Private Karnataka Tours for International Travelers
Karnataka rarely gets the attention it deserves from overseas visitors, which is exactly why those who come tend to love it. Within one state you find the boulder-strewn capital of a vanished empire at Hampi, a working royal palace in Mysore, misty coffee estates in Coorg and Chikmagalur, some of the finest stone carving in Asia at Belur and Halebidu, tiger forests at Kabini and a quiet coastline of temple towns and empty beaches. Our Karnataka tour packages are private trips designed for travelers from abroad and NRI families, with a car and driver of your own, local guides at the main sites and hotels chosen for comfort and location.
The 24 itineraries on this page start at one week and run to three full weeks. Most begin in Bangalore, the state capital, home to the busiest international airport in the region, while others start or end in Goa, Hubballi or Hyderabad to save backtracking. A few continue into Kerala or the Nilgiris for travelers who want backwaters or hill country at the end.
Hampi, Badami and the Temple Trail of North Karnataka
A Hampi tour package is the centerpiece of many trips. The ruins of Vijayanagara, once one of the largest cities in the medieval world, spread across a landscape of granite boulders and banana plantations beside the Tungabhadra River. Temples, royal bathhouses, elephant stables and market streets survive in remarkable numbers, and the site is protected by UNESCO.
North of Hampi lie the earlier experiments of the Chalukya kings. The cave temples of Badami are cut into red sandstone cliffs above a lake, Aihole scatters over a hundred early shrines through its fields, where builders tried out the forms that later spread across the subcontinent, and Pattadakal, another UNESCO site, places northern and southern tower styles side by side. Travelers who want to go further can continue to Bijapur, where the Gol Gumbaz dome and Ibrahim Rauza tell the story of the Deccan sultanates.
Mysore, Coorg and the Hoysala Temples
In the south, a Mysore and Coorg tour pairs royal heritage with plantation country. Mysore Palace is lit by thousands of bulbs on Sunday evenings and public holidays, and the city's markets are known for sandalwood, silk and jasmine. A few hours west, Coorg, home of the Kodava people, offers estate walks, waterfalls and cool mornings among coffee and pepper vines, while Chikmagalur claims the story of coffee's arrival in India.
Between the two regions stand the Hoysala temples of Belur, Halebidu and Somanathapura, listed together by UNESCO in 2023. Their star-shaped platforms and soapstone friezes, carved with dancers, musicians and episodes from the epics, are the focus of our Karnataka heritage tour and temple architecture itineraries. Shravanabelagola, with its towering monolithic statue of Gommateshwara on a granite hill, adds an important Jain chapter, and the climb of several hundred rock-cut steps rewards walkers with wide views over the plains and temple tanks below.
Wildlife, Coast and Western Ghats
Karnataka shares the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve with its neighbors, and Kabini, Nagarhole and Bandipur are among the best places in India to see wild Asian elephants, with leopards and tigers possible on jeep and boat safaris. On the coast, Udupi is famous for its Krishna temple and vegetarian cooking, Murudeshwar for its seaside tower and giant Shiva statue, and Gokarna for its cliff-backed beaches. Inland, the Western Ghats bring Jog Falls, Kudremukh and Agumbe for travelers who enjoy walking in green, wet hill country.
Tours for Every Traveler
Our collection includes a Karnataka family tour with zoo visits, safaris and coracle rides, a tour for NRI families built around temple traditions in Udupi, Sringeri and Dharmasthala, a slow travel route with coffee estate homestays, a senior-friendly itinerary with three-night stays, and combinations with Goa beaches for those who want to end on the sand. Each route bends easily: add a night, swap a hotel or drop a stop, and we rework the plan around your dates and budget.
Across Hampi and the coast, the dry and sunny months from October through March are the pick of the year. Coorg and Chikmagalur stay pleasant into May, Jog Falls is at its fullest after the monsoon from August onward, and Mysore's Dasara festival brings the palace to life in September or October. Pick the route that appeals most, tell us when you can travel, and our team will turn it into a Karnataka trip built for you.
Every itinerary can be customised: adjust cities, pace and nights to suit your travel style.
N.S. Rathore & Mrs. Omlata Rathore · Managing Director
We still read every enquiry ourselves. Tell us the places you liked and our planners will send a day-by-day route with drive times and a clear price.
Every package can be customised and no pressure to book. A planner from our office replies within 24 hours with a route written for your group.
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Good to know
A week covers either the south (Bangalore, Mysore, Coorg and the Hoysala temples) or the heritage north (Hampi, Badami, Pattadakal and Aihole). Ten to fourteen days let you combine both halves, and two to three weeks add the coast, the Western Ghats, Bijapur or a wildlife stay at Kabini.
October to March is ideal for most of the state, especially Hampi and northern Karnataka, which get very hot from April to June. Coorg and Chikmagalur are pleasant for much of the year outside the heavy monsoon, and Jog Falls looks its best from August to December.
The drive takes about six hours by road. Alternatively, you can fly to Jindal Vijayanagar airport near Hampi or to Hubballi, depending on schedules, or take a train to Hospet. We choose the most comfortable option for your itinerary and dates.
We recommend at least two full days, and three if you enjoy photography or walking. The site covers a wide area, and sightseeing works best soon after sunrise and again toward sunset, when the heat drops and the stone turns gold.
Yes. Few temples in India match the fine soapstone detail of these friezes, and UNESCO recognized the Hoysala group, Somanathapura included, as World Heritage in 2023. Most of our southern Karnataka itineraries include them.
The lights go on for a short spell after dark on Sundays and public holidays, and nightly through the ten days of Dasara each autumn. We try to schedule your Mysore stay so that it includes one of these evenings.
The packages that visit Kabini, Nagarhole or Bandipur include the number of safaris stated in the itinerary. Seats are allotted by the Karnataka forest department, so they depend on availability, and no operator can promise a tiger or leopard on any given drive.
Yes. Several packages begin or finish in Goa, which is convenient for travelers already on holiday there or flying in to Goa's airports. Hampi and Gokarna are both within a day's drive of Goa.
Very much so. Our family package includes zoo visits, coracle rides, plantation walks and safaris, and our senior travelers tour uses longer stays and shorter drives. Hampi involves uneven ground, so we plan the visits carefully and can arrange easier routes where possible.
Yes. Many of our itineraries include nights on a working coffee estate or in a family-run homestay, where you can walk the plantations, learn how coffee is grown and processed, and enjoy Kodava or Malnad home cooking.
Yes. The NRI family itinerary links the temple towns of the coast and the Malnad with Mysore and the Jain hill at Shravanabelagola, leaving room to explain rituals to children raised overseas. Any package can also be adjusted to include a family or ancestral village visit.
No. Every quote bundles hotel nights with morning meals, your own car and driver, site guides, the flights, trains or safaris named in the itinerary, and applicable taxes. Ticket charges at heritage sites, temples and museums are extra, along with camera charges, flights to India, visas, insurance and tips.