By Air: Chennai International Airport located approximately 60 kilometers from Mahabalipuram provides this ancient seaport with a very good air connectivity with rest of the world. Chennai Airport has two terminals; domestic and international and both of them are very well linked with numerous important destinations of the country and abroad. Some of the major Indian and international airlines operational at the Chennai Airport include Air India, Air India Express, Air Indian Regional, IndiGo, Jet Airways, Jet Lite, Kingfisher, SpiceJet, Air Arabia, Air Asia, Air Mauritius, British Airways, Lufthansa, Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines, Thai Airways International and so on. Some of the principal destinations accessible from Chennai via air include Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram, Visakhapatnam Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Sharjah, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Kuwait, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Mauritius, London, and many more. To reach Chennai Airport from Mahabalipuram you can either hire a cab or board a state transport bus. A taxi between Mahabalipuram and Chennai Airport costs about 800 to 1200 INR. The second nearest airport from Mahabalipuram is positioned at Tirupati nearly 261 km away from here.

By Rail: Chengalpattu Railway Station, placed just 30 kilometers away from Mahabalipuram is the closest railway head that can be used to reach this ancient coastal town via train. Some of the worth mentioning trains that stop at the Chengalpattu Railway Station are; Nagercoil Exp, Chennai Exp, Sengottai Exp, Tiruchy Exp, Madurai Express, Lokamanya Tt Exp, Chennai Salem Exp, Pallavan Exp, Nellai Express, Kanyakumari Exp, Vaigai Exp, Pandian Exp, Sampark Kranti, Pothigai Exp, Pearl City Exp, Chennai Mangalore Exp, Rameswaram Exp, Anantapuri Exp, Guv Chennai Exp and so on. The major destinations reachable via train from Chengalpattu are; Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Howrah, Kanyakumari, Madurai, Mangalore, Pondicherry, Rameshwaram, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Trivandrum, and so on. For better connectivity one can also reach Chennai from Chengalpattu via rail route and then catch further trains from there. To reach Chengalpattu from Mahabalipuram tourists generally prefer to hire a taxi that costs them around 600 INR.

By Road: Mahabalipuram is well connected with rest of the state and other regions of country via an extensive network of highways and the wide spread system of Tamil Nadu State Transport Buses. These buses enter Mahabalipuram either from Koyembedu (CMBT) or from Tiruvanmiyur (in Chennai), Kancheepuram and Pondicherry. Mahabalipuram is linked with Chennai via East Coast Road (ECR) and Old Mahabalipuram Road. TNSTC and MTC Chennai operate buses to and from Mahabalipuram. To reach Mahabalipuram from Chennai via road you can also hire a cab that would charge about 600 to 800 Rs for one way trip. ECR, which runs parallel to the coast of Bay of Bengal makes a real scenic driveway and awards a wonderful life experience. Apart from the state transport buses, Mahabalipuram can also be reached by private buses plying from Chennai Central. Mahabalipuram is located about 60 km from Chennai, 301 km from Tiruchirapalli, 309 km from Salem, 354 km from Pudukkottai, 436 km from Madurai, 480 km from Coimbatore, 502 km from Rameshwaram, 691 km from Kanyakumari, and so on.