Ganges River Rides

Hello everybody,

i would be heading down to Varanasi next mth, and would love to take those boat rides on the Ganges where you can photograph the ghats as you pass by.

Is there anybody who can advise me on how much would it cost me to take those boat rides? How long does the ride last and normally how many people would be "squeezed" onto the boats?

Is it advisable for me to charter the entire boat and how much do you think that will cost and for how long?

My primary objective would be to photograph the people carrying out their daily activities at the ghats, hence it would be best if i can "control" the boat to get the angle i need. Hope that's not gonna be too expensive.

Looking forward to any advise i can get and thanks in advance.

Firstly do'nt take a motor boat .. they are noisy and emit fumes .. the row boat is definitely a lot nicer .. I got ripped of on the motor boat something like Rps400. I think that I paid Rps100 for a row boat .. the per person charge is around Rps30 ...

Hi Mickey1234,

thanks for your advise. That's very informative.

Do you mean Rps100 to charter the entire row boat?
If true, that will be lovely.

May i know for how long that will be?

Thanks.

Yeah, you souldn't pay more than that. I think we paid around 60 Rs last year. A little hindi helps a lot, though.

Hi Seng ...

I think that the boat guy would expect around 100 to 150 in total for a boat which is about 4 passengers worth.

Donot hire a boat immediatly you get there as the first guys that see you will ask for 400 or whatever comes to mind. Donot get your ricksha driver to make the deal for you as he will pretend to argue and bring the price down but you will still end up paying too much. Walk around the ghats ... ask around for prices ... walk away and then decide on the best deal ... also make sure that you have an agreement as to how far you are going to be going in the boat ...

Thank you Chandra and Mickey.

Your replies has been very helpful and gives me a better picture of this boat ride thingy.

Thanks heaps!

Hi ... you asked about how long the ride is ... I recall it being about an hour ..

We hired a rowboat to take us to a fort/museum down the river. Ended up being over a half day of rowing and guiding for 240 rupees.

Hey Mickey and Shaktipalooza,

thanks alot for your help here!

Counting down the days!!! Hippee!!!

Ramnagar - try this .

if you are staying at schindhia (as per your pm) we were quoted 40 each for a row boat and 80 each for a motor, goes from right outside the guesthouse!!

DO NOT GET A MOTORBOAT

totally contrary to the point of the experience

Dear All,
I need you advices once again while looking for the info for my first trip to India next month .
Due to my limited time, I have only 1 afternoon/evening and 1 morning next day in Varanasi. I would like to spend the first half day wandering along the river bank and get lost a bit in the old city (and attending the aarti at Dasaswamedh Ghat of course).
For the morning the next day, I would like to hire a boat for a trip along the Ganges. I will stay in Assi Ghat area and I want to see as many ghats as possible during my boat trip. I therefore intend to take the boat northwards since the dark night (around 04:30AM). When the sun rises and it gets lighter (around 06:30PM), I will return back to Assi Ghat. If so, I can see more ghats (if I start later, will see repeated scenes during the 2-ways trip ). The total trip will take about 4 hours.
What do you think about my plan? Is it doable? can I get to Scindhia Ghat from Assi Ghat after 2 hours rowing (04:30-06:30)? Or is it better to take an autorickshaw from Assi Ghat to Scindhia Ghat and then take the boat in Scindhia Ghat backwards?

Any comments are highly appreciated .
Thank you so much!

Lien_Ta

Lien_Ta - if you're staying as Asi, get your boat there. Plenty of boats to be had. As for "seeing repeated scenes" . . . it's always changing . . . the people, the light, etc. I think it's a GREAT idea to start under the stars. I've watched sunrise from Tulsi Ghat (just N of Asi) over 350 times and always started to sit while the stars were out. Nice to watch the day from that time to sunrise.

Thanks for your reply Darmabum. Getting more confident with my plan .