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ShoppingAir: Mumbai is well connected by air, rail and road. Airplanes land at Sahar( international flights) or Santacruz
Rail Travel: Mumbai handles heavy upcountry traffic on two trunk routes of the "Western" and "Central" railway. The main stations are CST (VT) Dadar and Kurla on the eastern side of the city. Churchgate, Mumbai Central, and Dadar are main stations on the western side.
Mumbai Central is the main station for long distancae trains on the Western Railway. Trains leaving for the Western parts and Northwest of India depart from this neat little station. Dadar, Bandra, Andheri and Borivli are the city station halts for some trunk trains.
The trains to the central , eastern and southern parts of India leave from CST, Dadar or Kurla. Besides the long distance routes, the excellent suburban electric railway is the lifeline of Mumbai.
Road: Being a narrow island there are ony three or four entrances by road to Mumbai--the main being from the east across the Thana creek from Navi Mumbai (Pune highway) and an older one from North Thana creek (connecting to Nasik highway) . From the North one can enter Mumbai across the Vasai creek too. (Ahmedabad highway).
Ship: The port of Mumbai is in the southern area. Various docks handle passenger ships but busy travellers are unlikely to use this mode. Ferry services to the mainland (Alibag) are crowded but quite popular. Again this is unlikely to figure in plans of relocators.
Road: Mumbai has probably the best roads in the country. Traffic is fast and the people follow traffic rules. During peak hours traffic jams are common in a few bottlenecks in the city proper. Cars and taxis are common. The taxis usually sport an indication on their sides showing their registered areas, east or west. They are entitled to refuse trips at night far way from their registered places. In the suburbs autorickshaws are available. Rates for taxis are fixed, Rs.11 for the first km and Rs.1.50 thereafter. Autorickshaws and cabs... After midnight the rates increase by 25%.
By far the commonest mode of road transport is by bus. The electricity company runs buses all over Mumbai. In general, queues are enforced. Express buses and special deluxe air conditioned buses also are available.
Because of the distances involved in commuting, motorcycles and scooters are favoured only by people constantly on the move, like salespersons or those fortunate enough to live and work in the suburbs. Except during the monsoons, Hovercraft services run between the business district and remote suburbs. Overall, ferry transport is lacking in Mumbai, unlike in large coastal cities elsewhere in the world.
Rail: Mumbai is basically aligned in a narrow north-south direction and the suburban railway stations are strung out along these axes. The trains are fast but terribly overcrowded. The western side of the city is served by the Western railway with its terminus at Churchgate and the suburban trains run up to Virar. Some of the important stations are Dadar, Bandra, Andheri and Borivli.
Crossovers to other railway networks is possible at a few junctions like Dadar. The Central railway suburban lines run all the way from CST (Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus, earlier VT) to Karjat and Kasara deep into the mainland. The important junctions are Dadar, Kurla, Thane, and Kalyan. A smaller branch line called the Harbour branch connects CST to Bandra on the Western railway, and Mankhurd to New Mumbaiacross the Thane creek.
Since trains are fast and distances are large there is no practical alternative to suburban train travel especially for those who live in the suburbs and have to commute to work. Trains are inevitably overcrowded, even the first class compartments. Until one gets used to the finer points of this travel, it can be nightmarish.
Mumbai has an equable and humid climate. The average temperature throughout the year hovers around 28 degree celsius. Being a coastal area, Mumbai has high humidity levels of upto 98 %, which makes it a sticky and sweaty place to live in.
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