Mahabalipuram & Pondicherry one day trip from Chennai with Lunch

I would definitely recommend this tour. As first time visitors, the guide made navigating new areas very easy: pick up directly from our hotel, dropping off at sites, organizing lunch, etc. Our guide Rajesh was very knowledgeable and accommodating!

Rajesh was our guide in Pondicherry and Basha in Mahabalipuram.Both done fantadtic job.Great organic lunch at end.

Had a great time seeing the UNESCO sites in Mahabalipuram. Both tour guides were very knowledgeable including Rajesh

The guides were very friendly. It was an enjoyable drive along the coastline. The temples were particularly interesting. It’s worth noting it is a long day. Also if you are a woman, note that you will be travelling solo with two males so ensure this suits your needs.

Fantastic day with our guide rajesh.He made entire day great.Its a great combo tour.

It’s a long day, but the contrast between the UNESCO ruins in Mahabalipuram and the vibrant French Quarter in Pondicherry is incredible. The Highlights: • Mahabalipuram: The rock carvings at Arjuna’s Penance are world-class, and the Shore Temple is a stunning photo op. • Pondicherry: Walking through the yellow-walled streets of the French Quarter feels like a quick trip to Europe. Very chill vibes.

This was an absolutely great tour. Rajesh was our tour guide and was very knowledgeable also had a sense of humor.worth the money.

As a solo female traveller, sadly this trip did not meet my expectations. In my view the tour was expensive, and I was prepared to pay that amount as I was travelling on my own and safety and security were important to me, however due to how events unfolded I did not feel safe and would not recommend this trip to solo female travellers without them seeking a clear understanding of the role of the guide. Rajesh was pleasant enough and I was grateful as I needed to drop something off in Pondicherry and he happily accommodated this. The tour of Pondicherry was fine and we had lunch at one of the sites. Over lunch Rajesh explained to me that we would use a local guide to tour Mahabalipuram as it allowed the money to remain in the local economy. He explained that this guide was a friend of his, and all seemed OK to me. On the outskirts of Mahabalipuram Rajesh got out of the car and said goodbye. I was confused as I didn’t expect my guide to leave part way through the trip. I was driven by the driver (who did not speak to me and I was unsure whether he spoke English) to a car park where a guy met me and said he was the new guide. I asked what had happened to Rajesh and he said he was given the offer of some work, and so he went off to do that. The new guide had no lanyard and I felt very uncertain. The tour around Mahabalipuram was fine, however once we had seen the sights this guide also waved goodbye and left me! I then travelled in silence, and in the dark, with the driver for over an hour back to the hotel. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect, for £180, that the guide that picks you up from the hotel remains with the tour all day, and drops you off at your hotel to ensure that you are safe.

Excellent experience and a great way to see Pondicherry and Mahabalipuram, especially when you’re tight on time. Pickup was prompt and everything was explained very well. The car ride was comfortable. I enjoyed exploring Pondicherry since we got the opportunity to walk around the city and admire the French-style architecture. Lunch was also exceptional, especially since I was asked if I would like meat or veggies - I opted for a chicken biryani. After that was a serene walk through Auroville Village, leading to the Central Dome, a beautiful structure. Finally, we went to several different temples and sites of interest in Mahabalipuram, all of which were spectacular and well-worth seeing! Both my guide and driver were phenomenal and made the journey incredibly pleasant!

We did this tour with Rajesh. He was a lovely guide who was informative and very attentive and did exactly what we wanted to do on this tour. We saw everything that we wanted to, within reason as this is two trips combined into one so we were very happy!! With a lot of our tours we have always had veg Thali’s for lunch and although they are lovely after nearly 3 weeks we really craved something different. It was amazing that Rajesh listened to that and brought us to Bread & chocolate where we had gorgeous pizza and toasted sour dough sandwiches! It was exactly what we needed - so a big thank you for that and also the yoghurt & coconut drinks to keep us going throughout the day! It was amazing great tour and although a long day it was worth it! Hopefully the new road will make a difference to the time when completed! We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the tour and also Rajesh. Also our driver was great as well!