Travel
information in Thiruvananthapuram
Air
There are flights to Madras (daily), Delhi (daily), Bombay (2 daily), and Bangalore (four flights weekly).
From Thiruvananthapuram, Air India has flights to the Gulf, some of which continue on to Europe and New York. Gulf Air flies to the Middle East and connects from there to London and New York. There are three Indian Air flights weekly and four Air Lanka flights weekly to Colombo in Sri Lanka.
Airlines offices are: Indian Airline, Air Centre, Mascot Junction; Air India, Museum Rd, Velayambalam Circle; Gulf Air c/o Jet Air Travels, Panavila Junction; and Air Lanka, Geethanjali Building, Geethanjali Hospital Rd, Vazhuthacaud.
Thiruvananthapuram Airport is on the beach, 6 km out of town. If you arrive on an international flight you can change money at the bank before going through customs. It gives a good rate of exchange. Local bus No 14 goes downtown.
Train
The reservation office is on the first floor of the ticket office building. There is no tourist counter, so you should go to the Chief Reservations Superviosr’s Office, counter 8, at the top of the stairs. They have a generous tourist quota. Counter 8 is foreign tourist booking.
It is best to book your train as far in advance as possible, because sometimes it can be difficult to get a train out of Trivandrum, especially to the bigger cities like Bombay, Bangalore, Madras and Delhi. Trains to the big cities can be booked a month in advance.
The daily Kerala Express takes 54 hours to get to Delhi. The Himsagar Express departs only on Fridays to Delhi. The daily Trivandrum-Madras Mail 17 hours to reach Madras. The daily Kanniyakumari-Bangalore Exp takes 19 hours to get to Bangalore. The Kanniyakumari express takes 45 hours to get to Bombay. There are direct trains to Mangalore, Ernakulam, Kanniyakumari, and many other places. There are about seven trains a day to Thrissur (Trichur) (8hr).
The daily Malabar Express and the Trivandrum-Mangalore Exp go along the coast to Mangalore. From Mangalore you can get a local train or bus to Udupi. There are 12 trains daily to Kollam (1 ¼ hr) via Varkala (45 min).
Bus
Long-distance buses depart from the Central Bus Station, opposite the train station. For short of medium trips the buses are usually faster than the trains, but not as comfortable. For a long trip, such as to Madras, it is better to take a train.
There are buses to Kochi (Cochin) (5 Hr), Madras (17 hr, 4 daily), and Madurai (7hr, 10 daily). You can get a deluxe bus to Bangalore (18 hr) operated by Karnataka State Road Transport Corp (KSRTC). There are many buses to Nagercoil and Kanniyakumari (2 hr, 12 daily).
If you want to go to Madurai, as many travelers will, there are about 10 buses that go there, some on the way to Madras. You may be told that you cannot get a ticket until a half hour before the bus leaves. The problem is that some of the bus also go to Madras, and you can purchase a ticket in advance to go to Madras. So when you come back to get your ticket, a half hour before the bus leaves, there is a good chance to bus will be full. A good alternative is to take a bus to Nagercoil, about two hours away. Many of the buses travelling in South Kerala are routed through this town. There are many buses from Nagercoil to Madurai.
|
