Kochi (Cochin) Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus

The KSRTC bus stand (2372033; reservations 6am-10pm) is in Ernakulam, along the railway, halfway between the train stations, near Ammankovil Rd. Many buses passing through Ernakulam originate in other cities – you may have to join the scrum when the bus pulls in. You can make reservations up to five days in advance for buses originating here. There’s a separate window for reservations to Tamil Nadu.

In addition, two daily buses (6am and 9pm) run up the coast through Calicut to Kannur (Cannanore), Kasaragod and onto Mangalore (Rs 304).

There are a number of private bus companies that have super-deluxe, AC, video buses daily to Bengaluru, Chennai, Mangalore and Coimbatore; prices are around 75% higher than the government buses, and there are shops and stands selling tickets all over Ernakulam. The main private bus stand (the Kaloor bus stand) is north of the city.

Train

Ernakulam has two train stations, Ernakulam Town and Ernakulam Junction. Reservations for both stations have to be made at the Ernakulam Junction reservations office (8am-8pm Mon-Sat, 8am-2pm Sun).

There are daily trains to Trivandrum (2nd class/3AC/2AC Rs 60/335/470, 4½ hours, 13 daily), via either Alleppey (Rs 28/188/266, 1½ hours) or Kottayam (Rs 28/188/266, 1½ hours). There are also trains to Thrissur (Rs 30/188/266, two hours, 10 daily), Calicut (Rs 57/281/402, five hours, seven daily) and Kannur (Rs 75/361/518, seven hours, seven daily).

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Air

Book flights through the following airlines:

Air India (2351295; MG Rd; 9.30am-1pm & 1.45-5.30pm Mon-Sat)

Indian Airlines (2370235; Durbar Hall Rd; 9.45am-1pm & 1.45-5pm)

Jet Airways (2293231; MG Rd; 9am-7pm Mon-Sat, to 4pm Sun)

Kingfisher Airlines (2351144; Sreekandath Rd; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat)

Jet Airways has three daily services to Mumbai (US$239), one daily to Chennai (US$164) and Delhi (US$442), and two daily to Bengaluru (US$126). Indian Airlines flies daily to these cities for the same prices, and also has two flights a week to Goa (US$172) and daily flights to Trivandrum (US$142). Kingfisher flies to most of these destinations for nearly 70% less.

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