I have just heard of this new route starting 11/1. Does anyone know of any details. I did read that flight would be about 16 hours. OUCH. Anyone know of flight times? Details of planes? We fly out of Atlanta so I don't know if flying the 2 hours to NY and then 16 hours to Mumbai would make it worth it vs. the ATL -FRA then FRA - BOM. Although it would be easy to go up to NY the day before, visit friends, have a good nights sleep in same time zone and then make one brutal push all the way to India.

No specific travel plans yet just starting to think about the next trip.

Make that Non-stop! Sorry.....

you might also try to look at continental,,, i think they started a new route earlier this year?? and maybe it is from chicago...

I don't know about the flight, but let me just say a little about Mumbai, as I travel there about twice a month, and am in fact writing this from the JW Marriott in Mumbia. There is not a lot here for the tourist, and the traffic is just awful, so what little there is to see can be impossible to see at times. It can and does take literally hours to get from one part of town to another. This is a city of 20 million people and the infrastrucure is just about giving out.

The town is very spread out, and tourist spots are few. From the airport to the sort of main tourist area of town (Marine Drive) will take you 2 hours during the day if you are very lucky, and can easily take 3. It took me 2.5 hours today to go 18 miles from my hotel to this area because of bad traffic.

I mention this because I would not recommend Mumbai for a few days as a tourist in favour of cutting out a place like Delhi which has a lot more to see. Mumbi has good air connections to places in India, and is a good starting point for south India (where almost no one on this board goes), and to Goa. You can also get to Jaipur and Jodphur, and can get easily to Delhi, there are almost hourly shuttles. However, I would really not recco it as a tourist destination.

There are many hotels right at the international airport if you take a flight into Mumbai and need to stay overnight to go out the next day for another destination in India. It is not necessary to go into Mumbai itself. The domestic airport is a few miles away from the international one, and is one of the newest and nicest in India.

thanks cicc. for this candid and interesting review

Trip to India is to visit family so pros and cons of Mumbai as tourist destination are irrelevant.

cicc...i appreciated it!!

An interesting observation but I find Mumbai stimulating and fascinating - even the delays and traffic chaos are for me part of the experience, even for a short trip. Colaba and environs are endlessly fascinating - great food, great shopping, intriguing people, and nothing like the hassle of Agra around the key tourist sites. It's much easier to blend in in Mumbai. That said, I adore Delhi too, and the wonderful contrast between New Delhi and Old is always exciting. Yes, do the long haul. We Australians can't go anywhere without long hauling it, and the second you touch down, the misery is all behind you!

I second that PAUL! I too love, love love Bombay/MUMBAI, one of my favorite Indian ciites and find it fascianting and wonderful!

It is exciting, dynamic, colorful, and filled with bustling markets, beautiufl sea views, and a good feel. PLUS i find the people of the city very friendly and even with great sense of humor and incredibly helpful too.. IT is a very differnt city than Delhi, and certainly interesting to see!

I am actually based in Delhi, and although am fond enough of Delhi and Delhi surely holds much more of the traditional tourist attractions as the sights and the history, Bombay holds its own fascination. i mean, a tropical INDIAn city by the sea, bustling with energy, great food, some interesting temples and mosques, and just engaging people!

eVERYTIME i go to Bombay i leave with a good feeling about the place, and always entertain the thought of shifting my INDIA base from Delhi to Bombay..maybe this year, god willing!