Before security

• Entry: a printed or mobile boarding pass and photo ID are checked at the terminal doors.
• The terminal is small — check-in, security and gates are all within a couple of minutes’ walk of each other.
• Buy silk in the city, not here. Airport handicraft prices carry a heavy premium over the Godowlia and Chowk workshops.

Timing traps

• Winter fog (mid-December to January) is the single biggest cause of disruption — morning flights get held or diverted.
• Festival surges: Dev Deepawali, Mahashivratri and the Kartik full-moon period fill both flights and roads.
• Traffic on the Varanasi–Babatpur highway is generally fast, but the last few kilometres into the old city are not.

In the arrivals hall

• Prepaid taxi counter inside arrivals — the simplest way to reach the city at a fixed, fair fare.
• ATMs and a small refreshment counter; forex is limited, so don’t count on changing money here.
• Arrange your hotel pickup in advance if you’re staying in the old city — hotels know which drop point is closest to their lane.

First-timers: read this

• Touts at the exit will offer boats, guides and “better hotels”. Politely decline and use the prepaid counter or your booked car.
• Drivers cannot reach most old-city guesthouses — you’ll be dropped at the nearest vehicle point and walk the last stretch.
• Travel light if you can. Cobbled lanes and steps to the ghats are unkind to large suitcases.

Foreign nationals

• e-Visa holders can enter through Varanasi — carry the printed ETA approval. See our how to apply guide.
• Immigration here is small; queues are short compared with Delhi, but counters are few, so a single wide-body arrival can slow things.
• Customs: green channel if nothing to declare. Foreign cash above roughly US$5,000, or higher totals in instruments, must be declared.

Indian citizens & OCI

• Immigration applies only to international sectors — carry your passport plus any visa for the destination.
• OCI holders use the visa-free entry line with a valid foreign passport and OCI card.
• Returning residents get a duty-free allowance; check current CBIC limits before shopping abroad.

Staying a while?

• Long-stay visitors — students at BHU, researchers, yoga and music students — may need FRRO registration. See our FRRO guide.
• Volunteering, teaching or research on a tourist visa is not permitted; the visa category matters.
• Power banks and spare batteries stay in cabin baggage, never in checked bags.

Lounges

• Varanasi has a single small lounge plus a VIP lounge — not the multi-lounge spread of a metro airport.
• Access is typically via credit-card lounge programmes or pay-per-use at the door.
• Card access changed across India in late 2025 — many banks moved to direct partnerships with spend conditions. Confirm your card still qualifies.

ATMs & forex

• ATMs are available landside; airside options are limited, so draw cash before security.
• Forex facilities are thin. Change money in Delhi, or use an ATM in the city — Varanasi has plenty.
• Varanasi runs on UPI, including boatmen and lane shops. Keep small notes too: change for ₹500 is a daily struggle here.

Shopping

Small and distinctly local: Banarasi silk saris and stoles, brass and copper ware, wooden toys and books. There’s a modest duty-free on the international side. Prices are well above city rates — buy in Varanasi and carry it out.

Food

Snack counters and cafés rather than restaurants — tea, coffee, sandwiches, samosas and a few hot options. Budget ₹150–400 for something light. Eat in the city if you have time; Varanasi’s food is the point.

Restrooms & essentials

Clean and well-signed, with accessible facilities and drinking-water points. Free Wi-Fi is available; connection usually needs an SMS code, so an Indian mobile number helps. Seating in the departure hall is limited during peak banks.

Wheelchairs & reduced mobility

Free wheelchair assistance is a regulatory requirement at Indian airports. Request it when booking, at least 48 hours ahead, and confirm at check-in. Note that the terminal is accessible — the ghats are not; steps down to the river are steep and uneven.

Elderly pilgrims

A large share of arrivals here are older pilgrims. Airline ground staff will assist through check-in and security if asked at the counter, and most hotels will arrange a car with a driver who knows the closest drop point to each ghat.

Families

Baby-care facilities are available, and families with infants are usually called for priority boarding. Strollers can be gate-checked — though in the old city a carrier is far more practical than wheels.

Taxi & ride-hailing

• Prepaid taxi counters in arrivals — fixed fare, paid inside, no negotiation. The safest default.
• Ola and Uber operate, though availability at the airport can be patchy late at night.
• Hotel pickups are widely offered and often worth it for a first arrival, especially after dark.

Bus & auto

• Public buses run along the Varanasi–Babatpur highway toward the city and are very cheap, but slow with luggage.
• Autos will do the airport run — agree the fare before you get in, or use an app.
• Rail: Varanasi Junction (Cantt) is roughly 24–26 km away; Banaras and Manduadih stations serve other routes.

The last stretch

• Cars can’t reach most ghats. Expect to be dropped at Godowlia, Assi or a nearby lane head and walk in.
• Cycle-rickshaws and e-rickshaws cover the gap between the drop point and your guesthouse.
• Sarnath is about 25 km from the airport and can be visited on the way in or out.

