Transport
¤ Air
India is extensively connected by air by various private airlines like
Sahara India, Jet Airways and so on. The official domestic carrier is
Indian Airlines, which flies extensively throughout the country and to
some neighbouring countries.
¤ Reservations
Indian Airlines has computerized booking offices in all major cities
that look after reservations and flight information. However, flights
in popular sectors might be heavily booked so book in advance.
The private operators are very efficient and often give heavy
discounts on their tickets. For most airlines tickets can be booked
with foreign currency (dollar or pound), TCs or by credit card. Refund
charges are Rs 100 on each ticket and can be made at any booking
office. and tough luck if your ticket gets lost, Indian Airlines will
not accept any responsibility though they might issue a replacement.
¤ Indian Airlines office Addresses
Distance from the office to the airport are given in the brackets.
Agartala (12km)
Khosh Mahal Bldg, Central Road
Agra (7km)
Hotel Clarks Shiraz
54 Taj Rd
Ahmedabad (10km)
Airlines House, Lal Darwaja
Allahabad (12km)
Tourist Bungalow, MG Rd
Amritsar (11km)
48 The Mall
Aurangabad (10km)
Dr Rajendra Prasad Marg
Bagdogra (14km)
Hotel Sinclairs, Mallaguri, Siliguri
Bangalore (13km)
Housing Board Bldg, Kempegowda Rd
Bhavnagar (8km)
Diwanpura Rd
Bhopal (11km)
Bhadbhada Rd, TT Nagar
Bhubaneswar (4km)
Unit 1, Raj Path, Bapuji Nagar
Bhuj (6km)
Outside Waniawad Gate, Station Rd
Calcutta (16km)
Airlines House, 39 Chittaranjan Avenue
Chandigarh (11km)
SCO-186-187-188 Sector 17 C
Chennai (18km)
19 Marshalls Rd, Egmore
Coimbatore (12km)
Civil Aerodrome, Peelamedy
Darjeeling
Bellevue Hotel, Chowrasta
Delhi (20km)
Malhotra Bldg, Connaught Place
PTI Building, Sansad Marg
Domestic Terminal (24 hours)
Dibrugarh (16km)
CIWTC Bungalow, Assam Medical College Rd
Dimapur (3km)
Dimapur-Imphal Rd
Gangtok
Tibet Rd
Goa (30km)
Dempo Building, D Bandodkar Marg, Panaji
Guwahati (23km)
Paltan Bazar
Gwalior (12km)
Tansen Marg, Barar
Hyderabad (16km)
Secretariat Rd
Imphal (8km)
Mahatma Gandhi Rd
Indore (9km)
Dr R S Bhandari Marg
Jaipur (13km)
Tonk Rd
Jammu (6km)
Tourist Reception Centre, Veer Marg
Jamnagar (10km)
Indra Mahal, Bhind Bhanjan Rd
Jodhpur (5km)
Airport Rd
Jorhat (7km)
Tarajan Rd, Garhali
Khajuraho (5km)
Khajuraho Hotel
Kochi (6km)
Durbar Hall Rd, Ernakulam
Kozikode (Calicut)
Eroth Centre, Bank Rd
Leh (8km)
Ibex Guest House
Lucknow (14km)
Clarks Awadh, 5 Mahatma Gandhi Marg
Madurai (12km)
Pandyan House, 7A West Veli St
Mangalore (20km)
Hathill Rd, Lalbagh
Mumbai (26km)
Army & Navy Bldg, MG Rd
Mysore
Hotel Mayura Hoysala, 2 Jhansi Lakshmi Bai Rd
Nagpur (11km)
242 A Manohar Niwas, Rabindranath Tagore Rd, Civil Lines
Patna (8km)
South Gandhi Maidan
Port Blair (3km)
Tagore Marg
Pune (10km)
39 Dr Ambedkar Rd
Raipur (16km)
LIC Bldg
Rajkot (4km)
Angel Chamber, Station Rd
Ranchi (13km)
Welfare Centre, Main Rd
Silchar (26km)
Red Cross Rd
Srinagar (14km)
Air Cargo Complex Bldg, Shervani Marg
Tezpur (16km)
Jankin Rd
Thiruvananthapuram (6km)
Mascot Hill Bldg, Museum Rd
Tiruchirappalli (8km)
Southern Railway Employees Co-op Credit Society Bldg
Dindigul Rd
Tirupathi (15km)
Hotel Vishnupriya, Ranigunta Rd
Udaipur (24km)
LIC Bldg, outside Delhi gate
Vadodara (Baroda) (6km)
University Rd, Fatehganj
Varanasi (22km)
Mint House Motel, Vadunath Marg, Cantonment
Visakhapatnam (16km)
Jeevan Prakash, LIC Bldg Complex
Private Airline Domestic Operator
Ahmedabad
Jet Airways 656 1290, 786 8307
Sahara India 656 4049, 786 6071
Agartala
Sahara India 23387
Aurangabad
Jet Airways 487091, 484269
Bagdogra
Jet Airways 435876, 450590
Sahara India 434929, 450074
Bangalore
Jet Airways 227 6620,526 1926
Sahara India 558 6976, 526 2531
Calcutta
Archana Airways 292 471
Jet Airways 240 8192, 511 8836
Sahara India 242 9067, 551 9545
Chennai
Jet Airways 855 5353, 234 6557
Sahara India 826 3661, 233 0056
Coimbatore
Jet Airways 212034, 575387
Delhi
Jet Airways 685 3700, 329 5404
Sahara India 332 0013, 548 1351
Archana Airways 329 5768
Diu
Gujarat Airways 2180
