Taxi from Patna to Sarnath

alouise

Hi everyone,

Has anyone hired interstate taxis from Patna? Are there any hassles? I looked up taxi companies in Patna and they seem to be organised for trips within Bihar, eg. Buddhist and Jain circuits. I looked at the trains,but they don't suit the times and I'm thinking taxi would be faster.

There is a taxi service from Bodhgaya to Sarnath, at Rs 6.5 per km covering 247 km , price quoted as Rs 3100 for 4 sharing Tata Indica. But I would very much like to visit the Patna museum for a few hours, en route to Sarnath and thought this might be better if instead of taking the taxi all the way from Bodhgaya to Sarnath I broke up the journey as follows:

1. catch the 2.00 pm BSTDC bus from Bodhgaya to Patna (Rs 60)
2. stay overnight in Patna at Hotel Windsor, and from this
hotel organise
3. taxi to Sarnath, stopping first at Pataliputra
(opens 9.00 am)and then the Patna museum ( opens 10.00 am)
before heading to Sarnath

Any comments and feedback on this plan would be most appreciated, thanks.

n kumar

Hi,
I had taken a taxi from varanasi to bodhgaya, gaya and back to varanasi. Hotel windsor at patna is quite a reputed hotel and i feel they will organise this trip more efficiently and safely.

alouise

That is very good to know, thank you Kumar.

hihowruin

Hi

I am planning to go to Bodhgaya end of January 2010. I have some rituals to do, so I have to stay in Bodhgaya. What places around Bodhgaya is ideal for a day trip?

1. I am planning to go from Bodhgaya to Saranath, Kaushambi and Varanasi. Is it possible to cover these three places in a day trip and come back to Bodhgaya at night? How much a car (for 5 people) will cost for this trip?

2. I am also planning to go from Bodhgaya to Rajgir and Nalanda. Is it possible to cover these two places in a day trip and come back to Bodhgaya at night? How much a car (for 5 people) will cost for this trip?

I would also like to make a third trip Vaishali, Kesariya, Kushinagar and Lumbini. How long will it take to see these places? How much a car (for 5 people) will cost for this trip?

Thanks

alouise

Plan 2 is possible, but not 1 as the distances are too great for covering a return journey all in one day - and it is not a good idea to travel Bihar roads at night.

As for distances involved in the third tour, you might find this site helpful:

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&z...20directio ns

hihowruin

Thank you. What do you think of Kushinagar to Vaishali and Kesariya, in a day trip?

pantelis

Not more than 800 ruppees per night and preferably outside a monastery compound because i am a smoker.Any emails or websites??
Thanks

__________________

alouise

I haven't done this trip, but just typing the destinations into the site I posted above suggested it might be possible, if going from Kushinagar to Kesariya then Vaishali - or in the other direction. It's 148 km from Kushinagar to Kesariya then 113 km to Vaishali..... 261 km all up, but more if travel from or back to Patna is included. If good roads then you're probably looking at 4.5 h driving ... if roads in poor condition or there's traffic congestion perhaps an hour longer? And that's not including the to or from Patna section. I suppose if you started out early it might be OK. Still, it's a good part of the day spent on the road and presumably you would want to have time to spend at these places rather than rushing in and out. Not knowing the condition of the roads, it's difficult for me to really say how feasible this day trip is. It looks not impossible, though.

alouise

I don't know about this price range, because I was prepared to pay higher when I did this search on IM and then googled the hotel names to check for possibly more for recent price changes. You could try the IM search and go from there....

alokclicks

Hi
I stayed with my family in a hotel called Hotel Tushita infront of Thai Monastry at Bodh gaya, this is a very neat and clean hotel, Double bed room charge was Rs 800/day last year in december 08, i have their phone nos, i will search tommorrow and post here.

Welcome to Bihar and Bodh Gaya
Thanks
alok