Travelling to Latur for the 1st time?  You will certainly have a lot of questions in mind like, how to get there and where to stay. This post will try to address the basics for the 1st time traveller.

Getting There:

Latur, does have an airport which was serviced by Kingfisher airlines trice in a week from Mumbai. But this service was suspended for reasons better known to the airline industry.

By Train:  Latur is well serviced by train both from Mumbai and Hyderabad and several other towns in Maharashtra. For travellers from Mumbai, there is a daily train starting in the night and reaching Latur early morning. The train also has 3 tier, 2 tier and 1st class AC compartments.  For detailed train table refer: Latur Train Timetable or check the official indian railways site at : www.irctc.co.in (one can book tickets online and print it to be produced during travel).

By Bus: Latur is well connected by bus from all the major towns in Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur etc. But if you are looking for luxury buses then make sure you are booking the right bus. Pushkaraj and Vishwa Travels are consistently providing better services from Mumbai. Word of caution: If you are travelling from Hyderabad – The frequency of buses from other states like Karnataka and AP are low and you need to check the bus schedule in advance or you might end up waiting for hours to catch a bus.

By Road: Latur is 120 KM away from Solapur,  325KM from Pune and around 510 KM from Mumbai.  Latur is well connected with roads from all major towns in state.

Wikipedia Link: Latur

Hotels to Stay at Latur:

Hotel Aroma: http://www.aromahotel.co.in/ M.I.D.C

Carnival Resorts , Ambajogai Road  (Website under construction)

Hotel Grand International ( 3 Star) Barshi Road (Website under construction)

Hotel Shantai International    - Near Shivaji Chowk on Ambajogai Road

Hotel B.K http://www.hotelbk.in/ – Ambajogai Road

Mayura Lodge http://www.mayuralodge.com/ – Ambajogai Road

Centurion Hotel Latur http://www.centurionhotels.com/centurion-inn-latur/index.html – Heart of City : Tapadia Market

Hotel Indraprastha http://www.hotelindraprasthalatur.com/ – Heart of City, Ganj Golai

Hotel Parth http://www.hotelparthlatur.com/ – Ambajogai Road

Restaurants to Eat:

Aroma Hotel – Veg + Bar

Only Food Mall – Veg – Ambajogai Road

Gayatri Restaurant – Opp Tapadia Market – Veg

Vada – Ausa Road – Veg

Chitrakut – Ausa Road – Veg

Gandharva Dhaba – Ausa Road – Veg

Grand International – Non Veg + Bar

Digvijay Hotel – Ambajogai Road – Non Veg + Bar

Eden Garden – Barshi Road – Non Veg + Bar

Carnival Resorts – Ambajogai Road – Non Veg + Bar

Meera Hotel – Ausa Road – Non Veg + Bar

MLP Recommendations on Hotels to Stay:

Best Luxury Stay : Grand International Hotel

Best Resort Luxury Stay : Carnival Resorts , Ambajogai Road

Best for Old MIDC Executives: Aroma Hotel (Location wise, Note: Veg + Bar only)

Best Budget Hotels : Hotel BK (Non-veg + Bar), Mayura Lodge (No attached Restaurant)

Mode of travel at Latur

The usual mode of travel at Latur for a common person on the street is the shared auto. A shared auto is with a seating capacity of 3 persons (actually 4 or pushed in) which travels on specific routes. The usual cost fluctuates to Rs.5 to Rs.7 per person for any distance of travel on the specific route inside city.

Government run city buses are also available but the frequency is so low that no body cares to wait for it and takes a shared auto instead. One can also book a auto without any shared passenger, but the cost should be decided in advance to avoid a rip-off.

Taxi’s are also available of all sizes ranging from simple non ac cars to luxury AC sedans.  The most common vehicle booked for luxury ac car is the Tata Innova.

Super Markets

Big Bazaar Mall – Located at Savewadi

Vishwa Supermarkets – Located on Ausa road, Ambajogai Road as well as Barshi Road

Languages Spoken

Marathi and Hindi.  Also has a sufficient percentage of English speaking population as in any other Indian cities.