Pre-book your Chennai International Airport transfer

Chennai moves on three everyday systems: the metro, the suburban railway, and the city buses. They cover a long coastal city, from the northern neighbourhoods through George Town and Egmore to Guindy, Saidapet and Tambaram. For a traveller with a small bag and a hotel near a station, they are a genuine way across town. For a family landing with suitcases, they are a chain of walks, platforms and one more ride at the end.

Chennai International Airport has its own station on the Chennai Metro Blue Line, run by Chennai Metro Rail Limited. The airport’s own page describes a free inter-terminal shuttle toward that station, and CMRL describes a walkalator and a buggy between the metro and the terminals. CMRL also lists Tirusulam suburban station about 200 metres away, reached on foot through the subway. The Blue Line runs from the airport through Meenambakkam, Alandur, Guindy, Saidapet and on toward Chennai Central and Washermenpet. A second metro service runs between the airport and Chennai Central by way of Egmore and the CMBT bus terminal. The Green Line runs between Chennai Central and St Thomas Mount. Trains do not cover the whole night, and the published timetable is the one to trust on the day you travel.

The suburban railway is the older spine of the city. Tirusulam sits on the line that runs between Chennai Beach and Tambaram, so a local train can carry you through Guindy, Saidapet, Mambalam and Egmore without entering the metro. It is cheap and frequent in the daytime. It is also a crowded commuter railway, with stairs and little room for a large suitcase. Long-distance trains use Dr MGR Chennai Central and Chennai Egmore, which are metro and suburban hubs of their own, not stops inside the airport.

Metropolitan Transport Corporation buses fill the gaps, including routes that serve the airport. Koyambedu’s CMBT is the city’s main intercity bus terminal, and the metro already stops there, so a coach to another Tamil Nadu town usually begins with a ride into Koyambedu rather than a ride straight from the kerb at the terminal. None of these is a door-to-door service. A hotel in T Nagar, a house in Adyar, or a late arrival still ends with a road journey the rail line does not finish.

Hours, stops and fares on public transport are set by the operator and they change. What is written here is the shape of the network, not a live timetable. Check the operator on the day you travel.

Booking the transfer with Buddy on Move is the reliable way through Chennai International Airport, because the arrangements are finished before you land. You are not comparing a rank of cars at the kerb, and you are not guessing a meter. On this page you set the airport and the other stop, a hotel, a home or an address, then the date, the time and the vehicle. The fare shown is the full price for that ride. Checkout does not add a booking fee, and the amount stays the same after you pay. If you need the return as well, you add it with its own time and you still see one total before any payment.

After you pay, Buddy arranges a driver for that transfer. The meeting place at the airport is the arrivals meeting point. This is not a hunt for a name on a scrap of paper. The driver's name, phone and vehicle appear on the trip before pickup, so you know who you are walking toward. The same booking works in the other direction, from your door back to the airport, which is often the early-morning ride public transport is worst at. Add the flight number when the airport is the pickup. Buddy uses it to coordinate if the arrival time changes, and does not follow the flight on a live status feed. The driver waits up to 60 minutes after the scheduled landing.

The booking itself is short on purpose. People and bags, so the vehicle you choose actually fits. A date and a time. A stop you can point to. There is no second negotiation when the car arrives, because the fare was already the fare. If the plan changes, you can cancel up to 24 hours before pickup for a full refund of the transfer fare. The cancellation page is there if you want the conditions in full. An airport pickup in India can be booked for the current time or any later time.

Public transport remains a good choice when you are light on luggage, inside the hours the trains or buses run, and close to a station. Buddy is the easy choice when any of those is untrue: a family, a late flight, a resort off the line, or simply an address you would like to reach without planning three connections. You confirm the fare, you pay, and a driver is arranged for that one ride.