By air

 

For information about flights from Calcutta Airport , call 033/511 8787 or 511 9721; otherwise call the individual airlines to confirm departure and arrival. Remember that return flights must be confirmed at least 72 hours in advance. Besides a good network of domestic flights , Calcutta is served by several short- and long-haul international flights .

By rail

Information on train connections is available around the clock: tel 033/220 3535-3544 or tel 131. Making reservations to leave Calcutta by train is easy, with computerized booking offices throughout the city. The best place to book train tickets is at the tourist office on the first floor of the South Eastern Railways office , in the northwest corner of BBD Bagh at 6 Fairlie Place (Mon-Sat 10am-1pm & 1.30-5pm, Sun & hols 10am-2pm; tel 033/242 2789 or 220 4025). You'll need to bring proof of encashment to reserve a berth if paying in rupees. Reservations up to sixty days in advance can be made for most trains out of the city.

Other booking offices (same hours) include the South Eastern Railway Booking & Information Centre, Esplanade Mansions, opposite Raj Bhavan (tel 033/248 9530); Booking Office for Eastern and South Eastern Railways, Alexandra Court, 61 Chowringhee Rd, Rabindra Sadan; Howrah Station, 1st Floor; Computerized Booking Office, 3 Koilaghat St (tel 033/248 0257); New Koilaghat, 14 Strand Rd (tel 033/220 3496); Sealdah Station, 1st Floor (tel 033/350 3496).

Among major trains departing from hectic Howrah Station are the a/c Rajdhani Express #2301 which covers the 1145km to Delhi in under 18hr, stopping at Mughal Serai (change for Varanasi ), Allahabad and Kanpur en route; on Thursdays and Sundays as #2305 it travels via Patna as does the Howrah-New Delhi Purva Express #2303 (Mon, Tues, Fri & Sat). The same train, the Howrah-New Delhi Purva Express, as #2381 travels via Gaya instead (Wed, Thurs & Sun) and Varanasi on the way to Delhi. The Kalka Mail #2311 follows a similar route to Old Delhi before proceeding on to Kalka in Himachal Pradesh, while the Doon Express #3009 travels via Gaya, Varanasi and Lucknow to Dehra Dun and Uttaranchal , but is nearly always late. Other trains through Patna include the Amritsar Mail #3005. For Mumbai , 1968km southwest, the best trains are the Gitanjali Express #2860, which takes over 33hr, and the slightly slower early-morning Howrah-Mumbai Mail #8002. Going south, the Puri Express #8007 leaves in the evening from Howrah's new complex and heads via Bhubaneshwar to arrive at Puri early in the morning; the Howrah-Bhubaneshwar Dhauli Express #2821 departs early in the morning and gets to Bhubaneshwar around 1.30pm; the Coromandel Express #2841 departs early afternoon and takes around 28hr to cover the 1663km to Chennai via Bhubaneshwar. By far the best train for Bolpur , the station for Shantiniketan , is the Shantiniketan Express #3015 that leaves Howrah at 9.55am.

Several trains head towards Darjeeling , including the early-morning Kanchenjunga Express #5657 from Sealdah , which pulls into New Jalpaiguri (NJP) just too late in the evening to get by road to Darjeeling or Gangtok : it continues to Guwahati . The Kamrup Express #5659 leaves Howrah at 5.35pm arriving at NJP at 7am before proceeding to Guwahati. The Howrah-Guwahati Express #3045 leaves at 10pm, stopping at NJP at 9.25am and arriving at Guwahati at 4pm. Best of the night trains, the Darjeeling Mail #3143, leaves Sealdah at 7.15pm and is scheduled to arrive at NJP at 8.30am, to connect with the Toy Train to Darjeeling.

There is a direct service between Howrah and Raxaul ( Bihar ) for Nepal . The #3021 Mithila Express departs at 4pm arriving the following day at 9am.

By road

The most famous of the main roads out of the city are the Grand Trunk Road , which runs via Varanasi and Delhi all the way to Peshawar in Pakistan, and the Mumbai Trunk Road .

Normally, you have to reckon on an average speed on Bengal's notoriously poor highways of around 30kph, but the buses to Siliguri - handy for Darjeeling and Sikkim - cover the 560km journey overnight, if not in any great comfort (around 8pm; Rs260 and Rs400 a/c). ITDC and Rocket Bus are a couple to try at the Esplanade Bus Stand .

Frequent buses for Bhubaneshwar and Puri in Orissa leave the Babu Ghat Bus Stand , where Orissa Roadways and West Bengal State Transport have booths. Buses from Babu Ghat also head to Namkhana , en route to Bakkhali , and there's an early-morning local service for Basanti and the Sunderbans . Buses leave both Babu Ghat and Esplanade for the beach at Digha .

From Calcutta to Bangladesh

Calcutta is the main gateway to Bangladesh from India; you can reach Bangladesh by air, train or road. The Bangladesh Consulate is at 9 Circus Ave (tel 033/247 5208 or 240 5111); visas must be obtained in advance.

There are at least two flights daily from Calcutta to Dhaka and a return ticket costs around $100. Biman flies daily to Calcutta and twice weekly to Chittagong. Indian Airlines have five flights a week to Dhaka and two to Chittagong.

Although there is no direct line from Calcutta into Bangladesh, trains from Sealdah take you as far as Bongaon. From here you can take an auto-rickshaw to Haridaspur, 5km away, and then a rickshaw to Benapal on the border where you can find cheap accommodation. After a refreshing night's sleep take a bus to Dhaka via Jessore which will take around eight hours. Buses run from Esplanade bus stand to Bongaon every hour on the hour from 7am to 4pm (3hr).

From Calcutta to Andaman Islands

Alliance Air (Indian Airlines) fly to Port Blair five times a week but if you want to take a ship (leaving every two weeks) you'll need to book through the Shipping Corporation of India, 13 Strand Rd (tel 033/284 2354). Although theoretically you need a permit before buying your ticket, the Foreigners Regional Registration Office at 237 AJC Bose Rd (tel 033/247 3300) has informed travellers to get their permits on arrival in Fort Blair; check in advance. There are four classes starting with bunk beds (from around Rs1000) to a/c dorms and cabins; the journey takes three to four days, so bring plenty to read and some food to supplement the dull meals.