Local Transportation in Meghalaya

Here, we are going to talk about local or inter city transportation that is available in Meghalaya for tourists or travellers. This is a hilly state with no rail connectivity yet. However, it has excellent road connectivity. There is an airport only in Shillong. Due to good road connectivity, you can find several transportation modes to go around the state like shared taxis, private taxis and state transport buses. Let us know more about each:

Private taxis

Private taxis are widely available for hire from tour operators or taxi operators. You can find them in Guwahati as well as Shillong. A taxi may cost up to ₹19,000-20,000 for a 5-days trip around Meghalaya from Guwahati. In Shillong the cost of taxi may come down to ₹15,000-16,000. The range of taxis from hatchbacks to SUVs are available. If you are reaching Guwahati by train, we recommend hiring a taxi from there. There are many tour operators in Guwahati and you will have options even in the peak season. In case, you are arriving Shillong via flights, you may hire a taxi from here. We had hired our taxi from Guwahati. Our driver was a fun person. Since he was not local to Meghalaya, he left the itinerary on us and declared that he would go wherever we wanted. He also accompanied us on our treks which was very convenient for us. He never complained. More about this in this post.

Buses & Shared taxis

There are buses that run between Guwahati and Shillong. It takes about 4 hours on a bus. For Cherrapunji there are local public and private buses from Shillong. Also, bus tours are operated by Meghalaya Tourism department from Shillong for local sightseeing and sightseeing in Cherrapunji at ₹500 & ₹750 per person respectively. Another bus tour is from Shillong to Dawki via Jowai @₹1200 per person. These are good affordable and comfortable options specially for solo travellers. You can book tickets here.

Shared taxi is the most common way to travel around Meghalaya. The locals use this method for travelling inter-city. If you want to experience the state as a local, this is the way. Shared taxis from Shillong to Cherrapunji maybe ₹200-300 per person. You will be able to talk to the locals about hidden places where the locals visit, hiking trails, local places for authentic food etc. However, keep in mind that while shared taxis maybe available for inter-city transfers, you may not find them for sightseeing. That is why for tourists it is not a popular option. This is a preferred way of transportation for travellers spending long durations exploring the state or for those who are travelling on a budget.

Rental bikes/scooters

You may rent a bike or scooter from Shillong if you prefer exploring places in your own time. As a traveller I myself prefer renting scooters for going around places. I usually avoid them when the terrain is tricky or roads are bad. Most parts of Meghalaya have excellent roads and accessibility for scooters. Certain areas are hilly with narrow roads which can get quite bad. Moreover, a lot of construction work is going around in several places which makes it difficult to drive a bike/scooter. A ride from one city to another may be covered on bike if you are willing to travel around 100km one way on a bike. They may cost about ₹500-700 per day depending on the condition of the rented scooter/bike. If you are taking shared taxi for intercity transfer you may rent scooters for local sightseeing. It would be a good budget option.