Fly out of Chennai or Kolkata?

Leanne

Hi,

If you have read my previous post you will knwo that I am in India for 3 months with my partner and we fly into Mumbai but want to fly out of a different airport to maximise our route. We want to spend 2 months travelling the south of India and probably 1 month in Sri Lanka, we like spending time in "real" places and we are experience backpackers but I just wondered where we are best flying out of, Chennai or Kalcutta as there doesnt seem too much to see/do around Kalcutta but loads to do south. We are very open to suggestions and happy to be persuaded to Kalcutta should it be worth it!

Many thanks in advance,

Leanne.

mairangi_vice

if you are travelling around south india and sri lanka, why are you even considering Kolkata? especially as you dont seem to have any reason to go there. It is a long way from what is normally considered south india.

Khak

if you plan to visit darjeeling/sikkim/north-east india, you can take return flight from Kolkata or Calcutta but not Kalcutta

__________________
~Khak~

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover

Nick-H

If you want to visit Sri Lanka (is it wise at the moment?) then flying back to UK from Colombo is also an option.

So many choices!

__________________
.


Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

atala

sorry for being a smart ass here, but it is Colombo. It has a sweet meaning in Sinhalese. The locals derive it from Cola-ambo = Ripe Mango.

An alternative meaning:
http://www.amazines.com/Colombo_related.html

Nick-H

Thanks. Original post edited.

atala

If you do go to SL, avoid going into Colombo, and avoid State Buses (red colour) since they are targets of the LTTE. Colombo Airport is near Negombo north of the capital, so you do not need to enter Colombo at all. Best is to take a private car to wherever you wish to go. Better not go near Anuradhapur in North.

I have not read when you want to be there. Just consider that the climate is distinctly different from India even though it is so close.

Colombo Airport itself appears quite safe, well guarded.

machadinha

That's just because the (inter-) national tourist industry isn't very focused on that area (West Bengal and its neighbors) yet. You can consider that a plus or a minus, it's up to you. I wouldn't be afraid of getting bored there, and besides there are plenty of hotspots in the wider region even (Dhaka and Bangladesh to the east; Sundarbans and Puri and Konark etc. to the south; Sikkim, Darjeeling, Assam to the north; Varanasi and Bodhgaya to the west; etc.), while West Bengal itself again is said to have plenty an undervisited temple town waiting for you, besides being a very nice and decidedly rural state itself, or from what I've seen of it.

It is of course and indeed a very long way from the south, so if you're down there, why not pick an exit point there as well.

__________________
Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links

Leanne

thank you all for your helpful replies, I think we are now going to leave from Chennai. I will have to research Sri Lanka more thoroughly - am sure I will have more questions and will post again when I do!