Puja and long-weekend cars go early. Book your date now.
travel guide
Temple trips are the most common booking we get, and the mistake is almost always the day, not the distance. Go to Tarakeswar on a Monday in Sraban and you will stand for three hours. Go on a Thursday and you are out in twenty minutes. Distances here are from central Kolkata, and several of these are closer from our own side.
travel guide
travel guide
Distances are road distances from central Kolkata, checked on road routing data.
The standard half day from our belt: Dakshineswar in the morning, the ferry or the Vivekananda Setu across, and Belur Math after. From Barrackpore it is a 40 minute drive, so a car for four hours is enough.
The Taraknath temple, packed on Mondays and through the month of Sraban. Most families add Kamarpukur, 94 km, and Jayrambati, 101 km, and finish the whole thing in one day.
Only 104 km from Barrackpore, so a day trip works from our side. Morning and evening arati, the temple campus, and Nabadwip across the river by ferry. Very crowded at Rasa Purnima and Janmashtami.
Both near Shantiniketan, so most people do them with the Bolpur trip. Bakreswar has the hot springs, Kankalitala the pond and the sati peeth.
Not one temple but a dozen terracotta ones: Rasmancha, Jorbangla, Shyamrai, Madanmohan. A car for the day is needed because they are spread over several kilometres.
The Tara temple and the Dwarka river cremation ground. Four to five hours each way, so either start at 5am and come back at night, or stay one night and add Shantiniketan.
Car to Lot 8 ghat, launch to Kachuberia, then a vehicle to the Kapil Muni temple. At Makar Sankranti in January the crowd is in lakhs, so we plan those trips very differently.
The pairs that work: Dakshineswar with Belur, half a day. Tarakeswar with Kamarpukur and Jayrambati, one long day. Mayapur with Nabadwip, one day from our side. Shantiniketan with Kankalitala and Bakreswar, or with Tarapith, two days. What does not work is Tarapith and Mayapur on the same day, because they are on different roads.
Ask for a sedan or an MUV with a step that is not too high, tell us if a wheelchair or a stick is coming, and we park as close to the gate as the police allow. We also plan the darshan for the morning, because by noon the queue is longer and the stone floor is hot.
travel guide
Small things that decide whether the day is good or tiring.
Mondays at Tarakeswar, Saturdays and Tuesdays at many Kali temples, and the whole of Sraban are the heavy days. Ask us before you fix the date.
Most temples have a midday break. Reach before 11am or after 4pm.
Keep shoes, phones and bags in the car. Almost every temple counter charges for keeping them and the queue there is its own wait.
Road distances and drive times here are checked on road routing data and then widened for real traffic. Timings, ferry hours and entry rules change with the season, so ask us the day before you go and we will tell you what the road is like that week.
travel guide
These are the trips on our list that match this guide. Pickup is from your gate.
travel guide
A day trip works best when the car reaches you early, from your own side of town.
questions
Yes, with an early start. From the Barrackpore side we usually do Dakshineswar at 7am, Belur by 9.30, and Kalighat by noon before the afternoon break. It is a full day of city driving, so take the car for eight to ten hours.
About 224 km by road and about 222 km from Barrackpore, four to five hours each way. As a single day it means leaving at 5am; most families prefer one night with Shantiniketan added.
not sure yet? send the date anyway. If we cannot do it, we will say so.
Travel guides
want a car for it
Send the date and how many people are going. We tell you which car fits, when the car should start, and the full price in writing before you decide.
