Things to Do at Hyderabad Airport

Hyderabad airport is the easy one. Not the biggest, not the prettiest, but the one where you are least likely to get burnt by an airport's layout, because Rajiv Gandhi International (HYD) is a single integrated terminal. Domestic and international sit under one roof, split into an east pier and a west pier. There is no second building, no shuttle bus, no 6 km road transfer.

That one fact changes what a layover here is worth. At Delhi or Mumbai, a terminal change eats three hours. At Hyderabad your worst case is a 12 to 15 minute walk from one end of the pier system to the other.

One terminal, and what it means for your connection

The building works in levels rather than terminals.

• Level E, departures. Check-in, self bag drop, DigiYatra e-gates, security, the lounges, and the gates along both piers.
• Level D, arrivals. Baggage belts, immigration and customs, the greeter area, Transit by Encalm, and a Cafe Niloufer.
• Level C, ground. The landside plaza: buses, app cabs, the prepaid taxi counter, JPOD, baggage storage, and a run of 24 hour food.

Security here typically runs about 10 minutes, and around 24 at peak, which is the fastest of the big Indian metros. Our published minimum connections for Hyderabad are 40 minutes domestic and 60 minutes international, and unlike at Delhi or Mumbai those are honest numbers rather than a best case that assumes nothing goes wrong.

How connections actually work:

• Domestic to domestic, one ticket. Follow the domestic transfers signs. A boarding pass check, a security screen, up to Level E. You never touch the public hall.
• Domestic to international, one ticket. The international transfers corridor takes you through immigration and an international security check without going landside.
• International to domestic. This is the long one, and it is not Hyderabad's fault. Indian rules require you to clear immigration, collect your checked bags, clear customs and re-check them for the domestic leg, even when the tag names your final Indian city. Budget properly for it.
• Two separate tickets. You are collecting bags and checking in again from the public hall whatever the route. Allow two hours.

Where to eat at Hyderabad airport

Our directory lists 64 places to eat at HYD. Most of the international names are the same ones at every airport on earth. The reason to eat here is the local list, which is unusually good and which almost no airport guide bothers with. These photographs are of the actual outlets.

Cafe Niloufer (Level D arrivals, and airside)

The one to make time for. Irani chai and Osmania biscuits, from the Lakdikapul institution, and it trades on Level D arrivals as well as airside, so it works whether you are coming or going.

Ram Ki Bandi (landside, on the plaza)

The late-night dosa cart from Nampally, at an airport. It is landside, so you can eat there without a boarding pass, which makes it the best reason in India to arrive early for a flight.

Pista House (international side)

The haleem name, on the international side. If you have never had Hyderabadi haleem, this is a reasonable place to fix that.

Nizami Dawaat (landside)

Hyderabadi biryani and kebabs, landside, so again no boarding pass needed. The obvious answer if you are killing time before a night flight.

Ulava Charu

Andhra food, named after the horse gram broth it is known for. Distinct from the Hyderabadi side of the menu everywhere else in this terminal.

Hyderabad Streat

The street food, done properly and indoors. Good for grazing rather than a sit-down meal.

Minerva Coffee Shop and Concu

Minerva for all-day South Indian, Concu for patisserie and desserts. Between them they cover breakfast at 5am and the thing you want at 11pm.

The rest

Maiyas for Karnataka vegetarian, Cream Stone for ice cream, Millet Marvels if you want something that will not sit on you for eleven hours, and Irani Cafe, Chaayos, Blue Tokai and Third Wave Coffee for the caffeine spectrum. Farzi Cafe, Made in Punjab and The Martini Bar cover the sit-down-with-a-drink end.

The full HYD restaurant list has the location for each one.

What to buy at Hyderabad airport

68 shops, and the same rule applies: the interesting ones are Hyderabadi.

Almond House

Sweets and dry fruit, and the correct thing to carry home from this city. If you buy one thing at this airport, buy this.

Karachi Bakery

The fruit biscuits, which are the other thing Hyderabad is known for and which travel better than almost anything else here.

G. Pulla Reddy and Dadu's

Mithai from the 1948 original at G. Pulla Reddy, and sweets and namkeen at Dadu's. Both are local names rather than national chains.

Krishna Pearls

Pearls matter here in a way they would not at another airport: Hyderabad is the pearl city. Worth a look even if you are not buying.

Crafts Lane and Tribe Amrapali

Crafts Lane for Telangana craft and gifting, Tribe Amrapali for silver. Both are better souvenirs than a fridge magnet.

