We send cabs to Shirdi from Pune almost every single day. Some weeks it is four trips a day. Most of the people calling us are families heading for darshan, and over the years we have figured out exactly what works and what does not for this trip. This page is everything we know about booking a Pune to Shirdi cab — the real fares, when to leave, what the booking process actually looks like, and an honest comparison with the bus and train options.
187 km
Distance
4-4.5 hrs
Journey Time
₹2,100
Starting Fare
24/7
Available
We are a cab service, so obviously we would say book a cab. But let us be straight with you — the MSRTC bus from Pune to Shirdi costs about ₹400-500 for a semi-luxury seat. The Shivneri or Shivshahi will get you there for around ₹550-600. And if you time it right, the Kopargaon train (the nearest railhead, 15 km from Shirdi) costs even less. So why would anyone pay ₹2,100 or more for a cab?
The answer depends entirely on your situation. If you are a solo traveller or a couple on a budget, the bus genuinely makes sense. We would tell you the same thing on the phone. But here is where the cab starts winning:
If you are a solo traveller without a tight schedule, the MSRTC Shivshahi bus is genuinely comfortable and runs every 30-60 minutes from Shivajinagar and Swargate. You will reach Shirdi bus stand in about 5.5 hours. From there, a shared auto to the temple is ₹30-40. Total cost under ₹600. We are not going to pretend a ₹2,100 cab makes sense for one person unless time or convenience is the priority.
The train option is worth mentioning too. The Kopargaon-bound trains from Pune Junction take about 5-6 hours, and tickets in second class are dirt cheap — under ₹200. But Kopargaon station is 15 km from Shirdi, and the auto-rickshaw drivers at that station know you are stuck. They charge ₹200-300 for the ride. Plus, train timings are fixed and often inconvenient for darshan planning. For more route details, check our Pune to Shirdi route guide.
Most cab service websites make booking sound like some magical one-click thing. Here is what actually happens, step by step, when you message us:
Tell us your pickup address (full address, not just "Hinjewadi" — we need to know which society or landmark), the date you want to travel, what time you want to be picked up, how many people are travelling, and whether you want a sedan or an SUV. If you are not sure about the vehicle, just tell us how many people and how much luggage — we will suggest the right one.
You get a clear message back with the total fare, what is included, and what is not. The fare covers the driver's allowance and fuel. Tolls are extra — for Pune to Shirdi, there are two toll plazas on the Ahmednagar highway (total about ₹200-300 depending on the vehicle). We tell you the approximate toll amount upfront so there is no surprise.
About 30 minutes to an hour before your pickup time, we share the driver's name, phone number, and car number on WhatsApp. For early morning trips (the 2 AM departures), we send driver details the night before so you are not waiting around anxiously at 1:45 AM wondering if someone is actually coming. The driver will call you when he is 5 minutes away from your location.
You get in, the AC is on, and you head out towards the Ahmednagar highway via whichever route is faster from your pickup point. Most drivers know the Shirdi road inside out — they have done it hundreds of times. If you want to stop somewhere for tea or breakfast (there is a cluster of decent dhabas near Shikrapur, about 30 km out), just tell the driver. For round trips, the driver waits in Shirdi while you do darshan — no rush.
You pay when you reach Shirdi (for one-way) or when you are back home (for round trips). Cash or UPI — whatever works for you. No advance payment, no deposits. We have been doing it this way since the beginning and it works because once you are in the car, the trip is going to happen.
Let us break the fare down so you know exactly where your money goes. Cab pricing for outstation trips like Shirdi is not like local rides where the meter runs. It is a fixed fare based on the vehicle type and whether you are doing a one-way trip or round trip.
| Vehicle Type | One-Way | Round Trip | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sedan (Swift Dzire, Etios) | ₹2,100 - ₹2,400 | ₹4,200 - ₹4,800 | 4 passengers |
| SUV (Ertiga, Innova) | ₹3,500 - ₹4,000 | ₹7,000 - ₹8,000 | 6-7 passengers |
| Innova Crysta | ₹4,500 - ₹5,000 | ₹9,000 - ₹10,000 | 6-7 passengers |
| Tempo Traveller | ₹7,000 - ₹8,000 | ₹14,000 - ₹16,000 | 12-17 passengers |
The range in fare (e.g., ₹2,100-2,400 for sedan) depends on your exact pickup location in Pune. Picking up from Hinjewadi costs slightly more than from Shivajinagar because the highway entry point is farther. We give you the exact number when you message us — no ambiguity.
