If you are planning solo trip to Himachal, you might be having trouble deciding whether to take a flight or train for your trip. But do not worry I’ve come up a with a detailed comparison post on flight versus train for a solo trip to Himachal.
For this blog, I have chosen key parameters like cost, comfort, time, etc that will help decide whether to choose flight or train for Himachal solo trip.
Flight Versus Train For a Solo Trip to Himachal
Before starting, I would like to clarify a few things.
- There are no direct flights to Himachal from the major cities of India except for Delhi and Chandigarh.
- The flights from Chandigarh To Himachal have terrible frequency and are quite expensive.
- There is negligible rail infrastructure in Himachal, hence there are no long distance trains coming to Himachal
The most of optimal way to reach Himachal is usually by train or flight to Delhi or Chandigarh and then taking a bus or cab to your destination. With these things out of the way lets get started.
By the way, if you are going to Himachal for the first time, here is a comprehensive packing list to Himachal for a hassle trip. I am sure it will be quite useful
Flight Vs Train For A Solo Trip To Himachal – Time Taken To Reach
As explained earlier no matter whether you go by flight or train you have to starting from Delhi or Chandigarh is your best to reach Himachal.
Flights are obviously faster than trains. So, if you have less days off or want to reach Himachal quickly then ensure that you take a flight.
You can reach Delhi or Chandigarh from the major cities of India like Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad in less than 3 hours.
While the train will take you at least 20 hours or more depending from which major city of India you are coming from. Like It takes around 22 hours for me to reach Delhi from Mumbai by normal express trains.
People from south and Northeast will take even more time to reach Delhi or Chandigarh. Obviously people from cities closer to Delhi like Jaipur will take far less time. But you get the point, Flights tend to take far lesser time than trains.
For instance to reach Manali, If I take a normal express train from Mumbai, It takes around 22 hours to reach Delhi and then another 14 hours to reach Manali. So it almost takes a couple of days for me to reach Manali from Mumbai if I go by train.
But If I take a flight to Delhi, I reach in a couple hours from Mumbai and in another 14 hours, I reach Manali. So taking a flight to Himachal will save you almost a day if you are coming from cities far away from Delhi.
There are flights to Kullu and Dharamshala from Chandigarh if you want to save even more time, but they tend to be very expensive. Also a tip, try to reach Delhi by Afternoon if you are relying on public transport to Himachal.
Is Flight Better Or Train For A Solo Trip To Himachal – In Terms Of Cost
Cost is another important aspect when choosing between flight versus train for a solo trip to Himachal. Flights tend be quite expensive when compared to Sleeper class or 3rd Tier Ac in trains.
So if you are budget traveler, you should certainly choose train over flights. Sleeper class in train is quite cheaper than flights. Even 3rd tier AC is cheaper than flights. 2nd Tier Ac, 1 Tier Ac, Rajdhani’s prices are usually on par with flights.
I’ll give you an example to prove my point. It costs me around Rs 700 in sleeper calss if I go by normal express train to Delhi from Mumbai like Paschim express or Golden temple. 3rd Tier AC costs me around Rs 1700.
A one-way flight to Delhi from Mumbai will cost me around at least 2000- 2500 if I book a couple of months in advance. Likewise, you can also check and compare the prices and train will always be cheaper.
So the best advice I’ll give is to travel by Train in sleeper class to Delhi or Chandigarh if you are traveling on a budget and can spare a couple of days for your solo trip to Himachal.
To book and check the for trains to Delhi and Chandigarh, you can visit IRCTC website or use IRCTC app.
To check and book prices of flights to Delhi and Chandigarh there several websites and apps that help with this. But I personally use Skyscanner as it compares the price from several other websites and gives you the cheapest option.
By the way, if you are looking on how to visit Spiti on a budget, here is a detailed blog about the same
Flight Or Train For Solo Himachal Trip – In Terms Of Comfort
When it comes to the comfort, I believe that train journey although longer is quite comfortable to be honest.
When it comes to flights you sometimes have to book them in the wee hours in order get a lower price. Especially if you are from tier 2 cities which does not frequent flights to the capital.
Instead if you travel by train, the journey will be much more comfortable and less tiring as you can get good overnight rest.
Although you reach quickly when you take a flight but it tends to be more hectic. You’ll find yourself very tired on the day when reach your destination due to non-stop traveling.
So if you are looking for comfort and don’t mind sparing a couple of more days for your trip, You should definitely chose train over flights for your solo trip to Himachal Pradesh.
If you are looking for some tips on traveling alone in Himachal, here is exactly what you need. I hope you find value in it.
Flight Vs Train For A Solo Trip To – In Terms Frequency
Frequency of flights or Train to Delhi or Chandigarh will really depend from city you are coming from in India.
Metro cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata have good frequency for both trains and flights throughout the day to Delhi and Chandigarh.
But as far metro cities are concerned I think flights are more frequent to Delhi than Trains. This is what I have personally observed.
For instance when it comes to Mumbai, there are more than 30 flights each to Delhi and around flights to Chandigarh. So there are plenty to be honest.
But when it comes to trains, currently there are around 10-15 Daily trains to Delhi while there is only 1 daily train to Chandigarh from Mumbai.
Likewise you can also compare the frequency of flights and trains to Delhi from your town or city and then choose whichever fits your budget and is convenient to you.
But overall from every metro cities flights to Delhi will be far more than Trains.
If you like to escape the clamour of touristy places, here are 27 unexplored places near Kullu Manali that you’ll surely fall in with.
Flight Versus Train For Solo Trip To Himachal – Responsible travel
If you are someone who is a very conscious traveler and always on a lookout to travel responsibly, then I would say you must travel by Train on your solo trip.
Flights although help you reach faster and save time but also increase your carbon footprint drastically. While if you travel by train your carbon footprint is almost negligible.
Of course, I can understand the not everybody has all the time in the world and people are struggling to get leaves from their work.
But if you are someone who can spare a couple of days more and care about the environment, you can surely choose flight over train for your solo trip to Himachal.
I personally avoid to take flights these days as I travel for longer periods and a couple of days here and there doesn’t matter to me much.
In case you want to do your bit for the environment, here 12 ways you can travel responsibly in Himachal.
Should You Choose Flight Over Train For Solo Trip To Himachal When It Comes To Safety ?
As far as safety is concerned both train or flight travel is quite safe. While survival rate when a plane crashes is almost negligible but accidents are very very rare.
Although rail accidents have drastically reduced over the years, but accidents are far more frequent than flights. But again your chances of surviving a train accident is far far better than a airplane crash.
Crimes like Theft although rare are not uncommon in trains. Whereas I personally think that you are more safer in flights when it comes to crimes being committed.
Personally having travelled both by trains and flights, I can safely say that both are quite safe. And I have had hassle free trips to Himachal no matter I traveled by train or flight.
If you are opting for homestays in Himachal, here is detailed blog on how safe homestays are for travelers in Himachal Pradesh.
Even though sleeper classes in train are safe, choose AC compartments if you are worried about your safety. The tend to be a lot safer and way fewer people board and de board when compared to sleeper class compartments.
To conclude I was able to help you in choosing flight or train for your solo trip to Himachal. If budget is not your constraint and you have lesser days to spare for your trip go for flights.
If you are budget traveler you can spare a couple days more for your trip, you can go for trains. In case you have queries, please drop them in the comments below.