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Getting There By Air:

Bengalaru Airport (BLR)
Tel: (080) 2354 0000.
Website: www.bengaluruairport.com

Bengalaru Airport is located 30km (19 miles) from the city center and serves domestic and international destinations.

Facilities include currency exchange, duty-free, shops, restaurants and cafes.

Transport to the city is by taxi or shuttle bus services (departing every 30 minutes). Car and prepaid limousine hire is available from Hertz (tel: (080) 2570 4045; website: www.carzonrent.com) or Akbar Travels (tel: (080) 2222 7645; website: www.akbartravelsonline.com).

Getting There By Road:

Main roads connect all the major towns in Karnataka as well as neighboring states. Out of town they are often unpaved and in the monsoon season many become impassable though flooding.

In the event of a car breakdown one can call one of the bigger car hire companies, such as Connect Travel Services (tel: (080) 2554 1338), for advice on rescue.

For coaches the main operator is Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) (tel: (080) 2287 0099; website: www.ksrtc.in) who operate buses throughout Karnataka and to neighboring states. Interstate arrivals and departures are at the Central Bus Stand at Bhasyam Road just opposite the main city railway station (tel: (080) 2287 3377).

The state bus companies of the neighboring states of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Goa also run buses in and out of Bengaluru. There are also a number of long distance private bus operators of whom the largest is Vijayanand Travels (tel: (080) 2228 7222).

Getting There By Rail:

The main railway station is west of the center near Kempe Gowda Circle (tel: (080) 2228 7454 or 2287 6288). For the north of the city the station is Cantonment station (tel: (080) 226 8554); for the east there is Bangalore East (tel: (080) 548 5435) and there is Yesvantpur station in the northwest for trains to and from Goa.

The national rail operator is Indian Railways (website: www.indianrail.gov.in) and there are frequent express connections between Bangalore and all the main cities in southern and central India.

Train travel is the cheapest way of travel in India and the higher class prices offer good comfort and cleanliness. The classes are second class, first class non-air-conditioned, and first class air-conditioned. Some journeys can take more than 24 hours and the choice of overnight travel is chair class, executive class (with wide reclining seats), or sleeper class.

Getting Around:

Public Transport
The easiest way of getting around is by metered auto-rickshaws which are everywhere and go anywhere. There is a prepaid auto-rickshaw stand outside the main railway station. Buses are run by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) (tel: (080) 2222 2542) and their services radiate from the City Bus Stand next to the Central Bus Stand. As well as regular stopping services, the BMTC operate a number of deluxe express services to designated destinations. The KR Market bus stand is to the south of the city (tel: (080) 2670 2177), and Shivajinagar to the north (tel: (080) 2286 5332). Daily and weekly passes are available at discounted rates.

There is no metro or tram system.

Taxis
The main taxi companies are Cab Service (tel: (080) 2558 6121) and the 24-hour Dial-a-Car (tel: (080) 2526 1737).

Car Hire
The commonest method of car hire is to hire a car with a driver. The main companies are Clipper Holidays (tel: (080) 2559 9032; website: www.clipperholidays.co.in), Gulliver’s Tours and Travels (tel: (080) 2558 8001) and KSTDC (tel: (080) 2287 0068; website: http://kstdc.nic.in).

Simple car-only hire is offered by Avis (tel: (080) 2558 5858; website: www.avis.com) and Hertz (tel: (080) 25599408; website: www.hertz.com).

The reason why many visitors hire a car plus driver is because driving in India requires familiarity with local driving customs, not to say skill and daring. Although traffic goes on the left, British visitors are unaccustomed to animals wandering on the streets, not to mention speeding trucks and overloaded buses. Visitors should have insurance and an international driving license to drive in India but the license requirement is often waived if you have your license from home.

KSTDC operate a selection of guided bus tours from a twice-daily city tour to ‘outstation tours’ to Mysore and to Belur/Halebid. These involve spending up to eight hours in the bus.

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