4 days, 3 nights ยท Mumbai, Lonavala, Pune
Four-day Maharashtra tour package: Mumbai, the Sahyadri ghats and Pune
This is the short western circuit that works from Mumbai without a flight: the city itself and Elephanta island, then up the Expressway into the Sahyadri ghats at Lonavala for the second-century Karla and Bhaja rock-cut caves, and on to Pune. About 300 kilometres in total, with the best stretch of motorway in India doing most of the work.
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The shape
A city, a ghat and a second city
Mumbai and Pune are about 150 kilometres apart and the Expressway between them takes roughly three hours, which makes this one of the easiest circuits in India to run. Lonavala sits at the top of the ghat almost exactly halfway, which means the middle day is a short drive with a long stop rather than a transfer.
What makes it more than a city-and-suburb trip is the rock-cut caves. Karla and Bhaja, above Lonavala, were carved in the second century BCE, and the chaitya hall at Karla is the largest and best-preserved of its kind in India — a Buddhist prayer hall cut entirely out of the cliff, with a timber roof that is still original. They predate Ajanta and Ellora and almost nobody visits them.
Elephanta, an hour by boat from the Gateway of India, is the other one: sixth-century Shiva caves on an island in the harbour, a UNESCO site, with the six-metre Trimurti in the main hall. The Mumbai chauffeur page covers the city and the harbour end.
The three stops
What each day holds
A harbour city, a ghat town and a university city.
Mumbai
The Gateway, the Prince of Wales museum, Marine Drive and the Victorian and Art Deco ensemble that is itself a UNESCO site. Dhobi Ghat, Crawford Market and the Banganga tank for the older city.
Lonavala and the caves
Karla's chaitya hall and the Bhaja caves with their stupas, plus Tiger's Leap and the Bhushi dam. In the monsoon the whole escarpment runs with waterfalls, which is when locals come.
Pune
Shaniwar Wada, the Aga Khan Palace where Gandhi was interned, the Raja Dinkar Kelkar museum with its extraordinary collection of everyday objects, and the old peths.
The driving
Short legs on a good road
About 300 kilometres in total, with the Expressway doing most of it.
- Mumbai to Lonavala — about 83 km, 2 hours The Mumbai-Pune Expressway, climbing the Bhor ghat. Leaving Mumbai before nine avoids the worst of the outbound traffic.
- Lonavala to Pune — about 65 km, 1.5 hours Down the far side of the ghat onto the Deccan plateau.
- Pune to Mumbai — about 150 km, 3 to 3.5 hours Back down the Expressway; longer on a Sunday evening when the whole of Pune drives to Mumbai.
The monsoon
The one circuit where the rains are the season
Most Indian circuits treat the monsoon as a problem to be managed. The Sahyadri ghats invert that completely. From June to September the escarpment above Lonavala runs with hundreds of waterfalls, the plateau goes from brown to violently green, and the entire population of Mumbai and Pune drives up at weekends to stand in the rain. It is the single best time to see this landscape.
The caveats are real: the Expressway can be slow in heavy rain, visibility on the ghat drops, and some trails become genuinely unsafe. The chauffeurs on this route drive the ghat year-round and will not take a car onto a flooded stretch. Weekday travel in the monsoon is far better than weekend, when the road fills.
October to February is the conventional season and is comfortable and clear. March to May is hot on the plateau and the waterfalls are dry. If the landscape is your reason for coming, the monsoon is the answer and the desk will say so; if you want reliable weather, take the winter. The city-to-city page prices the Expressway leg on its own.
Booking
How to book the four-day circuit
Book the transport direct on the booking page, fare fixed before payment. Elephanta boats do not run in the monsoon and the last return is mid-afternoon, so the desk schedules that morning rather than leaving it to chance. For hotels, ask through the contact page. Cancellation is free beyond 72 hours, then 10%, 50% and 100%.