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This is probably our most common booking. We would suggest a sedan (Dzire or Etios) — plenty of room for 4 adults with a small bag of clothes and prasad items. Leave Kothrud by 2:00 AM, reach Shirdi around 6:00-6:15 AM. Morning darshan queues are short at that hour — you should be done by 9:00-9:30 AM. Have breakfast at one of the restaurants near the temple (Hotel Sai Sahavas does a decent thali for ₹150-200 per plate). Start back by 10:30 AM, home by 3:00-3:30 PM.
Cost: Round trip sedan ₹4,200-4,500 + tolls ₹500-600 (both ways) + parking ₹50. Total around ₹4,750-5,150 for the family. That is ₹1,200 per person for a completely hassle-free day trip.
We get this one a lot. Your parents land at Pune airport, and instead of bringing them home first and then going to Shirdi another day, you want a cab waiting at the airport to take them directly. This works perfectly. We station the driver at the airport arrival gate with a name board. Once they collect luggage and walk out, the driver takes over. The Pune airport to Shirdi distance is about 190 km and takes a bit under 4.5 hours depending on the airport traffic.
Cost: One-way sedan ₹2,400-2,600 (airport pickup adds a bit). We recommend booking this at least a day in advance so we can confirm the driver timing around the flight schedule.
A Tempo Traveller is what you need here. Seats 12-17 people comfortably with luggage space. Leave Pune by 4:00 AM, reach Shirdi by 8:30 AM. Complete darshan by 11:00 AM (groups usually take longer). Drive to Shani Shingnapur — it is about 65 km, takes 1.5 hours. Spend an hour there. Start the return drive by 3:00 PM, back in Pune by 7:30-8:00 PM. Long day, but doable.
Cost: Round trip Tempo Traveller ₹14,000-16,000 + Shani Shingnapur detour ₹2,000-2,500 extra + tolls ₹700-800. Split across 10 people, that is about ₹1,700-1,900 per person for the entire day. Try getting that deal anywhere else.
The Pune to Shirdi distance is about 187 km via the Ahmednagar highway (NH65). On paper, that is a 4-hour drive. In practice, it depends heavily on when you leave. The Shikrapur-Chakan stretch at the beginning of the highway can add 30-45 minutes during peak morning hours (7-10 AM) because of the industrial traffic. Leave at 2 AM, though, and the same stretch takes 15 minutes.
This is the most devout timing. The roads are empty, the drive takes under 4 hours, and you arrive with time to freshen up. The Kakad Aarti is a powerful experience — the temple is quiet, the crowd is small, and the atmosphere is completely different from the daytime chaos. If this is your first Shirdi visit, try to make it for this aarti at least once.
The most popular timing among our customers. You reach around 5:30-6:00 AM, the temple is already open, and the queues have not built up yet. On weekdays, you can be in and out in 45 minutes. Thursdays and weekends, expect 1.5-2 hours even at this time.
If the idea of waking up at 1 AM makes you want to cancel the trip entirely, just leave at 4 or 5 AM. You will reach by 8:30-9:30 AM. Yes, there will be a queue — especially on Thursdays. But the darshan is still very much worth it, and you do not start your spiritual day exhausted. This timing also works well for families with small children who cannot handle the midnight departure.
Festival warning: During Sai Baba Punyatithi (in October), Ram Navami, and Guru Purnima, Shirdi gets extremely crowded. Darshan queues can stretch to 4-5 hours. If you are planning to visit during these times, book your cab at least 3-4 days in advance. We get fully booked during these periods and last-minute requests become very difficult to fulfil.
Plans change. Someone falls sick, the weather turns bad, or that family function suddenly gets preponed. Here is how we handle it:
Since we do not take any advance payment, cancelling is straightforward — just let us know as early as possible. If you cancel a day before, there is no issue at all. If you cancel an hour before pickup when the driver is already on his way to your location, we may ask you to cover his fuel cost for the wasted trip (usually ₹200-300). We think that is fair.
