Does anyone know if you can buy SIM-card the Chennai Airport itself? If yes, where is it sold? Also, I have been to Chennai twice before but I still haven't figured that one out. It's impossible to get around since I couldn't book Uber and all that and had to depend on my cousin. I hate to exchange money at the Airport itself, I feel like you have to bargain a lot with them and I am not good at that. Is there any reliable place where you can exchange money for a good rate?
Hi @Marzipan, Since no one has replied to your question I will make an attempt. Please take it with a grain of salt as this is my limited knowledge. I could be wrong or there could be better ways to do the same. Per my knowledge, there is no way to buy a SIM-card in the Chennai Airport. In fact buying a Sim in Tamil Nadu is not as straight forward. You will need at least a pan card or aadhar. The solution to this is to have someone buy a sim from india and ship it to you or have them bring to the airport. Renew this annually and take to to your country. Annual fee will come to Rs. 2000, which I think is reasonable. If no one can ship it to you, during the india visit, get a SIM and keep it renewed. I don't know if there is an eSim offered in India, which you could activate over the phone or online. Something you can check. I agree that the airport money exchange might not be the best. But I would discourage you to go to some exchange person and exchange money. Lot of black money and illegal activities are sponsored by such means. The best way I have found is that the exchange rate from your foreign bank is decent. Go to an ATM and get some money in bulk. Use this for your expense. Another better option is to open an NRE account in an indian bank like ICICI. You can periodically transfer money online when abroad to this account ( or even before leaving or when in India ). When in India, use the ICICI ATM and draw the funds you need. Hope this is useful. Good luck!!
