2-days Ajanta Ellora tour package by private cab from Aurangabad

Ancient art rewards a little road time. This two-day private tour links Maharashtra’s great cave sites with Daulatabad Fort, Bibi ka Maqbara, and Grishneshwar Temple, while keeping transport, fuel, tolls, parking, water, and four entrance fees under one booking. I especially like the private air-conditioned car and the freedom to adjust the schedule around breakfast or your sightseeing pace. I also like that the two cave complexes are visited on separate days, so you are not trying to absorb both in one exhausting rush.

The main drawback is the long drive to Ajanta. The trip takes about three hours each way, and road construction can make sections bumpy. You will also need to pay extra for an in-person official guide, and meals are not included. Still, at $56.97 per person, the package offers strong value for a private two-day sightseeing service, particularly if you want simple transport rather than arranging several separate rides.

Key points before you book

• Ajanta means a six-hour road commitment: The caves are about 110 kilometers from Aurangabad, but road conditions can stretch the journey to roughly three hours each way.
• Ellora packs several traditions into one visit: You can see Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain cave groups in the same complex, with around four hours set aside for exploration.
• Four major entrance fees are included: The package covers Ajanta, Ellora, Bibi ka Maqbara, and Daulatabad Fort.
• The car and driver are yours alone: This is a private activity for your group, with an English and Hindi-speaking driver, bottled water, and pickup from a hotel, airport, railway station, or another Aurangabad location.
• Guiding is optional, not automatic: You receive a guidebook if you choose the no-in-person-guide option, while a licensed guide at Ajanta costs extra.
• The second day offers useful variety: Ellora is paired with Daulatabad Fort, Bibi ka Maqbara, and the nearby Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga Temple.

Why splitting Ajanta and Ellora over two days works

Ajanta and Ellora are often spoken of as one sightseeing pair, but they offer very different experiences. Ajanta is a remote horseshoe-shaped group of Buddhist caves known for paintings and sculpture. Ellora is closer to Aurangabad and brings Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain works together in one large complex.

That difference matters. If you visit both in a single day, the scale, dates, religious traditions, and artistic details can blur together. This plan gives Ajanta its own day and leaves Ellora for a second day with several nearby stops. I find that a much better arrangement for anyone who wants to look carefully instead of simply collecting photographs.

The package is a taxi service with sightseeing support rather than a fully guided archaeological tour. Your driver handles the road, parking, transfers, and practical coordination. You explore the cave complexes on your own unless you arrange an official guide separately.

That setup suits independent sightseers. You can linger at a cave, move on when you have had enough, or adjust the day with help from the driver. The trade-off is that a guidebook cannot answer questions in the same way an experienced local guide can.

Day one: the long ride to Ajanta Caves

Pickup is planned for about 7:30 a.m., though the departure can be extended until 9:00 a.m. depending on your hotel breakfast. Your driver meets you at reception, and the journey begins in a private air-conditioned car.

That flexible start is helpful, but do not treat the later departure as free time. A 9:00 a.m. departure means a later arrival and a later return to Aurangabad. If you want a calmer visit to the caves, leaving earlier makes more sense.

Ajanta lies about 110 kilometers from Aurangabad, yet the drive takes about three hours each way. Road construction is noted along the route, so expect a bumpy ride in places. I would take the advice about carrying an air pillow or similar back support seriously, especially if you are sensitive to jolts or have a long day of driving ahead.

The car includes fuel, toll taxes, parking, service charges, and bottled mineral water. Those details may sound minor, but they remove the repeated small payments that can slow down a full-day excursion. Your driver also speaks Hindi and English, making it easier to discuss timing, food stops, or any change to the plan.

Reaching Ajanta and getting ready for the caves

When you reach the Ajanta complex, you can pause for tea or coffee at the MTDC restaurant. The information also notes that beer is available there. This is a useful reset after the road journey before you start walking around the site.

The transfer arrangement is worth understanding. After eating or taking a break near the ticket counter, you use the shuttle bus to reach the cave parking area. At the end of your visit, you return to the ticket counter, take the shuttle back to the parking area, and meet your driver there.

That means the private car does not simply drop you at each cave entrance. You should listen carefully to the meeting instructions so you know where to reconnect. The driver remains available by phone if you need help.

