How to Travel Mumbai

Getting around Mumbai

Mumbai is a long narrow city on a peninsula, and its transport follows that shape: local trains run north–south along the spine, and everything else fights over the roads. Traffic is the worst in India outside Delhi. Budget ₹150–500 a day.

🚆 The local trains — the only fast option

Three lines — Western, Central and Harbour — running from about 4:00 AM to midnight, carrying several million people a day. Churchgate to Bandra is 30 minutes by train versus 90+ by road, and that ratio holds across the whole city.

• Second class — ₹5–20. Cheap and, at peak, crushingly crowded to a degree visitors underestimate. Doors stay open while moving and people hang out of them.
• First class — ₹65–150. Pay it. Still busy but manageable, with seats, and it is the difference between an experience and an ordeal.

Avoid the peaks: 8:30–10:30 AM and 5:30–8:00 PM on weekdays. Those are the two most crowded hours on any urban rail system on earth. Ride at midday or after 9:00 PM and the trains are pleasant, scenic and the best way to see the city.

Ladies' compartments exist on every train, at both ends. Men are not permitted in them.

🚇 The metro

Mumbai's metro is new and expanding fast, and it fills the gap the trains cannot — east–west movement, which the north–south suburban lines do not cover:

• Line 1 (Blue), Versova to Ghatkopar — 11.4 km, 12 stations, ₹10–40
• Line 2A (Yellow), Dahisar East to D N Nagar — 18.6 km, 17 stations, ₹10–50
• Line 7 (Red), Dahisar East to Gundavali — 16.5 km, 14 stations, ₹10–50
• Line 3 (Aqua), Cuffe Parade to Aarey — 33.5 km, 27 stations, fully underground, ₹10–80. This is the significant one: the first metro into South Mumbai and the first rail serving the airport precinct.
• Line 2B and Line 9 phase 1 opened 7 April 2026, extending the Yellow and Red networks.

Air-conditioned, clean, uncrowded by Mumbai standards, and it saves 45–60 minutes on an east–west crossing at peak. Confirm the station nearest Terminal 2 before relying on it for a flight — the airport link is new and the walking connections are still settling.

🚕 Taxi, auto and bus

Auto-rickshaws are banned in South Mumbai — they operate only in the suburbs north of roughly Bandra–Sion. This catches visitors constantly: you cannot hail an auto in Colaba. Meter is ₹23 for the first 1.5 km plus about ₹16 per km, so a 3 km ride is ₹40–50.

Kaali-peeli (black-and-yellow) taxis work citywide, including South Mumbai. ₹28 for the first 1.5 km plus about ₹20 per km. Meters are mandatory and most drivers use them; if a driver refuses the meter, get out — the flat rate he will quote is typically 50–100% above the fare. Colaba to CSMT is about ₹60–80; Colaba to Bandra ₹250–350.

Uber and Ola run ₹80–600+ depending on distance and surge, and are the only practical option late at night. Surge in rain is extreme.

BEST buses — ₹6–25 non-AC, ₹20–60 AC, over 400 routes, comprehensive. Slow in traffic and hopeless in monsoon flooding, but genuinely the cheapest way across the city.

✈️ The airport

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International has two terminals 4 km apart: T1 for domestic (Andheri/Vile Parle side) and T2 for international plus much domestic (Sahar). They are not walkable between each other — allow 20–30 minutes and a taxi if you are transferring.

Prepaid taxi from T2: Colaba ₹700–900, Bandra ₹400–500, Juhu ₹300–400. Add 25% between midnight and 5:00 AM and about ₹15 per bag. Counters operate at both terminals — use them rather than the drivers inside.

Allow 45 minutes to 2 hours from T2 to South Mumbai depending on traffic. This is the single biggest planning risk in a Mumbai trip. Leave for the airport far earlier than feels reasonable.

⛴️ Ferries

Gateway of India to Elephanta Island — government and MTDC boats every 30 minutes from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM, returning until about 5:30 PM, closed on Mondays and suspended through the monsoon (July–September). About an hour each way. Return ₹200 economy / ₹280 deluxe (some operators quote ₹150–290; the deluxe seat is marginally better on the same boat).

Gateway of India to Mandwa — ₹200–280 one way, about 45 minutes, and it saves a 3–4 hour drive around the harbour to reach Alibaug. The best-value trip in the city if you are going to the beaches.

⚠️ Monsoon

June to September shuts parts of the city. Ferries stop, low-lying roads flood, trains run slow or suspend, and the sea-facing promenades are dangerous. Marine Drive and the Gateway are unpleasant. If you are visiting then, build in slack and do not schedule the Elephanta ferry.

For what all of this costs, see the Mumbai budget guide.