphony of chanting, fire, and devotion.
- Morning Boat Trip. The serene calm as the watery dawn light reveals the timeless cycle of life unfolding on the riverbanks. Made even more special as we watched our diyas drift off together, joined with each other in Ganga’s arms.
