Digha is the most popular sea resort in West Bengal. Known as the Brighton of the East, Digha is merely 187 kms away from Howrah. Named Beerkul in the early days, Digha offers shallow, calm and safe beaches fit for swimming. Digha beach offer excellent view of both sunrise and sunset.
Reaching Digha from Howrah is fairly easy. Howrah and Digha are well connected by both road and rail. Regular bus services to Digha are available from the Garia Bus Terminus (Route 6) of Kolkata. The bus service starts as early as 4 am and goes on till the afternoon. Bus service is frequent and it takes about 5 hours to reach Digha from Howrah. Buses are available from Howrah to Digha from the Dharamtala bus stand also. There are frequent bus services to Digha from Esplanade/ Babughat bus stand. AC Volvo bus from Howrah for Digha departs at 7.00 am from Esplanade and the fare is to the upwards of INR 80.
Apart from this, there are two daily bus services from Kudghat Bus Stand daily at 6 and 8.30am. Bus service to Digha is also available from Dumdum station. The bus leaves at 7am for Digha from Dumdum. CSTC buses are available from the bus stand near Ruby General Hospital. They start at 4.30am and 4.45am every day. Bus service from Barrackpore is at 6am and 7.30am. Frequent bus services are available from Howrah with buses leaving at an interval of 30 minutes throughout the day. Travelling by bus is generally recommended to lone travellers and young backpackers, who love adventurous journeys.
It was in 2004 that train services started for Digha. The Howrah – Digha Superfast Tamralipta Express (12857) departs from Howrah at 6.40 am and arrives at Digha station at 10.05 am. Howrah – Digha Kandari Express (18001) departs from Howrah at 2.10pm and reaches Digha station at 5.50pm. New Jalpaiguri – Digha Paharia Express (15722) leaves from New Jalpaiguri station at 9pm hrs and and halts at Howrah. It reaches Digha at 12pm next day. The train runs from New Japlaiguri on Friday.
Santragachhi – Digha Passenger departs from Santragachhi at 6.15pm and reaches Digha station at 10.15pm. Howrah – Duranto Express, a special AC train for tourists, departs from Howrah station at 11.30 am and reaches Digha at 2pm without any stoppage in between. There is also a Local train from Shalimar (Near Howrah) to Digha. Special trains are also announced from time to time, especially during holidays and festivals.
Hiring a cab from Howrah to Digha is another option. Cab cost varies depending upon the type of car and the facilities offered. This is the best option to travel with family consisting of elders and small children.