Aurangabad Transportation

By Bus: Aurangabad is 388 kms north-east of Mumbai (via Nasik-Manmad and 400 kms via Pune). There are several luxury and state bus services that travel between Mumbai and Aurangabad (and Ajanta/Ellora caves). Luxury Volvo buses cost around Rs 400. They leave from Dadar and Borivali around 10 p.m. and arrive in Aurangabad around 5:30 a.m.

By Air: Air India/Indian Airlines, Kingfisher, Jet Airways all make the 45 minute flight.

As in many Indian cities there are lots of black and yellow autorickshaws in Aurangabad. The autorickshaw is a three wheeled motorised vehicle with room for a few people. I took a few autorickshawrides in Aurangabad and this is what I paid in June 2010:

From Hotel Shree Maya to the Bus Stand Rs 20
From Kranti Chowk to Bibi-qa-Maqbara Rs 40
From Bibi-qa-Maqbara to Hotel Shree Maya Rs50
From the Railway Station to the Airport Rs100

Some autorickshaws are metered. I asked for the meter when I went to Bibi-qa-Maqbara, but when we arrived the numbers (in Hindi) were worn and you could not see the correct fare. Well the driver said 40 rupees and I paid. Going to the airport I wanted to go by meter as they had told me a high price at the hotel. The driver did not want to use the meter but I think that the 100 rupees he wanted was a good price. Actually the meters in taxis and auto rickshaws don’t show the right amount to pay, but the drivers use it to look at a table to get the right price.

I wouldn’t take an auto rickshaw a longer distance, like to Ellora. They are quite noisy and from where you sit you must bend down to see the sky.

Some weeks before leaving Sweden I bought a plane ticket from Aurangabad to Goa (via Mumbai where I changed planes). I bought the ticket through Jet Airways website and it was Rs 5359 for the 22nd of June 2010.

I had asked at the hotel how much an auto rickshaw to the airport was and the man told me Rs 250. I thought it was too much so I walked down to the street opposite the Railway Station to take a metered auto rickshaw. The first rickshaw driver I asked didn’t want to go by meter but said the price was Rs 100 and I accepted that at once. It took about 20 minutes to the airport.

I arrived 1.5 hours before departure and so early there were very few people at the airport, even if my flight was not the first to leave Aurangabad that morning. Well, it seemed that many people were quite late. As you enter the airport building the luggage you will check in is screened before you leave it at the check in desk. In the departure hall there were two places where to buy snacks and coffee, but unfortunately they only had coffee with milk so I decided to wait.

We were 40 minutes late leaving Aurangabad and 1h 20 minutes late to Mumbai (we were not allowed to land first). The flight was supposed to take only 45 minutes, but even if it was delayed I had some time before the connection flight to Goa. I asked for the way to my connecting flight and was directed to Terminal B. I went through security and sat down at a cafe to have coffee and sandwich for breakfast. Food had only been sold on the plan from Aurangabad. When it started to be short of time I went to look for the right gate. It turned out I was in the wrong terminal and had to hurry to Terminal A. I stood in a second queue to go through security and started to feel worried I would miss my plane. Arriving at the gate nothing was written on the sign and no one seemed to know anything. Well, I soon found out I was at the right gate but we were delayed. Half an hour late we left Mumbai for Goa. On this flight, that took an hour, food was served.

In Goa the checked in luggage arrived quickly and I went outside the terminal to a booth for prepaid taxis and took a taxi to Arambol for Rs 980 (June 2010).

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I bought my train ticket for Aurangabad a few days before the journey. In Mumbai there is a reservation centre at CST (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus) and when I came there there was a lot of people waiting. I thought it was going to take very long, but was soon told to go upstairs where there is a counter only for foreigners. There was no queue and I could buy my ticket right away. I chose to buy a ticket for 2nd class seat (you get a seat number) with the train leaving at 6.10 in the morning. The ticket was Rs 102 (June 2010).