Indian labels worth the detour

Fabindia, Biba, Neeru's, Kama Ayurveda, Forest Essentials, W and Go Colors, all hard to buy abroad and all considerably cheaper here than they are outside India. The international wall of Chanel, Michael Kors, Brooks Brothers, Porsche Design, Swarovski and Sunglass Hut is there if you want it, and is the same wall as everywhere else.

Hyderabad Duty Free (international side)

Coming into India, customs allows an arriving passenger a free allowance of ₹50,000, which includes up to 2 litres of alcohol and 100 cigarettes, 25 cigars or 125g of tobacco.

Browse the full HYD shop directory before you fly.

Lounges, sleep pods and showers

Encalm runs the departure lounges on both the domestic and international sides. Access is the usual Indian mess: complimentary visits on bank cards increasingly depend on what you spent last quarter, so check your own bank's app rather than a blog. Walk-in passes are sold at the door. A shower inside the lounge is generally a separate charge even when your entry is free.

Three places to actually lie down, which is two more than most Indian airports:

• JPOD, landside on Level C near the car park, is a capsule hotel with 51 pods including a ladies-only block and private pods. Book by the hour.
• SleepIn by Aviserv is airside at international departures, by Gate 25B. Sound-dampened pods, privacy doors, charging points. This is the one to use on a long international connection, because you do not have to clear immigration to reach it.
• Transit by Encalm is a proper hotel, landside on Level D arrivals next to Cafe Niloufer, with rooms and suites, nap and shower rooms, and a spa. You need a ticket, boarding pass and photo ID to get in.

The distinction that matters: JPOD and Transit by Encalm are landside. If you are an international transit passenger who has not cleared Indian immigration, SleepIn is your only option.

Getting from Hyderabad airport into the city

Hyderabad is the one big Indian metro city with no rail link to its airport, and there will not be one soon. The Raidurg to airport express alignment was dropped, and the airport corridor now planned under Metro Phase 2 runs Nagole to Shamshabad. It has no opening date. Anything you read about catching the metro from Mindspace is describing a line that was never built.

What saves it is the road. The airport sits on the Outer Ring Road, an access-controlled expressway, so the drive is fast and predictable in a way that Indian airport runs generally are not. HITEC City and Gachibowli are usually 30 to 40 minutes. Central Hyderabad and the Old City take longer, because the ORR gets you most of the way and then city traffic takes over.

The Pushpak is the TGSRTC airport coach and the cheap way in. It runs 24 hours, roughly every 30 minutes, on routes including Secunderabad and one that covers Gachibowli, Kothaguda, HITEC City and JNTU. Fares run about ₹100 to ₹300. Pick-up is at the car park area.

App cabs and prepaid taxis both work from Level C.

Should you leave on a layover? Domestic to domestic, four hours or more, yes, if you are going somewhere on the ORR side. Under four hours, no: you will spend it in the car. International transit passengers cannot leave without an Indian visa, and India has no visa-free transit sightseeing for most nationalities. Our guide to leaving the airport during a layover has the general rules.

The go-kart track outside the terminal

This is the one nobody writes about. There is a go-karting circuit at the airport, landside, near the car park: Kartainment, with a 900 metre competition track and a 600 metre recreational one, that has hosted national championship rounds.

It is not a joke facility bolted onto a terminal. If you are dropping someone off, killing four hours before a night flight, or travelling with a teenager who has run out of patience, it is the most interesting thing within walking distance of an Indian airport terminal. Check their hours and book ahead rather than turning up.

What to do on a 2, 4 or 8 hour layover

Under an hour, connecting. Walk it. HYD is small enough that this is fine, and the piers are the walk.

Two hours. Cafe Niloufer, then the sweets. Buy Almond House or Karachi Bakery last so it is not warm in your bag all day.

Three to four hours. Add a lounge or an hour in a pod. If you are landside, eat at Ram Ki Bandi rather than anything airside.

Overnight. JPOD if you want cheap, Transit by Encalm if you want a bed and a shower and a door.

Six hours or more, domestic, with a visa-free situation. HITEC City and back is genuinely doable on the ORR. Nothing in the Old City is.

Practical tips before you fly

• DigiYatra works here for domestic flights and the e-gates are well signed. Register before you arrive.
• The airport is 30 km from the city. Leaving your hotel two hours before a domestic flight is not paranoid at Hyderabad, it is correct.
• Landside food is open 24 hours on the plaza, which is useful on a 4am departure when the airside outlets are still shuttered.
• HYD is expanding. GMR has announced a multi-year build to take the airport well past its current capacity, with a new terminal in planning. Expect construction hoardings, not disruption, for now.
• The lounges are the weak spot. They fill up on the evening international bank, and card access rules keep changing. Have a backup plan.