India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) - Keith Bain [45]
New Zealand Citizens: New Zealand Customs, The Customhouse, 17–21 Whitmore St., Box 2218, Wellington ( 04/473-6099 or 0800/428-786; www.customs.govt.nz).
MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS
For information on medical requirements and recommendations, see “Health.”
3 Getting There & Getting Around
GETTING TO INDIA
By Plane
India’s list of international airports is constantly expanding: Mumbai (BOM), Delhi (DEL), Hyderabad (HYD), Goa (GOI), Kolkata (Calcutta, CCU), Chennai (MAA), Trivandrum (TRV), Ahmedabad (AMD), Bengaluru (aka Bangalore, BLR), Amritsar (ATQ), and Kochi (aka Cochin, COK) all receive traffic from abroad, and a number of hitherto tiny airports—particularly in Rajasthan—have been expanded to accommodate international arrivals. Modernization at all these facilities, particularly in Delhi and Mumbai, is a priority, but there are many problems—not least of which is that the rate of expansion simply cannot keep up with the exponential increase in traffic. Consequently, the first-time traveler to India may easily be unnerved by the sheer apparent chaos and disorganization of it all. Mumbai receives the greatest amount of international traffic and is the best point of arrival for onward travel to Goa and South India. Be warned, however, that in spite of a recent overhaul, Mumbai airport facilities are poor, and there are plans to shift terminals while new ones are under construction. Most flights arrive in India late at night, in order to leave their Western destinations during daylight hours, so booking an “immediate” onward domestic flight invariably requires some wait at the airport. Delhi’s international airport—the principal starting point for journeys throughout North India, including the Himalayan regions and Rajasthan as well as east India—is substantially better. Only fly in to Kolkata (Calcutta) if you plan to explore east India exclusively. If you want to avoid spending too much time at the airport, note that Kingfisher, Jet Airways, British Airways, Virgin, and Air India all have flights with daytime arrival into India.
Most major airline carriers have flights to India; the country’s top airlines are Kingfisher, Jet Airways, and state-owned Air India. All three have direct, nonstop flights from London, but you can fly in from just about anywhere in the world. The majority of flights originating in Europe or the U.S. will touch down either in Mumbai or in Delhi; it is possible to fly direct to many other cities around the country, although that may entail a routing through the Middle East. Both Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (www.csia.in) and Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (www.delhiairport.com) are busy and increasingly so, with dramatic changes to infrastructure in recent years. Delhi’s airport has been gearing up for when the city hosts the Commonwealth Games in 2010, while Mumbai’s status as the subcontinent’s economic capital means that inbound business is always booming. Mumbai, in particular, is geared up for transit passengers, with some of the biggest and glitziest hotels in the city in the immediate vicinity of both the domestic and the international terminals—the ins and outs of both these airports (situated some distance apart) are discussed in detail in chapter 10. Delhi’s airport terminals have expanded and modernized considerably recently, and most people touching down here spend at least a day or two exploring the historic sights before heading off to see the Taj Mahal in Agra. From Mumbai or Delhi, you can fly to just about any corner of the country.
It’s a good idea to shop around for fares on the Internet, through online travel agencies like Travelocity.com, Expedia.com, Mobissimo.com, and Orbitz.com, or through airline websites. Or make use of a consolidator, which hunts for the cheapest available seats on your travel dates.
From North America Count on spending between 13 and 22 hours traveling and most flights require you to touch down at least once in Europe, the Gulf, or an Asian destination. However, your