Day-wise plan
Every day runs on a private cab - the order and pace are yours to change.
1Day 1 - Trip begins at Madurai - Arrive Madurai, temple and palace
- Meet at Madurai airport and check in at the hotel
- Visit the Meenakshi Temple with its towering gopurams, then the Indo-Saracenic Thirumalai Nayak Palace famed for stucco work on its domes and arches
- Optional with a 2-day stay: Alagar Koyil, Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam, Koodal Azhagar Temple, Thiruparankundram, Gandhi Museum, Athisayam theme park
- Night in Madurai
2Day 2 - Madurai to Trichy (140 km, about 2 hrs)
- Post-breakfast drive to Trichy
- Climb Rockfort's 434 rock-cut steps past the Ganapathi shrines up to the Shiva temple, with sweeping views of the Kaveri River
- Visit the huge Srirangam Vishnu temple complex, which even holds a bazaar within its walls
- Optional at extra cost: Kallanai Dam, built by Chola king Karikalan in the 2nd century AD, and the Jambukeswarar temple
- Night in Trichy
3Day 3 - Short hop to Thanjavur (60 km, about 1 hr)
- Morning sightseeing at Tanjore: the Brihadeeswarar Temple built by Raja Raja Chola I and finished in 1010 AD, a prime example of Chola architecture
- Visit the Thanjavur Maratha Palace complex (Aranmanai), seat of the Bhonsle family from 1674 to 1855
- Browse the town's famed bronzes, handicrafts and silk
- Night in Thanjavur
4Day 4 - Chola capitals en route to Pondicherry (195 km, about 4 hrs)
- Drive via Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Rajendra Chola's medieval capital with its Shiva temple
- Stop at Chidambaram for the thousand-year-old Nataraja Temple ringed by four seven-storey gopurams
- Continue to Pondicherry and check in for the night
5Day 5 - Full day in Pondicherry
- Day tour covering the Matrimandir at the heart of Auroville, the Auroville township, the old Chola port site of Arikamedu, Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Promenade Beach and Sri Aurobindo Ashram
- Optional: Serenity Beach, water sports at Paradise Beach, scuba at Karaikal
- Second night in Pondicherry
6Day 6 - Vellore Golden Temple, on to Tirupati (270 km, about 5 hrs)
- Drive via Vellore to the Golden Temple in the Sripuram spiritual park at Thirumalaikodi village
- Continue to Tirupati and check in
- Darshan at Tirumala, 17 km up the seven hills, home of the Sri Venkateswara shrine, among the most visited temples in the world; tickets must be pre-booked online
- Optional with an extra night: Adi Varaha Swami Temple, Dhwajastambham, Sri Venkateswara Museum, Chandragiri Fort, Srikalahasti
- Night in Tirupati
7Day 7 - Tirupati to Chennai city sights (150 km, about 4 hrs)
- Drive to Chennai, check in and refresh
- Visit the 7th-century Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Vivekananda Illam (the ice house where Swami Vivekananda stayed in 1897), Government Museum and Fort Museum
- Drive past Marina Beach and San Thome Church
- Night in Chennai
8Day 8 - Trip ends at Chennai - Chennai departure
- A little more local sightseeing after breakfast
- Transfer to Chennai airport or railway station for the journey home
About this plan
The Chola big three, a seaside pause, and Balaji to finish. Fully private · after you enquire, a planner fine-tunes stays, pace and extras around you.
Private cab & driverHandpicked staysYour dates, your pace24×7 WhatsApp desk
What's in, what's not
No fine print later - the quote you get matches this list exactly.
Included in 8D / 7N
- Stay at the named hotels or similar, base category rooms
- Transfers and sightseeing in a deluxe AC tourist vehicle
- Daily breakfast
- Same vehicle for local sightseeing from breakfast to sunset daily (except arrival and departure days)
- Extra bed as folding cot or mattress per hotel policy
- Standard travel insurance for the tour (extra premium possible for guests 70+ or extended stays)
Not included
- GST
- Any airfare, domestic or international (quoted separately)
- English-speaking guide or escort charges and airport tax
- Meals beyond the included breakfasts
- Personal expenses: calls, laundry, drinks, tips
- Camera fees, monument and temple entry tickets, boat rides
- Tirumala darshan tickets (pre-book online)
- Porterage at airports and stations; price changes from inflation or tax hikes
Sightseeing on this plan
01Meenakshi Temple02Srirangam03Brihadeeswara Temple04Promenade BeachTirumala Darshan
