Abroad volunteers are very particular of weekend trips. We can guide them to go there with route maps, details about buses and trains, fares, expenditures etc. Also we can help volunteers in booking the hotels over phone.
Here in India 6 hours, 10 hours by train or bus is no matter!
Needed:
For the weekend trips South India book (ex. Lonely Planet) and patience are recommended.
Where to go:
The most touristic place around Vengadampatty are :
| Madurai | >>> | 3h30 by train and 4h30 by bus |
| Kanyakumari | >>> | 4h30 by bus |
| Kumili | >>> | 7h00 by bus |
| Kovalam | >>> | 5h00 by bus and 3h00 by train |
| Kodaikanal | >>> | 10h00 by bus |
| Fort Cochin | >>> | 10h00 by bus |
| Chennai | >>> | 12h by train |
Types of transport in India
The public transport in our country is huge and very cheap.
Trains:
Trains are generally good for long and overnight journeys. To travel by train, you should reserve a seat/bed at least a week in advance. To view the train schedule you can visit www.southernrailway.org . There are different classes of travel, first A/C, II class sleeper and II class general compartment, the latter which does not need any reservation.
Buses:
Buses are the easiest means of transport if you are traveling to an from remote areas. On all the buses the name of the destination will be written only in local language, but if you ask some local people, they will help you find the right bus. You cannot reserve seats on a public bus. You buy the ticket when you get on the bus. Usually for journeys up to 5 hours buses are convenient to travel in and quicker as well. They can get very overcrowded, and the journey will often take longer than you anticipate. Buses are very frequent and generally drive at high speed (as much as one can on such poor roads), stopping for long period along the way. It is therefore usually best to change buses in each major town you get to.
Rickshaws:
Rickshaws are easy to use to get around towns, for up to 3 or 4 km. You should be preparing to haggle if needed! Some drivers are resultant to use the meters and will pluck a random price out of their heads. Eventually they should settle on a reasonable rate.