Day-wise plan
Every day runs on a private cab - the order and pace are yours to change.
1Day 1 - Trip begins at Chennai - Arrival and Chennai city tour
- Airport pickup at Chennai and hotel check-in
- Afternoon round of the city: 7th-century Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Vivekananda Illam (the old ice house where Swami Vivekananda stayed in 1897, now an exhibition), Government Museum and Fort Museum
- Drive past Marina Beach and San Thome Church
- Optional with an extra night: Guindy National Park, Anna Zoological Park, Dakshinachitra, Theosophical Society, shopping at T Nagar
- Night in Chennai
2Day 2 - Down the coast to Mahabalipuram (60 km, about 1 hr)
- Check out after breakfast and drive to Mahabalipuram
- Full day among the Pallava monuments: Five Rathas, the 7th-century rock-cut Mahishasuramardini Mandapa cave near the lighthouse, Arjuna's Penance, Krishna Mandapam and the Shore Temple
- Time at the beach, then night in Mahabalipuram
3Day 3 - ECR drive to Pondicherry and full day there (90 km, about 2 hrs)
- Scenic East Coast Road drive to Pondicherry and check-in
- Full-day sightseeing: Matrimandir at the heart of Auroville, the Auroville township, Arikamedu (an old Chola-era port site), Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Promenade Beach and Sri Aurobindo Ashram
- Optional: Serenity Beach, water sports at Paradise Beach, scuba at Karaikal
- Night in Pondicherry
4Day 4 - Chola trail to Tanjore via Chidambaram (195 km, about 4 hrs)
- Drive toward Tanjore stopping at Chidambaram's thousand-year-old Nataraja Temple with its four seven-storey gopurams
- Visit Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Rajendra Chola's medieval capital with its Shiva temple
- Stop at Darasuram for the 12th-century Airavatesvara Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage monument built by Rajaraja Chola II
- Check in at Tanjore for the night
5Day 5 - Tanjore and Trichy sights, on to Madurai (210 km, about 4 hrs)
- Morning in Tanjore: the 1010 AD Brihadeeswarar Temple built by Raja Raja Chola I, and the Thanjavur Maratha Palace (Aranmanai), home of the Bhonsle rulers from 1674 to 1855, known for bronzes, handicrafts and silk
- In Trichy, climb the 434 rock-cut steps of Rockfort to the Ganapathi and Shiva shrines with views over the Kaveri, then visit the vast Srirangam Vishnu temple complex with its inner bazaar
- Continue to Madurai for the night
6Day 6 - Trip ends at Madurai - Madurai temples and departure
- Visit the Meenakshi Temple with its towering gopurams and the Indo-Saracenic Thirumalai Nayak Palace known for stucco work on its domes and arches
- Drop at Madurai airport
- Optional with a longer stay: Alagar Koyil, Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam, Koodal Azhagar Temple, Gandhi Museum, Thiruparankundram Murugan Temple, Athisayam theme park
About this plan
Shore temples and French streets first, then the great southern shrines. 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 6D / 5N
- Stay at the named hotels or similar, base category rooms
- Transfers and sightseeing in a deluxe AC tourist vehicle
- Daily breakfast
- Same vehicle for all local sightseeing, breakfast to sunset daily (except arrival and departure days)
- Extra bed as folding cot or mattress per hotel policy
- Travel insurance for all guests under 70
Not included
- GST
- Any airfare (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
- Porterage at airports and railway stations
- Price changes from inflation or tax hikes
Sightseeing on this plan
01Shore Temple02White Town03Promenade Beach04Auroville05Brihadeeswara TempleMeenakshi Temple
