Agra Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus

Most long-haul buses leave from Idgah bus station (2420324; Ajmer Rd). Hourly buses run to Delhi’s Sarai Kale Khan bus station (Rs 91, five hours) via Mathura (Rs 30, 1½ hours) on the multilane motorway. Deluxe AC buses (Rs 166) depart at 7.30am and 3.30pm. Hourly buses go to Jaipur (Rs 124, six hours) and two buses daily go to Khajuraho (Rs 175, 10 hours) leaving at 5am and 6.30am. Frequent buses head off to Fatehpur Sikri (Rs 17, one hour) and Bharatpur (Rs 35, 1½ hours).

From Agra Fort bus station buses leave for Dehra Dun (Rs 210, 12 hours), Haridwar (Rs 190, 11 hours), Lucknow (Rs 197, 10 hours) and Delhi (Rs 105, five hours) via Mathura (Rs 30, 1½ hours).

Rajasthan government buses depart from Hotel Sakura, very close to Idgah bus station. The white deluxe buses run hourly to Jaipur (Rs 174, 5½ hours) between 6.30am and 2.30pm and then at 4.30pm, 5.30pm, 7.30pm, 10pm and midnight. Between March and October AC buses (Rs 250) run three times daily.

Train

The train is easily the best way to travel to/from Delhi, Varanasi, Jaipur and Haridwar (for Rishikesh). Agra Cantonment (Cantt) train station (2421204) is an important stop on the main Delhi–Mumbai (Bombay) line, with several trains daily from both New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin train stations. The fastest and most comfortable train to and from Delhi is the daily AC Shatabdi Express (chair/executive ex Delhi Rs 370/720, ex Agra Rs 395/760, two hours). It leaves New Delhi at 6.15am and departs from Agra for the return trip at 8.30pm, making it ideal for day-tripping.

A cheaper alternative is the daily Taj Express (2nd/chair Rs 56/211, three hours), which leaves Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin train station at 7.15am and departs from Agra for the return trip at 6.55pm. This gives you less time in Agra, but it connects with the daily tour. Be extra cautious with your luggage on this route.

Most east–west trains now leave from Agra Fort station. For Varanasi the best option is the nightly Marudhar Express, which leaves Agra Fort train station at 9.15pm, reaching Varanasi around 9.30am the next morning (sleeper/3AC/2AC Rs 243/687/985). The same train also runs west to Jaipur, leaving Agra at 6.15am, reaching Jaipur (Rs 117/330/473) at 11.30am and Jodhpur (Rs 220/622/892) at 6.20pm.

Agra also has several long-haul daily trains from Agra Fort to Kolkata (Calcutta; (sleeper/3AC/2AC Rs 365/1029/1479, 20 to 30 hours).

For Khajuraho, take any train to Jhansi (sleeper/3AC Rs 108/305, three hours) and a bus from there. Other trains run to Mumbai, Pune, Goa, Chennai (Madras) and Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum).

^ Back to top

Air

Agra’s Kheria airport is 7km from the city centre, but Indian Airlines (2226820; Clarks Shiraz Hotel, 54 Taj Rd;10am-1.15pm & 2-5pm Mon-Sat) has ceased its Delhi–Agra–Khajuraho–Varanasi flights and there are currently no scheduled flights to or from Agra.

^ Back to top