Travelling to Chennai
Surface
Chennai’s connectivity is largely due to its network of well-maintained roads and highways. Chennai’s roads lead travelers to major cities in and around the areas of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and various other points of interest in India. These routes are mostly recommended for tourists looking for a leisurely, scenic trip as this method of traveling is limited with Chennai’s one-way roads.
As a large city, the area connects itself to nearby towns and villages via Chennai’s newly built expressways, providing travelers with sight-seeing opportunities. National Highway 4 is a designated route for visitors using private transportation from either Mumbai, Bangalore or Pune. If you are arriving from Kerala, National Highway 47 will take you to Salem in Tamil Nadu, proceeding directly to Chennai straight after.
Also available for travelers is a state government provided bus service, which has regularly scheduled buses running to and from Chennai. The bus terminal (Chennai Mofussil), leaving from Jawaharlal Nehru Salai, Koyembedu in Chennai is recognized as the largest terminal in all of Asia.
Train
Due to being metropolitan city, Chennai remains well-connected to several cities and major destinations in India with its Indian Railways network. These regularly scheduled train services allow Chennai to be linked to various other metros including as Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai and major tourist destinations as well.
Chennai has several train stations located throughout the city, yet its interstate train services are provided from the Chennai Central Railway Station. Arriving at Kerala and other towns in the Tamil Nadu region, the services begin and end at the Egmore Railway Station.
Air
Chennai’s airports (Anna International Airport and Kamaraj Domestic Airport) provide regular flights that connect to all major cities in India as well as across the world, allowing travelers to conveniently fly to and from Chennai, whether it be for pleasure, family or business. Both airports are easily accessible by taxis or auto-rickshaws, and are within convenient distance from the heart of the city.
The international airlines that fly into Chennai are among many, such as Lufthansa, British Airways, Sri Lankan Airways, Swiss Air, Singapore Airlines, and Emirates. For domestic flights, Chennai is serviced by Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines, Spice Jet, Indian, Go Air, and Indigo.