Mumbai airport and Mumbai

[baffledmum]

Anyone have any advice / tips on Mumbai airport and Mumbai / Goa for me? Am travelling to India shortly with a 5 year old & am not completely sure of what to expect.

Hi baffled, we are thinking of going to Mumbai either this year or next so will watch this thread with interest.

Sorry to hijack but what immunisations did you give your 5 year old?

I transited through Mumbai to Goa in early December.

Which airline are you travelling with??????

As it does make a difference to how easy your transfer is......

It's not too tricky (at least by indian airport standards!!!), but there is very little for a 5 yo to do in Mumbai airport from what I could see.

You will need to change some money ASAP in the transit lounge as all of the food outlets in the domestic transit lounges only take rupees (or sterling at an absolutely exorbitant rate)

Coming back, things are much nicer. There are about 6 or 7 food outlets in international transfers, plus a couple of massage bars. It may be worth upgrading to a business class lounge if you have a long transit time - the Kingfisher lounge is nice and opens very early in the morning.

Where are you staying in Goa? Have you organised a transfer from Dabolim to Goa?

I would recommend having snacks/drinks on hand for your child. There isn't much available, from memory, and arrivals tend to be in the middle of the night, so it might not be open anyway. Definitely a good idea to have some rupees on you, if possible. Small change is always useful when arriving to tip porters etc. (and there's usually someone wanting to carry your bags, although you can say no!).It doesn't have to be much, but 20/30/50 rupees or so is always appreciated.
I have travelled to India several times with my child and have never had any specific immunisations. They say Goa is malarial, but we've never taken precautions other than the usual mosquito repellent and screens/nets in your room.
Enjoy! Goa is lovely.

I would recommend having snacks/drinks on hand for your child. There isn't much available, from memory, and arrivals tend to be in the middle of the night, so it might not be open anyway. Definitely a good idea to have some rupees on you, if possible. Small change is always useful when arriving to tip porters etc. (and there's usually someone wanting to carry your bags, although you can say no!).It doesn't have to be much, but 20/30/50 rupees or so is always appreciated.
I have travelled to India several times with my child and have never had any specific immunisations. They say Goa is malarial, but we've never taken precautions other than the usual mosquito repellent and screens/nets in your room.
Enjoy! Goa is lovely.

Are you transferring between the international and the domestic airports in Mumbai? If you are there is a frequent shuttle bus between the two, or it is possible to get a taxi but that isn't necessarily quicker or easier than the bus.

The international airport has more food outlets and there is pizza and the like for your DC. But as said above, best to have some rupees on you as although they do have card facilities, in practice the machines didn't work and they wouldn't accept ours.

In the domestic airport, there is much less choice food wise, with just one or two cafe type places that aren't as child friendly so may be an idea to have snacks.

Are you going into Mumbai at all?