10 Hour Stopover in Banglore
 

Sorry If this question has been asked, but so far I've received conflicting answers.

We are flying from Hong Kong to Banglore on Saturday Night Aug. 15th and then on to the Maldives on Sunday Morning. As there are only about 10 hours between flights we'd like to go to a hotel to sleep. My travel agent told us that since we are going to be in Banglore for less than 24 hours we do not need a visa? Is that correct? We are US Citizens.

You do not need a visa only if you do not leave the airport and stay airside. Unfortunately, I dont think there is any airside hotel at BLR.

also remember that the bangalore airport is around 50 kms away from the city .... by the time you get out of the airport with your luggage and get to the hotel (give yourself atleast an 1 1/2 for just the travel) you may not have enough time to check into a hotel and rest.

so it would take you around 3 hours from the time your flight lands and by the time you get to a hotel and check in. You would need to leave atleast 3+ hours before the flight to get to the airport .... not sure if its worth getting a hotel room for just 3 odd hours of sleep.

Are the lounges in the aiport open 24/7? We are arriving on CX and departing on Indian Airlines

10 hours in BLR airport
 

I posted an identical question a few months ago. Have since found out you must have an India visa to leave the airport and may even have to have a visa if your luggage is not transferred to Indian Air for your Maldives flight. In that case you would have to collect your luggage and re-enter the departure area (and would need a visa to do so). We are arriving from USA on Air France to BLR and heading to the Maldives as well and I was told the lounge is closed from 23:00 to 4:00. Have found a room at Fantasy Golf Resort which is close to the new airport. If you choose to stay in the airport, please post how your experience goes. We go to the Maldives in early Nov.

I'm in the Oberoi Lounge in Bangalore now for an 8 hour overnight stopover. I arrived at 2:00 AM on Dragon Air from HKG on a US Passport without a visa. The Transfer Desk was closed and it took about 45 minutes for the the ground staff to find someone from Air India to issue me my boarding pass and ensure that my luggage, which was tagged all the way to Male was re-tagged (I think that they needed to do that for security reasons). So contrary to what you may have heard, the Oberoi Lounge does not close at all at night, as there are flights leaving as late as 2:00 AM and as early as 4:00 AM. Unless it changes day by day, it seems that the lounge is open 24 Hours a day.

It mostly closes during the daytime I guess - or part of the day (as after a bunch of morning flights, there may not be anything in the afternoon till the nighttime rush starts again)