Things to do on a 3-day Pondicherry Trip

Heya! I just returned from a three-day-long trip to Pondicherry (31st October 2021 - 2nd November 2021), and during the trip, I was getting a lot of questions from friends and family about Pondicherry, so I thought I would try to answer them all in one go once the trip ends. And while compiling all the answers, I realised this could help many other good folks on the internet, so I started writing this article to share them with the world.

In this article, I will share details on reaching Pondicherry, staying there, the must-do and must-visit stuff and a bonus section in the end.

Reaching Pondicherry

Pondicherry is quite well connected so can be reached from Trains, Buses as well as Flights. We were travelling from Bangalore, and it was a very last moment plan, so we had to take the bus. From Bangalore and all around South India, you will get options for both private and government buses.

We took the Pondicherry government bus from Bangalore and Tamil Nadu government's bus while coming back. Both were booked using RedBus. I would highly recommend taking the Tamil Nadu government's bus if you take the bus option; it was super comfy.

Pro Tip: The comfy buses run by the Tamil Nadu government are called the Ultra Deluxe ones, so keep that in mind while booking.

Stay in Pondicherry

We stayed near White Town, which as you will see later in the article is like the centre of all activities in Pondicherry, would highly suggest you do the same.

Decent rooms start from ₹1,000 a night.

Some day-one things

Watch a sunrise as soon as you reach Pondicherry because it's very likely that you will reach early in the morning here. Once you do, take an auto and go straight to Rock Beach.

Because if you are like me and have mostly visited beaches on the west coast of India, i.e. Mumbai, Goa, Gujarat and so on. So you have only seen sunsets on the beach, so believe me watching a sunrise on a beach is equally nice.

Post that, get a two-wheeler on rent. Trust me. It will make your life very easy in Pondicherry.

Everything here is a maximum of 10 KMs away. The cost for a day is around ₹300-₹350. (Don't forget to bargain, our guy started at ₹600 a day and took less than two sentences to come down to ₹300)

Must-dos & must-visits

Take a walk in and around white town; you will see traces of French culture all around you; the architecture of the building and the colours of the walls may make you think like you are in a European city.

Take a walk on Goubert Avenue, it's in White town and is adjacent to the rock beach.

Spend a day or half in Auroville, an experimental town, where about 2000 members are staying and originally are from 54 different countries. You will also get to see the beautiful Matri Mandir there.

Take a swim at Serenity beach or even the Paradise beach. Both are less crowded beaches.

Have authentic French desserts at the Baker Streets. Trust me; if you are someone like me who has a separate stomach for desserts, you will have a tough time selecting between so many amazing dessert options. However, they are so good that we visited them twice.

Visit the peaceful and calm Agnes church; it's an amazing place to take a break during your travels. It wasn't crowded at all; we visited it twice. It's in White Town, so quite accessible.

Eat great food at Villa Shanti; it's a very calm and beautiful restaurant with a courteous staff. And the food is just mesmerising.

Eat amazing Pizza at Cafe Xtasi, a great Pizza place popular with both locals and tourists alike. The Pizzas are made in a wood-fired oven and have a unique flavour to them.

Some other things to keep in mind (Bonus!)

• Traffic discipline is very low here, so you may get shocked if you come from a city with some traffic discipline; people honk unnecessarily and don't follow traffic signals, so be prepared.
• Include rain in your plans if you are coming in the latter part of the year; it can be unpredictable; we got drenched on all three days we were there, sometimes even twice in a day.
• Alcohol is not allowed on the beaches here, so you may be surprised to find no shacks on the beaches if you have visited Goa before.
• Photos of hotels can be deceiving online, so book via trusted parties or book only for a day and extend later.
• Also, here is a poster we found in our hotel, which lists all the attractions here in Pondicherry, so you can read about the places I didn't cover in the poster below:

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