Ooty is well connected by road to Coimbatore (90 km), Bangalore (290 km) and Calicut (187 km). There are good luxury buses, as well as cabs. Chennai is a difficult 535 km away; trains are a better option from here. You can also hire a taxi or drive up hills in your own car, if you do like to take things at your own pace.

The Blue Mountain Express from Mettupalayam (46 km away) is the only train that reaches Ooty. The train, known locally as the matchstick train is a sight in itself. It is a small blue steam engine powered meter gauge train, with engines in the front and rear. Make sure to check this train out. It chugs up hill for a major part of its journey and has a special ratchet and pinion track in the middle in addition to the normal sets of rails. When the matchbox train passes through the tunnels, it gets excitingly dark and everyone in the train gives a roar of appreciation, and then comes light again. It's such an experience that people actually wait for the next tunnel! Mettupalayam is connected to Coimbatore and Chennai along the broad gauge lines.

The nearest airport Coimbatore is about 90 km away and is serviced by flights to Bangalore and Chennai. From Coimbatore, there are frequent buses as well as private cabs that will readily ferry you up hills to Ooty.