Air:
The closest airport is in Delhi (150 km, 3½ hrs.)
Train:
There is no long-distance train station in Vrindavana. The closest major station is in Mathura, about 14 km away or a half-hour taxi ride. There is a passenger train between Mathura and Vrindavana.
Bus:
Buses to Vrindavana or Mathura from Delhi depart from either the Interstate Bus Terminal near Kashmiri Gate in Old Delhi, or from the Ashram bus stop in the southeast part of Delhi. There are few direct buses from Delhi to Vrindavana. Most go to Mathura. If you take the Mathura bus, you get off at Chatikara Road and get a motor rickshaw to Vrindavana.
There are buses to Delhi that you can get at the Vrindavan bus stand or in front of the ISKCON Temple at 5, 7, and 9 am, and 12 noon, 2.30, and 4 pm. If you get the bus in front of the temple there is a good chance you will not get a seat (except maybe the 5 am bus). So you could get a rickshaw to the Vrindavana bus stand (Rs 15) and guarantee yourself a seat.
Buses to Vrindavan or Mathura from Delhi depart from either the Interstate Bus Terminal near Kashmiri Gate, in Old Delhi and from the Ashram bus stop in the southeast part of Delhi. Also from the Sarai Kali Khan Inter-State Bus Terminal, two blocks east of Nizamuddin railway station in southeast Delhi, buses depart to Agra (5 hr, every 30-min, Rs 95) and to Mathura (3½ hr, every 2 hr, Rs 65).
The Ashram bus stand is in the southeast part of Delhi, 30 minutes closer to Vrindavana than the Interstate Bus Terminal by Kashmiri Gate (Old Delhi). The problem with getting the Vrindavana or Mathura bus here is the signs on the buses are in Hindi, and there is a good chance there will be standing room only when you first get on the bus. If you cannot read Hindi, you can ask people at the bus stand if they are going to Mathura. When you find someone, follow them closely and get on the same bus they get on, while at the same time confirming with other passengers that the bus is going to Mathura (Vrindavana).
There are a few direct buses from Delhi to Vrindavan, but most of the buses go to Mathura (every half-hour). If you take the Mathura bus, you get down at Chatikara Road and from there get a motor-rickshaw or a very crowded tempo. A tempo is a big motor rickshaw that picks up passengers like a bus. You should ask the conductor of the bus to inform you when you reach Chatikara Road, or ask a few passengers to help you get off at the correct place. I have always found the conductors on buses to be helpful. After dark it may be difficult to get a rickshaw at Chatikara Road. If you miss this stop, you can get down at Mathura and pay Rs 70 for a motor rickshaw to the ISKCON Temple or take a tempo for Rs 5 to Vrindavana. After 8 pm, it is best to get off the bus in Mathura and get local transportation to Vrindavan.
There is a direct bus to Jaipur at 5.45 am from the Vrindavan bus stand. You can also get buses to Agra (1 hr). There is an overnight bus, with thin seats, that goes to Haridwar at around 8 pm. To be decently comfortable you could book two seats for this bus in advance, at the bus stand. The bus stand is about a twenty-minute cycle rickshaw ride from the ISKCON Temple (Rs 15).
There are many buses to Haridwar, Jaipur, Agra, and Delhi that depart from the two bus stands in Mathura.
A cheap way to get to Vrindavana from the airport is to take the Delhi Transport Corp. (DTC) bus to the Interstate bus station, and from there take a local bus to Mathura or Vrindavana.
Local buses in India are very uncomfortable and can be very crowded, but they are also cheap. They run more frequently than the trains and they are not usually delayed. The local bus between Delhi and Vrindavana should cost about Rs 65. The buses are usually very run down. Most people would consider the train a more comfortable way to travel .
The buses to Govardhana, Radha Kunda, Delhi and Varsana can be gotten in front of the ISKCON temple. The Braja Darshan departs from the bus station at 8 am and goes to Nandagram, Varsana, Govardhana and Radha Kunda. It is a cheap way to visit all these places.
Bus Times:
Govardhana 6 am, 11.30 am, 2 pm
Radha Kunda 6 am, 11.30 am, 2 pm
Delhi 5 am, 7 am, 9 am, 12 pm, 2 pm, 4 pm
Varsana 8 am, 4.15 pm
Agra 5 am, 7.30 am, 2.45 pm
Haridwar 8 pm (Rs 150)
Jaipur 5.45 am (Rs 100)
Braja Darshan 8 am
Mathura Every half hour from 6 am to 9 pm
Taxi:
Taking a taxi is the most convenient way to reach Vrindavan from Delhi (3½ hr, 150km) if you have a few people in your group, are a family with children, or you just want to be decently comfortable. From the airport it around Rs 1300 (max Rs 1700) direct to Vrindavan. If you take a long-distance taxi you will be charged for both going and returning, as it will be difficult for the taxi driver to get a return fare.
At the “Prepaid Taxi Stands” you will be told Rs 1800, but you should not pay more than Rs 1600, even late at night. Coming by taxi is the fastest and most comfortable way. It will take you about three and a half hours. To get to the ISKCON temple you must turn onto Bhaktivedanta Swami Marg (also called Chatikara Road), which is about 14km before Mathura. There is a sign in the shape of a huge hand pointing the left to the road on which the temple is on. If you have to ask directions and the local persons do not know the ISKCON Temple, ask for the Krishna Balarama Mandir or the Angrasi Mandir (Englishmen’s temple), which everyone knows the temple as.
The standard per kilometre fee for a long distance taxi is Rs 4 for a vehicle that uses diesel fuel, such as an Ambassador, or Rs 5 for a vehicle that uses gas, such as a Maruti van. From Delhi the rate will usually be Rs 5 per km for an Ambassador. From Delhi to Mathura is about 150km. If you take a long-distance taxi, you will be charged for both going and returning or for 300km, as it will be difficult for the taxi driver to get a return fare.
Mathura to Vrindavan:
The easiest transportation to take between Mathura and Vrindavana is a taxi (25 min, Rs 125 to Rs 150 from the Mathura train station and Rs 150 from Vrindavana to the Mathura train station); or a motor rickshaw (30 min, Rs 60 from Mathura and Rs 60 to Rs 80 from Vrindavana).
The motor rickshaws that are right in front of the ISKCON temple usually charge a higher price than rickshaws that are gotten at other places. You can take a bike rickshaw for Rs 6 to where many rickshaw drivers wait for rides near the downtown, on the main road. From here you can usually get a cheaper rickshaw to Mathura. Instead of charging Rs 80 or Rs 90, the rickshaw driver here will charge Rs 60 or Rs 70.
From the railway station there are often very crowded shared motor rickshaws (tempos) that go to Vrindavan (Rs 5). To get a tempo you may have to take a bike-rickshaw to the main road and from there get a tempo. From the main road, tempos depart every few minutes. Tempos also depart from the New Bus Stand and from Krishna Janmasthan. Once you reach Vrindavan you have to take a bike-rickshaw. To the ISKCON temple a rickshaw should cost around Rs 15.
Buses from Mathura to Vrindavan leave infrequently from the Old bus stand. It is usually much more convenient to take one of the regular tempos or an auto-rickshaw.
There is a small train that leaves Mathura Junction at 9 am and 8 pm that goes to Vrindavan, which takes about a half hour. It goes from Vrindavan to Mathura at 9.30 am and 8.30 pm
