[adisan]

Originally Posted by neelkumar

Our entire extended family is traveling there and some of us have confirmed SED tickets while for others we are still trying other ways to get them.

Here are other modes for darshan apart from SED, no payment needed, Aadhaar card needed:

• Slotted Sarva Darshan - get tokens from Srinivasam complex or Vishnu Nivasam, darshan time slot is mentioned in the token
• Divya Darshan - get token from the Bhudevi complex at Alipiri. darshan time slot is mentioned in the token. Walking uphill to Tirumala through the Alipiri trekking route was mandatory but it was made optional a few days back after the wild animal attacks. Not sure about whether it is mandatory now.

Regarding tonsure, there might be a kalyanakatta (tonsuring place) at Padmavathy temple near Tirupati. You might like to check if that works out to be easier for you as bath can be at your accommodation itself.

[nareshtrao]

Today the SED bookings for November opened at 10 am. I logged in and all the days were showing green. I selected a slot, entered all the details on the following page and clicked the "Pay" button. Promptly a box popped saying "This slot has been blocked by another pilgrim. Please retry".

Went back and tried again (all the while the available numbers kept coming down) and each time same story. Tried other dates and other slots and still same story. The website logs you off after some time and then I had to re-login. Enter OTP and wait for the timer clock.

Kept doing it till close to 12 noon till all days became red and I still did not have a slot :-(

Any idea what is happening?

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by nareshtrao

Kept doing it till close to 12 noon till all days became red and I still did not have a slot :-(

Depends on which day and slot you are trying for. I usually try for weekdays late evening slots and started booking only at 1120 am.

[govigov]

Originally Posted by neelkumar

Thanks guys!

Our entire extended family is traveling there and some of us have confirmed SED tickets while for others we are still trying other ways to get them. I heard about some offline process to get SED tickets which we can get directly in Tirumala. Does anyone have any idea on this?

We would be traveling from Bangalore and plan to reach Tirupati by 1PM with our darshan time being 9PM the same day. Tonsure is planned before darshan. I hope the time is sufficient?

We wanted confirmed SED tickets for darsan and we looked around. We knew there was a travel agency in chennai who conducts pilgrim packages for families in Innova's with SED tickets. We had availed their services about 8 years ago. Couple of months ago, we checked in with them, and asked for only SED tickets. Yes, they agreed but for a steep 2500 per head, with date of your choice. We dropped the idea to go with them and tried again via the website again, and we got for the next available month via the official website.

If in a pinch, you can avail their services, i guess.

[samish_g]

Originally Posted by nareshtrao

Today the SED bookings for November opened at 10 am. I logged in and all the days were showing green. I selected a slot, entered all the details on the following page and clicked the "Pay" button. Promptly a box popped saying "This slot has been blocked by another pilgrim. Please retry".

Went back and tried again (all the while the available numbers kept coming down) and each time same story. Tried other dates and other slots and still same story. The website logs you off after some time and then I had to re-login. Enter OTP and wait for the timer clock.

Kept doing it till close to 12 noon till all days became red and I still did not have a slot :-(

Any idea what is happening?

Sir, I too faced the same problem. Since I was trying from outside India, I thought ISP may be the problem.

Originally Posted by narayans80

Depends on which day and slot you are trying for. I usually try for weekdays late evening slots and started booking only at 1120 am.

Sir, I tried booking on different days and time slots with the same result.

Regards,

Samish

[SVMBLR]

Finally after few attempts SED booking done for November, i felt like great achievement: Cheering:

One thing I dont understand that TTD could have been given provision for Accommodation while booking SED itself instead of waiting for next day and do the same exercise.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by SVMBLR

One thing I dont understand that TTD could have been given provision for Accommodation while booking SED itself instead of waiting for next day and do the same exercise.

SED is not the only darshan. There are people who get bookings in Seva DIP, some book Senior Citizen, some go for Arjitha Sevas. All these devotees need accomodation. So after all the seva bookings are over they open accomodation, so everyone has a fair chance to grab accomodation.

[SVMBLR]

Originally Posted by shipnil

SED is not the only darshan. There are people who get bookings in Seva DIP, some book Senior Citizen, some go for Arjitha Sevas. All these devotees need accomodation. So after all the seva bookings are over they open accomodation, so everyone has a fair chance to grab accomodation.

Hello Shipnil

My concern was when we book SED or any SEVA online it should be linked to accommodation based on SED/ Seva Ticket Members (Adult's & Kids) whether room/cottage will accommodate or Extra Room required !! But today i have tried my level best to get accommodation and couldn't get it as per my SED date, might be because of shortage of rooms available at Tirumala.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by SVMBLR

My concern was when we book SED or any SEVA online it should be linked to accommodation based on SED/ Seva Ticket Members (Adult's & Kids).

