Flights to Kolkata

Kolkata airport: Get a cheap flight to Kolkata when you fly into the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU). Once you’ve landed, there’s lots of ways to get downtown. Taxis are a common option and you can prepay for your taxi inside the airport to be sure you get a good deal. Simply head to the prepay counter for the Bengal Taxi Association and they’ll calculate your fare. It's usually about 500RS ($8). You can also take a taxi just a few miles to the Dum Dum station and from there take the train right into the city center. Other options: the VS1 bus from the airport (about 50-100RS, $1USD) or an Uber! When heading back to the airport, keep in mind that traffic can be really bad in Kolkata: give yourself plenty of time to avoid missing your flight.

Kolkata hotels: Sleep easy with a nice hotel close to the city center of Kolkata. The Lalit Great Eastern is a great option: it’s right in the city center and it offers a free breakfast! If you’re looking for somewhere a bit quieter, you might want to try the Hyatt Regency, which is located a bit further outside of the city center. It’s still easy to access the popular downtown area by car or taxi, but it’ll be a bit calmer. Another good budget option is the Hhi Kolkata. It’s a bit cheaper, but it’s not skimping on service! You’ll still get a free breakfast, have access to 24-hour room service and be super close to the downtown area.

Things to do in Kolkata: There’s lots of things to do in Kolkata, but there’s a few things you definitely can’t miss! Take a boat ride on the Hooghly River at sunset, catch a game of cricket at the Eden Gardens and visit the Victoria Memorial to learn a bit more about Kolkata’s history. Want a more local experience? Wake up early and head to the Malik Ghat flower market, located just below the Howrah Bridge. Big fan of books or need a cool souvenir? Check out “Boi Para,” aka Book Town: the largest second hand book market in the world. Head down to College Street and you’ll find over a mile of bookstores and street vendors selling books. It’s a great place to find super rare or really unique books at cheap prices. If you’re feeling really adventurous, make the trek out to Sunderban National Park, a world heritage site and Bengali tiger reserve. A boat safari is a great way to see all the wildlife: tigers, of course, but also crocodiles and river dolphins (an endangered species of dolphins that live in freshwater rivers in India!).

Kolkata food: Whatever you do, don’t leave Kolkata without trying as much of the food as you can! Street food is a big deal in Kolkata and there are a LOT of options to pick from! For starters, fill up on puchkas (a hollow ball of dough fried crisp and filled with spiced potato and water) and kathi rolls. Kathi rolls were invented in Kolkata and are traditionally lamb kabab wrapped in flatbread—although you can get a ton of variations now! Ready for dessert now? We know we are. Try a sandesh (a sweet cookie), rasgulla (cottage cheese shaped into balls and soaked in sweet syrup), and mishti doi (a sweet yogurt/ice cream). Pro tip: there’s a very famous-among-locals street food stand called “Kalika Mukhorochok Telebhaja.” It’s only open for a few hours each evening (between 4pm-8pm) and it sells deep-fried snacks of all kinds. Get there early, because they tend to sell out fast!