Kolkata to Bhubaneswar

My wife and I are travelling from Kolkata to Bhubaneswar in February, for a couple of weeks in the area. Any thoughts on (a) best way to get there, air versus rail - is the rail journey enjoyable and comfortable? and (b) where else to go in the region eg how long to spend in Bhubaneswar itself, how long in Puri, where else? We like to take our time, but only if the places are nice.

Kolkata to Bhubaneswar

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g503703-i10443-k15…

Kolkata to Bhubaneswar

Brilliant, thanks Brave1, I hadn%26#39;t spotted that existing forum, not sure how I missed it.

Is there any way of booking Indian trains in advance from outside of the country?

I think irctc.co.in offers an e-ticket option. RatnaPrasad has a very good Inside Page on Indian railways, if you look it up.

Thanks again, Brave1. Now that I%26#39;ve read that page, I think we%26#39;ll fly to and from Bhubaneshwar!

Our itinery (mid Feb) now looks like this:

3 nights Kolkata, Astor Hotel

4 nights Bhubaneshwar, Ginger hotel

A few nights in Chilka Lake and/or Gopalpur

Return to Kolkata (airport hotel, one night)

If you%26#39;ve any suggestions for hotels in either Chilka or Gopalpur I%26#39;d appreciate it, though I probably won%26#39;t book them until I get there (unless you think I should). Thanks again for all your help, you seem to be in great demand!

Hey, glad to be of help. :)

Your itenary seems good enough to me. Instead of 4 nights in Bhubaneshwar though you could spend 2 nights in Puri...though hotel cost wise that would make it expensive. But I would not suggest a budget hotel in Puri, I have seen too many of them and stayed at none.

You could do Puri and Konark as daytrips too from Bhubaneshwar. There are a lot of daytrip options from Bhubaneshwar. You can arrange those yourself. Talk to the drivers that loiter outside the Ginger hotel and get price ideas. Remember to bargain.

I have only done daytrips to Chilka, and cannot comment on hotel options there. Gopalpur had an Oberoi propery called Palm beach or something like that. Not sure if its still there, I was there a long time ago. Friends tell me of hotel Sea Pearl, but never stayed there so cannot comment how it is.

This site might be of help to you.

orissagateway.com/features/Travel_and_Touris…

t

By the way, is there another airport hotel in Kolkata ? I didnt know the MBD Ashok (which we Calcuttans know as THE airport hotel) was back in operation.

I don%26#39;t think so, your best bet might be the Hyatt-which isn%26#39;t too far from the airport, have a good trip

There%26#39;s such a huge choice of hotels in Bhubaneshwar, I%26#39;m thinking of choosing one when I get there. Or do the best ones get full up? I%26#39;ve looked at Ginger, but it seems a bit characterless, am I right? I quite like the look of the Suryansh, or the Royale Midtown.

Ginger is a budget chain hotel. You can hardly expect haute cuisine at MacDonalds or KFC, can you ? But if you are on a budget its a good, clean option.

I think its fine to decide after you reach there. Like I said, you have 4 good hotels just accross the Road from each other, The Ginger, The Trident Hilton, The Mayfair, and the Swosti Plaza. One of them is bound to accommodate you.

But if you are going to the Trident Hilton, you should book early from the Hilton website. You get great discounts. When you land up there, you get rack rates.

I take your point... I%26#39;m finding it hard to imagine India these days, haven%26#39;t been there for so long and it sounds like it%26#39;s changed so much.

Further investigations show the Trident is full already, as are one or two others I%26#39;ve tried. he Mayfair (Lagoon) isn%26#39;t as ridiculously priced as I was expecting - 6500Rs for a cottage, but I didn%26#39;t realise it was so central, or have I got the wrong Mayfair - I assumed it was miles out of town, being more like a resort.

The Ginger haven%26#39;t replied to an e-mail I sent them two weeks ago, and Asia rooms don%26#39;t appear to have anything to do with them, so I%26#39;m a bit baffled as to how to book.

The Suryash have a room available at 2700Rs; just one reasonable tripadvisor report on them, so could be good, could be bad. Have you heard any reports? I%26#39;m tempted because they claim to have a swimming pool, which Ginger doesn%26#39;t.

blackhead treatment