UKC

Hi,

Did a quick search and couldn't see an answer to my specific question.

Wondering if anyone has gone to Hampi flying to Mumbai and taking the train/bus to Hospet, as opposed to flying to Bangalore?

Finding stuff online about the trains but a lot of it seems contradictory! Some places saying only one direct train a week, but I managed to discover 3 trains (Tues, Thurs and Sunday). Not 100% sure how accurate this is though!

Or wondering if it's better to take bus? Found a Redbus website??? Or is it better to take train to Hubli then bus from Hubli to Hospet?

Daughter and her boyfriend arrive in Mumbai on a Tues morning and I found a train that leaves from Kalyan Junction train station on Tues eve but don't know if that's accurate or not. The whole getting there sounds like a worried mother's nightmare to me! They fly Paris to Saudi then the stupid airline changed the time of their flight so they now have 29 hours wait in Saudi before flying to Mumbai!

In reply to Sonya Mc:

In my experience of travelling through India, dont worry about all the gumph online with train tickets, it all contradicts itself. Just get them to go to the train station and sort it out there. Most trains are sold out months in advance so they have 2 options;
1. buy a non seated ticket and pay some bakseesh (bribe) money to a conductor to get a seat. (or sit on the floor for 14 hours like I did the first time).
2. buy a tatkul (emergency ticket) which is reserved for foreigners travelling on a whim but usually means you have to wait at least a day.

My advice; go straight to the train station and buy an emergency ticket, then spend a day checking out Mumbai until the train leaves. Its all very easy. Just dont trust the touts outside the station telling you that you need to go elsewhere and then offer you an expensive rickshaw ride across town.

You either love or hate India, and personally I loved every weird experience.

In reply to Sonya Mc:

Remember, they are in India, a country where a wobble of the head means yes, no and maybe, and the word for tomorrow is also the same word as for yesterday. It's a country where nobody really likes to say no, even if they want to communicate the opposite of yes. It can be a little, ahem, contradictory.

I have never been to Hampi but I've been to India many times and can assure you they most certainly will be able to get there. The public transport system covers the entire country and it's cheap. How much time and effort this will cost them is another matter. Just remember, it's not like Europe, where websites and timetables are a fairly accurate description of reality.

They'll be fine.

In reply to Sonya Mc: Thoroughly recommend General class if they cant get reservations. Dirt cheap and they will get to see how the majority of Indians travel. They will never want to do it again though...

The Indian rail website works really well. I cant remember the website though. I doubt you will be able to book a bus online. Buses go absolutely everywhere in India and are properly chaotic. But easy to get about with!

In reply to Cheese Monkey:

They could even just hire a taxi with driver and do part of the journey in some comfort, stopping at nice dhabbas for tea and dal when they get tired of nearly dying every five minutes... whoops I didn't just write that!

In reply to Sonya Mc: I flew to Goa and then got a ~6? 8? hour train from there, just turned up at the station a few hours early to buy a ticket. Might be a less busy train than from Bangalore?

Thanks so far, but.........

Will ask again,

Has anyone here actually every themselves gone to Hampi via Mumbai and NOT Bangalore. Either via train or bus?

In reply to Sonya Mc:

I imagine thousands of Indians have done so.

In reply to Sonya Mc:

Not in that direction, but from Hampi to Mumbai, yes! I'm sure a return journey is also quite possible

In reply to Derry:

No it's India. Trains only go one direction.

In reply to Derry: Thankyou!

I take it from your initial post that you went for the tatkul option? The AC sleeper VRL/Volvo buses don't look too bad.

In reply to Sonya Mc:

Personally I prefer trains over buses in India, as even if they are slow they are a bit more comfy and much better for overnight trips. But everyone is different, no doubt your daughter and her b/f will try plenty of different forms of transport and come to find something that suits their preferences and budget. In my experience, the only things that stop you getting somewhere in the subcontinent are the monsoon, landslides and political instability, and even then those only delay the trip. And these are unlikely in peaceful southern India outside the rainy season.

