Elephanta Island Guided Tour

We learned a lot

It was great to see a historical site of worship. Our tour guides were also excellent. We learned so much about marriage rituals, religion, history of the caves, and information about city land marks on the way to the ferry.

Fantastic Tour

The tour was great! Sameer picked us up from the hotel in an air conditioned car and was a great guide with a lot of knowledge of Mumbai! He accompanied us on the ferry and introduced us to the local tour guide from the village on the island who walked us through the history and meaning of all of the stone carvings. I highly recommend.

Trip to Elephanta caves

We had a very good time with Sameer and local guide Haresh during the trip to elephanta caves Good communication, on time and lots of information from the guides. We got to see a temple in addition and that was very nice as well

Definitely worth it and would go again on another tour of his

Excellent tour guide, very knowledge and answered all questions I had about the history and sites we were seeing

A nice presentation of the island

Sunil and and the cave guide ( Hamaj) was really knowledgeable about Mumbai and of the caves history. Both guides where really helpful

Brilliant Trip

The Elephanta Caves is a must do in Mumbai. We were met just outside the Green Gate, at the port, by the owner of this business, with placards of our names on. We then went by taxi to the “Gateway to India” where we were met by Ankita, who escorted us on the ferry to Elephanta Island. This takes aprox 1 hour. Upon arrival, you catch a toy train to the bottom steps approaching the caves. Our guide on the island was most informative, and really knew the history of the caves. There are aprox 100 steps up to reach the caves, with lots of souvenir stands on route. The caves themselves are spectacular, and so well worth visiting. Remember water, and watch out for the monkeys who can try and steal your glasses.

Amazing Elephanta

Mr. Manoj is excellent at his job is the least to say of him. He was magnificent very much knowledgeable of the caves. He explained the history and the mythology of the place. He is also an excellent photographer took amazing pictures with best angle's possible. If you happen to visit elephanta it will be incomplete without a tour with Mr. Manoj. We will visit again !

What a amazing story if you hear the story behind the panels!

We visited this beautifull place after being picked up at the hotel and a 45 minutes boat tour showing Mumbai Skyline and many new construction projects. Once you reach t he island it is a complete different world, the 120 steps up, the caves and the story behind the sculptures. Thank you Manoj for story on the island. Cannot image a better guide then you for this. Thank you Lucas for everything underway and around!

Visiting the caves & carvings of Shiva

Qe visited Elephanta Islsnd by boat from the port at Mumbai. This was a very pleasant boat trip & we climbed the steps to see the carvings of Shiva in the caves. This was a most interesting trip to do

Great day at Elephanta Island

My girlfriend and I booked the Elephanta Island tour through Shreeji Tours n Travel. We booked this tour with Sameer after having such a great experience going to the Kunheri Caves and the Global Vipassana Pagoda with him a few days earlier. The day of the tour we were contacted by Sameer to let us know that spontaneous rain started in the middle of the night. He asked if we could push the tour back an hour to ensure we had a lovely experience on the island. Once picked up we had a mini tour of south Mumbai on the way to the ferry and learned things many things about the city. Once we reached the island Sameer introduced us to a Haresh, a local of the island for five generations who guided us to the caves. The caves were breath taking. Haresh was able to explain the background and history of the Hindu religion as well as the stories behind the many sculptures. Without Haresh the significance of the caves would have been lost on us and we just would have had some nice pictures. After the tour when we made it back to the Gateway of India we asked Sameer if he knew any good shops for some gifts that we needed to get and he did not hesitate to take us to multiple local shops to find what we needed. Sameer is truly passionate about his work and it shines through with everything he does. We can't recommend this tour, or any tour by Shreeji Tours n Travel enough.

Hire a guide for Elefanta Cave

Haresh was a great guide as he was a local habitant of the island where the Elefanta Cave is located. He gave a lot of insights about the place and shared a lot of details about the Hindu religion and the story told by the sculptures inside. The cave is still a place of cult for local people (outside the open hours for tourists), so you should keep that in mind and for example do not play with or sit on the holy place with a dome-shaped stone in it, called lingam. Unfortunately, there is no sign on any of those places, so for people not knowing Hindu religion it is hard to understand how the place is important and sacred for locals. The cave is quite big inside, with a few sculptures here and there and many souvenir shops on the way to the cave, without the guide it would be just another touristy place to go to for a few pictures. The story-rich guidance by Haresh made the trip fully worth it.

Good day out at Elephanta Island!

Had a good day out with Sameer! He was really knowledgeable and took pride in his city, providing good explanations in clear English and introducing me to parts of the city that were off the beaten oath (I combined a City Tour with an Elephanta Island tour). Definitely recommend for anyone visiting Mumbai and wanting to see the sights.

Excellent Guide

The caves should not be missed. This is a once in a lifetime site with fascinating history. Sameer was an excellent guide. He met us at our hotel and ensured we got to the ferry and the island without issue. Sameer explained various landmarks and discussed culture with us. He was not overbearing and the entire experience was interesting and relaxing. He hired a guide from Elephanta Island to explain the religious significance of the caves. It was like being on an archaeological tour. The guide was extremely knowledgeable about the caves, religious significance of each figure, current use of the caves for worship, and the island itself. Both guides were very nice and accommodating. If you’re going to Mumbai and want to go on any tour, use Sameer’s company!

A smooth and informative trip to Elephanta

We did the Elephanta island tour with Sreeji’s. The driver and the guide were both very professional and helped us with tickets and entry at the ferry and the monuments. Highly recommend going with Sreeji’s travels to make it a smooth trip to Elephanta.

Worth seeing

We had a good day in our tour to the elefanta island. Sameer did his best to accomodate our request. Be ready for a very heart-racing boat journey to the island. The boat swings a lot (but that’s the local - and only - to get there and we did fine with our baby in arms). The walk to get to the cave is physically demanding but doable. The cave itself is probably the most interesting attraction in Mumbai, being likely the oldest structure you will find around and the one that reflects the local culture rather then the colonisation imprints. Finally, Mumbai is - expectedly- a chaotic city and more likely a business rather than a touristic place. Nevertheless, if you happen to have some spare time here, this tour is a good option (and the team behind it really try their best to make your time enjoyable).

Caves & more

Sameer was on time, friendly, and informative. His English was easy to understand. He was knowledgeable and explained many landmarks along the way. After the ferry ride we toured the caves with an equally knowledgeable man whose home is on the island. The caves were worth the journey! Thanks for taking good care of us Sameer!

Amazing Cave Carvings

Elephanta Island is amazing, but the ferries are slow (about 1.5 hours depending on tide and docking around other ferries). There’s lots of talk about the numerous steps, but note that there are many inclines in between those steps so it is s bit of a hike. At least vendors along the way have create shade for the hike. Our guide, Vikrant, was great. He explained the history on the way over and described the various carvings upon arrival. He pulled up photos on his phone to provide context. This was one of a string of tours we did using Shreeji Tours, all of which were well organized.