Travel to AyurYoga Eco-Ashram in India
Welcome to India, a developing country, where travel experience can be challenging but exciting! So, be prepared, as a true traveler and adventurer, to go through all the difficulties of visas, airports, flights and finally, a bumpy road journey from the airport to the best yoga ashram in India.
Bangalore International Airport (BLR), Karnataka:
The nearest International Airport, also known as Bengaluru (BLR), is at about 200 km away and it takes about 4 hours drive to our ashram, depending on the traffic. With day time traffic in the city it can take up to 5 hours. Bangalore Airport is well connected with all cities in the world. Most of our students arrive and depart from BLR. We organize airport transfers, which can be shared with other students arriving/departing around the same time.
Mysore Airport (MYQ):
We do have a small airport in Mysore, about 45 minutes drive from the ashram. However, there are limited flights, currently only from Hyderabad and Chennai.
*Please check Google Flights for the most up-to-date flight schedule and tickets.
Calicut Airport (CCJ), Kerala:
The city of Calicut, also known as Kozhikode, is located on the west coast of Kerala. The distance to the Ashram is similar to that of Bangalore, 200 km. However, the driving may take 6 hours or more as the highway goes through Kerala wild forests and mountainous areas (known as Western Ghats).
Kannur (CNN) Airport in Kerala is a new airport, about 5 hours distance to/from Ashram. This can be alternative airport in Kerala, if you are planing to visit before/after the course.
Please note both airports in Kerala cater to budget airlines and the airports can be crowded, comparing to Bangalore, which caters mostly to International airlines.
For booking domestic air tickets within India, please check out: www.ixigo.com
Visa is Mandatory to Land in India
Please be aware that all foreigners must have an Indian Visa to land in any India airport, without which you will be deported back. We recommend our clients to apply for a “Tourist Visa” which is easier to obtain than student visa and medical visa, which require a lot of paper and have restrictions where else you can travel within India.
E-Visa: Citizens belonging to 161 countries are qualified to get E-Visa online, which is valid for 30 days or one year (which allows 90 days duration of stay) from the date of arrival in India. You will have to apply online from the official website: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in Please apply at least two weeks before arriving and also don’t forget to bring a print out of E-Visa confirmation sent by email, which you need to show at the airport.
YTT students: please apply for the one year e-tourist visa, which allows you to stay in India for 90 days. This provides ample time to arrive a few days before and depart a few days after the YTT, without any concern of overstaying the visa. Although the YTT course is officially 28 days, one must account for arriving at least one day before and departing one day after, which is a minimum of 30 days. We regularly see students who have applied for the 30-day E-visa, miscalculate their stay dates and have to go through the headache of applying for an Exit Permit to be able to leave India. This requires a lot of paperwork, dealing with government officials, and paying a fine. This issue can be completely avoided if you obtain a one-year e-visa.
Normal Tourist Visa is granted for about 3 to 6 months for most of the countries. You will have to apply from the Indian Embassy in your country, at least 4 weeks before landing in India. If you apply from a country different than your passport, the processing time can be longer. Please, google for the official website of Indian Embassy in your country for complete details.
When you receive your passport back with Visa, please read the Indian Visa carefully – You might see 90/180 day visa, valid from the date of issue (not arrival date) but a small print below says you can stay only 45/60/90/180 days in each visit. It is serious offense to overstay visa duration in India and bureaucracy in India can make a strong person cry like a baby, other than paying penalties and loosing flights.
Airport Taxi Pick up and Drop
We organize safe Airport Transfers with known drivers to pick up /drop back the students from/to Airport at anytime of the day or night. As most of our students arrive one or two days before the course starts, we will arrange a single car to accommodate two/three students in order to reduce the cost of taxis and also nice to have a company on a long ride of 4/5 hours. In case you arrive/depart at odd time and alone, we can also recommend a hotel closer to the airport, to enable you to share a taxi with other guests.
This part of India is perfectly safe for single women travelers. Our designated driver will be standing at the airport exit gate with a placard showing both your name and our ashram name. We will also email you at least four phone numbers to reach us in case of delayed or no-show driver at the airport or any other problems.
