🛫 Integrated Terminal — Domestic + International

Layout: a single check-in hall divides into the domestic and international airside zones, sharing the central retail and food court.

Immigration: 78 counters, Indian Bureau of Immigration; designated e-Visa counters are signed.

📍 Dum Dum — The Airport District

Dum Dum is a satellite city north of central Kolkata, famous historically as the home of the Dum Dum Arsenal (origin of the soft-point Dum Dum bullet, banned by the Hague Convention 1899). The airport rim is car-parks, hotels and the Yellow Line metro station at Jai Hind / Bimanbandar.

Metro entrance: integrated with the terminal — CCU is now one of the rare Indian airports with a metro stop inside the airport complex.

India e-Tourist Visa — Apply Before Travel

Apply at indianvisaonline.gov.in at least 4 days before travel. Three duration tiers: 30-day double-entry, 1-year multi-entry, 5-year multi-entry. Fees range $10 (Japan/Sri Lanka off-season) to $484 (UK 5-year), plus 3-4% bank fees. Not available for Pakistani passports, Afghan passports (separate AFGHAN portal), or anyone with a defence/military/security background.

Bureau of Immigration Process

On arrival at CCU: head to the e-Visa counter if you have one (separate from the regular visa lane); have the printed e-Visa PDF, the passport, and a return ticket. Counters take a fingerprint biometric and a digital photo. Standard processing 5-15 min. After immigration: customs (Green / Red channel); standard duty-free allowances.

INR + UPI Reality

Currency is the Indian rupee (INR). ₹1 ≈ $0.012 / €0.011 in May 2026 (verify XE.com). Cards work in malls, hotels, restaurants; UPI is the working layer for the airport metro, taxis, street food, and tiny shops. Avoid the airport bureau-de-change — markup typically 5-8% vs SBI rate.

⭐ Metro Yellow Line — The Game-Changer

• Route: Jai Hind (Bimanbandar) → Jessore Road → Dum Dum Cantonment → Noapara — 6.77 km, 4 stations, ~10 min end-to-end.
• Transfer at Noapara to the Blue Line (Kavi Subhash ⇆ Dakshineswar / Daum Dum) for central Kolkata. Total trip to Esplanade or Park Street ~35-45 min including the transfer.
• Fare around ₹10-30 distance-based; verify the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation current chart at the station — the integrated ticketing is rolling out through 2026.
• Operating hours align with the wider Kolkata Metro network: roughly 06:30 to 22:00, with extended hours during Durga Puja.
• The CCU Metro entrance is integrated with the terminal — walk through arrivals to the dedicated link bridge.

🚌 WBSTC AC Volvo Airport Buses

West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation operates air-conditioned coach services from the airport to multiple Kolkata destinations.

• VS1: Airport → Esplanade via Baguiati, Ultadanga, Maniktala, MG Road, Esplanade, Central Avenue.
• VS3: Airport → Taratala via Sector 5 (IT hub Salt Lake), Science City, Ruby, Rash Behari, New Alipore.
• VS2: Airport → Howrah Station.
• Additional services to Garia, Tollygunge, Santragachi.
• Operations daily 08:00 to 21:30 from the airport; counter at T2 arrivals (033-25118238).
• Fares verifiable at the WBSTC counter on arrival; book online via WBSTC, MakeMyTrip, RedBus, Yatra or Goibibo.

🚆 Onward Rail — Howrah, Sealdah, Shalimar

Kolkata has multiple long-distance rail terminals: Howrah, Sealdah, Shalimar and Kolkata (Chitpur). For most onward travel, Howrah is the principal interchange — reachable by WBSTC VS2 bus from the airport (~1h-1h 30m) or metro+walk via Howrah Maidan Green Line. Tickets via IRCTC.

• Delhi: 17h on the Rajdhani Express — ₹2,500-5,500 AC tier.
• Mumbai: 30h on the Howrah-Mumbai Mail or 25h on Duronto — ₹2,000-4,500 AC tier.
• Bhubaneswar / Puri: 6-9h, ₹600-1,800.
• Darjeeling Toy Train: via New Jalpaiguri (12h overnight + 7h scenic toy train) — UNESCO heritage railway.
• Bangladesh-bound: Maitree Express (Kolkata-Dhaka) and Bandhan Express (Kolkata-Khulna) operate at the Kolkata (Chitpur) terminal with onboard customs.