A licensed guide can be hired at Cave 1, but the fee is not included. If Ajanta’s paintings, Buddhist stories, and carved details are the main reason you came, I would consider budgeting for that extra. If you prefer to examine the caves at your own pace, the included guidebook gives you a more independent option.

Three hours with Ajanta’s paintings and sculpture

The planned exploration time at Ajanta is about three hours. That is enough for a focused visit, though not so generous that you can inspect every corner without watching the clock.

Ajanta is the day’s central reward, and the journey is part of the price you pay for reaching it. The caves are not a quick roadside attraction. The road, shuttle, and walking time make this a full outing, but they also explain why the two-day structure is sensible.

Give yourself time to adjust your eyes in darker interiors and to look beyond the first large sculpture you see. A guide can help explain what belongs to which period and how the religious images relate to the cave spaces. Without one, use the guidebook and move slowly rather than trying to cover the site at speed.

The private setup is especially useful here. You are not tied to a large group’s conversation or forced to leave when someone else is ready. You can tell the driver when you are finished, then stop for lunch before the return trip.

Lunch and the three-hour return to Aurangabad

After the cave visit, you return to the Ajanta ticket-counter area for food. Vegetarian and nonvegetarian meals are available, and the driver can suggest a nearby restaurant. Meals are not part of the tour price, so keep money aside for lunch and drinks.

The return drive takes about three hours by the same road. This is the point where the trip can feel demanding. You have already spent time in the caves, then face a long ride back, so comfortable clothing and some patience will help.

The driver drops you at your hotel in Aurangabad. Since the day can run long, I would avoid scheduling an important evening activity that requires a strict arrival time. The tour gives an approximate structure, not a guaranteed minute-by-minute finish.

Day two: Ellora’s three religious traditions

The second day starts with pickup at about 8:00 a.m. You travel by private air-conditioned car to Ellora, which is much easier to pair with other sights than Ajanta.

Ellora contains three groups of caves associated with Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. That mix gives the site a different character from Ajanta. Here, the interest lies not only in individual carvings, but also in how several religious traditions occupy the same broad complex.

You have about four hours to explore. That is a useful amount of time for a first visit, especially if you want to pause at the major caves and take in the scale of the carved architecture. The service is self-guided unless you arrange another guide, and the company remains available by phone if you need help.

I like the longer time allocation at Ellora. It gives you room to be selective. You do not need to treat every cave as an equal stop, and you can spend more time where the architecture catches your attention.

Daulatabad Fort adds a physical change of pace

On the way back toward Aurangabad, the tour stops at Daulatabad Fort, also known as Devgiri Fort. The planned visit lasts about two hours, but the description makes it conditional on your energy. If you are tired after Ellora, you may decide to shorten or skip the exploration.

The fort includes features such as cannons and a victory tower. It gives the day a useful change of subject after hours of carved stone interiors. You move from religious art to military architecture and views connected with the old fort settlement.

Do not underestimate the cumulative effect of this stop. Four hours at Ellora followed by a large fort can make the second day quite full. The private car helps because you can discuss your pace with the driver, but the flexibility does not remove the walking involved.

Bibi ka Maqbara and Grishneshwar Temple

Bibi ka Maqbara is often called the mini Taj Mahal. The tomb provides a gentler final sightseeing stop after the caves and fort, with about one hour planned for the visit.

The comparison with the Taj Mahal is useful as a quick reference, but it should not become the only reason to visit. The attraction works well in this itinerary because it is close to Aurangabad and gives you a different type of monument before returning to the hotel.

The route also includes Shri Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga Temple, located in Verul less than a kilometer from Ellora. It is revered as the 12th and final Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva, making it an important Hindu pilgrimage site as well as a nearby cultural stop.

The temple visit is listed as about one hour, with no admission fee. If you are interested in religious places, this is a meaningful addition. If your priority is only the caves, you should clarify the day’s timing with the driver so the extra stop does not leave you feeling rushed elsewhere.

