5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata

Tripoto
28th Feb 2015
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 1/25 by Muktadhara Ray
Sunset at raichak
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 2/25 by Muktadhara Ray
Shell lamps at digha se
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 3/25 by Muktadhara Ray
fried fish and sea food at Digha beach
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 4/25 by Muktadhara Ray
Digha beach
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 5/25 by Muktadhara Ray
Shell products at Digha beach
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 6/25 by Muktadhara Ray
Sunset at Digha Beach
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 7/25 by Muktadhara Ray
Tajpur
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 8/25 by Muktadhara Ray
Shantiniketan
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 9/25 by Muktadhara Ray
Yours truly at the Haat at Shantiniketan
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 10/25 by Muktadhara Ray
Baabli resort off Shantiniketan.
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 11/25 by Muktadhara Ray
A restaurant at Shantiniketan
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 12/25 by Muktadhara Ray
Yours Truly at Shantiniketan :)
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 13/25 by Muktadhara Ray
The Raddisson Ffort
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 14/25 by Muktadhara Ray
The Raddisson Ffort
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 15/25 by Muktadhara Ray
The Raddisson Ffort
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 16/25 by Muktadhara Ray
Sunderbans
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 17/25 by Muktadhara Ray
Sunderbans
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 18/25 by Muktadhara Ray
Sunderbans
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 19/25 by Muktadhara Ray
Sunderbans
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 20/25 by Muktadhara Ray
Sunderbans
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 21/25 by Muktadhara Ray
Sunderbans
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 22/25 by Muktadhara Ray
Mandarmoni
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 23/25 by Muktadhara Ray
Mandarmoni
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 24/25 by Muktadhara Ray
Resort at Mandarmoni
Photo of 5 Weekend Getaways from Kolkata 25/25 by Muktadhara Ray
Mandarmoni beach

Weekends away from the chaos of the city, the pressures of work and the never ending personal dilemmas are as good as the first drops of rain in a hot summer or the sight of greenery in a desert.

When I was in Kolkata, I always complained of the state having very few weekend getaways. This only led me to probe a lil further and there are actually a lot of places you can spend a nice weekend at. I believe, there is always some place to go, to discover only if you want to!

Here are some of my favorites:

  • Sunderbans :

These are the mangroves of India. They are a group of islands scattered over bay of bengal. The buses usually pick up at Salt Lake or Science City and drop tourists at Gadkhali. Its exactly 100 kilometres from Science City. From Gadkhali you will be transferred to a motorboat popularly known as 'launch' that will drop you at whichever island your tourism or you have booked your stay.( Try EcoTourism Travels. They have good packages)

Usually its good to take package tours that are inclusive of food, stay and travel.

Best time to visit is winters.

Read about my trip here : Sunderbans

These are the famous beaches of Bengal. While Digha is more commercialized and sees more tourists every year than any other destination, Tajpur has come into the tourists notice of late and hence is cleaner and more serene than the former. Digha is famous for its products made from sea shells and Tajpur is famous for the adventure sports. If you are staying in Digha, you can just drive to tajpur and takes only about half an hour.

To visit avoid summers.

  • Mandarmoni :

This is the luxury beach getaway of Bengal. State buses from Kolkata, drop you at a place called Chaulkhola. From ChaulKhola, your hotel/resort can arrange for your pick up. The Mondarmoni beach is lined with beautiful resorts that offer great service. The food is average though. Since the tariff of these resorts is a little higher than Digha hotels , the crowd is usually less here.

You may visit all year round. Even during summers post sunset it is very pleasant.

  • Raichak :

It is situated on the bank of the mighty river Ganges. If you are at Kolkata, you will have to drive through the Diamond harbour Road. On the way, right after you cross IIM Kolkata, you will find a lot of luxury resorts. Raichak became famous only after the fort built by the dutch was converted into the most luxurious resort stay of bengal. The hotel was still open to public viewing when I visited it and you could see the river from the top of the fort. You have to visit it to believe how beautiful it is.

To visit, avoid summers.

  • Shantiniketan:

This is the cultural capital of Bengal. This is where Rabindranath Tagore lived and taught students in his school Shantiniketan, that has now turned to a prestigious university. Accommodation is not a problem as there are lot of hotels in the town and also some very famous and interesting resorts on the outskirts where you can enjoy village life.Saturdays at 4 pm,there is a 'haat' organised at one of the Khowais.( A haat is a small local market where they sell indigenous goods. A khowai is a small valley). If you are there on a saturday you must not miss the haat that starts from 4 pm and if you are at the haat, look out for the products made from burnt red soil or the kaantha sarees( ladies the designs you get here, you will not even get in a air conditioned showroom in kolkata or elsewhere.CArry cash obviously!)