🚕 Uber / Ola / Yellow Taxi / Prepaid

• Uber + Ola — both active in Kolkata. ₹300-500 to centre, 35-45 min off-peak, longer in evening rush.
• Prepaid AC taxi at arrivals: standard receipt-and-driver system; the reliable modern option.
• Yellow Ambassador taxi — the iconic Kolkata yellow cab is largely retired (last new Ambassadors made 2014); a few survive at Howrah and Sealdah but the airport rank is now mostly white/blue AC sedans.
• Rapido — motorbike taxi app, active for short hops; not for luggage runs.
• Unauthorised drivers in arrivals: ignore. Use the rank, the metro, or the app.

🛋️ Plaza Premium ×2 — Priority Pass

Locations: domestic airside + international airside.

Walk-in: approximately ₹1,800-2,100 domestic; verify Adani-equivalent AAI listing at the door.

Access: Priority Pass, LoungeKey, DragonPass, Diners Club, AmEx Platinum, HDFC Diners Black, ICICI Emeralde, Axis Magnus.

What’s inside: Bengali-leaning buffet (luchi-aloo dum, fish fry, kosha mangsho when available, mishti doi, sandesh, masala chai), continental options, espresso. Roughly 18% cheaper than the same operator’s Mumbai T2 lounge.

🛋️ Encalm Prive ×2 — NOT Priority Pass

Locations: domestic + international.

Walk-in: ~₹2,000-2,400, 10-15% above Plaza Premium.

Access: Diners Club, select Indian credit cards (HDFC Infinia, ICICI Sapphiro), Encalm membership.

NOT on Priority Pass as of May 2026 — the only major Indian lounge chain still outside PP. Opened late 2023; newer fit-out than Plaza Premium.

✈️ Air India Maharaja Lounge (International)

Air India Business + Star Alliance Gold (Lufthansa, Swiss, Turkish, United, etc.) on Air India flights or Star Alliance partner outbound. The traditional Indian flag-carrier lounge; full Indian buffet + bar service.

✈️ IndiGo Bluebird Lounge (Domestic)

IndiGo BluChip Plus / 6E Plus / 6E Prime customers and select corporate card holders. Modern fit-out; the IndiGo-branded premium experience.

The kathi (literally “stick”) roll — paratha wrapped around grilled meat or paneer with onion, green chilli, mustard sauce — was invented at Nizam’s Restaurant on New Market road in the 1930s, when the colonial-era kitchen needed a portable mutton-skewer for hurried sahibs. Today it’s the universal Kolkata street food. ₹80-180 at the city institutions; ₹150-250 at the airport food court. Nizam’s itself, Kusum’s on Park Street, and Hot Kati Roll on Park Street are the central reference points.

Bengali fish curry comes in distinct preparations: maachher jhaal (mustard-paste-based, often with the freshwater fish hilsa or rohu), maachher kalia (richer onion-garlic gravy), paturi (boneless bhetki wrapped in banana leaf with mustard, steamed). Bhetki is the Kolkata fish — the same species as Australian barramundi, but the Bengali preparations are unique. Restaurant prices ₹400-900 per plate. Oh! Calcutta, 6 Ballygunge Place, and Bhojohori Manna are the heritage Bengali restaurants.

Puchka is the Bengali version of pani puri (called gol gappa in Delhi) — fried hollow dough spheres filled with tamarind water, chickpeas, potato, spices. Sweeter and lighter than the North Indian version. ₹40-80 a plate of 8-12 at any Kolkata street stall. The Vivekananda Park area, Maddox Square (during Puja), and the BBD Bagh evening stalls are the recognised hotspots. The airport food court does a passable plate at ₹120-180.

Rosogolla (the spongy chhena-cottage-cheese sphere soaked in sugar syrup, GI tag awarded to West Bengal in 2017 after a long Odisha-WB dispute), sandesh (the drier chhena cake, flavoured with khejur gur jaggery in winter), and mishti doi (sweetened yoghurt set in earthenware) are the Bengali dessert trinity. K.C. Das (claims rosogolla invention 1868), Sen Mahasay, Bhim Chandra Nag, Nakur Chandra Nandy are the heritage sweet shops. ₹15-40 per piece. Vacuum-pack varieties travel.

