Day Trip to Thanjavur (Guided Sightseeing Tour by Car from Madurai)

Overall a very complete experience to Thanjavur. It’s a long drive (3 hours) from Madurai, so I’d recommend booking the earliest time slot. The temple is closed from 12:30-4pm. Both our driver and guide were great. We got a decent history and religious lesson exploring the temple. I would recommend maximizing your time at the temple. The Maratha museum was also informative but the real reason you are coming to Thanjavur is for the temple. The local crafts shop afterwards was also unique - we got to see how they make the Chola-style bronzes. If you are staying in Madurai and want to do a day trip to Thanjavur, this is perfect.

From Madurai it is about 2h30 drive to Thanjavur. The site itself is worth the journey. Smooth drive with attentive driver. Competent, knowledgeable and professional guide was on site. I was invited to visit a small craft foundry to complete my trip, which was a lovely stop. I was the only customer. Of note, this sort of experience is costly, however very practical if you do not have time to move to another city to only see one particular thing.