By Plane -- Most Westerners experience moderate shock when they arrive at Mumbai's sprawling Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (tel. 022/2682-9000 or -9112), which wears its years of wear and tear with the indifference characteristic of much of India. The airport is located in Sahar, 30km (19 miles) north of the center (which is why it's often called Sahar Airport). Its flights usually arrive and depart between midnight and dawn, which can make finding your feet difficult. A Government of India Tourist Office (tel. 022/2682-9000, ext. 3253) at the airport should be open 24 hours but -- as is the case in most of India's tourist offices -- it's certainly not the best place to obtain advice; you'll find the contents of this book far more useful.
Because you will no doubt have to wait in line for foreign exchange (there is only one small booth), it is advisable that you arrange an airport transfer to meet you -- important, too, because you will be accosted by a loud, expectant mass of touts and taxi drivers the minute you exit the terminal doors, all of whom need to be treated with a degree of caution. If you are expecting a pickup, don't get sidetracked or deterred from boarding the correct hotel shuttle -- ignore strangers offering help.
Should you need to hire a taxi, make use of the reliable prepaid taxi service (tel. 022/2682-9922); a trip to a city-center hotel should cost from Rs 330 to Rs 400 ($8-$9) and an additional Rs 10 (25¢) per bag. (Expect to pay well over double these rates for a hotel airport transfer, but you'll also get a much better vehicle to travel in.) Because most international flights arrive late at night, traffic delays are usually not a problem, and you should be at your hotel within an hour even if you're staying downtown.
Note: Auto-rickshaws are banned from the city's center, so don't rely on these unless your hotel is located in the immediate vicinity of the airport.
Domestic Airport -- If you are flying direct from Mumbai's international airport on to the next destination, note that you will have to transfer (there is a free bus; make sure you get on it) to the Santa Cruz Domestic Airport (tel. 022/2615-6500; 4km/2 1/2 miles from the international airport and 26km/16 miles north of the city). You will have to spend the rest of the night in a very uncomfortable airport seat. If you have arrived at Santa Cruz and plan to spend some time in Mumbai, you can catch a metered taxi from the airport, which should set you back about Rs 300 ($6.85) for a trip to a hotel in the city center. Since domestic flights are likely to arrive during the day, be prepared for a long, congested, frustrating journey into Mumbai.
By Train -- If you are traveling from Central, South, or East India, you will no doubt arrive at "VT," Victoria Station (otherwise known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus or CST). A taxi ride farther downtown, to Colaba, should take about 10 to 15 minutes. From the north, you'll arrive at Mumbai Central Station; from here you can either cross a footbridge to the local platform and catch another train to Churchgate Station, Colaba, or you can brave the traffic and take a taxi.
