Chennai City and Mahabalipuram Beach Break
Route Covered
Overnight stops in day orderOverview
Across four days, this Mahabalipuram beach tour package in Tamil Nadu pairs a night in Chennai with two nights on the coast. You begin with a fort, a museum and a church in the city, then settle by Pallava rock carvings and wide sands. Couples and families do well on it, and November to February is the pleasant season.
Couples and families who want one city day, then slow coastal days among stone carvings, without long drives
Highlights
Good to know
Swimming
Marina Beach is not recommended for swimming; at Mahabalipuram ask your hotel about sea conditions before you go inEarly monument visits
The Mahabalipuram monuments open at 6 am, so mornings are cooler and quieterMuseum closing day
The Fort Museum in Chennai has a weekly closing day, so Day 2 can be reorderedWalking
Most of the Mahabalipuram sights are over open rock and sand, so bring a hat and waterDay-by-Day Itinerary
- Marina Beach evening walk
Arrive in Chennai and walk Marina Beach
- 1Your driver greets you at Chennai International Airport and takes you to the city hotel
- 2After check-in and a rest, stroll along Marina Beach in the evening if time allows
- Fort St George and Fort Museum
- Government Museum bronze gallery
- San Thome Basilica
- East Coast Road drive
Fort St George, a bronze gallery and the drive to Mahabalipuram
- 1Start inside Fort St George, built in 1644, with the Fort Museum and St Mary's Church
- 2Cross to Egmore for the Government Museum's bronze gallery
- 3Pause at San Thome Basilica
- 4Take the East Coast Road south to Mahabalipuram
- 5Check in near the beach
- Five Rathas
- Arjuna's Penance
- Krishna's Butterball
- Varaha mandapa cave temple
- Shore Temple and beach
Mahabalipuram day: Five Rathas, Arjuna's Penance, Shore Temple
- 1Arrive at the monuments early, before the rock warms up
- 2Wander the Five Rathas, every one chiselled out of one boulder
- 3Read the carved panels of Arjuna's Penance and peek into the cave temples
- 4Find Krishna's Butterball resting on its granite slope
- 5Give the afternoon to the Shore Temple and the sand
- Last beach walk
- Madras Crocodile Bank (optional)
Beach morning and departure from Chennai airport
- 1A free morning for a last walk on the beach beside the Shore Temple
- 2Optional stop at the Madras Crocodile Bank on the East Coast Road if your flight time allows
- 3Drive to Chennai International Airport for your flight
Indicative — varies with season and hotel category.
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Trip Facts
Local Activities & Events
Updated Oct 3, 2026Chennai — Days 1-4 of this trip
Freshworks Chennai Marathon (15th edition)
sportsA Sunday road race in Chennai with 10 km, half marathon, 32 km and full marathon routes, all finishing at India Maritime University in Uthandi.
Mylapore Festival
culturalUsually early to mid January. The 2026 festival had a prelude on 3 and 4 January and the main days on 8 to 11 January. No 2027 dates found.
A neighbourhood festival in Mylapore with heritage walks, a food walk, board-game contests and a quiz, held around the temple streets in early January.
Reach out to us for the confirmed datesMahabalipuram — Days 2-4 of this trip
Indian Dance Festival, Mamallapuram
culturalUsually runs from the third week of December into mid-to-late January
Classical and folk dancers perform in the evenings on an open-air stage in front of the Shore Temple, in a festival run by Tamil Nadu's tourism department.
Reach out to us for the confirmed datesTamil Nadu — across your trip
Kanda Sashti and Soorasamharam
festivalSix days of fasting and worship at Tiruchendur's Murugan temple lead to Soorasamharam, the re-enactment of Murugan's victory over the demon Surapadman.
Karthigai Deepam
festivalArunachaleswarar temple in Tiruvannamalai holds a ten-day festival that ends with a flame lit on Arunachala hill at dusk and an overnight walk around it.
Music Academy 100th Annual Concerts (Chennai December Season)
culturalThe Music Academy marks its hundredth annual concerts with daily performances and morning conference sessions during Chennai's December season.
Vaikuntha Ekadashi at Srirangam
festivalThe northern Paramapada Vasal gate of the Ranganathaswamy Temple opens on this single day, and the processional deity passes through at daybreak.
Arudra Darshan at Chidambaram
festivalThe Nataraja deity at Chidambaram is carried out in a temple-car procession and anointed in a long ceremony on the Thiruvathirai star.
Events are reviewed by our team before publishing and drop off after they end. Please confirm timings and availability with us before your trip — local schedules can change without notice.
What's Included & Excluded
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