Varanasi to Lucknow is 295 km by road on NH731 through Jaunpur and Sultanpur, or 359 km if you go round by the Purvanchal Expressway. Coming back, the same road reads 293 km. We measured both roads ourselves on OSRM on 11 October. A Swift Dzire is ₹11/km and an Innova Crysta ₹16/km, and since the car comes home empty, a drop in Lucknow costs the same as the return.
Search this trip and every site gives you a different number. Here's ours, and how we got it. We ran both roads on OSRM, the OpenStreetMap route planner, on 11 October. Varanasi Junction to Lucknow Charbagh is 295 km on the shortest road: NH31 up to Jaunpur, then NH731 through Sultanpur into Lucknow. Lucknow back to Varanasi measures 293 km; the map takes a slightly different line on the stretch between Babatpur and Jaunpur. So think of it as 293 to 297 km. If you're staying near Godowlia and going to Hazratganj, it's 297 km. If the driver goes through Sultanpur town instead of the bypass, it's 301 km. The other road is the Purvanchal Expressway, a 341 km, 6-lane, access-controlled road from Chand Sarai at the Lucknow end to Haidaria near Ghazipur. The catch? Varanasi isn't one of its 9 districts. To use it we first drive NH28 up to Azamgarh and join it there, heading west. That makes the whole trip 359 km. Both roads come into Lucknow on Sultanpur Road, since that's where the expressway starts. Our drivers mostly take NH731. It's shorter, and that usually means you get there sooner. Tolls are paid at actuals and you get the receipts. We haven't printed a toll amount, because we couldn't get this month's car rates from NHAI or UPEIDA and we won't guess. Time is harder. On an empty road with no stops, the map gives about 3.5 hours on NH731. Treat that as the floor. Real days add a tea stop and slow patches at Jaunpur, Sultanpur and the Lucknow end, so if you've a flight to catch, call us and we'll tell you when to leave.
Drop only, or ending in another city? Our vehicles are based in Varanasi, so the driver comes back empty and a drop costs the same as the round trip. Staying longer or adding stops is billed on the full loop back to Varanasi at the vehicle's per-km rate, with a 250 km/day minimum, plus driver allowance. That's why most groups make it a 2–3 day circuit. See the circuits.
Travelling as a group of ten or more? Compare the 12, 17, 20 and 26-seater on our tempo traveller in Varanasi page, with fares for every route.
About 295 km. That's Varanasi Junction to Charbagh on NH731, through Jaunpur and Sultanpur, and it's the road we use most. Coming home it reads 293, funnily enough. The map picks a slightly different line on the stretch before Jaunpur. Now, the Purvanchal Expressway. It's a lovely road, but it doesn't start anywhere near Varanasi, so our driver goes up NH28 to Azamgarh first and the trip grows to 359 km. You pay per km either way. If you do take it, the UPEIDA control room is on 18008894776 and the emergency line is 14449. Our drivers keep both in the phone.
How many hours is Varanasi to Lucknow by car?
Honestly? Never under about 3.5 hours. That's the map's figure for an empty road and zero stops, and hardly anyone wants zero stops. You'll probably want chai at Jaunpur. Then there's Sultanpur, and Lucknow itself in the evening, which can swallow time you didn't plan for. So we won't promise you a clock time. Got a flight? Tell us the departure when you book and we'll set the pickup from that. If it's an early one, go the evening before and sleep near the airport. Much less stress.
What does a cab to Lucknow cost, and is one way cheaper?
It's per km. ₹11 for a Swift Dzire, ₹16 for an Innova Crysta, ₹24 for the 12-seater tempo traveller and ₹23 for the 17-seater, so yes, the bigger one's a touch cheaper per km. The Maharaja Urbania is ₹37. The table above already counts both legs. One way isn't cheaper, sorry. Our cars live in Varanasi, so whether you come back or not, the driver does. On top of that you pay the driver's allowance (₹250 a day on the Dzire, ₹300 on the Innova), tolls, parking and GST.
Is the train better than a cab to Lucknow?
Often, yes. If it's one or two of you and a backpack, we'd tell you to take the train and keep your money. There's a superfast, 20401, out of Varanasi Junction at 05:40 daily, and it's in Lucknow by 10:10. Too early? The Vande Bharat (22489) leaves at 09:10 and you're there at 13:40, though it doesn't run on Tuesdays. Four and a half hours, give or take, and no car is going to beat that by much. We'd still send a cab for a big family, for grandparents, for a pile of suitcases, or if you're staying down by the ghats and just getting to Junction is a trip of its own. We got those times off erail.in on 11 October. IRCTC has the final word, so look there too.
Can we stop at Ayodhya on the way to Lucknow?
Sure. It just isn't on the way, that's the catch. Ayodhya's off to the north of our usual road, so we go to Ayodhya first, 204 km, which our drivers do in 4 to 5 hours with one chai break. Lucknow's roughly 140 km further on from there. Most families don't want all that crammed into a day, and we don't blame them. Stay the night after darshan. That's how our Ayodhya and Lucknow circuit runs: three days, same car, same driver the whole way. Adding Naimisharanya? Then you want the four-day circuit with it in the name. Both are on our circuits page.