Day by day
The four-day itinerary, leg by leg
Short legs on the best motorway in India, with the Elephanta morning scheduled around the boat timings rather than assumed.
| Day | Where | What the day covers | On the road |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Mumbai | Met at the airport. The Gateway, Marine Drive, the Prince of Wales museum and the Victorian and Art Deco ensemble, with Dhobi Ghat and Crawford Market. | Airport to South Mumbai ~25 km, 1-1.5 hrs |
| Day 2 | Elephanta and the Expressway | The morning boat to Elephanta for the sixth-century Shiva caves, back by mid-afternoon, then up the ghat to Lonavala. | Boat 1 hr each way; Mumbai-Lonavala ~83 km, 2 hrs |
| Day 3 | Lonavala to Pune | The Karla chaitya hall and the Bhaja caves in the morning, Tiger's Leap and the ghat viewpoints, then down to Pune for Shaniwar Wada. | Lonavala-Pune ~65 km, 1.5 hrs |
| Day 4 | Pune to Mumbai | The Aga Khan Palace and the Kelkar museum in the morning, then the Expressway back for the flight. | Pune-Mumbai ~150 km, 3-3.5 hrs |
What it costs
The 4-day Maharashtra circuit: two ways to buy it
Four charter days at the published rate, for the car rather than per person. Expressway tolls and the Elephanta ferry are billed at cost against receipts.
Transport package — firm, published
Every kilometre of the 4-day circuit in a private chauffeured car: the chauffeur, the vehicle, fuel, and the driver's meals and accommodation on the road. Priced at the published charter-day rate × 4 days, the same figure as the rates page.
From $7,800 - $9,360 per car for the whole circuit
On the international card · Premium MPV · GST extra · tolls, parking and state entry taxes at cost
All-inclusive — stays, meals and entries
The same itinerary with hotels, breakfasts, monument entries and a licensed guide arranged for you. Because we contract stays per departure date and per hotel category, this tier is quoted on request rather than published — we will not print a per-person figure we cannot hold.
Send the dates and the hotel category you want (3-star, 4-star, heritage or palace) through the contact page and the desk returns a written quote, itemised, within one working day.
| Vehicle class | Cars | Per charter day 10 hours / 300 km | 4-day circuit International card, USD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premium MPV 6 passengers, 5 bags |
Toyota Innova Hycross & Kia Carnival | $1,950 - $2,340 | $7,800 - $9,360 |
| Executive sedan 3 passengers, 2 bags |
Mercedes-Benz E-Class & BMW 5 Series | $1,700 - $2,040 | $6,800 - $8,160 |
| Luxury SUV 5 passengers, 4 bags |
Toyota Fortuner, Land Cruiser & Mercedes-Benz GLS | $2,250 - $2,700 | $9,000 - $10,800 |
| Group van 12 passengers, 12 bags |
Force Urbania & Tempo Traveller (executive) | $3,200 - $3,840 | $12,800 - $15,360 |
What the transport package includes
- A private, air-conditioned vehicle of the class you book, held for the whole circuit — the same car from the first pickup to the last drop, never shared and never re-assigned.
- One professional chauffeur for the whole circuit, holding a commercial licence and a state transport badge, police-verified and background-checked, in uniform and speaking English and Hindi.
- Fuel, the chauffeur's own meals and accommodation on every outstation night, and the vehicle's permits, fitness certificate and insurance.
- All airport, railway-station and hotel transfers inside the itinerary, with the flight tracked on the arrival leg and 60 minutes of waiting included after landing.
- A named coordinator at the desk for the whole trip, reachable on one number, who holds the run sheet and moves a leg when a day runs long.
- A written confirmation before departure carrying the chauffeur's name and licence number and the vehicle registration, so a security office or a hotel can check it against the operator record.
What it does not include
- Hotels, meals and anything consumed off the road — those are the all-inclusive tier, quoted on request rather than published.
- Monument and museum entry fees, which differ for Indian, SAARC and foreign visitors and change by notification; the desk quotes the current figures with the itinerary.
- Licensed local guides, which we arrange city by city on request and bill at cost.
- Tolls, parking and state entry taxes, charged at cost against receipts rather than estimated into the fare.
- Air and rail tickets into and out of the circuit, which the travel desk books separately.
- GST, added to every figure at the applicable rate, and any night allowance where a leg runs between 10 pm and 6 am.
- Airport transfers include 60 minutes of waiting after landing and meet-and-greet at the arrivals exit.
- The charter day (10 hours, 300 km) includes fuel and the chauffeur's meals and accommodation on outstation nights.
- Night driving between 10 pm and 6 am carries the night allowance per night; a second chauffeur is added on days over 12 hours.
- Tolls, parking, state entry taxes and permits are charged at cost against receipts; monument and guide fees through the travel desk are itemised.
- No gratuity is expected. GST is shown separately on every invoice. Cancellation terms are on the cancellation policy page.
- Vintage cars and stretch limousines are quoted per event.
- GST at 5% on chauffeured hire (18% where input credit is claimed) is added to every figure. The full international card is on the rates page; the charter builder prices a circuit of any length live, and the booking page takes the payment direct.
