Dangers & Annoyances

Kolkata feels remarkably unthreatening, and is usually safe (though stray incidents involving tourists can and do occur).

Predictable beggar-hassle is a minor irritant around Sudder St.

Bandhs (strikes) occasionally stop all land transport, including suburban trains and taxis to the airport.

Monsoon-season waterlogging can be severe.

Internet Access

Inexpensive and widespread 4G/LTE cellular services have slowly begun to phase out internet cafes. A central survivor is Cyber Zoom ( GOOGLE MAP ; 27B Park St; per hr ₹20; h10am-9pm), which also does passport photos. Around Sudder St, some back-alley cubby-hole places charge ₹20 per hour for internet access, but it's worth paying a little more for fast connections and more comfortable seating at the travel agency with internet cafe R-Internet Travels ( GOOGLE MAP ; ntrncf@gmail.com; Tottee Lane; per hour ₹20; h9am-10pm).

Medical Services

Medical contacts (including chemists, doctors, hospitals and clinics) are widely listed on the popular web portal www.justdial.com/kolkata.

Apollo Gleneagles ( GOOGLE MAP ; %033-23202122, emergency 033-60601066; www.apollogleneagles.in; off EM Bypass; h24hr)

Belle Vue Clinic ( GOOGLE MAP ; %9163058000; www.bellevueclinic.com; Loudon (Dr UN Brahmachari) St, Minto Park; h24hr)

Eastern Diagnostics ( GOOGLE MAP ; %033-22178080; www.easterndiagnostics.com; 13C Mirza Ghalib St; h9am-2pm Mon-Sat)

Money

You won't have to walk far to find ATMs that accept Visa, MasterCard, Cirrus and Maestro cards. International credit cards are widely accepted at stores.

Post

The new General Post Office ( GOOGLE MAP ; 7 Koilaghat St; h7.30am-8.30pm Mon-Sat, 10am-4pm Sun, parcel service 10am-2.30pm, philatelic office 10am-6pm Mon-Fri) is located along Koilaghat St. The philatelic bureau sells commemorative issues, or can turn your own photos into a sheet of ₹5 stamps (₹300), which can take up to seven days to be ready.

CR Ave Post Office ( GOOGLE MAP ; CR Ave; h10am-7pm Mon-Sat) is handy for the Chandni Chowk area, and has snail mail, speed post and parcel facilities.

Shakespeare Sarani Post Office ( GOOGLE MAP ; Shakespeare Sarani; h10am-4pm Mon-Fri, to 2pm Sat) is a minor but helpful and conveniently located central post office, with general and speed post services.

Telephone

Sudder St agency-shops will sell you a SIM card (₹200), given a copy of your ID, a passport photo and details of your address/hotel. SIMs are available in micro and nano versions for use with smartphones, but make sure your handset is unlocked. Local/national calls can be made and text messages sent for only a few rupees, while 4G data packs start from ₹250 per GB.

Tourist Information

India Tourism ( GOOGLE MAP ; %033-22821475; www.incredibleindia.org; 4 Shakespeare Sarani; h10am-6pm Mon-Fri, to 1pm Sat) This office hands out free maps of greater Kolkata, with major sights and stops marked, and also has useful information about travelling to other parts of India.

West Bengal Tourism ( GOOGLE MAP ; %033-22488271; www.wbtdc.gov.in; 3/2 BBD Bagh; h10.30am-1.30pm & 2-5.30pm Mon-Fri, 10.30am-1pm Sat) The office primarily sells its own tours (last sales 4.30pm), and has good free city maps. Its website is useful for local travel information, as well as booking state-operated hotels and lodges across the state.

Air

Rebuilt in 2013, the glassy Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport (NSCBIA (CCU); %033-25118036) has an impressive terminal building, although services can get strangely bottlenecked at times, especially in the departures area. If you're flying out, arrive with ample time and expect long queues at passport control and security check.

Kolkata has a vast selection of domestic connections from early morning to late night. It's also a useful hub for regional flights linking Bangladesh (Air India, Biman, Jet Airways and Regent Airways), Bhutan (Bhutan Airlines and Druk Air), Myanmar (Air India) and Nepal (Air India). East Asian destinations include Bangkok (Air Asia, IndiGo, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and Thai), Hong Kong (Dragonair), Kuala Lumpur (Air Asia), Kunming (China Eastern Airlines) and Singapore (SilkAir). For long-haul connections to Europe and the USA, there are daily flights via Abu Dhabi (Etihad), Doha (Qatar Airways) and Dubai (Emirates).

Several airlines have offices with booking counters in the city.

