Varkala has its own railway station on the main Kerala line, making the train the easiest way to arrive. Trains from Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) take about an hour; from Kollam about thirty minutes. Several daily services run in each direction.
By bus, frequent services from Trivandrum take around ninety minutes. An auto-rickshaw or taxi from Trivandrum airport costs more but gets you door to door — agree on the fare before you set off. The nearest airport is Trivandrum International, about fifty kilometers south.