Just message us on WhatsApp. If it is more than 6-8 hours before the trip, we can almost always accommodate the change. If it is last-minute (like 2 hours before), it depends on driver availability. We will be upfront about whether we can manage it or not — no stringing you along.
Say you booked a Shirdi round trip, but after darshan you decide to also visit Shani Shingnapur or even head to Nashik. This is possible — just discuss it with the driver and call us. We will confirm the additional fare on the spot. Extra kilometres are charged at a per-km rate (roughly ₹12-15/km for a sedan).
Yes, we do same-day bookings for Shirdi trips. Call us in the morning, travel in the afternoon — it usually works because Shirdi is one of our busiest routes and we have drivers available most of the time. But for early morning departures (2-4 AM), booking the previous evening is much safer.
The Pune to Shirdi highway (NH65 via Ahmednagar) is in decent shape. It is not the best highway in Maharashtra — that honour goes to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway — but it is a solid two-lane road that has been widened to four lanes in many stretches. Here is what the journey looks like:
First hour (Pune to Shikrapur): You navigate through Pune city and get onto the Ahmednagar road. If you are leaving from Kharadi or Viman Nagar, you are on the highway quickly. From areas like Kothrud or Deccan, add 20-30 minutes to cross the city. After Wagholi, the road opens up and you start making good time.
Middle stretch (Shikrapur to Ahmednagar bypass): This is the most boring part of the drive, honestly. Flat, straight road through agricultural land. If you left at 2 AM, most passengers are asleep through this section. There are a few dhabas near Shikrapur if you want a chai stop. The road quality is mostly fine, with occasional patches of construction.
Final stretch (Ahmednagar to Shirdi): After the Ahmednagar bypass, you are about 80 km from Shirdi. The road here is narrower and passes through several small towns, so speeds drop a bit. The last 15 km to Shirdi have a lot of bus and truck traffic, especially in the morning. Your driver knows the best approach roads to avoid the congestion near the temple area.
For the entire trip, you are in an AC car with your family. You control the music — connect your phone via Bluetooth or AUX, play your Sai Baba bhajans playlist or whatever you like. You stop when you want, not when the bus schedule says. That freedom is genuinely what people pay for when they choose a cab over a bus.
We need to be blunt about festival bookings. During Sai Baba Punyatithi (Dussehra period in October), the demand for Shirdi cabs from Pune goes through the roof. We are talking about 8-10x the normal bookings. The same happens during:
If you message us on the morning of Punyatithi asking for a cab to Shirdi, there is a real chance we will not have a driver available. Not because we do not want the booking — we genuinely do — but because every car is already on the road. So if you know you are going during a festival, message us early. Even a 2-3 day heads-up makes a huge difference.
A sedan (Swift Dzire or Etios) starts from ₹2,100 one-way and ₹4,200-4,800 for a round trip. An SUV (Ertiga or Innova) is ₹3,500-4,000 one-way and ₹7,000-8,000 round trip. Tolls are about ₹200-300 extra. The exact fare depends on your pickup location in Pune — message us for the precise number.
For the least crowded darshan, leave by 1:30-2:00 AM and reach by 5:30-6:00 AM. The temple opens early and queues are minimal at that hour. For the Kakad Aarti at 4:30 AM, you need to leave Pune by 11:00-11:30 PM the previous night.
It depends on your situation. For solo travellers on a budget, the MSRTC bus at ₹400-600 is a sensible choice. But for families, groups of 3-4 (where per-person cab cost drops to ₹525-700), elderly travellers, or anyone wanting early morning darshan, a cab is significantly better. You get door-to-door service, flexible timing, and the driver waits during darshan.
Yes, one-way trips are our bread and butter for this route. You pay the one-way fare (starting ₹2,100 for sedan) and that is it — no hidden return charges. Many people take a cab one way and find their own return based on their plans.
WhatsApp or call us at +91-88620-92781. Share your pickup address, date, time, number of passengers, and preferred vehicle. We confirm the fare in a few minutes. No advance payment — you pay the driver after the trip. For early morning trips, we share driver details the night before.
Call or WhatsApp us at +91-88620-92781. Tell us when and where, and we will handle the rest. No advance payment.
Complete guide to Shirdi temple: darshan timings, aarti schedule, accommodation, and prasad details.
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