Even this approach will create issues for those Sevas/Darshans whose bookings are released in lower priority. There are less rooms in Tirumala compared to the bookings done.

[dass]

A bit of a confusion with the accommodation options available in Tirumala. It does not explicitly call out where the accommodation is available, unlike the Tirupathi ones. It only shows the price for Tirumala and I am not even sure how good they would be. The maximum I could see was for something which was costing Rs.1300. Though it was available, I decided against booking it as was not sure.

There are a lot of Matts in Tirumala, wish they too offered online bookings as they are usually better managed.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by dass

A bit of a confusion with the accommodation options available in Tirumala. It does not explicitly call out where the accommodation is available, unlike the Tirupathi ones. It only shows the price for Tirumala and I am not even sure how good they would be. The maximum I could see was for something which was costing Rs.1300. Though it was available, I decided against booking it as was not sure.

There are a lot of Matts in Tirumala, wish they too offered online bookings as they are usually better managed.

+1
The major problem in staying in Tirumala is uncertainty , and we won't know where they allot until you goto CRO after reaching there. It can be several kms away and quite far and not walkable. So, you really need a vehicle/car to commute for 90% of the cases, unless you are really lucky to get something in RamBhaghicha or walkable distance choultries. Elders or senior citizens or little kids cannot walk for long distances in slope and steep roads. ON top of all these, no matter what, you have to go for a good distance for food or even for a tea/coffee. All this beyond the "average" maintained rooms.

Because of all these problems, i stopped staying in top at Tirumala and always staying in Tirupati with good rated hotels and drive up only for darshan. This avoids the "tatkal" type booking for accommodation and the disappointment. We can book a hotel in Tirupati at our convenience and budget and distance whenever we want.

My 2 cents.

-Ravi

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by dass

There are a lot of Matts in Tirumala, wish they too offered online bookings as they are usually better managed.

The reason why the accomodations at these mutts are not offered to others is, most of these are community run lodges. And most of the people who stay in these lodges are either donors or reference from donors. Very rarely, one can get the accomodation if you go directly and ask for a room.

Note: we have 3 lodges from our community at Tirumala and one such lodge at Tirupati. I always stay in these lodges whenever I need to stay overnight during my trip.

[AppyS]

Originally Posted by samish_g

Sir, I too faced the same problem. Since I was trying from outside India, I thought ISP may be the problem.



Sir, I tried booking on different days and time slots with the same result.

Regards,

Samish

Don't lose heart, I had the same thing happen to me in April when it took me to payments page if I selected one ticket, but for more than 1 pax it denied slots. Thereafter I also missed the notification in May and June. Finally per Lord's wish in July, when they released excess quota for August/Sept I was able to book. The only thing i did different the 2nd time, was using the mobile app instead of website. Also if you are willing to gamble make more people sit and login on time whereby each person tries for 1 pax per pc, maybe it works that ways. I'm not sure of geo/ip restrictions either, I had comforted myself saying I will be allowed only when Lord Venkateshwara will allow me to come and had a splendid and easy Darshan on 25th August when it happened. All the best.
Between, if you are willing to have a darshan sooner, I feel the state tourism run packages(AP/KA/TN) are best economy wise though you may feel rushing through the process slightly. Generally 2 weeks ahead availability was still there last time I had a friend book a package from BLR.

[RahulRV]

Hello Members,
Me & my sister have been trying to visit Tirupati since 2 years & have no luck in online booking as well. I have gone through many pages but can't conclude on which option to choose for the darshan. My sister comes down to India once every 6 months and will be here for around 2-3 weeks. We considered option of going through travel agencies with Rs.300/- Darshan ticket as well, But the timings & hassle is not possible for my Mom as she cant stand for more than 20 min due to arthritis.
Requesting members which way to go & which type of darshan ticket to opt for.
Thank you.

[Aviator_guy]

Originally Posted by RahulRV

Hello Members,
Me & my sister have been trying to visit Tirupati since 2 years & have no luck in online booking as well. I have gone through many pages but can't conclude on which option to choose for the darshan. My sister comes down to India once every 6 months and will be here for around 2-3 weeks. We considered option of going through travel agencies with Rs.300/- Darshan ticket as well, But the timings & hassle is not possible for my Mom as she cant stand for more than 20 min due to arthritis.
Requesting members which way to go & which type of darshan ticket to opt for.
Thank you.

Sorry to hear about your experience. Darshan ticket booking window is very small and slots gets filled almost as soon as the booking is opened (reminds me of railways Tatkal booking).

Info about future slot booking is published on TTD website from time to time. But if you are finding it difficult to get a slot then you can consider bus package. From Bangalore, you can explore KSRTC / KSTDC package where Darshan is guaranteed, though the overall trip may feel quite rushed and tiring. They start from Bangalore at night, darshan during early/late morning hours and start return journey after lunch.