In the morning of the journey I came to the station in good time so that I could buy breakfast and some snacks. On the train I sat next to a Spanish couple and it was from the beginning few passengers. Well, it soon filled up, and at points during the journey the train was very crowded with people standing or sitting on the floor.

Short after the take off a man came by and asked if wanted to order breakfast. We did and it arrived maybe an hour later. The breakfast consisted of omelette and some bread. I can’t remember the price but it was cheap. If you don’t order breakfast or bring anything with you there will be plenty of opportunities to buy things to eat or drink from vendors passing.

The train was supposed to arrive to Aurangabad at 13.15 but was an hour late. Aurangabad is not the final destination of the train and it only stops for a short while. Be prepared with your bags and be prepared to push through the crowed trying to board the train when you leave it.

From the train station I walked to the hotel, it was not far.

When you go to Daulatabad you take the same bus going to Ellora. In Daulatabad the bus stopped just by the entrance to the fort, and it took almost half an hour to go there and it was Rs 11 (June 2010). Where the bus stops there are several stalls selling snacks and guidebooks. I bought a book with photos, some text and a map for Rs 60. The fort covers a large area and from the entrance there was another 50 minutes to walk to the top (including photo stops).

Going back to Aurangabad I crossed the main road and after a few minutes a shared taxi came. I sat in the front seat and luckily we were only four sitting there today. The fare was Rs 15.

Once again I took an auto rickshaw from the hotel to the bus stand for Rs 20 (June 2010). The fare to Ellora was Rs 21 and it took almost 45 minutes. If you are on the bus and see it pass the road to Ellora, don’t worry. It just goes in to a village, makes an U-turn and continues to Ellora. In Ellora the bus stops next to the entrance to the sight.

Going back to Aurangabad I took a shared jeep as it was leaving before a bus arrived. It was Rs 25 but took longer than the bus, almost 55 minutes. The jeep stopped to drop and take up more people all along the way and we were at the most 22 people in the jeep, as many as five in the front seat.

In the morning, after breakfast, I took an auto rickshaw from Hotel Shree Maya to the bus stand. It was 20 rupees (June 2010). At the bus stand I bought a bottle of water and then went to the bus. It was leaving 9.40 and I didn’t have to wait very long. In the bus I got a seat in the back of the bus, where it was very bumpy and dusty. The fare was Rs 76 and it took 2h 5minutes to T-junction, the stop for Ajanta.

From the bus stop there is still 4 km to the Ajanta Caves, but when you have passed a parking lot and lots of souvenir shops there is another bus waiting. There was a bus with A/C, but most people seemed to take the cheaper, non A/C bus, which was Rs 7.

Going back to Aurangabad I walked up to the main road to wait for a bus. An auto rickshaw driver told me the bus wouldn’t stop there, but he could take me to the bus stop 2 km away. I didn’t believe him of course and waited were I was by the road, and soon some other people arrived as well. It took about 20 minutes before a bus came. The bus ride back to Aurangabad took as long as 2h 45 minutes and it was Rs 80. When we arrived in Aurangabad it was dark, but I had thought it was going to be easy to find an auto rickshaw by the bus stand. The bus stopped on the opposite side of the main road, with a long railing in the middle of the road. I couldn’t cross to the bus stand, but it looked dark anyway. Well, I tried to find an empty rickshaw, but the first ones I asked didn’t want to take me to the hotel. After walking for quite a while I finally fond one who took me to the hotel for Rs 30.

Aurangabad is best reached from Bombay. The two cities are linked by rail (a long journey), but the smoothest way to travel is by plane. Several daily flights on Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher connect the two cities and the journey takes under one hour. There are also regular direct flights between Aurangabad and Delhi on Jet Airways and Air India (with a stop), which take just over two hours. Other cities are connected to Aurangabad via a connection in Bombay. In my itinerary, I flew from Bombay to Aurangabad and then on to New Delhi to explore India's Golden Triangle, which worked out perfectly.

Note: This information is accurate as of Dec 2009