India Guide
West Bengal
Arrival
Kolkata's airport ( 
033/251 18787), 20km north of the city centre, is served by international flights. Officially Netaji Subhash Bose International Airport, it is still universally known by its old name of Dum Dum. The dreary international terminal has 24-hour money-changing facilities including a Thomas Cook, as well as a pre-paid taxi booth and an India Tourism information counter; it also has retiring rooms (Rs750) booked through the airport manager's office at International Arrivals. The modern domestic terminal, 500m to the south, has many amenities, including separate government tourist offices for Kolkata, West Bengal and Tripura, an accommodation booking counter, a railway reservation desk and pre-paid taxi booth.
A pre-paid taxi to the central Sudder Street area costs around Rs250. Another alternative is to take a taxi (around Rs50) or the shuttle bus to the Dum Dum Metro station (5km), and then the Metro into town; Sudder Street is a short walk from Park Street station. Bear in mind that you can't take large items (bikes, sports equipment etc) onto the Metro system. The extension of the Circular Rail from the airport travels through Dum Dum railway station to the Strand but runs only twice a day to serve commuters.
Kolkata has two main railway stations, neither of them on the Metro system. Howrah – the point of arrival for major trains from the south and west, such as the Rajdhani Express from Delhi – stands on the far bank of the Hooghly a couple of kilometres west of the centre. To reach the central downtown area, traffic has to negotiate Howrah Bridge – the definitive introduction to the chaos of the city, especially during rush hours, which start late in the mornings. Avoid the touts and taxis outside the station building, and head instead straight for the pre-paid taxi booth, from where the fare to central Sudder Street and the Park Street areas is Rs65–90. Minibuses and buses also operate from Howrah to destinations all over the city, but tend to be very crowded. A good alternative is to follow the signs from the station gate and take a ferry (Rs4) across the Hooghly to Babu Ghat or the adjacent Chandpal Ghat, close to BBD Bagh, and pick up a metered taxi, bus or minibus from there.
Sealdah Station, used by trains from the north and with its own pre-paid taxi booth in the car park, is on the eastern edge of the centre, and much more convenient as you don't have to cross the river. Long-distance buses from the south terminate at Babu Ghat Bus Stand, not far from Fort William on the east bank, while most others, such as those from Darjeeling arrive at Esplanade Bus Stand, less than 500m north of Sudder Street.