Planning to visit Hyderabad? Are you visiting Hyderabad for the first time? Then you need to know about few important things in advance, especially the ways to travel to Hyderabad.
Below is the information, which tells you how you can travel to Hyderabad from your place. You can reach Hyderabad through different ways including air, road and rail. Let us know about these ways of transportation in detail.
Airports
If you are planning to reach Hyderabad via air, then you would be landing at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport situated in Shamshabad, which is located 22Km from the city. It is generally called as Shamshabad airport by locals. This airport is equipped with best aviation facilities, making it one of the best international airports in India. Direct international connectivity from many countries to this airport is available.
There are many international and domestic carries operating from Hyderabad. The international carries operating here are Air Asia, Air India, British Airways, Emirates, Gulf Air, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines, Ethiad Airways and Thai Airways etc.
The domestic connectivity is also excellent with various air services operating such as, Air India, Air India Express, Indian Airlines, Indigo Airlines, Jet Airways, JetLite, Kingfisher Airlines, Paramount Airlines and SpiceJet.
Once you get down at the airport, you will have many facilities such as A/C buses, auto rickshaws and metered cabs to enter in to the core of the city.
The A/C bus designated points in the city are Begumpet (Paryatak Bhavan), Secunderabad (Keyes High School), Hi-Tech City (opposite Shilparamam). The fixed cost to reach these destinations in these buses is Rs.150. The other two designated points in the city are Charminar (City College) and Mehdipatnam (Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital). The fixed cost to reach these destinations is Rs.120.
Metered cabs are yet another comfortable means of reaching the city. There are many private company cabs which are operating in and around the airport, to make you reach the core city. The minimum charges of these cabs are Rs.80, and for every km, the passengers are charged from Rs.10 to Rs.15. Sometimes, the cabs charges change based on the model of car (Indigo, Omni etc.) you hire and the facilities (such as GPRS, A/C etc.) available in the cabs.
Beware of taxi and auto rickshaws drivers at the airport greeting areas; they will try to take exorbitant rates. The airport can be contacted on the number 1800-419-2008 (toll free for BSNL/MTNL subscribers) for any services and inquiries including arrival/ departure information, facilities, transportation availability etc.
Railways
Hyderabad is well connected to all over India through railways. There are three major and one minor railway station serving the twin cities (Hyderabad and Secunderabad). The major stations are Secunderabad, Hyderabad (Nampally), Kachiguda and minor station is Begumpet. Most of the trains chained for North and South India originate from Hyderabad.
Once you reach the railway station from any part of India, you can reach to your place within the city by MMTS (local trains), City Bus, Taxi/Cab and Auto rickshaws available at the railway stations. You can get MMTS information in the railway inquiry points in the station. Railway stations also offer many facilities such as waiting room, retiring room, cloak room, computerized reservation office, tourist information center, refreshment room, tea stall, book stall, wheel chairs and stretchers.
AP tourism counters at the major railway stations will educate you about the various tourist places in the city, provide accommodation and also provide many tourist packages. The distance between the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport and the Secunderabad railway station is 40 km.
Bus
Hyderabad has very good road connectivity. Hyderabad is connected through express ways and highways (NH7, NH9 and NH202) to various parts of the country and to surrounding states. Due to the good road establishment, many buses (public and private), carry out services daily between Hyderabad and other major cities of India.
There are two major APSRTC bus stations located in twin cities; those are MGBS (Mahatma Gandhi bus station or Imbliban) and JBS (Jubilee Bus Station). From these two bus stations, direct A/C or non A/C buses are available to different cities. From these bus stations, you can find buses to various South Indian cities easily, but it is very difficult to find direct buses to North India. AP tourism and other private travels run buses from Hyderabad to other major cities in India. These are very helpful for the tourists, who have no idea about how to travel in the city of Hyderabad. There are also many online bus ticketing portals to book bus tickets in advance. Even these bus stations also have local buses, which will help you navigate within the city.
Whatever mode of transportation you choose to travel in Hyderabad, there are tourist helping centers at airports, railway stations and bus stations, which will make sure that you have amazing travel experience in Hyderabad.