Air Asia ( GOOGLE MAP ; %033-33008000; www.airasia.com; 55A Mirza Ghalib St; h10am-8pm Mon-Sat)

Air India ( GOOGLE MAP ; %033-22110730; www.airindia.in; 39 CR Ave; h10am-4pm Mon-Sat)

Druk Air ( GOOGLE MAP ; %033-22900050; www.drukair.com; 51 Tivoli Crt; h10am-5pm Mon-Sat)

Emirates ( GOOGLE MAP ; %033-40099555; www.emirates.com; Trinity Tower, 83 Topsia Rd; h10am-6pm Mon-Sat)

Jet Airways ( GOOGLE MAP ; %033-39893333; www.jetairways.com; Park St; h10am-7pm Mon-Sat)

Boat

Shipping Corporation of India has five ships that depart on scheduled monthly dates to Port Blair. The vessels sail from Kidderpore Docks ( GOOGLE MAP ), accessed via Gate 3 opposite Kidderpore commuter train station. Tickets (bunk/cabin/deluxe ₹2500/6420/9750) go on sale from the 1st floor of the corporation's office around 10 days prior to the voyage .

Bus

Train

To/From The Airport

NSCBIA Airport is around 16km northeast of central Kolkata. A dedicated feeder road accesses the new combined terminal from the south (VIP Rd) via Airport Gate 1. Integrated within the arrival lounge of the terminal are several public-transport options into the city, including a computerised train ticket booking counter (booth 25) for trains out of the city.

Autorickshaw

Tuk-tuk-style autorickshaws ('autos') operate as fixed-route hop-on share taxis with three passengers in the back and one beside the driver. Fares are typically ₹6 to ₹10, depending on distance.

Key routes:

Loha Pool–Dharamtala ( GOOGLE MAP ; Elliot Rd) Starts from Park Circus using Park St (or after 1pm looping via Nasreddin and Karaya roads), goes up AJC Bose Rd (near Mother Teresa's Motherhouse), then along Elliot Rd/Royd St and finally up Mirza Ghalib St/RAK Rd (mornings/afternoons) near Sudder St. Loop reverses after 1pm.

Hazra–Bondel ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Hazra Rd) Runs along Hazra Rd, starting a block east of Jatin Das Park metro station, and goes to Ballygunge.

Hazra–Kiddepore ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Hazra Rd) Goes west from Jatin Das Park metro station, past the Kalighat idol-makers and on through Alipore.

Rashbehari–Gariahat ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Rashbehari Ave) This is the mid-segment of a longer route, and connects the Kalighat metro station to the shopping district of Gariahat along Rashbehari Ave.

Bus & Tram

Buses in Kolkata come in different forms. The best are a limited fleet of shiny new air-con buses, but the standard tumbles quickly down to crowded blue-and-yellow rattletraps and red-and-yellow minibuses, mostly run by manic drivers and motormouth conductors. A large selection of minbuses start from the Minibus Station ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ) on the eastern side of BBD Bagh, including a service to Airport Gate 1 via Dum Dum.

Dinky but photogenic trams follow more predictable routes along select city tracks, and are immune to one-way traffic.

Ferry

Crossing the Hooghly River is generally faster and more agreeable by boat than by using the clogged road bridges, especially during rush hour. River ferries (tickets ₹5-10; h8am-8pm) depart every 15 to 20 minutes from Howrah to jetties in central Kolkata. Convenient drop-off points include Chandpal (for Babughat), Bagbazar (for Kumartuli), Belur and Dakshineswar.

Metro

Kolkata’s busy and crowded metro (www.kmrc.in; tickets ₹5-20; h6.45am-9.55pm Mon-Sat, 9.45am-9.55pm Sun) has trains every five to 15 minutes (fewer on Sundays). For Sudder St, use Esplanade or Park St. Some trains are air-con, although you pay the same fare for fan-cooled carriages.

Only one line (running in a north–south direction) is operational so far, but several extensions are planned. Line 2 linking Howrah, Sealdah and Salt Lake is due by late 2017.

Theoretically you may not carry bags over 10kg. If you're staying in the city for a while, consider buying a multiride ticket to save yourself the hassle of queuing every time you ride the service.

Rickshaw

Human-powered ‘tana rickshaws’ work within limited areas, notably around New Market and some southern zones. Although rickshaw pullers sometimes charge foreigners disproportionate fares, many are virtually destitute, sleeping on the pavements beneath their rented vehicles at night, so tips are heartily appreciated.

Taxi

Kolkata’s yellow Ambassador cabs charge ₹25 for up to 2km, and ₹12 per kilometre thereafter. Meters are digital and show the exact fare due. A few air-con taxis (white with blue stripe) also use the same fare structure, with a 25% air-con surcharge on the metered fare. Taxis are generally easy to flag down, except during the 5pm to 6pm rush hour and after 10pm when some cabs refuse to use the meter. There are prepaid taxi booths at Howrah train station ( GOOGLE MAP ; Howrah train station), Sealdah train station and at the airport.

Clean and cool Uber cabs currently abound in Kolkata, and can be accessed by updated versions of the app on your smartphone. The minimum fare is ₹60. Surge fares during peak demand can be many times the fare of a regular yellow taxi.