Hyderabad

Hyderabad is well connected to all parts of the country by air, rail and road.

By car

Hyderabad is well connected to other major Metros by road. Bangalore is connected by NH7 and is at a distance of 560 km. The city is 752 km from Chennai using highways NH9 and NH5 and 800 km from Mumbai NH9 till Pune and the expressway to Mumbai. The Bangalore Hyderabad section is part of the North South corridor which is being upgraded to a four-lane divided highway.

By plane

Hyderabad's new Rajiv Gandhi International Airport IATA: HYD (http://www.hyderabad.aero/) is located 22 km 14 mi from the city. Note that the old airport at Begumpet is now closed. The sleek and well-organized airport is one of the best aviation facilities in India. The elevated expressway (http://en.wikipedia.org/w...) to the airport is now open and takes 20 minutes. Direct international connectivity from Hyderabad is available for many countries. International carriers operating from Hyderabad are Air India, British Airways, Emirates, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Silk Air, Etihad Airways and Thai Airways.

Domestic connectivity is excellent with Indian airlines operating from here including Air India, Air India Express, Indian Airlines, Indigo Airlines, Jet Airways, JetLite, Kingfisher Airlines and SpiceJet.

Once you arrive at Hyderabad airport, one option is to take the air-conditioned buses run by the airport Aero Express (http://hyderabad.aero/to-...) to various designated points in the city such as 1 Begumpet Paryatak Bhavan 2 Secunderabad Keyes High School 3 Hi-Tec City Opposite Shilparamam at a fixed price of Rs 180, and two designated points in the city 4 Charminar City College 5 Mehdipatnam Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital at Rs 120 travel time runs from 45-100 min depending on time of day and traffic conditions. The buses have a frequency of a bus every 30 min from 3:30AM-11PM and every hour at midnight, 1AM, 2AM and 3AM. You can reach the designated points and then take an auto or metered cab from there.

Alternatively, you can hire metered air-conditioned radio cabs starting from Rs 20 per km see Get around section Easy and Meru are approved by the airport @ 15Rs/km and are available just after exiting the terminal building. For the rest, you need to call and book with a lead time of 15 minutes to 1 hour. These cabs charge 25% surcharge in the night ie, Rs 18.75 per km. Hyderabad traffic police counter is on the ground floor with prepaid taxis. Beware of taxi soliciting touts at the airport greeting area; they will try to scam you into exorbitant rates.

Hired cars are also available from a booth just before walking outside of the airport. This gives you the advantage of paying in advance, thereby avoiding any disagreements over price.The airport can be contacted on their toll free for BSNL/MTNL subscribers number 1 800 419-2008 for all services and enquiries including arrivals / departure information, facilities, transport availability, etc.Another option for cheap travel from the airport to Hyderabad city is: When you arrive at airport, go to the departure gates, where you can get a car that has just dropped off passengers and would otherwise return empty to the city. Such vehicles will drop you off in city for only Rs 30. The same is true if you hail a taxi near Mehdipathnam, where the flyover starts.