Gumbieben

I'm about to book a trip to India so have a couple of questions for here.

Arrival at Bangalore at 4am, what options do I have to transfer to Bangalore City Jct train station? (Bus/Train/taxis? rough cost etc)

The same for Chennai Central station to Chennai Airport Domestic terminal at midnight, then returning Airport to Train Station on a Sunday morning.

Also are there decent left luggage facilities at both stations?

Finally has anyone used any of the following priority pass airport lounges?
Chennai Domestic Bica Lounge
Cochin Domestic Clipper lounge

I have a 4am departure to Port Blair from Chennai so want to check in after midnight and spend 2/3 hours in the Bica lounge.

Many thanks for the help.

hserus

Bangalore airport is about an hour to two hours (depending on traffic) from bangalore city, and there are ar least two major train stations you can board from - Bangalore Central and Cantonment

Five to six hundred rupees by prepaid cab (there should be a counter as you exit the airport, in the departures area).

Chennai central station to airport - there's a direct aircon volvo bus you can try, or there's - again - a prepaid taxi counter (dont exit by the main entrance, there's an entrance signposted parking lot etc, to the side - exit by that and there's a prepaid cab rank there - though the cabs arent aircon there). You can get prepaid cabs at Chennai Airport (there're three taxi counters there, my favorite is the one marked 'Aviation Express' - their cars are Chevy Tavera or Toyota Innova late model - comfortable)

The Bica lounge in MAA is very good, nice, shiny new, good pastry bar, free wifi.

All 3 airports have left luggage facilities. Decent or not .. well, they work. Though I wouldnt advise you to leave expensive gear in there.

aniruddh77

Bangalore: Easy stuff. Come outside to the taxi "rank", you'll find loads of taxis that charge a flat rate per kilometer (something like Rs 15 per km, plus night charges till 5 or 6 am). Pick one of the recognised brands like MERU CABS - can be spotted quite easily by the hordes of identical/similar cars that they run! Don't go for the ppl standing outside arrivals asking if you need a taxi, unless they have one of the recognised brands' identification on them.

Chennai: Pain in the a$$. You'll be accosted by a zillion autorickshaw drivers, out to charge something like Rs 100 per km (effectively) ! Instead, suggest go to the prepaid counter and get yourself a taxi or autorickshaw. You could also use one of the many "call-taxis" - notably, Bharati Call Taxi, Chennai Call Taxi, etc. Note - the call taxis are not airconditioned.

BlrGuy

The two main cab cos at BLR are Meru Cabs (blue/green cabs) and EasyCabs (white cabs). I didn't see any difference between them. Just head out the exit, cross the pickup lanes, and the next lane is that of the cabs. Avoid the touts standing around telling you about cabs, and instead walk to the prominently marked sign saying 'Airport Taxi', with a taped queue and a line of cabs waiting, belonging to both the above-mentioned companies. The attendant takes your destination and shows you to the car. Works quite well - no different from, say, SIN or HKG. Expect to pay ~Rs.500-600 ($10-12) to get to Bangalore City station.

Gumbieben

Thanks for the help (much more informative than the airport websites!).

Are there left luggage faciities at Bangalore City Junction and Chennai Central Train stations that you would trust?

At both places I have 10/12 hours between arriving and departing by train/plane so would like to spend the time sightseeing if I can dump my bags somewhere cheap.

aniruddh77

Not sure if there is one in Blr, definitely nothing in Chennai. Even if there were such facilities, I wouldn't trust them. How much luggage have you got, and how do you plan to do your sightseeing? If you're using a registered coach or a private taxi (cab), you could consider leaving your bags in the vehicle while you sight-see.

afterDawn

Bangalore Airport is well connected by bus also to Bangalore City railway station, which im presuming is the one your train departs from. Costs around Rs100 and take about an hour.

There are a huge number of hotels near the train station, and an idea would be to simply book a cheap room there for the day, for around Rs250-300 and leave your luggage there.

If you bring your own lock you can be sure of the bags' security as most hotels (I'd reccomend the Esspee Residency for this very reason) have simple padlock-utliising bolt mechanisms on the outside to lock the rooms. Just substitute their lock with your own and you're good to go.

BlrGuy

The airport bus is another option. The ones in question are the big red Volvo B7R buses with 'Vayu Vajra/BIAS' written on them. I believe Route 9 is the bus you want - it runs from BLR to Bangalore City Rwly Stn/Kempegowda Bus Station. The bus service has their own website: http://www.bmtcinfo.com/site/index.jsp

Meru cabs: http://www.merucabs.com
Easy cabs: http://www.easycabs.com

While they have an online booking provision, I find it useless - there are usually plenty of them in line waiting to pick up pax at BLR. While in the city, you can call their number to book a pickup.

The buses are cheaper but more infrequent, and take longer. I take the cab for convenience, especially if I arrive during the evening rush hour.

hserus

There are left luggage counters for sure.

Madras central railway station - just opposite the Saravana Bhavan canteen (which is in an aisle to the left of the main concourse that you take to go to platforms 8,9 etc). And then the Madras airport left luggage area is in the parking lot just opposite the international terminal.

aniruddh77

I thought those were the lost luggage rooms

Gumbieben

Thanks for the help guys!