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How long is enough for Varanasi & How much for Ganges cruise?

How long is enough for Varanasi & How much for Ganges cruise?

Old Apr 18th, 2011, 01:31 PM
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How long is enough for Varanasi & How much for Ganges cruise?

We are not religious but we love history. We would like to visit Varanasi on the way to Kolkata from Agra. Our dream is to take a cruise along River Ganges. Assuming we arrive in Varanasi at night, the next morning we have ONE FULL day from sunrise to late at night. And then spend the second night before leaving for Kolkata.

The question is, that ONE FULL day that we have in Varanasi is it sufficient to see all the places of interest and take a cruise along the Ganges or do we need TWO FULL days?

Secondly, the cruises that they have along River Ganges how long are they (one, two hours?) and how much do they cost approximately in rupees?

Lastly, if you had a total of 6 days for Delhi and Varanasi. Does it make more sense to have 4 days in Delhi and 2 days in Varanasi, or 5 days in Delhi and 1 day in Varanasi?

Thank you kindly.
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Old Apr 18th, 2011, 01:54 PM
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i would not describe the time on the Ganges as a "cruise"... generally you are rowed in a small boat or motored in a slightly larger boat...

i suspect that it will last as long as you wish... probably from one hour upwards...

i am spending 3 days there, but i am slow in getting around...
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Old Apr 18th, 2011, 02:18 PM
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I wasn't especially taken with Delhi, and I loved Varanasi, so I'd spend two days there. I'd suggest a visit to Sarnath while you're there - the site of the Buddha's first sermon. (where there are deer in the Deer Park).

When you say "cruise" on the Ganges you just mean a boat ride, right? You negotiate it with the boat owners - just walk along the ghats and they'll find you. You can have as long as you want, but an hour or two should be enough. the views are fascinating but the water is horrendous.
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Old Apr 18th, 2011, 07:06 PM
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Yes, it is not a "cruise" on the Ganges - you will be passing turds, bloated dead animals and the occasional corpse. Make sure you take some nicely smelling perfumes with you to block out the stench.
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Old Apr 18th, 2011, 07:31 PM
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In June 2009, we paid 150 Rupees for a one hour boat ride at dawn. Tehre were two of us, and we negotiated directly with the boatman. Our friend, who owns a little tailor shop near Assi Ghat told us 150 r per hour is a fair price.If you head down to the water at dawn, there will be no shortage of boats to choose from. I look for ones with no water sloshing around the bottom!

If you are at somewhere like Assi Ghat and want to go to Main Ghat, it will be roughly an hour round trip, so base your price on the destination> otherwise, your driver will take his sweet time for the first 30 minutes, then try and get an inflated amount to get you up to where you want to see before turning around.

An evening ride is different and nice too, especially if you want to go by the burning ghats. For those, I'd just go for an hour ride, maiybe ending at the aarti ceremony.

There are boats that hold about 20 people, but you couldn't pay me to have to share such an quiet experience with 18 strangers (who are often quite noisy) on a motorized boat. Plus, the vendors selling CDs, snacks and jewelry all head for those bigger boats.

You can get a decent glimpse of Varanasi in the full day + 2 part days (That's what I did my first time), but if you want to go to Sarnath, you'll need two full days.

Make sure you stay at a hotel on the river...The fancy hotels in the Cantonnment are 45 minutes away.
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Old Apr 18th, 2011, 07:32 PM
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mab---don't forget your swim suit
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Old Apr 18th, 2011, 07:39 PM
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we spent three full days which to us was perfect, however we stayed on the river so it meant that we didnt spend a lot of time travelling to and from the action. We stayed at Rashmi Guest house,A Palace on River, which was a basic hotel but clean, great location and wonderful resteraunt. You can catch a boat right in front of the hotel and walk next door to the evening show
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Old Apr 19th, 2011, 08:30 PM
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We spent three nights, two and a half days in Varanasi--could have stayed longer as we loved wandering in the old city, and we stayed both at Rashmi Guest House--and in the cantonment. We didn't feel rushed this way. We took a boat trip at sundown and one at dawn, and walked along the ghats another morning at dawn and saw the aarti service at dusk one evening.
(We didn't experience any terrible spells, didn't see any bloated dead animals, etc.

We could have stayed longer in Delhi too (we were there two days--they're very different experiences.)

Why not split the time evenly between the two cities? Three days ihn each? The flight from Delhi to Varanasi isn't long.
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