- Cancellation is free more than 72 hours before the first pickup, then 10% inside 72 hours, 50% inside 48 hours and the full first day inside 24 hours or for a no-show — the schedule on the cancellation policy page.
Questions
The 4-day Maharashtra circuit: frequently asked
Are the Karla and Bhaja caves worth stopping for?
The chaitya hall at Karla is the largest and best-preserved rock-cut prayer hall in India, carved in the second century BCE with its original timber roof intact. It predates Ajanta and almost nobody goes.
Do the Elephanta boats run all year?
No — they are suspended during the monsoon, and the last return is mid-afternoon even in season. The desk schedules that morning around the timings rather than assuming them.
Is the monsoon a good time for this circuit?
For the ghats, it is the best time — the escarpment runs with waterfalls and the plateau is green. Travel on weekdays rather than weekends, when the road from Mumbai fills.
How long is Mumbai to Pune?
About 150 km and three to three and a half hours on the Expressway, longer on a Sunday evening when the traffic reverses.
Can we add Ajanta and Ellora?
They are about 335 km from Mumbai near Aurangabad, which needs its own days — that is the five-day version of this circuit.
Is four days enough?
For Mumbai, Elephanta, the ghat caves and Pune, yes. It is a compact circuit by design; the driving is short and the stops are close together.
Same circuit, other lengths
The Maharashtra and the Deccan caves in a different number of days
On the route
Chauffeur service in the cities this circuit runs through
Other circuits
Every chauffeur-driven tour package in India
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Book
Book the four-day Maharashtra circuit direct
Four charter days price live by vehicle class, fare fixed before payment. The Elephanta morning is scheduled around the boat timings.
Weddings, film units, multi-day chauffeur hire, outstation journeys and anything with more than one vehicle are quoted by a person: call (877) 860-3388 or send the outline and a coordinator replies with a written quote.
Offers through BookingWorldwide.net
Hotels and flights for this itinerary, through BookingWorldwide.net
The stays along this route are on BookingWorldwide.net; reserve them there or ask our desk for the all-inclusive quote, and the chauffeured legs are lined up against whichever you choose.
Flight + hotel packages
Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Goa and Kerala bundles for festival weeks, school holidays and long weekends, with the airport transfer added to the same itinerary.
See current offers on BookingWorldwide.net →Golden Triangle packages
Delhi, Agra and Jaipur hotels on one booking, and the RUTZ.IN chauffeur for the whole circuit quoted beside it.
See current offers on BookingWorldwide.net →Palace and heritage hotels
Udaipur, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Hyderabad palace hotels, chosen with the transfer distance from the airport in mind.
See current offers on BookingWorldwide.net →Goa and Kerala resorts
Beach and backwater resorts for the weeks a chauffeur is only needed at each end of the stay, with Dabolim, Mopa or Cochin airport pickups timed to the flight.
See current offers on BookingWorldwide.net →Hill-station stays
Shimla, Manali, Mussoorie, Darjeeling, Ooty, Munnar and Coorg hotels, with the SUV from the gateway airport quoted on the same plan.
See current offers on BookingWorldwide.net →Wildlife and safari lodges
Ranthambore, Jim Corbett, Kaziranga, Periyar and Bandhavgarh lodges and safari permits reserved before the car is dispatched.
See current offers on BookingWorldwide.net →Tickets and experiences
Taj Mahal entry, Kerala houseboats, Jaipur hot-air balloons, city walks and festival tickets reserved ahead so the chauffeured day runs to the plan.
See current offers on BookingWorldwide.net →International flights
Fares into every airport on the airports page, so the car is timed to a confirmed arrival rather than an estimate.
See current offers on BookingWorldwide.net →Self-drive car rental
For the middle days of a trip, returned to the airport where the RUTZ.IN chauffeur collects you again.
See current offers on BookingWorldwide.net →All offers on BookingWorldwide.net How the travel desk works
See also, and where the facts come from
On RUTZ.IN: India tour packages · 5-day Ajanta Ellora tour · Chauffeur service in Mumbai · City to City · Charter · Rates · Tourists.
Official references used on this page:
- Maharashtra Tourism: Lonavala State tourism page for the hill station on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
- Maharashtra Tourism: official site State tourism department site for Pune and the hill stations around it.
- Incredible India: Mahabaleshwar Ministry of Tourism page naming Pune Airport as the nearest airport for the hill station.
- National Highways Authority of India Expressway and toll information for the intercity routes we drive.