By bus
There are daily buses to the Nepali border and other points around northern India. Local buses leave from the main bus station near the train station, almost every hour in the morning and one in the evening, to Gorakhpur 5-6 hrs, Rs 120, from where buses leave to the Nepali border at Sonauli ~3 hrs, Rs 56.
There are buses run by state government from Lucknow 8hrs, Kanpur 9hrs - Rs. 195 and Allahabad3hrs - Rs. 88
By plane
Varanasi Airport IATA: VNS is about 25km from the city center. Indian Airlines (http://indian-airlines.nic.in/), Jet Airways/JetLite (http://www.jetairways.com/), Kingfisher (http://www.flykingfisher.com/) and SpiceJet (http://www.spicejet.com/) all have daily flights to Delhi and there are daily flights to Mumbai on JetLite ,Indian Airlines and SpiceJet. air viva operates direct flights between Varanasi and the Nepalese capitol Kathmandu.
Allow plenty of time to get to the airport, it can take an hour or more depending on traffic. A taxi from the pre-paid stand just outside the terminal should run around Rs 400-500 plus Rs40 parking toll or about Rs 125 in an auto-rickshaw, but most drivers will want to charge double since they will likely be coming back empty. If it suits your schedule there is a daily bus at 10AM that leaves from Hotel India and costs Rs 50.
By train
Trains are the easiest way to reach Varanasi, with multiple daily services to cities including Delhi, Agra, Lucknow, Mumbai and Kolkata.
Varanasi is served by two major railway stations. Many trains arrive at Varanasi Junction IR station code : BSB in the heart of the city, and many others arrive at Mughal Sarai Junction IR station code : MGS, about 15 km east of the city Rs 20, 45 min in a rickshaw. If travelling to/from Agra/Tundla, Mughal Sarai is a more convenient station.
Here is a list of useful trains to reach Varanasi:
| Train Number | Train Name | You may board at | You may alight at |
| 2424 | Rajdhani Express | New Delhi | Mughal Sarai Junction |
| 2436 | Rajdhani Express | New Delhi, Lucknow | Varanasi Junction |
| 2560 | Shivganga Express | New Delhi | Varanasi Junction |
| 2165 | Lokmanya Tilak T - Varanasi Express | Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Mumbai | Varanasi Junction |
| 2336 | Lokmanya Tilak T - Bhagalpur Express | Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Mumbai | Mughal Sarai Junction |
| 2333 | Vibhuti Express | Howrah Kolkata | Mughal Sarai Junction, Varanasi Junction |
| 2307 | Howrah-Jodhpur Express | Howrah Kolkata | Mughal Sarai Junction |
| 2669 | Ganga Kaveri Express | Chennai Central | Varanasi Junction |
| 2295 | Sangamitra Express | Bangalore City, Chennai Central | Mughal Sarai Junction |
| 7091 | Secunderabad-Patna Express | Secunderabad Hyderabad | Mughal Sarai Junction, Varanasi Junction |
| 4854 | Marudhar Express | Jaipur, Agra Fort | Varanasi Junction |
| 4864 | Marudhar Express | Jaipur, Agra Fort | Varanasi Junction |
Also see Rail travel in India