The cheapest taxi option for Varanasi to Lucknow is a Sedan (Maruti Dzire or Toyota Etios) at ₹3,300 for a one-way booking. SUV (Innova/Ertiga) costs ₹4,500 and a 12-seater Tempo Traveller costs ₹6,900. All fares include fuel, driver and AC; tolls and state tax are additional at actual.
Road Trip Guide
Drive
Varanasi to Lucknow
by Car
VaranasiLucknow
300 km · 5-6 hours drive · cab from ₹3,300
Distance
300km
Drive Time
5hrs
Highway
Cab From
₹3,300
4.9 · 10,000+ trips
What are the road stages from Varanasi to Lucknow?
| Road stage | Distance (km) | Drive time | Road quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Varanasi to Jaunpur | 65 | 1.5 hrs | Good |
| Jaunpur to Sultanpur | 80 | 1.5 hrs | Good |
| Sultanpur to Lucknow | 140 | 2.5 hrs | Good |
How far is Lucknow from Varanasi by car?
Lucknow is approximately 300 km from Varanasi by road, a drive of about 5-6 hours depending on traffic and stops. The recommended vehicle is a Sedan (Swift Dzire), and a one-way AC cab starts at ₹3,300 (sedan), ₹4,500 (SUV), or ₹6,900 (tempo). Toll and state tax are extra. Start by 5-6 AM for the smoothest run.
Planning a Varanasi to Lucknow trip? Expect 300 km and about 5-6 hours on the road. Pick the Sedan (Swift Dzire) that fits your party — sedan, SUV or tempo. Book in two minutes with a fixed fare, verified driver and 24/7 support.
Your Route
Varanasi
Varanasi to Jaunpur · 65km · Good
Jaunpur to Sultanpur · 80km · Good
Sultanpur to Lucknow · 140km · Good
Lucknow
Excellent
Good
Moderate
Poor
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Segment by Segment
The Road Ahead
3 segments · 300 km total
Approaching the ancient city, temple spires visible
Historic Jaunpur, Atala Mosque, Shahi Bridge
Purvanchal Expressway or NH-56, flat UP plains
Book This Route
Varanasi to Lucknow Cab
All-inclusive · No hidden charges
Sedan
Swift Dzire / Etios · 4 Seater
Most Popular
SUV
Innova Crysta / Ertiga · 6-7 Seater
Tempo Traveller
12-Seater AC · 12 Seater
When to Go
Seasonal Road Conditions
Winter Driving Conditions
Dec — Feb
Best time (Oct-Feb). Dev Deepawali (Nov) is a million-lamp spectacle on the ghats. Morning fog on expressway.
Driving Tips
1
This is the Varanasi to Lucknow direction — the same road as Lucknow to Varanasi, driven the other way, so the stops below are measured from Varanasi
2
Leave Varanasi by 6 AM to clear the city before the morning build-up — on a 300 km run the hour saved at the start is the hour you are not driving in the dark at the end
3
Plan a stop every two to three hours; the food stops below are listed by distance from Varanasi
4
Purvanchal Expressway is the fastest option — 6-lane highway cuts travel time significantly
5
Varanasi is India's oldest living city — walk the ghats at dawn for the most profound experience
6
Auto-rickshaws in Varanasi are cheap and know the narrow lanes — use them inside the city
Food Stops
1Varanasi outskirts (20 km)
2Jaunpur (80 km)
3Sultanpur (160 km)
Best Car for This Trip
We recommend Sedan (Swift Dzire) for the Varanasi to Lucknow drive. Well-maintained highway makes a sedan the perfect, cost-effective choice.
Fuel Planning
4 fuel stations along the route. Limited pumps on parts of this route — fill up at every opportunity.
The Varanasi to Lucknow road trip by the numbers
Distance, driving time, fuel stop counts and indicative fares verified weekly against our drivers' actual route runs.
0 km
Total distance
one-way
0.0 hr
Driving time
plus stops
₹0
Sedan from
all-inclusive
0
Fuel stops
recommended en-route
The single biggest mistake first-time road-trippers make on Delhi–Manali is not stopping at Mandi for lunch. Plan your fuel and food stops in advance — it cuts your real travel time by an hour because you're not hunting for somewhere on the way.
Pankaj Singh Gaur
Founder & CEO, Triveni Cabs™
Road Trip Q&A
More about driving from Varanasi to Lucknow
Verified against these sources
Verified against official tourism, transport and weather data. We refresh these sources quarterly.
- GOVNational Highways Authority of India (NHAI)— official toll plaza, FASTag and national-highway data(nhai.gov.in)
- GOVParivahan Seva (Ministry of Road Transport)— official commercial vehicle permit and tax portal(parivahan.gov.in)
- WIKIVaranasi (Wikipedia)— sacred city on the Ganges(en.wikipedia.org)
- GOVUttar Pradesh Tourism— official Uttar Pradesh tourism board (Agra, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Mathura, Lucknow)(uptourism.gov.in)
Quick Answer
Is the drive from Varanasi to Lucknow easier than Lucknow to Varanasi?
The road and the distance are identical at 300 km, so the drive time is much the same at 5-6 hours. What changes is where the congestion falls: leaving Varanasi you clear its outskirts first, and you arrive into Lucknow at whatever that city's traffic is doing when you get there.
FAQ
Varanasi to Lucknow Road Trip FAQs
The road and the distance are identical at 300 km, so the drive time is much the same at 5-6 hours. What changes is where the congestion falls: leaving Varanasi you clear its outskirts first, and you arrive into Lucknow at whatever that city's traffic is doing when you get there.
Varanasi outskirts (20 km) and Jaunpur (80 km) are the practical stops, and the distances given are measured from Varanasi rather than from the other end — a point worth making, because every listing of this route online measures them the other way. Plan a break every two to three hours.
Yes, and on this direction it is worth asking specifically. A one-way drop is cheaper than a round trip when you are not coming back, and because we run the Lucknow to Varanasi direction regularly there is a reasonable chance of pairing your trip with a return run — which is the cheapest a one-way ever gets. Call 7668570551 and ask what is going your way.
Around 6 AM, which clears Varanasi before the morning build-up. On a 300 km day the hour you save at the start is the hour you are not driving in the dark at the far end.
Broadly yes — the plazas are the same barriers and most charge per crossing — but a return-journey rate applies at some plazas within the same day, and a plaza can occasionally be one-directional. Our toll-cost page for this corridor lists the plazas with the car and SUV figures. On a fare booked with us the toll is charged at actuals with the receipts available, so you pay what the road charged rather than an estimate.
Same road, same 300 km, and the same 3 stages in the opposite order — the detailed guide for the other direction is at /travel-by-car/lucknow-to-varanasi. The one real difference is that Sultanpur to Lucknow is your last stage here and your first stage there, which changes what the hardest hour of the day is.
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