Goa
Jet Airways 221 472, 511 005
Sahara India 226 291, 510 043
Guwahati
Jet Airways 520 202, 84131
Sahara India 548 676, 84128
Hyderabad
Jet Airways 231 263, 840 382
Sahara India 202 836, 842 054
Indore
Jet Airways 409 437, 410 452
Jaipur
Jet Airways 377 051, 551 733
Sahara India 553 525, 550 018
Jorhat
Jet Airways 325 657
Kochi
Jet Airways 369 582, 666 509
Kozhikode
Jet Airways 356 518
Kullu
Archana Airways 65630
Jagson Airlines 65222
Mangalore
Jet Airways 440 694, 752 709
Mumbai
Jet Airways 285 5086, 610 2772
Sahara India 283 2446, 615 0948
Archana Airways 284 6535, 617 7442
Patna
Sahara India 661 109, 228 307
Porbandar
Gujarat Airways 41889
Pune
Jet Airways 637 181, 685 591
Sahara India 500 327
Srinagar
Jet Airways 475 511, 33041
Thiruvananthapuram
Jet Airways 327 635, 451 424
Vadodara
Jet Airways 337 051, 555 938
¤ Air Passes
Indian Airlines has a Discover India pass for 15 and 21 days, which
allows unlimited travel in the domestic circuit. It can be quite
reasonable if you are taking lots of change of flight. Another pass
India Wonder Fare gives you a week’s unlimited travel between
cities within a particular region: north, east, south and west.
There are also some special discounts. You can avail of a 30%
discount on the US dollar fare on selected zones in South India. Also
a 25% discount on US $ fare of some sectors are available for those
under 30.
¤ Train
Indian Railways is the world’s fourth largest railway network,
with a route length of over 60,000km. Each day more than 7000
passenger trains run connecting 7100 stations. Indian Railways has
over 160 high-speed trains, including the Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi
Express and so on.
The best way to be acquainted with the system is to catch hold of the
timetable Trains at a glance, which is available at all major railway
stations and on some newsstands in the bigger cities. The Indian
Bradshaw, published monthly, also carries handy information on the
train services throughout the country. You can usually find it on the
bookstalls of all major city railway stations. The fares of the trains
are based on distance. Meals and drinks are available on most trains.
¤ Classes
Indian railway trains come in two classes, first and second. There
are two types of first class, AC and non-AC. The fare for first class
AC is often twice that of the normal first class. Slightly cheaper is
the AC two-tier sleeper class, which costs about 25% more than first
class non-AC.
Squashed between the first and second class, are the AC three tier
and the AC chair car. The former has three levels of berth and the
latter consists of carriages with aircraft type seating arrangement.
These options are available only on the major routes.
¤ Sleepers
There are first and second class sleepers in Indian express trains.
First class sleepers are private compartments with two to four berths
in them. First class AC sleepers are more expansive, both in luxury
and cost. Second class sleepers, still popularly known as three-tier,
are arranged in doorless sections each of six berths.
¤ Reservations
Computerized reservation centres are available throughout the
country. In the metro cities, there are special reservation counters
for foreign tourists at the main booking offices and there are special
quotas for tourists on many trains. When tickets are not available
over the general counters, if you're lucky you might get one on the
tourist quota. Payments must always be foreign exchange or in Rupees
if you have the currency exchange certificate. Reservation cost is
very nominal and can be made upto 60 days in advance.
If the train is fully booked, it’s possible to get an RAC
(Reservation Against Cancellation) ticket which allows you to board
the train and get seating accommodation. In fact, more often than not,
the TTE (Travelling Ticket Examiner) will find you berth in under an
hour. However don't go confusing this with a wait-listed ticket, which
does not allow you to actually board the train. The golden rule, as
usual, is to plan ahead.
