Coimbatore Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus

There are three bus stands in the city centre.

From the Central Bus Station (2431521) services depart to nearby northern destinations such as Ooty (Rs 31, 3½ hours, every 30 minutes) and Mettupalayam (Rs 10.50, one hour, every 10 minutes).

From Thiruvallur bus station (25249690) you can catch state and interstate buses to Bengaluru (Rs 160 to 225, nine hours, 10 daily), Mysore (Rs 60, five hours, every hour) and Chennai (Rs 199 to 275, 11½ hours, seven daily). The town bus stand is for local city buses.

Ukkadam bus station, south of the city, is for buses to nearby southern destinations including Palani (Rs 25, three hours, every 20 minutes), Pollachi (Rs 10, one hour, every five minutes) and Madurai (Rs 70, five hours, every 30 minutes).

Train

Coimbatore Junction is on the main line between Chennai and Ernakulam (Kerala). For Ooty, catch the daily Nilgiri Express at 5.15am; it connects with the miniature railway departure from Mettupalayam to Ooty at 7.10am. The whole trip to Ooty takes about seven hours.

Getting Around

For the airport take bus 20 from the town bus stand or bus 90 from the train station (Rs 4). Many buses ply between the train station and the town bus stand (Rs 1.50).

Autorickshaw drivers charge around Rs 40 between the bus and train stations.

^ Back to top

Air

The airport is 10km east of town. Indian Airlines (2399821; 1604 Trichy Rd) flies daily between Coimbatore and Mumbai (US$160), Delhi (US$325) and Kozhikode (Calicut; US$50) and three times a week to Chennai (US$100) and Bengaluru (US$65).

Jet Airways (2212034) flies daily to Bengaluru (US$75) and Chennai (US$100). Newcomer Paramount Airways(1800 180 1234; www.paramountairways.com) also flies to Chennai. Air Deccan (2599885) offers cheap flights to Bengaluru (Rs 1400). These three airlines have counters at the airport, open to coincide with flight times.

^ Back to top