Also, here's a thing. They get on the wrong train, miles from their destination, in a town that's not in the guidebook. They will be having an adventure and probably an interesting time. That's what India is like.

In reply to Sonya Mc:
Not directly. We flew into Mumbai and then got a connecting flight to Bangalore where we took the train to Hospet

In reply to Duncan Bourne: Thanks Was also looking at connecting flights to Hubli then train/bus to Hospet.

Didn't think of checking flights between Mumbai and Bangalore, will check that option out thanks.

In reply to seankenny: Yes, they will make up their own mind as to which way to travel there. But it's my duty as a mum to worry (she's only just turned 17) and to find out as much info as possible for my own peace of mind. Very proud of her though, she's paid for the trip by herself and organising it herself

In reply to Sonya Mc:

Yeah we bought emergency tickets wherever we went. Sleeper class is what we chose (one up from fighting for sleeping space on the floor). There are much more luxurious classes but I have to admit, the sights we saw and people we met in the cheap seats were priceless!
I'm sure the Volvo buses look fine on the net, but the actual ones that you travel on could be far from it.
Are you trying to purchase tickets for them? Not much point if so. best for them just to sort it out on arrival as they will be able to judge what is the best option.

Also, just remembered. The train doesn't go all the way to Hampi, you have to get off at hospet and then take a rickshaw or local bus.

In reply to Derry: No, they'll be getting tickets themselves for whatever option they choose. I'm just trying to find out more info to aid them in that choice (or be an interfering mother )

How does the class order of the trains work? I assumed that sleeper class was the best, but obviously not! I know there's 1st class AC, 2nd class, 3rd class, sleeper class. Which is the best (not thinking about cost)?

In reply to Sonya Mc: In order, General class, sleeper class, 3rd class AC, 2nd class AC, 1st class AC

Sleeper class is the best

In reply to Sonya Mc:

1st class AC is what you'll pay most for and as a result get private cabins to sleep in etc. but sleeper class is in my opinion the best. thats where the 'real' india shows it's face. bunked up with loads of others and its not uncommon to wake up with a whole family sitting at the base of your bed. constant food vendors selling their wares as well as musicians begging for a few rupees of you.

In reply to Derry:

ahh the memories.

In reply to Sonya Mc:


I have done it, but we went from Mumbai to Gokarna in northern Karnataka mostly by train, spent a couple of weeks chilling, then took a combination of trains and buses and auto rickshaws to Hampi. Took all day.

At the time I was keeping a journal and have subsequently typed it up, might dig it out now you've reminded me.

In reply to Sonya Mc: my experience of log journeys in cars and buses in india was constant nervousness as the roads and the driving are mad. Sleeper class train is the way to go.

In reply to Sonya Mc: There did only used to be one direct train a week to Hampi and I wouldn't be surprised if that is still the case.

This has been used many times by friends, with success:

https://www.irctc.co.in/

Think you need to register, but you can book trains in advance, and from the UK.

I haven't been to Hampi via Bangalor, but I have used Banagalor as a junction/stop over. I have taken the train to Goa (Panjim), and then the Bus/train to Hampi on several occassions. Both get booked a long way in advance though. Unfortunately, in India, it isn't always possible to arrive at a station and book a train for the same day. That's a good thing, gives you time to explore where you are for a bit longer. If you accept this then India is a wonderful place to travel!

Also worth noting that she should book her return train to Mumbai as soon as she arrives in Hampi. You can pay a travel agent in Hampi to do this for you. Saves you queuing at the station everyday trying to get a ticket! Don't leave it until the day before, I always got mine at least 5 days in advance to be sure.

In reply to Derry: Are the trains (tatkul) tickets easy to get from the train station? I.e. is it obvious where to buy one from as I was assuming not many would speak English?

Also, can you remember when you went, when you got the train back to Mumbai if it was the Kalyan junction where you stopped and not the Central Station? I'm also finding it difficult to find info on how to get from the airport to Kalyan junction (where they would get the train from I think). Led to believe that getting a taxi/cab is very expensive as it's without the city boundaries?