If you are foodie, try the ghugni (chana in hindi ) or the patishaptas ( sweet crepes) or the different aachaars( pickles).Everything sold is homemade.

It is the land of intellectuals and hence even a modest tea shop is very artistically designed. Visit 'Alcha' to see what I mean.

It's a music lover's paradise. At the haat, you will find people standing and singing rabindrasangeet or baul or folk music. The crowd that visits this place has lot of people from foreign countries. You can find them videographing or just listening to the songs sung by the street singers. They often break into a dance along with the bauls ( street singers of bengal who sing the praise of the Lord) .

The best time to visit is during Holi as students and residents of shantiniketan organize a beautiful procession filled with songs and dance of Tagore. Holi sees visitors from all over the world, and getting accomodation is very very tough.

The mangrove forests of India. Long neglected by tourists and the government of west bengal, this has now become one of the best weekend getaways you can have if you stay at kolkata. Adventure, nature, sea food, boat rides all thrown in together.

We stayed here in Sunderbans. But there are numerous other resorts scattered in the islands. If this doesn't excite you enough, you may opt for the West Bengal government's boat stay.

This place is by the river ganges. Very cool place to drive to for a one day trip.

The most expensive and the most beautiful stay at Raichak. It's a fort that has been converted to a luxurious stay now. every corner of this place is beutiful.

The most popular beach of Bengal. It's very crowded usually but you got to find the right places to be. Digha is now Old digha and new digha. Although very commercialized by now, the charm of eating fried fishes by the beach hasn't ceased to exist for an average bengali guy!

If you ask me, this is my most favorite weekend getaway. The beauty of this beach is that all the resorts face the sea. It's like you are staying on the shore. At night, the sea comes close to the resort gate. At night, I can sit forever on the resort lawns and stare at the roaring sea.

This is the land of music, the land of Rabindranath tagore.

This beach is an hour's drive from digha. It's not very commercialized and you would find very few shacks.

Frequent Searches Leading To This Page:-

weekend getaways from kolkata in summer, weekend trip around kolkata, weekend getaways around kolkata, best weekend getaways from kolkata, weekend destinations near kolkata

Related to this article
Weekend Getaways from Kolkata,Places to Visit in Kolkata,Places to Stay in Kolkata,Things to Do in Kolkata,Kolkata Travel Guide,Places to Visit in West bengal,Places to Stay in West bengal,Things to Do in West bengal,West bengal Travel Guide,Weekend Getaways from Digha,Places to Visit in Digha,Places to Stay in Digha,Things to Do in Digha,Digha Travel Guide,Weekend Getaways from Raichak,Places to Visit in Raichak,Places to Stay in Raichak,Things to Do in Raichak,Raichak Travel Guide,Weekend Getaways from Gosaba,Places to Visit in Gosaba,Places to Stay in Gosaba,Things to Do in Gosaba,Gosaba Travel Guide,Places to Visit in West bengal,Places to Stay in West bengal,Things to Do in West bengal,West bengal Travel Guide,Things to Do in India,Places to Stay in India,Places to Visit in India,India Travel Guide,Weekend Getaways from Pakhiralay,Things to Do in Pakhiralay,Places to Stay in Pakhiralay,Pakhiralay Travel Guide,Weekend Getaways from Kolkata,Places to Visit in Kolkata,Places to Stay in Kolkata,Things to Do in Kolkata,Kolkata Travel Guide,Weekend Getaways from Digha,Places to Visit in Digha,Places to Stay in Digha,Things to Do in Digha,Digha Travel Guide,Places to Stay in Purba medinipur,Places to Visit in Purba medinipur,Things to Do in Purba medinipur,Purba medinipur Travel Guide,Weekend Getaways from Purba medinipur,Weekend Getaways from Mandarmani,Places to Visit in Mandarmani,Places to Stay in Mandarmani,Things to Do in Mandarmani,Mandarmani Travel Guide,Weekend Getaways from Santiniketan,Places to Visit in Santiniketan,Things to Do in Santiniketan,Places to Stay in Santiniketan,Santiniketan Travel Guide,Weekend Getaways from Birbhum,Things to Do in Birbhum,Birbhum Travel Guide,Things to Do in Tajpur,Tajpur Travel Guide,