Time of visit
For visitors from colder climates, the best time for visit would be between October to March. The weather during this time is very pleasant and conducive to travel. This is also the time when millions of migratory birds make their way from the north to nest in the lakes and forests of Orissa. However, Orissa is not without attraction during the rest of the year. Barring occasional very high temperatures for a few days in the months of May-June-July, and a couple of weeks of heavy rains during the monsoons, the climate in Orissa is very much to the advantage of visitors. In fact, these so called off seasons are the best times to get fabulous deals on accommodation, local transport etc.

Entry points
The most convenient way to enter Orissa is through the capital city of Bhubaneswar. The city is well connected to the rest of the country by air, rail and road and makes a pretty good base for your explorations. However, if you are planning a trip towards the southern districts of Orissa alone, you could make your entry through Berhampur which is also on the Kolkata-Chennai railway line and on the Kolkata-Chennai National Highway (NH 5). You could also make use of Visakhapatanam (which has an airport in addition to being on the same rail and road network as Berhampur) in Andhra Pradesh to enter the southern districts by road. If you are planning a visit to Simplipal and its neighbouring areas, Balasore or even Kolkata would make an ideal entry point/base. For visiting the western areas of Orissa, Rourkela and Sambalpur make ideal entry points.

Airlines
Bhubaneswar is well connected by air to all major cities in India. For visitors coming from abroad, whether you enter India from Mumbai, Kolkata, New Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore or Hyderabad, you will find convenient flights to Bhubaneswar. To get the information on flights to and from Bhubaneswar, please visit www.indian-airlines.com for Indian Airlines and Alliance Air flights, www.airsahara.net for Air Sahara flights, www.flykingfisher.com for Kingfisher Airlines and www.airdeccan.net for Air Deccan. The current schedule is given below:

Rail
Bhubaneswar, Puri, Balasore, Cuttack, Khurda Road and Berhampur are major railheads on the East Coast Railway. Besides, other locations like Rourkela, Sambalpur, Talcher, Dheknanal and Koraput are also linked to the major cities by rail. To get the list of trains and their schedules, please visit www.indianrail.gov.in. Domestic tourists can also book their tickets online at www.irctc.co.in. 

Road
Orissa has a fine network of roads crisscrossing through the length and breadth of the state. In fact, to visit many of the destinations in the state, the preferred mode of travel is by road even when rail links are available. This is because the journey through the hinterland is an end in itself.