Pondicherry is one of India’s golden tourist gems. Recently, I visited Pondicherry and spent my vacation for 2 days, Saturday and Sunday. I arrived in Pondicherry by 11:00 p.m. on Friday, and in this article I am going to tell all my experience is that I felt in Pondicherry. Saturdays and Sundays are the best days to visit Pondicherry. Because from Monday to Friday, people are engaged in jobs in India, it is less crowded, so you cannot enjoy it efficiently.
Where is Pondicherry, and how do you arrive there?
First of all, you need to know that Pondicherry and Puducherry both are the same. It is not a state in India, but a union territory of India. It was ruled by the French many years ago. Generally, Pondicherry is located in the state of Tamilnadu and it’s a very small town or city with people who speak Tamil.
How to get to Pondicherry?
There are various options to get to Pondicherry. Mainly, you can come by bus. There are n number of buses you can find from Chennai Bus Stand. You can find buses every half hour to Pondi. In advance, you can book your bus through RedBus or Abhi Bus apps.
If you are a foreigner, it’s better to book your tickets for Chennai. Chennai is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, where you have international flight access. Pondicherry has an airport, but it is not functional, and it is not International as well. You can come by bus, or you can simply book a cab from Chennai to Pondicherry, which takes 2 to 3 hours to reach Pondicherry.
There are multiple stops that you can choose to stay; what I booked is the Indira Statue. The statue is one of the centers in Pondicherry where you can easily access White Town, Sacred Heart Basilica Church, etc.
How to Travel Around Pondicherry? And my worst experience.
You can travel around Pondicherry as a tourist via a rental scooter or autos. These are the only two ways that tourists can experience Pondicherry. The worst part is that Pondicherry has auto booking facilities through the Rapido and Uber apps. Rapido is a two-wheeler or auto booking app that comes to you directly. But even if you try to book an auto, the drivers do not accept your ride. So you must stop an auto driver to reach your booked hotel. Just simply wave your hands towards an empty auto, and they take you, and they will take you to the destination.
My Worst Experience with Travel Around
In my case, I tried to book my ride from the Indira Statue to my hotel through Rapido and Uber. The fare is 87 rupees as per the Rapido and Uber platforms. I waited so long for my ride to be confirmed. But nobody accepted the ride. Then the local auto driver came to me and asked me where to go. I told him my hotel. So, she asked me three times. By the way, it’s 11:30 p.m. So there was no other option for me, and I started bargaining with him finally accepted 250 rupees.
So, whoever the traveller is, whether a local traveller or a foreign traveller, he must pay double or triple to travel around. In the scenario to explore all the sceneries and tourist spots in Pondicherry, it roughly takes 2000 – 3000 indian rupees.
Better option for traveling around in Pondicherry
After I wasted thousands of rupees on my travel on the first day. Then one of the good auto drivers suggested me to take an electrical two wheeler to travel around. And an electric scooter doesn’t need a license to travel around. So this is the best fit for international travelers and local travelers to save dollars/rupees, even having no driving license.
An auto driver can take you to the rental scooter shop, and the auto driver will take you there. The needed documents are: if you are an Indian, you need to submit your original Aadhaar card. If you are a foreigner, you need to submit a valid document and an advance amount to the owner of the two-wheeler. In my case, they charged 600 rupees per day. Just check the rental scooter shop details where I took one. If you do not know how to drive a bike, simply find an order driver and make an agreement with him for the entire day. Generally, he takes around 1200 or maybe 1500, and sometimes Rs 2000 per day. Have a proper itinerary, then ask him to cover all the sweet spots in Pondicherry.
Things to do and the best tourist places to visit in Pondicherry
I would classify the best things to do based on the best places you visit. I spent 2 days in Pondicherry on Saturday and Sunday.
1. Rock Beach
There are mainly three beaches in Pondicherry that you must visit. Amongst them, the first one is Rock Beach. It is the most famous beach with a huge crowd. The speciality of this beach is the beach is covered with rocks. Instead of a seashore with sand, you find rocks. The best time to visit this rock beach is either in the morning or in the evening. I strongly suggest that you do not visit this rock beach in the afternoon. Because in India, usually, the weather is very hot; you get roasted if you come here in the afternoon.
I came here on the first day in the evening. It was amazing, with lights, sound, footpath sellers, footpath Indian food, etc. There are many official and beach-attached hotels, and luxury cafes give more enthusiasm.
2. Eden Beach
On my second day, I visited this place. I took an electrical two wheeler and travelled from my hotel to Eden Beach around 4:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. is the best part, when you can enjoy the sunset as well. This is the white-sand beach in Pondicherry, along with Paradise Beach.
Outside of this beach, you can enjoy various water adventures. Like snorkeling, ziplining, water roller, etc., I personally experienced snorkeling, which cost about Rs 200 for 20 minutes. I even got a beautiful handmade bag for my mother. And you can find a beautiful circle-shaped large pillar monument where we can take our photos. In the evening, this will be so super because the monument is golden in colour when the sun sets; that colour reflex this monument and give the beautiful pictures. I went to the beach, and then I took a shower outside the beach and came out and found some local restaurants making fish fries.
You can literally enjoy different kinds of fish that you like. I had a fish called Rava, which is excellent.
3. French Colony
French Colony is not a single street but many streets where French people used to stay. You can find wonderful buildings in this French colony with pastel colours. The main attraction that lead tourists to this area is the structural pastel coloured buildings with beautiful white and Rose colored flowers. Also, the gates of the doors here are very awesome because each house has a different kind of huge gate that asks you to take a photo.
4. White Town
White Town is the next iconic area to visit. You find vintage buildings and clean roads with beautiful trees and flowers. The roads are so confusing here the first time, but when you make some rounds in your electric vehicle, you get familiar with those streets as well. The Rock Beach is located next to the white town. You must visit this white town on Saturday and Sunday nights. Because huge and crowded with fantastic attractions and cafes. People generally so crowded because to take photos outside the beautiful buildings under lantern-type lights and streetlights.
5. Sacred Heart Basilica Church
Basilica Church is one of the oldest churches in all of India. It is very grand and kind of red and white combination to church where lot of people come and visit here. People from different places without religious bias, come here and pray to God.
Where to stay in Pondicherry?
You can find many accommodation options in Pondicherry. They range from 700 to 10,000+. If you want to stay on a budget and if you are a solo budget traveler, try to find your stay outside of White Town. White Town is a generally high-end area; the demand is so high because it is near the rock beach. If you want a beach view, the prices are high, but you can get good accommodation in front of the beach.
I booked my hotel through Booking.com in white town at Rs 2000. I did my travel in cheap with a simple hotel and electrical bike. For me, because of improper planning and itinerary, I struggled with hotels. I didn’t book the hotels earlier, but somehow got good hotels.