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By Air
The new international airport at Nedumbassery near Alwaye (aka Alua), 26km to
the north of Ernakulam, has been designed to attract international flights
especially from the Gulf.
(phone
0484/610050, 610115, or 610116)
Jet Airways has two flights a day to Mumbai, and Indian Airlines operates daily
flights to Mumbai,
Bangalore,
Delhi, and Thiruvananthapuram. Indian Airlines flies six days a week to
Chennai,and twice weekly to
Goa,
Coimbatore,
Hyderabad and Calicut. If you want to fly to the
Lakshadweep
Islands,contact Casino Hotel,Willingdon Island (phone 0484/666821). Indian
Airlines flies twice each week to Doha, Sharjah, Kuwait and Muscat.
The Indian Airlines "red eye" flight to Mumbai every Tuesday at
2.30am gets you there in time for the
7.10am
Air India flight direct to New York or London.
By Bus
Buses leave Ernakulam's KSRTC Central bus stand for virtually every
town in Kerala, and some beyond; most, but not all, are book able in
advance at the stand (reservation enquiries phone 0484/372033).
Traveling south, dozens of buses per day run to Thiruvananthapuram ;
most go via Alappuzha and Kollam,but a few travel via Kottayam. It's
also possible to travel all the way to Kanniyakumari (9hr). However,
for destinations further afield in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, you're
much better off on the train: both KSRTC's "super express" and
private "luxury" buses travel to these destinations, but you have to
cope with the extremely fast, dangerous driving. Traveling to
Mysore,go
early to book a seat on the
8pm
bus (10hr).
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By Train
Kochi lies on Kerala's main broad-gauge line, and sees frequent
trains down the coast to Thiruvananthapuram, via Kottayam, Kollam
and Varkala. Heading north, plenty of services run to Thrissur, and
thence northeast across Tamil Nadu to Chennai, but only a couple run
north to Mangalore, where a poorly served branch line veers inland
to Hassan and Mysore in Karnataka.
Although most long-distance express and mail trains depart from
Ernakulam Junction,a short way southeast of the city centre, a
couple of key services leave from Ernakulam Town,2km north. To
confuse matters further, some also start at
Cochin Harbor station, on Willingdon Island, so be sure to check the
departure point when you book your ticket. The computerized
reservation office - good for trains leaving all three stations - is
at Ernakulam Junction (call 131 for general enquiries).
The trains we've listed are recommended as the fastest and/or most
convenient services from
Kochi. If you're heading to Alappuzha for the backwater trip to
Kollam, take the bus, as the only train that can get you there in
time invariably arrives late. With the opening of the Konkan
Railway, only a handful of superfast trains travel along the coast
to Goa and beyond.
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Kochi (Cochin)
Arrival and local transport
Kathakali in Kochi
Restaurants
Ernakulam
Fort Cochin
Willingdon Island
Tours and Backwater
trips
Kochi by ferry
-
Ernakulam to Mattancherry,
Ernakulam to Vypeen,
Fort Cochin to Vypeen,
Willingdon Island to Fort Cochin,
Ernakulam to Bolghatty Island,
Ernakulam to Varapuzha
Kochi travel info
Moving on from Kochi / Ernakulam
Listings
Explore Kochi (Cochin)
Ernakulam
Fort Cochin
St Francis Church,
Chinese fishing nets
Mattancherry
Jew Town
Mattancherry Palace
Keralan murals
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