TRAVEL WITHIN INDIA
By Air
Air travel within India can provide a convenient means of travel as distances can be enormous. There are frequent daily flights between major cities (eg some 45 daily flights between Delhi and Mumbai) and less frequent flights to smaller and more remote towns. Air travel in India has seen a large increase during the last couple of years. More information on domestic airlines can be found in the aviation page.
By Rail
Trains will take you almost anywhere India except for very remote areas. Fares are very reasonable although first class fares might actually be more costly than the cheapest air fares available. Rajdhani trains connect all the large cities and towns with New Delhi. Shatabdi and Jan Shatabdi are faster intercity trains. Passenger and mail trains are slower. More information on rail travel within India can be found in the Indian Railways page.
By Road
India's road network is being improved and well-paved four-laned highways are becoming more common. Long distance buses are available throughout India. Modern and comfortable AC buses are being increasingly put to service on high-density routes. Over a thousand Volvo AC buses serve over 80 destinations in India.
Long Distance Bus Travel
- Assam State Transport Corp.
- Delhi Transport Corp. Interstate Services
- Karnataka State Road Transport Corp.
- Maharashtra State Road Transport Corp.
- Rajasthan State Road Transport Corp.
- Redbus.in
- Online bus ticket booking
- Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corp.
- Prasanna Tours
- Raj National Express
- Royal Cruiser
- Provides AC bus service from Kolkata to important regional towns in West Bengal including Siliguri, Coochbehar, Dhanbad, Malda, Asansol and Durgapur.
- Bangladesh Road Transport Corp.
- BRTC operates a bus between Dhaka and Kolkata.
Intra-City Bus Service
- Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corp.
- Indore City Transport Service
- Pune Municipal Transport
- BEST - Mumbai
- Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service
Taxis
Road Travel
- Road distances between selected cities/towns
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Lonely Planet India and Bangladesh Road Atlas:
The best pan-Indian road atlas I have come across although I have spotted some minor errors. The maps are scaled at 1:2 500 000 or 1:1 250 00. There are a dozen or so detailed city center maps and separate small feature maps including Kanha National Park, Hampi and Ajanta & Ellora Caves. A couple of trunk-route rail routes with distances are also included. Semi-hard cover with 176 pages. Published in November 2001. You can order the atlas at Amazon.co.uk by clicking on the above image.
An Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation "Garuda" Volvo bus in Vizag. Selected APSRTC long distance inter and intra-state routes are served by Garuda AC Volvo buses. Cities served from Vizag include Kolkata (via Srikakulam, Cuttack and Kharagpur), Hyderabad, Rajahmundry, Guntur, Vijayawada, Chennai and Bangalore via Tirupati. APSRTC has inducted Tata made luxury buses on selected Garuda services.
By Sea
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
The The Directorate of Shipping Services, Andaman & Nicobar Administration operates scheduled passenger-cargo services with a fleet of five ships from Kolkata (4-5 sailings/month, 66 hours), Chennai (4-5 sailings/month, 60 hours) and Visakhapatnam (1 sailing/month, 56 hours) to Port Blair. Cabin categories available include Deluxe, A and B and the inexpensive dormitory/bunk class (all A/C). A few of these sailings are routed via Car Nicobar (Chennai service), Campbell Bay (Chennai service) and Mayabunder (Kolkata service). Regular inter-island services are provided to various points in both the island groups.
M.V. Swaraj Deep sails between Port Blair and the mainland ports of Kolkata, Chennai and Vizag. The fully airconditioned ship can accomodate 1 200 passengers and has a helipad.
Ferry boat from Ross Island to Port Blair - © Timir Mozumder
Lakshadweep Islands
Four ships provide regular service from Kochi and Mangalore to various Lakshadweep islands. Vessel schedules are listed here >>
Cruise Ships
Cruise ships such as the Royal Princess and Oriana call at a few Indian ports, such as Kochi, Mangalore, Goa (Mormugao) and Mumbai. Kochi received a record of 43 cruise ship calls during 2007-08. An International Cruise Terminal is being set up at Kochi.
River Cruises
Assam Bengal Navigation offers long-distance river cruises on the mighty Brahmaputra river in Assam.
Sundarban Cruises
Vivada Cruises offers cruises to the Sundarbans, the world's largest river delta mangrove swamp and home to the Royal Bengal Tiger.
M.V. Minicoy on its way to the Lakshadweep Islands from Kochi. This vessel is one of four all weather ships that ply between Kochi and Mangalore on the main land and the islands (ports) of Kavaratti, Minicoy, Andreth, Kalpeni, Ameni, Kadmat, Bitra, Beypore and Chetlat.