Kolkata Base: 5 Days, Real Day Trips
Five days based in Kolkata is where Murshidabad finally fits, the furthest of these gateway trips at 194km and about 3h20min each way by train. Days 1-4 are unchanged from the 4-day itinerary ; day 5 adds the Nawabs’ old capital. Longer trip? See the 6-day and 7-day versions, both of which add the Sundarbans.
Book these before you go: a Park Street or New Market hotel on Agoda or Booking.com , a private Murshidabad day tour if you would rather not manage the train and local transfers yourself, and your Howrah-to-Bolpur Shantiniketan tickets a few days ahead in peak season.
| Day | Focus | Travel time from Kolkata |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dakshineswar Kali Temple + Belur Math | 45-60 min each way by Metro, taxi or ferry |
| 2 | Chandannagar, the old French Strand | 40-55 min each way by local train |
| 3 | Shantiniketan, Tagore’s university town | 145km, 2h10min-3h each way by train |
| 4 | North Kolkata, College Street and Kumartuli | None, this day stays in the city |
| 5 | Murshidabad, Hazarduari Palace | 194km, about 3h20min each way by train |
Day 1: Dakshineswar and Belur Math
Combine free entry Dakshineswar Kali Temple with Belur Math, headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, across the river, into one half-day by Metro plus a short taxi hop, direct taxi, or the river ferry, per current timings on West Bengal Tourism . Base yourself around Park Street; the rest of this trip runs out of Howrah, a short Metro ride from there.
Day 2: Chandannagar
A Howrah-line local train covers the 35-44km to Chandannagar in 40-55 minutes, no booking required. Walk the French-era Strand along the Hooghly, see the Sacred Heart Church, eat lunch by the river, and take an afternoon train back.
Day 3: Shantiniketan
Take an early Howrah departure, before 8am if you can, on the Shantiniketan Express or an equivalent (2h10min to 3h each way; check the current Indian Railways timetable ). Spend the afternoon at Visva-Bharati, Tagore’s ashram buildings, and the open-air Kala Bhavan art school before an evening train back.
Day 4: North Kolkata
Spend the day at College Street’s book market and the Indian Coffee House inside the 1876 Albert Hall, then Kumartuli, the idol-makers’ quarter, and the Marble Palace, an 1835 mansion, free entry, no photography allowed inside. This is the less-packaged half of Kolkata most short trips skip entirely, and Incredible India has more on the neighborhood’s heritage buildings if you want to read ahead.
Day 5: Murshidabad
Murshidabad was the pre-British Nawab capital of Bengal, centered on the 19th-century Hazarduari Palace, the Palace of a Thousand Doors, now a museum of Nawabi-era paintings, armor and furniture, protected as a monument by the Archaeological Survey of India . The Hazarduari Express covers the roughly 194km from Kolkata in about 3h20min, departing Howrah near 6:50am and arriving around 10:10am on the named service (schedules shift, verify before you book). Add a further 3km from the station to the palace itself, needing a short local transfer.
This is genuinely a long day, roughly 6-7 hours round trip on trains alone, and most visitors find the palace, Katra Mosque, and the Battle of Plassey history worth it anyway. If the length of the day puts you off, the private Murshidabad day tour handles the transfers and also lists a 2-day version, for whenever you have a longer trip to spend here.
Is Murshidabad worth a 6-7 hour round trip on trains?
For the Hazarduari Palace alone, yes, most visitors find it worth the length once they see the museum’s Nawabi-era collection in person. It is genuinely a long day, and if your schedule allows a longer trip later, the overnight version is a noticeably better way to see it than a single rushed day.
Should I do Murshidabad or the Sundarbans on a 5-day trip?
Do Murshidabad. It fits into a single day, however long, while the Sundarbans genuinely needs two to three days once boat transfers and lodge time are counted, more than a 5-day trip that also includes Shantiniketan and Chandannagar can spare. If the Sundarbans matters to you more, look at the 6-day or 7-day itineraries instead.
Confirm your Murshidabad return train the moment you arrive at the station, not the night before. Timetables on this line shift more often than the Howrah-Bolpur route, and a missed last train back means an unplanned night in Berhampore.