In reply to Martin1978: Thanks for that

In reply to Sonya Mc:

There's a lot of English spoken in India, and even more "English".



Again, it's India, there are a billion people and many of them are trying to get around this vast country. What is written down on the internet and what happens on the ground are two different things - it's a very poor country where lots of stuff is just cobbled together as and when it's necessary. This is one of the things that makes it different to the West.

Also I see your daughter is only just 17. This might be a little too young to be travelling around a developing country on her own...

In reply to Sonya Mc:
They pretty much all speak english. Its the common language in a country where there is hundreds of different dialects. And yes, very easy to get. In mumbai there is a whole section just for foreigners, away from the 'jostling for position' that the more rural stations have.


We came in to Victoria station I believe. Unfortunately they may have some trouble at the airport as I met a couple of groups who were pretty shaken by the 'in your face' approach the taxi drivers had. Didn't experience this myself as we originally flew in to Kerala which is a beautifully subdued city down south. As long as they've got their wits about them they'll be fine. Get a price first rather than jumping straight in to a taxi. There will be a bus service, but the taxi-men wont tell them that.

In reply to Sonya Mc: This infor may be a little out of date, but last time I was there:

As you exit the airport head for the taxi office (outside, on the left). Prices are displayed at the taxi office and you pay at the office (rather than the driver). That way you pay a fixed price. Don't expect a quick journey though, took us nearly 4 hours to get from the airport to our guesthouse in Mumbai!

In reply to Sonya Mc: Actually, if I was her I'd get a taxi from the airport, spend a night or two in Mumbai (a great city in my opinion) and then get the train to Goa (an experience in itself). Spend a few nights in Panjim (a clean and friendly city with plenty of things to do) before getting a coach to Hampi.

In reply to Sonya Mc:

oh and another bit of advice: if she wants to do any sport climbing; badami, just north west of hampi has loads of bolted routes. plenty of info online.

In reply to Sonya Mc:
We travelled second Class and got the tickets booked via a friend's uncle in India as we were having problems paying for tickets from the UK. Second class is great two bunks as opposed to three, AC and we had excellent conversations with some of the other passengers. Our train went over night so we had a good sleep and didn't lose a day travelling as it were. English was widely spoken, some Hindi may help but the local language is Kanada of which there seemed to be many different dialects or variations.
My wife wore native dress and got damn sight less hassle than I did. But the hassle was very friendly. There are hotels in Hampi but it tends to be quieter over the river, which is also closer to the climbing.

In reply to Sonya Mc: Trips on India's train network can be booked online. When I was last there (January 2011), foreign travellers had to book through Cleartrip.com (small booking fee, a few pence I think) if they wanted to use the online service. Found it pretty useful myself. You can get on waiting lists for tickets, often you can be 140-odd people down te list but still get a ticket - trains are very well patronised so cancellation of tickets by those who no longer want to travel is the norm.

The route I took was from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station, which is the nearest station to the backpacker hangouts in Mumbai. Confusingly, auto rickshaw & taxi drivers will call this VT (the station was known as Victoria Terminus), just as many Indians still call the city Bombay. From memory I went from Mumbai to Hubli on a sleeper, took around 20 hours or so (short in Indian terms), changed trains after a few hours wait to get to Hospet, then hopped in a rickshaw to Hampi. All in all, i think the journey took 30 hours. The bouldering is mostly (though not exclusively) in the old village the other side of the river, crossing closes during the evening.

I found this website pretty invaluable when trying to get my head around Indian trains: http://www.seat61.com/India.htm As a precious poster commented, second class sleeper is great (not so much the air con carriages). I always seemed to be fed home cooked food by travelling Indian families who wanted to know what I made of it all - invariably it was amazing & a great experience.

Hope this helps & I'm sure they'll have a cracking time.

In reply to Martin1978:

I think the IRCTC site can only be used by Indian nationals to book trains online (from late 2010 I think). Cleartrip.com was the site for foreigners to use last time I was there (2011), but this may well have changed .

