Get in

The flights connect mainly to Chennai(Madras). The airport is approximately 15 km from the city off National Highway 47. It is best to hire a "pre paid taxi" from the airport from the counter in the arrival lounge or pre-arrange for someone to pick you.

By rail

Madurai is well connected to the Indian Railway network and is the gateway to southern districts. Trains are available to/from Chennai(Madras), Bangalore, Mumbai(Bombay) and Delhi. Train journey from Chennai would take 8 to 10 hours. Many over night trains with sleeper facility (Air conditioned and non-air-conditioned) ply from Chennai.

By bus

• The city is well connected to all major cities in Tamil Nadu via state government operated and private buses. Buses also ply from important cities in neighbouring states of Kerala(Ernakulam, Trivandram) and Karnataka(Bangalore, Mysore). The buses vary from ordinary (with minimal cushions on the seats and no limit to number of persons in a bus) to Luxury (with cushioned, push back seats with AC costing Rs 500 in 2007). Sleeper A/c buses and Volvo buses are also available.

The city has several bus stands of which the bus stand in Mattuthavani is for inter city travel and is located about 6 km from city center. The Periyar bus stand, located near the railway station and 2 km from city center, is the hub for intra-city buses. Apart from this, private bus operators may have their starting and ending points right in front of their office and most of these offices are traditionally located near Periyar bus stand.