Estimated Cost for Taxis
| From | Car | Distance | Drive | INR | USD | Euro |
| Mysore | Small | 40 km | 1 hour | Rs. 1500 | $25 | €20 |
| Mysore | SUV | 40 km | 1 hour | Rs. 2000 | $30 | €25 |
| Bangalore | Small | 200 km | 4 -5 hours | Rs. 5500 | $70 | €60 |
| Bangalore | SUV | 200 km | 4 -5 hours | Rs. 8000 | $90 | €80 |
| Calicut/ Kannur | Small | 200 km | 5 – 6 hours | Rs. 7000 | $70 | €60 |
| Calicut/ Kannu | SUV | 200 km | 5 – 6 hours | Rs. 8000 | $90 | €80 |
USD and Euro rates given above are only for your estimation. All taxi payments are billed in Indian Rupees.
The above mentioned costs are per car, which can be shared with other guests to reduce the prices.
The actual taxi cost can change slightly every month, as the fuel prices and tax rates in India change almost every week. During 2021, the cost of fuel increase from Rs. 70 to Rs.100+ so we are expecting the cost of taxis to go up in 2022.
The airport parking charges are beared by the passenger, if the taxi has to wait in the airport parking lot for more than one hour waiting. Furthermore, if you don’t update us with any flight delays or cancellations at least five hours before, you will have to pay the taxi charges or any extra waiting hours for airport parking.
Please note AyurYoga Eco-Ashram doesn’t own or operate any taxis nor does take any commission out of your taxi payments. All taxis are organized through third party taxi companies and we are only helping with coordinating between you and these taxi companies to ensure that the drivers are safe and know our remote location in the countryside.
We request all our guests to collect some Indian Rupees for taxi payment from ATM (money machines) outside the airport. You can pay the taxi payment to our ashram manager after arriving here. The taxi drivers we organize don’t expect any tips, however if you want to tip, the suggested amount is Rs. 100 to Rs200/passenger. At the end of each taxi trip, please inform our manager about your experience with the car and drivers, as we want to find the best quality cars and drivers for our guests.
The money exchange counters in airports charge extra taxes and the exchange rate can be lower than what you would get from the market rates. For changing more than $100, we recommend to visit any money exchange place in Mysore. Some of the bank agent comes to our ashram once every two weeks to change money for our guests.
Arriving by Bus from Bangalore Airport:
There are direct buses from Bangalore Airport to Mysore, 4 hours/Rs. 800 ($10) at certain times: Bangalore Airport FlyBus to Mysore . From Mysore to our ashram, we can organize a taxi for Rs. 1500 ($25)/one hour. You will have to call us by phone when you get on the bus to Mysore to confirm your bus number and arrival time at Mysore.
If you are coming from Bangalore City, please take a bus to Mysore from the Satellite Bus station. The bus journey is not that comfortable. We recommend to travel by train from Bangalore City Central station to Mysore: Indian Railways
From Other Parts of India
There are buses and trains available to Mysore from other parts of South India. If you email us from where you want to come, we can suggest you the best way to reach us.
Our Location in Google Maps: Ayur Yoga Eco-Ashram, India
Flight Tickets to India
Best time to buy flight tickets to India is at least 2/3 months before arrival. The cost of the flights can be expensive in the last few weeks. We often get many transfers/cancellations from guests who did not purchase their ticket prior to visa delivery and realize that the flights are too expensive in the last minute. So, we suggest to buy the flights tickets at least four to eight weeks ahead. There is no reason to wait for visa before buying flights, as there is no reason reject a tourist visa, if you are applying at least 30 days before the arrival date. E-Visa can be applied even one week before arrival (please account the embassy holidays).
Our favourite websites for checking flights:
https://www.google.com/flights/
https://www.momondo.co.uk/
https://www.hipmunk.com
https://www.travelpirates.com/booking/flights
For Domestic Flights within India
https://www.ixigo.com/
https://www.yatra.com/
https://www.cleartrip.com/
You may want to read How to Beat Jet Lag (The Ultimate Guide)
Have a safe journey and feel free to email us for any questions for travel in India before or after your retreat with us. We will be happy to share and give you recommendations.