By Taxi/Shared Jeep
Siliguri is the nearest town connected to the mainline rail network. Ample transport is available to Darjeeling from here. The most popular modes of transport are taxi usually shared by three to four passengers, shared jeep ten passengers @Rs.150/ to Rs.200/ depends on time.
Shared jeeps depart regularly, from several locations around town. They leave when full, and are a cheap, fast and reasonably comfortable way to get to Darjeeling.
If you have arrived by train at NJP, you can take a taxi or shared jeep to reach Darjeeling from the booking counter at the taxi stand in front of the railway station. There is also a prepaid taxi stand in front of the train station. Note that if you arrive too late for the jeep to make a return journey from Darjeeling, you may end up paying more, e.g. Rs.200 per person. The prepaid counter will tell you that no jeeps are available, so you'll have to find one via a fixer or by negotiating directly with drivers.
Tourists often opt to buy an extra seat or two to have more space for the 3 hour journey up to Darjeeling! Luggage is carried for free on the roof. Jeeps may stop for a snack and toilet break on the way up normally a few km short of Kurseong.
Reserve cars are available from Kings Travels,dial: 098304-28401/ 093319-39486 for tour purpose in Darjeeling.
By plane
The nearest airport is Bagdogra, near Siliguri, 96 km from Darjeeling.
Air India fomerly Indian Airlines, India's largest airline, has flights from:
Delhi - IC 880 Tu/Th/Sat and IC 879 Mon/Fri - via Guwahati
Guwahati - IC 879 Mon/Fri
Kolkata - IC 721 Tu/Th/Sat
Jet Airways, a private airline, has flights from:
Delhi - 9W 601 Mon/Wed/Fri - Via Guwahati and 9W 602 Tu/Th/Sat/Sun
Guwahati 9W 601 Mon/Wed/Fri
Kolkata 9W 617 Daily
Spice Jet also operates flights from Kolkata & Delhi.
Air Deccan also known as Kingfisher red, runs budget flights to and from Bagdogra from Delhi, Guwahati and Calcutta.
Indigo has also started direct/indirect flights to & from Delhi and Guwahati since April, 2009 end.
Druk Airways has also commenced direct flights to & from Paro as well as Bangkok, twice a week for both destinations
All other cities major cities can be accessed by taking a flight to Delhi/Kolkata and connecting.
You can take a prepaid taxi or shared jeep from Bagdogra to Darjeeling. The shared jeeps can be very uncomfortable as the ride is long and the roads are very poorly maintained. An air conditioned prepaid taxi will cost 2000 rupees as of October 2012 - if you can find people to share it with you it will obviously be cheaper! They seem to charge an extra 170 rupees for a "big car", but the "small car" still seems to be a big SUV so this is probably a wrought.
Getting to and from Nepal can be tricky, despite their close proximity. One can catch a share jeep to Siliguri and a bus to the Nepalese border, changing buses in Nepal. An alternative is that Juniper Tours and Travels - located just next to the clock tower in Darjeeling offer a service where a driver can take you across the border and drop you at the Bhadrapur airport in Nepal for your connecting flight to Kathmandu. It is more expensive than organising your own transport but they make a concerted effort to look after you and will help you out if the situation becomes dicey particularly with strikes in Nepal, they cannot be recommended highly enough and this is unusual for India.
By train
New Jalpaiguri NJP near Siliguri is the nearest station on the main inter-city line. Direct trains to NJP run from Delhi approx 27 hours several times a day. If you are traveling from Kolkata Sealdah Station the best train for you will be Darjeeling Mail circa 12 hours running nightly at 10:05PM.
From there NJP, the famous Darjeeling Himalayan Railway DHR, known to all as the 'Toy Train' completes the journey to Darjeeling. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was the first, and is still the most outstanding, example of a hill passenger railway.It is now listed as a World Heritage Site declared by UNESCO.
This route is very popular with tourists as it passes through some very picturesque mountain scenery and has been the subject of many romantic articles. The line has a series of zig zags and loops to gain height and runs straight up several village main streets! Trains depart NJP at 9AM and arrive in Darjeeling at 3:30. Now the train is diesel hauled is reasonably reliable and punctual.
NJP to Darjeeling Toy Train service is suspended after railway track damage due to recent earth-quake. The service may not be restored until 2013. Collect enough information if you are planning to reach Darjeeling by Toy Train.
The steam 'Joy' train operates from Darjeeling to Ghoom round the famous Batasia Loop, once or twice a day 10AM&1:40PM â enquire at Darjeeling station. Costs about INR 250 First class/ INR 50 Second Seating. Strongly suggested you buy tickets for earlier train as the 2nd train rarely has enough people. Website DHR: (http://203.176.113.182/DH...)
A steam train also operates Siliguri to 'Agony Point' above Tindharia most Saturdays and Sundays. Enquire to Siliguri station.There is also a daily 'School Train' that leaves Kurseong at 06:15 arriving Darjeeling at 08:45. It leaves Darjeeling at 16:00 arriving Kurseong at 18:30.This is still hauled by a steam engine and is one of the last 'day to day'/ordinary steam trains running anywhere in the world. IR keeps changing the times for it and it is notoriously unreliable often running hours late.