What the $56.97 price really covers

At $56.97 per person, the price is not simply the cost of a taxi. It includes private transfers and sightseeing for two days, an air-conditioned vehicle, an English and Hindi-speaking driver, fuel, tolls, parking, service charges, bottled water, and entrance fees to Ajanta, Ellora, Bibi ka Maqbara, and Daulatabad Fort.

That package can be good value because the expensive and annoying parts of independent day trips are bundled together. You do not need to arrange a separate Ajanta car, negotiate each transfer, or handle parking and toll payments along the way.

The value depends partly on how many people are in your private group, since the advertised price is per person. You should confirm the exact vehicle arrangement and final group pricing when booking. The tour is private, but the supplied details do not specify the vehicle model or maximum group size.

There are two clear extra costs to remember. Food is not included, and an official in-person guide is also extra. If you want a fully explained visit, add that guide fee to your budget rather than assuming the driver will provide archaeological commentary.

The experience is commonly booked about 106 days in advance. That is a useful sign that you should plan ahead, particularly if your Aurangabad dates are fixed.

The people who make the logistics easier

The strongest praise centers on communication, punctuality, safety, and practical care. Akash is noted for quick communication and for helping shape the plan around personal needs. Drivers named in the feedback include Afzal, Ameen, and Salman, with Salman described as friendly and helpful and Ameen praised for safe driving.

Vincent, an English and French-speaking guide, is also singled out for interesting historical commentary. His role appears in guided arrangements rather than as a guaranteed part of the basic no-guide option, so confirm whether a guide is included in your selected booking.

That distinction matters. The company’s staff can make a complicated two-day route feel straightforward, but the standard inclusions specifically identify a professional driver and a guidebook, not a guaranteed personal guide. Ask before paying if guided interpretation is important to you.

Who should choose this private cab tour?

I would recommend it most strongly to you if you:

• Want both UNESCO-listed cave sites without changing hotels
• Prefer a private car to a shared coach
• Need pickup from an Aurangabad hotel, airport, railway station, or another local address
• Like flexible departure times and the ability to adjust the pace
• Want several nearby monuments added without arranging extra transport
• Are comfortable with a long Ajanta road journey

It is less suitable if you dislike long drives, need a tightly guaranteed finish time, or want a fully guided archaeological experience included in the base price. The Ajanta road is the main physical challenge, while the second day can become tiring because Ellora, the fort, tomb, and temple are all packed together.

The tour is also a good fit for people who want practical help without joining a large group. Only your party participates, and the driver remains available by phone during the visits. That gives you privacy, though not the built-in social atmosphere of a shared group tour.

Should you book this Ajanta and Ellora package?

I would book this tour if I had two days in Aurangabad and wanted the major sites handled by one local operator. The included admissions, private car, bottled water, parking, tolls, and hotel pickup make the price easy to understand, while the separate cave days give each site room to breathe.

Before booking, confirm three things: your preferred Ajanta departure time, the cost and availability of an in-person guide, and how the schedule will handle Grishneshwar Temple and Daulatabad Fort if you are tired. If you accept the long Ajanta drive and budget separately for meals and guiding, this is a practical, flexible way to see one of Maharashtra’s finest cultural areas.

FAQ

How long is the Ajanta and Ellora tour?

The experience lasts approximately two days. Ajanta is visited on the first day, and Ellora plus nearby attractions are visited on the second day.

Where can pickup take place?

Pickup is offered from an airport, railway station, hotel, or another location in Aurangabad.

Is this a private tour?

Yes. Only your group participates in the activity.

What time does the Ajanta day begin?

Pickup is planned for about 7:30 a.m., but it can be extended until 9:00 a.m. depending on your hotel breakfast.

What time does the Ellora day begin?

Pickup for the second day is planned for about 8:00 a.m.

Are entrance fees included?

Admission to Ajanta Caves, Ellora Caves, Bibi ka Maqbara, and Daulatabad Fort is included.

Is a personal guide included?

No. In-person official guide fees are not included. If you select the no-in-person-guide option, a guidebook is provided.

Are meals included?

No. Meals during the journey are not included. Vegetarian and nonvegetarian food is available near the Ajanta ticket-counter area.

Can I cancel for a full refund?

Yes. You can cancel at least 24 hours before the experience start time for a full refund. Cancellations or changes made less than 24 hours in advance are not accepted for a refund.