Popular Airport | Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Intl. Airport |
---|---|
Popular Airlines | |
Approximate Flight Duration | 2 hour 20 min |
Approximate Travel Distance | 1966 Km |
It is possible to reach Islamabad Airport with buses and metrobuses that you can take from the city. The routes of these buses and metrobuses usually start from Rawalpindi, also called Islamabad's twin city. Within city transportation has improved, but there are not many choices in terms of transportation means. Therefore, public transportation in the city is crowded, especially during heavy traffic hours.
You can reach Islamabad Airport within 15-20 minutes by taxi or by your own car and within 30-35 minutes by bus.
Islamabad city buses are easily distinguishable from others because of their light color. The local buses are crowded and slow, but they provide transportation at very low fares. The seats next to the bus drivers are reserved for women and children, so you will have to be careful about the place you will sit on the bus. All the bus stations in the city are air-conditioned, large, and modern and there are ticket vending machines and sales points in all of them.
The city buses have a much larger and wider network than metrobuses. Bus 110, one of the most popular bus lines, goes from Mandi Morh to Bahara Kahu via Khayaban.
Bus number 111 goes to F-8 Markaz from Rawat via Al Shifa H8. The area where Islamabad city center is located is called "Blue Area". The 1-B-A bus from this area serves Mandi Morh to the Secretariat.
The bus number 21 is called the airport bus, because it is one of the rare buses that pass through the airport. The stops of this bus are RWP Kachehri, BBIAP Airport (Islamabad Airport), Faizabad, Zero Point, Aabpara, Sarina, SPP and Secretariat.
Metrobus service is provided between twin cities: Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Metrobuses operate from 6.15 am until 10 pm every day of the week. Ticket vending machines are available at all Metrobus stations. Be sure to validate your ticket at the entrance after you have purchased your ticket from the Metrobus station.
Another name given to this service in Islamabad is Islamabad Metro-Pindi Metro. Metrobus service, which has a route of 22,5 km, meets the need of city transportation by serving between the twin cities Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Metrobuses started to operate in 2015, and has 24 different stops in total.
You can buy your tickets from vending machines, or you can use the e-ticket system. 10 of the stops of Islamabad-Rawalpindi metrobus are in Rawalpindi and 14 of them are in Islamabad.
Taxis are the most convenient and economical way of transportation for the cases of emergency. Try to bargain with the taxi driver before or after your ride. The only disadvantage of using taxi in Islamabad is that almost all of the taxi drivers do not speak English. Because they do not speak English, mark the place you will go on the city transportation map that you can obtain from the tourist information office before your ride and try to explain it on the map to the taxi driver
Yellow cabs are the most used taxi types in the city. Most of the taxis are not air conditioned but their fees are very satisfactory. Some of the taxi drivers in the city use their personal vehicles as a taxi; they are not affiliated with a specific company. You can also rent these taxis on a daily basis at very reasonable prices.
The number of taxis attached to the major companies operating in the city center is more than that of individual taxis. Some of the taxi companies you can choose to get to Islamabad Airport or city center are Metro Radio Cab (+92515872236) and Islamabad Radio Cab (+9251111888100).
There are quite a number of car rental companies in the city of Islamabad, because many domestic and foreign tourists want to rent their own car and visit nearby cities. It is much more economical to rent your car from the airport by pre-booking, but you are also likely to rent your car at reasonable prices from the city center as there are more local car rental companies than international companies in the city.
If you wish to deliver the vehicle you are renting at the airport at your return, you must make sure that a branch of the company you rented car is also at Islamabad Airport. It takes about 15-20 minutes to get to Islamabad Airport by car from the city, except for heavy traffic hours.
Another popular name for Islamabad International Airport is Benazir Bhutto International Airport. Islamabad Airport, the third largest and most modern airport in Pakistan, is located in Chaklala Rawalpindi outside Islamabad. Some of the facilities and opportunities within Islamabad Airport are VIP lounges, duty free shops, restaurants, free internet access, souvenir shops, ATM machines (Pakistan National Bank, Habib Bank, MCB Bank, Barclays, Citibank) and banks.
You can reach the town centre from Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Airport with the readily available taxis, buses, or rental car possibilities.
It’s possible to easily reach both Mahebourg and Port Luis from different available routes. The total distance from Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Airport to Mahebourg is 6km, while the capital Port Louis is around 40km from the airport. The buses that take passengers to various central locations leave in certain intervals. If you are to the airport at a later time, it might be a better idea to take advantage of taxis or rental vehicles to reach Port Louis or other destinations.
It’s possible to reach many points in Mauritius directly if you have your own means of transportation. You can take the A10 once you’ve left the terminal to reach Mahebourg that is 6km away from Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Airport, or you can reach the capital, Port Louis in around one hour by taking the M2. It’s around 40km away so getting here from the airport takes a little longer. There are alternatives offered to reach the city such as taxis, car rental and buses.
There’s a taxi information desk at the airport where you can inquire about getting to Port Louis or elsewhere. The taxi ride to Port Louis takes around 45 minutes and it’s a quick alternative when compared with buses. It’s strongly advised that you decide on the price of the journey before you get in the taxi and haggle a little if it’s necessary. If you do this then the comfortable and quick journey won’t impact on your budget as much.
There are buses from Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Airport that go all the way to Port Louis city centre. This usually takes around 1 hour. The buses leave every 30-60 minutes. Taking the bus from the airport is inexpensive compared with taking a taxi, especially during the day. Another disadvantage, besides the longer time, is that you might have to wait for up to an hour for a bus, compared to the comfort of getting on a taxi as soon as you land and being on your way. You can buy a ticket from the bus driver with the local currency. If you only have dollars or euros then it’s also possible to use these currencies for the payment. It might be more difficult to transport your luggage with the bus but on the other hand it's a fifth of the cost of taking a taxi. So if you’re travelling by yourself, or on a budget, then this option is the clear winner.
There are many car rental agencies at the airport terminal such as ABC, Avis, ADA, Hertz, Sixt, Budget, Europcar and First. It’s practical to rent a car if you want to travel to more than one or two cities. Once you have your car you can quickly reach Mahebourg by taking the A10 or you can reach the Port Louis by following the M2. In order to pick up your car without any problems you should have internationally acceptable travel and driving license documents with you when you go to a car rental agency. The whole process might be easier if you make a reservation online or over the phone before you arrival.