Closest to the airport

• Sarnath — where the Buddha gave his first sermon: the Dhamek Stupa, the archaeological site and an excellent museum. ~25 km, and the single best use of a long layover.
• Chunar Fort — a hilltop fort above the Ganges, further out but a rewarding half-day.

Worth it with 5–6+ hours

• The ghats — Dashashwamedh, Assi and Manikarnika. A dawn or sunset boat ride is the classic experience.
• Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat, nightly around sunset — arrive early or watch from a boat.
• Banaras Hindu University and its art museum, plus the New Vishwanath Temple on campus.
• Ramnagar Fort across the river, the seat of the Maharaja of Banaras.

The major sites

• Kashi Vishwanath Temple — one of the twelve Jyotirlingas and the spiritual centre of the city. Security is tight: phones, cameras and bags are not allowed inside, and lockers are provided at the corridor entrances.
• Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple — beloved local temple, busy on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
• Durga Kund and Tulsi Manas temples — near each other in the south of the city.
• Gyanvapi Mosque — adjoining the Vishwanath complex; the area is heavily policed and the surrounding dispute is politically sensitive, so photography restrictions are strictly enforced.

Beyond Hinduism

• Sarnath — a major Buddhist pilgrimage site with Thai, Tibetan, Japanese and Sri Lankan temples alongside the ancient stupas.
• Jain temples at Bhelupur mark the birthplace of the seventh Tirthankara, Suparshvanatha.
• Guru Ravidas Janmasthan at Seer Govardhanpur draws large pilgrim gatherings in February.

Lost something at the airport?

• Varanasi Airport is run by the Airports Authority of India. Report losses at the airport information desk or to the AAI duty manager.
• Left something on the plane? That’s the airline’s responsibility — go to their counter before you leave the building if you can.
• Missing checked baggage: file a Property Irregularity Report at the airline’s baggage desk in arrivals before exiting. Claims are much harder afterwards.
• Carry a photo of your bag and its tag number; it speeds everything up.

Airline customer service

Use only the contact details on airlines’ official websites — fake “customer care numbers” planted in search results are a common scam in India:

• IndiGo — goindigo.in → Contact Us (24/7 in-app chat)
• Air India — airindia.com → Contact Us
• Air India Express — airindiaexpress.com → Support
• Akasa Air — akasaair.com → Support
• SpiceJet — spicejet.com → Contact Us

At the airport

The terminal has a medical room and ambulance access — ask any airport staff member or CISF officer. India’s all-in-one emergency number is 112; ambulances can also be called on 102 or 108.

Major hospitals

• Sir Sunderlal Hospital (BHU / IMS) — the region’s main teaching and referral hospital, in the south of the city.
• Heritage Hospital — large private multi-speciality near BHU.
• Apex Hospital and Popular Hospital — private options in the Cantt/city area.
• Note the distance: from Babatpur, the city hospitals are 45 minutes or more away.

Where to go

• New Delhi (Chanakyapuri) — all embassies and high commissions, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
• Most missions handle citizen emergencies by phone first — call before you travel anywhere.
• Nearly all require an appointment; consular sections generally work weekday mornings.

Lost passport in Varanasi

• File a police report locally — you’ll need it for an emergency travel document and for the FRRO.
• Contact the FRRO/FRO in Varanasi for exit formalities if your passport and visa are gone — see our FRRO guide.
• Keep a digital copy of your passport photo page and visa somewhere you can reach without your phone.

Physical stores

• Around Babatpur there is very little — a few roadside shops. Don’t plan to buy anything substantial near the airport.
• Cantt and Sigra have supermarkets, pharmacies and mobile shops; the Cantt area is the most convenient for hotel guests.
• Godowlia and Chowk in the old city are markets rather than shops — good for silk, brass and spices, chaotic for a quick errand.

The Indian shortcut: delivery apps

Quick-commerce apps — Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart — operate in Varanasi city and deliver groceries, toiletries, chargers and medicine in 10–30 minutes. Coverage thins out in the narrowest old-city lanes and near the airport, where you’ll be back to local shops.

Near the airport

Slim pickings at Babatpur: highway dhabas and a handful of hotel restaurants. If you have a long wait, eat at the terminal or plan to eat in the city — the 26 km drive isn’t worth it for a meal alone.

In the city

Cantt-area hotel restaurants are the reliable sit-down option. Around the ghats, rooftop cafés at Assi and Dashashwamedh serve travellers all day, with river views that are half the reason to go.

Eat Banarasi

The city’s real food is on the street: kachori-sabzi for breakfast, tamatar chaat, malaiyo in winter, lassi in clay cups at Blue Lassi or Baba, and a Banarasi paan after. Busy stalls with high turnover are the safe ones.