In reply to Sonya Mc: Thanks for all the latest posts, all very helpful

Think they are actually quite tempted to take the bus now but I'll look into that other booking website. Knowing where the taxi booking place is, is very helpful, cheers! And yeah, I think my daughter was going to get a pair of Indian type trousers and tunic for traveling.

They're not interested in hanging about sightseeing really, just keen to get to Hampi and get bouldering

In reply to samuel_w: PS - thanks ever so much for the link to that website, that helps loads!

In reply to Sonya Mc:
It will be a very long and pretty uncomfortable ride by bus from Mumbai. Train is by far the better option (for various reasons mentioned above) if you can get it booked.

Cheers Mark

In reply to MarkM: Agreed - having taken long bus journeys in India on a few occasions, I'd say they are best avoided unless making a shorter journey (under 5 hours would be my limit now!) I recall being on a rickety local bus & helping change a ripped tyre for a bald one (which was lowered from the roof on a rather thread-bare hemp rope) in the middle of the night on one such journey...

In reply to Sonya Mc: No worries! Certainly helped me get my head around Indian train travel. Hope your daughter & her partner enjoy Hampi bouldering - there's endless amounts of it. The only problem I found was that most descent routes involve carefully reversing the easiest route on the bloc, invariably the problem I had gotten up in less than fine style after repeated efforts...

In reply to samuel_w: Great, broken ankles another thing to worry about

In reply to samuel_w:
Agreed. But there is so much there. We found some excellent bouldering over by the lake where you could also go for a swim, if you ignored the beware of crocodiles sign. We found our best option was to get up early and climb till about 9.30 - 10.00 am before it got too hot.

In reply to Duncan Bourne: You're right, there's tons to go at in/around Hampi. I reckon you could be there for a lifetime & still have routes left to do, the plateau is that vast! Never had the good fortune to visit the lake - where abouts is it in relation to the village? Agreed, definitely better to boulder early to avoid the intense heat, early morning climbs seem the norm in Hampi.

In reply to Sonya Mc: I'm sure your daughter is a much better boulderer than me so, with any luck, there won't be any ankle fractures This chat about India is making me want to return...

In reply to Sonya Mc:I've been several times to India an my advice never go by bus! They are dangerous! Train then rickshaw for the full Indian experience. Have a great trip!

In reply to samuel_w:
If you are staying over the river follow the road up past the guest houses towards the road that leads to the Hanaman temple but instead of turning right to the temple turn left and follow the road till you get to a small village. The Reservoir road goes off right from here (locals very helpfully told us where to go) follow this to the reservoir then turn right and follow the reservoir round cross over a bridge and go a little way up the road to a parking area. A path leads off right down to the waters edge and some big boulders. It seemed to be a popular swimming spot and we didn't see one crocodile, although there was a dead water buffalo in it when we were there so I decided not to swim. Check it out on google there is the usual Hampi vast boulder field there. We walked to it but that was a long walk and heavy going in the heat so a bus to the village is probably the best bet, then a walk or taxi from there.

In reply to Sonya Mc:
I flew into Mumbai and got a sleeper bus from Mumbai to Hospet. My friends were already in Hampi and had booked a sleeper bus ticket for me at the bus company office in Hospet, which I picked up from the company office in Mumbai.
In 2009 when I did it Mumbai airport had a little hole in the wall taxi booking office where you went and booked and paid for the taxi and they gave you a ticket thing which you took to the official taxi drivers outside. I got a taxi into Mumbai to the office of the bus company, picked up my ticket, didn't have anything to do for three hours so went to the cinema opposite instead of sitting around getting hassled every 5 minutes.
The sleeper bus had a flat bunk, I can't really comment on comfort because I was so incredibly jetlagged I think I could have slept anywhere but it was definitely better than the seated overnight buses I got later in the trip.
Hope this is helpful, I'm afraid I can't remember the name of the bus company but it was a while ago so it might not be useful anyway.

In reply to Removed Userlexie10: Thanks, very helpful!

Think the latest thinking is that they are going to see about booking a domestic flight between Mumbai and Hubli and then get the train from Hubli to Hospet. Just looking into the viability of that at the moment.