Somnath Dwarka Tour Package by Train

This is the package for people who are already coming by rail, and it is built around a fact most travellers only discover at the booking counter. You arrive at Dwarka and you depart from Veraval. They are different stations on different sides of the peninsula, so your rail booking is two one-way journeys rather than a return, and the outbound one has to be made from a station you have not seen yet.

Veraval is the railhead for Somnath and sits six to seven kilometres short of the temple, which is what the local vehicle in this package is for on the last morning. Dwarka has its own station in town, on the line that runs out to Okha, which is why long-distance services from across the country stop there.

The second thing to understand is the price. Rs. 9,999 looks like a large saving against the Rs. 13,999 car package, and it is not, because the train fare is not in it. What you are buying here is three nights, breakfast and a private vehicle on the ground. What you are not buying is the journey into Gujarat and out of it. Add your own tickets from your own city and then compare the two numbers, because from Delhi that arithmetic looks very different from Ahmedabad.

We would rather you did that sum before you enquire than after you book.

Day 1: arrive Dwarka. We meet you at the station, take you to the hotel and get you to the evening Dwarkadhish darshan. Dwarkadhish closes 13:00 to 17:00 and opens again in the evening, so a morning arrival gives you the town and an afternoon arrival gives you the aarti. Either works. What does not work is an arrival we did not know about.

Days 2 and 3 are the standard circuit, by road, in the vehicle. Nageshwar, Bet Dwarka over Sudarshan Setu and Rukmini on day two, then the 237 km run to Somnath through Porbandar on day three for the 19:00 aarti and the light and sound show. Hour by hour, it is the 4 days 3 nights plan.

Day 4: Somnath, then Veraval. Morning darshan, Triveni Sangam, and the transfer to Veraval for your train. This is the tight end of the trip. The temple opens at 06:00, the station is six to seven km away, and the departure time is fixed by a railway rather than by us, so we work backwards from your train and tell you what fits.

Why not take the train between Dwarka and Somnath? Because the one direct service on that corridor is an overnight one. It leaves Dwarka in the evening and reaches Veraval before dawn, about eight and a half hours for a leg that takes four to five by road. Using it would cost you the Somnath evening aarti and a night's sleep. That is why this package puts you on the road for day three even though it has train in the title.

From, per person — Rs. 9,999: Rs. 7,999

Long distance travel — Your own rail ticket, not included: Coach, included

Vehicle on the ground — Private, local sightseeing: Coach

Bet Dwarka — Included: A paid option

Best for — Travellers already booked on rail: Larger pilgrimage groups

Booking a return. It is the commonest error on this trip and it happens because people think of Dwarka and Somnath as one destination. They are two railheads and you need two tickets. The second is leaving the outbound booking late: rail availability on these lines tightens around festivals and holiday season, and the package cannot manufacture a berth that does not exist, which is exactly why the fare sits outside the price and gets added on request rather than promised. The third is the last morning, where a Veraval departure earlier than about midday starts eating into darshan. Send us the train number and we will tell you honestly whether the morning works.

You arrive at Dwarka station and depart from Veraval. Book two one way tickets, not a return.

Veraval station is six to seven km from the Somnath temple.

The Dwarka to Somnath leg is by road, because the only direct train is overnight.

Train fare is outside the package price, so add your own tickets before comparing.

Dwarkadhish closes 13:00 to 17:00, so an arrival in that window waits for the evening.

Somnath's light and sound show does not run during the monsoon.