By Air: The nearest airports are Trichy and Chennai.
By Train The railway station is just east of the Mahamakam Tank, about 2km from the main temple area. There are trains to Chennai (8 hr, 4 daily), Chengalpattu (6½ hr), Tiruchirappalli (3 daily), Chidambaram, and Thanjavur (3 daily). There is a good train to Chennai at about 8.30 am which takes about 8 hours.
By Bus The bus station is north of the Mahamakam Tank, southeast of the center of town, about a ten-minute auto-rickshaw ride from the main temple area. There are regular buses to Chidambaram, Pondicherry, Madurai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli (4 hr), Chennai (7½ hr, 4 daily), Tiruvannamalai and Bangalore. Buses depart to Thanjavur (half-hour) via Dharasuram and Gangaikondacholapuram every few minutes.
Kumbakonam is on the bank of the Kaveri River, 68km southwest of Chidambaram and 311km south of Chennai.