Getting To Hyderabad

Those who want to add Hyderabad to their itinerary of cities to be visited in India will find out that there are several ways of getting there. The good thing about Hyderabad is that it is very well connected to to the major cities of India as well as the world so there’s no having to make multiple stops in little towns or cities to reach this historic and beautiful place. If you want to go the scenic route, however, you can do that too, via land travel.

By air. Hyderabad is connected to most major cities in India and overseas via the new Rajov Gandhi International Airport (more popularly known as Hyderabad International Airport). It is located at Shamshabad, some 40 kilometers away from the old airport at Begumpet. From the city itself, it is about 22 kilometers away.

Currently, the airport is still being completed at various phases but is fully serviceable and, once fully completed, is expected to be the best in the country. As of the moment, the airport has the capacity to handle 12 million passengers annually. For aircraft parking, it has 12 contact and 30 remote stands; this will be expanded to 54 when the future phases are done. It also has a Car Park that can accommodate 1500 cars in front of the terminal building. 13 Business Class lounges that offer baggage holding, limousine service, and massage services, among others, are available for the passenger’s convenience. For those who do not have a place to stay at Hyderabad, the airport also offers an airport hotel, the Novotel Hyderabad Airport. There’s also a medical center facility complete with a 24-hour pharmacy, 17 beds, and well-trained doctors and paramedics on call around the clock for any medical emergency.

At this point in time, Hyderabad has nonstop flights to and from most foreign countries. Some of the international carriers that operate from Hyderabad include Air India, British Airways, Gulf Air, Lufthansa, Malaysian Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Air France, SilkAir, and Saudi Airlines, so if you’re coming from any of countries in which these airlines operate, you can pretty much get a direct flight to Hyderabad.

For domestic and national flights, the airport serves most of India’s major airlines. They include Air India Express, Jet Airways, IndiGo Airlines, Kingfisher Red, Kingfisher Airlines, Indian Airlines, Paramount Airways, and SpiceJet. The domestic destinations go to different major cities and states of India, so you won’t have any problems getting to Hyderabad from near anywhere within the country.

From the airport, there are several options you can take to get to the city. You can take the air conditioned buses run by the airport to five designated points in the city. They are:

• Paryatak Bhawan, Green Lands, just opposite Hotel ITC Kakatiya. It is just before the junction from where the road leads to Amerpeet from Begumpet.
• Keyes Girls Highschool at Secunderabad, near the Clock Tower.
• Quli Qutub Shah Stadium, opposite to the City College.
• SD Hospital, in Mehdipatnam.
• HITEC City.

The buses run 24/7, at 30-minute intervals, except between 11:30 PM and 3:30 AM, where the interval is an hour.

You can also hire cars from the airport itself.  Off the bat, three car rentals are available, being Avis, Hertz, and Budget. Taxi cabs are also available; Easy and Meru cabs are both officially approved by the airport and are available just after exiting out of the airport terminal building.

By car. Hyderabad is at a drivable distance from Bangalore, using National Highway 7 (552 kilometers). If you’re coming from Chennai, you can either take NH9 or NH5 for a distance of 752 kilometers. From Mumbai, it is just a kilometer farther, using NH9 and the expressway. If you’re renting a car, car companies require you to pay for driver charges so make sure to ask them about that, as well as night halt charges, per kilometer charge, and other important information. Also, the consistency of the road conditions in the region are uneven so the travel may not be smooth throughout.

By bus. Since Hyderabad is connected to the rest of the states by National Highways, many buses carry out trips to and from Hyderabad on a daily basis. Hyderabad also has the third largest bus station facility in Asia, the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station, locally known as the Imlibun Bus Station. Currently, it has a 19,000-strong bus fleet. There are also special and deluxe AC buses that will assure your comfort during the trip.

By train. Hyderabad is a major point for all train arrivals and departures, with three major railway stations running to and from it on a daily basis. These are the Hyderabad Railway Station, the Secunderabad Railway Station, and the Kachiguda Railway Station. Traveling to Hyderabad through trains is a very good way to take in all the sights India has to offer, and is mostly recommended for tourists visiting the city for the first time.