planes or trians

I am going back to India in April to take my parents. We are trying to cover a lot of land- starting in Calcutta , moving on to Varansi and Agra, then moving all the way back to see darjeeling and Sikkiim.

Definitely do-able but so far we can only see the option of getting a 12+hour train from Calcutta to Varanasi, a 10+hour train from there to Agra, and then a flight to Bagdogra, for Darjeeling.

Can anyone help with how is best to travel these disctances? Are there (fairly cheap) flights between calcutta and varanasi, or varanasi and Agra- I can%26#39;t find them!!

Thank you!

planes or trians

Are you arriving and departing from Kolkata ?

Kolkata-Darjeeling-Sikkim is one route towards East

Kolkata-Varanasi-Agra is one route towards North

planes or trians

I fly in to Calcutta to start with, then move west towards varanasi, further to Agra, then we plan to go back and up to Darjeeling - finally flying out again from Calcutta. The flights in and out of Calcutta are booked.

Practially speaking you may need to Arrive/Depart from Kolkata %26amp; Delhi and that would save some travelling time (if thats feasible for you)

If travelling by Train prefer to travel by Rajadhani Express between Kolkata-Delhi route.

thank you for your help! we thought flying to delhi and getting a jeep back might actually add up to the same time as getting on a train in the end, as the trains are more reliable?

TAke flights as far as possible for a pleasanter and safer journey not to mention saving time. Try makemytrip.com; cleartrip.com; ezeego1.co.in; yatra.com

travelguru.com

You can do relatively short distances by train eg Delhi Agra but avoid overnight.

From Calcutta you can get many flts to Delhi, from here its just 4-5 hrs by train or bus but remember that April will be very warm, so choose

AC bus or AC train. You will have to check the Varanasi flights if there are any from the above sites. Rail bookings can be done on www.indianrail.gov.in

RatnaPrasad is right-see if you can change your arrival flight to Delhi-do the western loop, fly back to Calcutta,preferably on Jet airlines, then do the Darjeelong part. I did that arrived in Delhi, did the Agra-Jaipur-Udaipur,flew back on Jet to CCU.We travelled BA-Jet is a partner-so,the domestic portion iscovered. Have a great trip.it is very commendable you are doing this foryour parents.

If you have fixed that you would Arrive %26amp; Depart from Kolkata then this is what i would recommend.

1) Once you Arrive in Kolkata your first phase would be to proceed towards Darjeeling/Sikkim by overnight Train upto New Jalpaiguri or Flight to Baghdogra

2) Take a Flight from Baghdogra to Delhi even Lowcost Airlines operate on this route

3) Delhi to Agra by Train would suggest Shatabdi Exress

4) Agra to Varanasi by Overnight Train (so that you dont need to return back to Delhi)

4) Varanasi to Kolkata by Overnight Train (There is a flight on this route but it appears to be highly over priced and it takes you to Delhi and then to Kolkata.

I will be more then happy to help if you want any travel tips for Delhi (New Delhi). I live in Delhi and i know for a foreigner it could be a bit difficult getting around, but do let me know if there%26#39;s anything i can do for you while you are here.

And if you book in advace then you can find very attractive air fares from Delhi to Calcutta and back.

Do let me know if you need any help finding a cheap flight or Train.

Cheap Domestic Airlines are;

JetLite

AirDeccan

SpiceJet

Indigo

GoAir

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