A large number of tourists come to Darjeeling to explore the cultural diversity of the town. The major railhead is at New Jalpaiguri (NJP),Siliguri is the nearest station on the main inter-city line. This route is very popular among tourists as it passes through very picturesque mountain scenery and connects the city with all the major parts of the country like Kolkata, Delhi, Guwahati, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar and Kochi. People can hire private cabs from the station to reach Darjeeling.
Located 93kms away from Darjeeling is the Bagdogra airport near Siliguri. Domestic airlines like Air India, Jet Airways, Spice Jet and Kingfisher make it easy for the tourists heading for Darjeeling to get direct connections with Delhi, Calcutta and Guwahati. For International travelers they can get connecting flights from Kolkata or Delhi as both the cities are very well linked with many cities in India and abroad. You can reserve taxis/cabs to Darjeeling from Bagdogra or one can head towards Siliguri first and get a transport to reach Darjeeling.
There are regular bus services that run to the cities and towns of Bagdogra, Siliguri, Kurseong, Kalimpong, and Gangtok. The region being hilly the buses move quite slowly due to the steep, twisty climb up to Darjeeling and bit uncomfortable to travel. These services provide direct and cheap links to the city and for native people it is the most reasonable option.