🍵 Darjeeling First Flush Tea

₹500-3,500 per 100g. Darjeeling is GI-tagged; the “Champagne of teas” comes from West Bengal’s hill estates 600 km north. First flush (March-April) and second flush (May-June) are the prized harvests. Castleton, Margaret’s Hope, Glenburn, Goomtee are the recognised gardens. The airport has small representation; the better selection is at Dolly’s Tea Shop in central Kolkata.

🧵 Tant Cotton + Baluchari Silk

₹500-30,000. Tant cotton sarees (Bengali handloom, breathable summer cloth) and Baluchari silk (Bishnupur GI tag) — the regional handloom traditions. Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan and the Manjusha government emporium certify authenticity better than the airport range.

🍯 Joynagar Moa + Mishti

₹150-500. Joynagar moa — winter-season GI-tagged sweet of puffed rice + nolen gur date-palm jaggery, from Joynagar town south of Kolkata. Vacuum-packed travels well. The airport seasonal display rotates with the city sweet-shop calendar.

📚 Bengali Literature & Music

₹200-1,500. Translated Tagore (Nobel 1913), Satyajit Ray screenplays and his short fiction, Bengali music CDs/streaming codes. The airport bookstore has the English-language selection; the depth of the catalogue is at College Street.

The Victoria Memorial, commissioned by Lord Curzon and built 1906-1921 by architect Sir William Emerson in white Makrana marble (the same source as the Taj Mahal), is the colonial-era set piece on the Maidan. The museum inside covers the British Raj period in Calcutta — Curzon’s desk, Mughal-era paintings, Indian Mutiny artefacts. Adult ticket ~₹500 for foreigners, ₹30 for Indians (verify victoriamemorial-cal.org). Garden free. Evening sound-and-light show (winter season).

The Rabindra Setu (Howrah Bridge), completed 1943 and renamed in 1965 after Rabindranath Tagore, is the steel cantilever bridge connecting Kolkata to Howrah Station across the Hooghly — one of the most-photographed bridges in Asia. 705 m total, no central pier. Photography of the bridge itself is technically restricted (it’s classified as a defence-relevant structure); the practical advice is photograph from upstream of Mullick Ghat flower market and downstream of the Strand Road waterfront, not directly from the bridge.

The Indian Museum on Chowringhee Road, founded 1814, is India’s oldest and largest museum. The collection runs from prehistoric fossils through the Bharhut Buddhist gateway (2nd century BC), Mughal miniature paintings, Egyptian mummies, and the natural-history galleries. Adult ticket ~₹500 for foreigners, ₹50 for Indians. Closed Mondays. Allow 2-3 hours minimum; the Bharhut gallery alone is a half hour.

Durga Puja (4-5 days in September or October, dates fixed by lunar calendar each year) is Kolkata’s defining annual festival — UNESCO inscribed on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2021. Thousands of pandals (temporary art installations housing the goddess Durga idol) are built across the city, with the most-visited at Maddox Square, Bagbazar, College Square, Ekdalia Evergreen, and Bosepukur Sitala Mandir. 10 million+ pandal-hoppers through the festival; 4-5 sleepless nights. The aftermath (Bisarjan, Vijaya Dashami) sees the idols immersed in the Hooghly. Book hotels 3-6 months ahead; CCU traffic spikes.

All visitors: Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vi (Vodafone Idea) prepaid SIMs at CCU landside arrivals. Passport + Indian visa + photo required; activation 24-48 hours per Indian DoT rule. eSIM via Holafly, Airalo, Saily is faster.
5G: default in Kolkata (Jio + Airtel since 2023).
UPI: universal among Kolkata merchants; foreign visitors can use via Wise-linked UPI or specific NRI workarounds.

With 4+ hours airside-to-airside, the move is the central trio. Metro Yellow Line to Noapara, change to Blue Line to Park Street (35-45 min total, ~₹30) or Uber/Ola direct (35-45 min, ₹300-500) — walk Park Street, kathi roll at Kusum’s or Hot Kati Roll, then 15 min to Victoria Memorial gardens (free) for the photograph. With 6+ hours: add the Indian Museum (closed Mondays) or a 20-min South Park Street Cemetery wander — the haunting British-era graveyard of colonial Calcutta. Allow 60 min for return security.