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Chennai · India

Car hire and driving in Chennai

Driving distances to the cities around, the rules that change at the border, and where to compare rental prices.

OverviewFlightsHotelsTrainsBusesCar rentalTours

In India traffic drives on the left. Picking up at MAA means 16 km (10 mi) into the centre before the trip starts. The emergency number is http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1061257 / http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q25648793 / http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q25648794.

Drives from Chennai

Car rental from Chennai: distances and estimated journey times
RouteCountryDistanceEstimated time
Chennai to KanchipuramIndia69 km (43 mi)about 1 h 3 min
Chennai to RānipetIndia104 km (65 mi)about 1 h 35 min
Chennai to TirupatiIndia111 km (69 mi)about 1 h 42 min
Chennai to VelloreIndia126 km (78 mi)about 1 h 55 min
Chennai to ChittoorIndia129 km (80 mi)about 1 h 58 min
Chennai to PuducherryIndia137 km (85 mi)about 2 h 6 min
Chennai to GundupālaiyamIndia138 km (85 mi)about 2 h 6 min
Chennai to NelloreIndia155 km (96 mi)about 2 h 22 min
Chennai to CuddaloreIndia158 km (98 mi)about 2 h 25 min
Chennai to TiruvannamalaiIndia162 km (101 mi)about 2 h 28 min
Chennai to AmburIndia172 km (107 mi)about 2 h 38 min
Chennai to NeyveliIndia185 km (115 mi)about 2 h 49 min
Chennai to MumbaiIndia1,033 km (642 mi)about 15 h 45 min
Chennai to DhakaBangladesh1,591 km (989 mi)about 24 h 16 min
Chennai to BengaluruIndia291 km (181 mi)about 4 h 26 min
Chennai to HyderabadIndia516 km (321 mi)about 7 h 52 min
Chennai to AhmedabadIndia1,371 km (852 mi)about 20 h 55 min
Chennai to KolkataIndia1,356 km (843 mi)about 20 h 41 min
Chennai to SuratIndia1,199 km (745 mi)about 18 h 17 min
Chennai to ChattogramBangladesh1,597 km (992 mi)about 24 h 21 min

Distances are straight-line; road and rail routes run about 15–25% longer. Times are estimates from distance and typical speeds, not timetables.

Where to compare car hire

ExpediaCar hire from the major suppliers, and the one to look at if the flight or hotel is already booked there. Part of Expedia Group.Check car hire on Expedia (opens www.expedia.com in a new tab)
DiscoverCarsCompares local and international suppliers. Read the counter reviews before you pick.Check rental cars on DiscoverCars (opens www.discovercars.com in a new tab)
Rentalcars.comBooking.com's car arm, with wide airport coverage worldwide.Compare suppliers on Rentalcars.com (opens www.rentalcars.com in a new tab)
Every link above leaves this site.

We take no bookings for these providers and hold no reservation with them. The provider you choose handles payment, confirmation, changes and refunds. How that works.

Common questions

Which side of the road do they drive on in Chennai?

The left, as everywhere in India.

How are the journey times on this page worked out?

From straight-line distance and typical speeds for each mode, so they are estimates for planning, not timetables. Road and rail routes run 15–25% longer than the straight line.

Where these facts come from

  • GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
  • Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
  • OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
  • Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines

Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.