Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport, as it is now known, is the biggest air hub in the whole of India for both international and domestic flights. Nearly 25 million passengers pass through the airport’s four terminals every year, about one-third of them on international flights. The airport is served by more than 40 international carriers, along with a host of international and domestic airlines such as Air India and Jet Airways.

National carrier Air India, which flies internationally from Terminal 2C, runs the most connections to destinations worldwide, including London, Los Angeles, Nairobi and Osaka. The airline also flies regularly to numerous destinations in the Middle East such as Muscat, Kuwait and Riyadh. South America is the only inhabited continent that does not enjoy direct flights to Mumbai, with Qantas, the Australian national flag carrier, connecting to Sydney and Darwin from here. All overseas flights leave from the adjacent international terminals 2A and 2C.

Facilities in the terminals are very good as you would expect from an airport largely built less than a decade ago; Terminal 2C was only opened in 1999. In October 2006 a further modernisation drive began, aimed at streamlining airport services and infrastructure with purpose of adding capacity to receive up to 40 million passengers by 2010.

The Mumbai airport is located 28kms from the centre of the city, meaning most travellers take a taxi or complimentary shuttle bus or car laid on by the high-end hotels. If you’re travelling by the former, you will need to buy a prepaid ticket at the appropriate counter at the exit of the arrivals hall.

Mumbai is a highly congested city in which unnecessary travel should be avoided at peak times, namely the weekday rush hours up to 09:00, and around 18:00. Do not under estimate how long it can take to cover large distances here.

Thankfully, taxis are plentiful and relatively cheap, if a little on the rundown side. Most run on metres, including the commonly seen yellow-and-black taxis. The metre does not display your fare and is instead used to interpret some elaborate code which eventually comes up with the amount to be paid, usually in writing according to a printed sheet of paper.

Auto-rickshaws are also available but only in certain areas of the central and western suburbs – they are banned everywhere else. Again the fares on the meter don’t add up to your fee. Multiply the reading by about 10 and you usually get the fare about right.

The bus network in Mumbai is extensive but difficult to navigate for the uninitiated. Buses are cheap but tightly packed and run from 05:00 until midnight for those brave enough. Ferries and inner city trains are useful for those out-of-the-way places; otherwise get around on foot but don’t forget to use plenty of powerful sunscreen