tatsi

Hi,

Could you please advise how should we travel from Varanasi to Kolkata?
We arriving to Varanasi on the 9th of December at 5 am by train. We are planning to have morning boat ride and then see the city. We have to be in Kolkata airport at 8 am on the 10th of December. At first, we planeed to catch another late train, but by now everything has waiting lists. So my questions are:
1. How easy is it to arrange the driver/taxi to drive us overnight to Kolkata? Is it ok to drive by car at night? Whom would you advise to use? How much will it cost?
2. Is any night bus service to kolkata?
3. Whom would you adise to use for boat ride and Varanasi city tour?

Thank you in advance!

Jaya

Don't travel by road at night - it's not safe. For that distance, you'd be better off to fly.

thursdaysd

Agree with Jaya, no way do you want to be on the roads at night. And that would be a long drive.

If you can't get a train ticket your only option is to fly.

Approach_Guides

I agree with the other posters -- driving at night is just not something I would recommend. Plus its a long distance on a challenging road. If you can catch a flight out, that would be best or see if you can use an agent to secure a seat.
As for a guide, I recommend booking lunch at one of the boutique hotels in the old city and ask them for a guide recommendation too. They will be the best source of reliable guides.

magical

Since you have a 8 am flight out of Kolkata, I suggest that you take a flight out of Varanasi the evening before, and stay in Kolkata for the night.

TGSTours

I have driven Varanasi to Gaya in the day time. It did not feel safe even during the day and I would not recommend driving in the night at all. In any case it is a two day drive at least

Kathie

I think you may need to adjust your itinerary. Basically, you have less than a day in Varanasi, (certainly not enough time to see Varansi) then you have to fly to Kolkata that night. If there is a snag with your flight, you will miss your international flight. I don't know what the rest of your itinerary looks like, but you may need to edit out some stops in order to have a little time in the places you really want to experience.

tatsi

Thank you everyone for your help! I appreciate it a lot!