I have done this exact route a few times and it works well. One thing I would add is that the walk from Assi Ghat up to Dashashwamedh in the morning is about 2 kilometers along the water, and you will pass smaller ghats where local men do yoga or just sit reading. It is a nice alternative to the boat if you want to stretch your legs.

For the evening aarti, the paid boat seats are fine, but I prefer to watch from the stairs on the north side of the main platform near the temple trust office. You get a clear view of the fire rituals and the sound carries better there. Just arrive by 5:15 PM to claim a spot on the stone steps.

The Banaras Hindu University campus is worth the auto ride, but the Bharat Kala Bhavan museum is small and the lighting is poor on some displays. If you are short on time, skip the museum and walk through the main Vishwanath Temple on campus instead. It is a modern replica but the courtyard is quiet and the brass work on the doors is impressive.

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Solid itinerary, covers the main sights without rushing too much. One thing that gets overlooked is the Ramnagar Fort on the opposite bank of the Ganga. It's a 20 minute auto ride from Dashashwamedh, maybe 150 rupees, and the museum inside has a wild collection of vintage cars, old palanquins, and the original silver howdah used in processions. Entry is 100 rupees for Indians, more for foreigners, but it's quiet and you'll have most of the place to yourself on a weekday afternoon.

For the food tour, the Blue Lassi is worth the hype but the queue can be 15 minutes. If you want a faster option, walk two doors down to the smaller shop with the yellow sign, same family, same recipe, no line. The kachori at Kachori Gali is best eaten standing at the stall, the heat from the fresh oil and the tangy tamarind chutney is the whole point. Sitting down at a table kills the experience.

The guide is right about the Sarnath museum being closed on Fridays. I made that mistake and ended up spending an extra hour at the Thai Temple nearby, which has a massive golden Buddha and a small meditation hall. It's free and a good backup if you get the timing wrong.

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honestly the guide is pretty thorough, one thing i'd tweak is the timing for the old city walk on day 2. doing it in the morning is fine but the lanes are way more alive around 4-5 PM when the shops open back up after the afternoon lull. you'll catch the chai wallahs firing up their stoves and the sweet shops frying fresh jalebis, plus the light is better for photos in Vishwanath Gali. the silk weavers are usually out on their looms in the upper floors around Thatheri Bazaar around that time too, just look up and you'll hear the clacking.

for the boat ride, if you go with a guy named Ramu near the Assi Ghat steps, he does a solid 60-minute loop past the burning ghat for 250 without much haggling. he pointed out the old observatory at Man Mandir Ghat last time, which the guide doesn't mention, it has these weird sun dials carved into the wall. worth asking about.

the Subah-e-Banaras program at Assi is nice but honestly it's mostly tourists and a bit staged. if you want something more local, walk 5 minutes north to the little temple at Tulsi Ghat around 6 AM, there's a small group of old guys doing bhajans with a harmonium. no crowd, just the river and the singing.

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honestly the walking tour tip is solid but i'd add that you should go early like 6am before the shops open and the crowds hit. the alleys around Kashi Vishwanath are completely different at dawn, just old men doing puja and chai wallahs setting up their stalls. i spent an hour just wandering near Manikarnika Ghat around sunrise and saw a family carrying a body wrapped in white cloth down to the pyres, it was quiet and intense in a way the midday chaos doesnt capture

also for the food part, dont sleep on the lassi at Blue Lassi near the main temple. its been there since 1925 or something and they serve it in clay cups with malai on top. costs like 30 rupees and its thick enough to eat with a spoon. way better than the overpriced stuff at the tourist spots

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One thing the guide doesn't mention about the Kashi Vishwanath Temple is the corridor project that opened a few years back. It connects the temple directly to the Ganges, so you can walk from the ghat to the main sanctum without going through the narrow gullies. The whole area is much cleaner and less claustrophobic than it used to be, though you still have to deal with the security checks and the shoe deposit system. If you go on a Monday, expect the queue to be at least double the usual length.

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The sunrise boat ride is worth doing even if you are not a morning person. I went out with a guy named Raju who had been on the river for 30 years and he pointed out which ghats were built by Marathas and which by the British. A tip the guide missed is to bring a small bottle of water and maybe a scarf because the wind off the water at 5:30 AM is colder than you think. Also, if you want a truly quiet experience, skip the main ghat and launch from Assi Ghat instead. The boatmen there are less pushy and you get a longer stretch of river to yourself before you hit the crowds.

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