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Calcutta's airport , 20km north of the city centre, is served by international flights - although only a small proportion of visitors actually enter India here - as well as services from throughout the country. Officially "Netaji Subhash Bose International Airport", it is still universally known by its old name of Dum Dum - a name that became infamous during the Boer War, when the notorious (and now banned) exploding bullet was manufactured in a nearby factory. The dreary international terminal has moneychanging facilities, a prepaid taxi booth and a Government of India tourist information counter but little else. In complete contrast, the modern domestic terminal , 500m to the south, has a much better range of amenities including an accommodation booking counter, tourist information, restaurants, bookshops, a railway reservation desk and a prepaid taxi booth. Booked here, a taxi to the central Sudder Street area costs around Rs130. Alternatively, an airport bus travels down Chowringhee (officially renamed Jawaharlal Nehru Road) to the Indian Airlines office and passes the western end of Sudder Street. Minibuses run to BBD Bagh, but these can get crowded and prove to be an unwelcome introduction to the city. Another possibility is to take a taxi to the end of the Metro at Dum Dum, 6km away, and then take the underground line (Rs5) to Park Street, the nearest station to Sudder Street. Fairlie Place station on the railway is good for BBD Bagh.

Of Calcutta's two main railway stations , neither of which is on the Metro system, Howrah Station - 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. Long queues form at Howrah's taxi rank outside the station building, when main trains pull in. Avoid touts and taxis who break the rank and invariably ask astronomical prices to avoid using the meter - and head straight for the prepaid taxi booth; a prepaid taxi to Sudder Street costs Rs43. Minibuses and buses (#S5, #S6, #S7 and #41A) also operate from Howrah, but tend to be very crowded. The best alternative is to follow the signs from the station gate and take a ferry ride (Rs3) across the Hooghly with great views of the bridge, 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, is on the eastern edge of the centre, and much more convenient as you don't have to get across the river. There is a convenient prepaid taxi booth in the car park. Long-distance buses from the south terminate at Babu Ghat Bus Stand , not far from Fort William on the east bank, while some luxury buses, such as the Rocket from Darjeeling, arrive at Esplanade Bus Stand , less than 1km north of Sudder Street.