¤ Special Trains
The Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) operates the a
special tourist train the Palace on Wheels, which is a real experience
for those who can afford it. It runs weekly from Delhi every Wednesday
from September to April. The itinerary has some of the erstwhile royal
cities of Rajasthan like Jaipur, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Ranthambore
National Park, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bharatpur and Agra. The cost
includes tours, entry fees, accommodation on the train and all meals.
Rates per person per day are pretty steep and get steeper with every
passing year.
Contact :
RTDC Tourist Reception Centre
Bikaner House
Pandara Road
New Delhi
Tourist Reception Centre
office Annexe
RTDC Hotel Swagatam
Jaipur
The Royal Orient Express is a similar service that operates between
Delhi and Ahmedabad via Rajasthan (Jodhpur and Udaipur). The
Butterfield’s Indian Railway Tours has regular train tours of
India with a special carriage, in which you can travel, eat and sleep.
The carriage is attached to regular trains and is usually left on the
sidings of towns that you want to visit.
For more information contact:
Butterfield’s Railway Tours
Burton Fleming
Driffield
East Yorks YO25OPQ
UK
You can also get in touch with them through the Madras Hotel,
Connaught Circus, New Delhi.
¤ Indrail Passes
Indrail passes are Indian version of the Eurail and works on the same
principle. They allow unlimited travel on Indian trains for the period
of their validity. The pass covers all of reservations and berth costs
at night. They are non-extendable, and to really get your money's
worth out of the pass you need to travel at least 300km per day. You
pay half fare for children from the ages of five to twelve years.
Indrail passes can be bought abroad through travel agents or in India
at major railway offices. Payment has to be made either in the US
dollar or pound sterling. Cash or travellers’ cheques backed with
encashment certificates are also accepted. Second-class passes are not
available outside India.
Contact :Calcutta
Railway Tourist Guide, Eastern Railway, Fairlie Place.
Central reservation office, South-Eastern Railway, Esplanade Mansion
Chennai
Central reservation office, Southern Railway, Chennai Central
Delhi
Railway Tourist Guide, New Delhi Railway Station
Mumbai
Railway Tourist Guide, Western Railway, Churchgate
Railway Tourist Guide, Central Railway, Victoria Terminus
¤ Bus
Though slow and sometimes uncomfortable, buses in India are an
efficient and inexpensive means of transport. India has an extensive
and well-developed network of roads and bus services.
¤ Classes
Take your pick from the ordinary, express, semi-luxe, deluxe, deluxe
AC and deluxe sleeper buses. These choices are however generally
available only on major tourist sectors. Each state has its own bus
transport company, sometimes backed up by privately operated buses.
These are usually quite efficient and much more reliable than any
other bus service operators.
¤ Reservations
The biggest plus with buses is their frequency and virtually no
reservation in advance is required. The advance reservation angle
becomes important only in case of the deluxe, semi-luxe and express
services. Private buses should always be booked in advance.
¤ Car
Hiring cars for personal use is not very popular in India, but is
available for those who have a taste for it. Budget and Hertz have
their offices in all major cities. It is better to hire a
chauffeur-driven car, since Indian driving conditions can be quite an
eye-opener for those used to radical stuff like traffic laws and such.
You can also hire local taxis for long distance trips from taxi stands
or ask your hotel to book one for you.
¤ Motorcycle
(Also see Cycling & Motorcycling in Adventure Sports)
Travelling by motorcycle is fast catching up with tourists.
Motorcycles can be rented from companies in various places especially
in places like Delhi and Goa for a negotiable amount which includes
insurance. Hari Singh Nalwa Street in Karol Bagh, Delhi, is full
places where you can rent, buy or sell motorcycles.
¤ Places To Eat
The most popular eating joint with all backpackers is the roadside
dhaba where the cooking is done right in front of you and the food is
hot and fresh. Most hotels run their own restaurants. Indian-Chinese
food finds top billing on most menus in mid-range restaurants. Many
hotels offer all-you-can-eat buffet meals which can be real bargain,
like the one at the Lake Palace in Udaipur.
In the north, in places like Darjeeling Gangtok, Kalimpong,
Dharamsala, Manali and even Delhi, Tibetan restaurants are extremely
popular. In the metros, luxury hotels and several other speciality
restaurants will serve you any cuisine under the sun – French,
Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Italian, Tex-Mex, Greek, Spanish, Lebanese
and so on. If all else fails, head for the nearest McDonald’s,
Kentucky Fried Chicken or Domino’s Pizza joint.
|
