Beaches are integral part of West Bengal, as Bay of Bengal lies at south of the state. The holy river Ganges meets the sea at Sagar Mohona. Thus it divides the beaches into west & east beaches of Bengal.
✔ East beaches :
This side Sundarban takes on maximum coverage and here handful of beaches are there.
Bakkhali ( বকখালি)
Kargill Beach (কার্গিল বিচ)
Fraserganj (ফ্রেজারগঞ্জ)
Henry's Island ( হেনরি আইল্যাণ্ড)
Lalganj beach
Another new beach near Bakkhali, it is situated north of Henry's Island but when visiting this beach you have to take left at around 16Km to reach Lalganj.
Sagardwip - Gangasagar beach ( সাগরদ্বীপ/গঙ্গাসাগর)
The beach is actually the estuary of Hooghly river. Here yearly Gangasagar Fair (মেলা) held - lakhs of pilgrims came here to offer their prayers to the Ashram of Kapil Muni. Except the time of fair, the area is very dull.
Mousuni Island
Love camping at beaches? Mousuni is the best place in West Bengal.
G Plot or Gobardhanpur Sea beach
It is located at a delta island of South 24 Pargana. The nature and the beach of the Bay of Bengal are very beautiful here. However road condition and stay-in options are not good.
✔ West beaches:
These are on East Medinipur district and attracts huge number of footfalls throughout the year.
✔ North of Kanthi/Contai (কাঁথি):
Junput (জুনপুট)
Bankiput (বাঁকিপুট)
Haripur Beach (হরিপুর)
Boguran Jolpai (বগুরান জলপাই)
A few accommodations are available here. The beach is virgin, i.e. fishermen's beach actually. Boguran Jalpai is seperated from Lal Kaknra beach by the estuary of Pichabani river.
✔ South of Contai
These beaches are main tourist beaches in Bengal. There are one after another beaches lying across the sea till Orissa border. Talsari is another nearby beach inside Orissa.
Mandarmani (মন্দারমণি) Mandarmani got its fame since Digha became over-crowded. There are several luxury resorts over here on the beach side.
North to Mandarmani there is a new beach, Lal Kaknra Beach or Purusattampur Beach.
Tajpur (তাজপুর)
My favorite beach of West Bengal is Tajpur. The greenery of the Jhau trees and long serene beach is the main attraction. Like Goa's beaches, Tajpur has several beach side shacks for food. The road from the main road is terrible, but now you can visit Tajpur via Mandarmani over the river bridge. This new route is in much better condition.
Chandipur ( চাঁদিপুর)
It's located in between Tajpur & Sankarpur.
Sankarpur (শংকরপুর)
It is a fish harbor as well as a beach. As I visited Sankarpur in August 2021, the goverment has literally killed the natural beauty of the main beach. Full of concrete and lack of nature would put you in disappointment. Bit of nature still lies in the area of fishermen's habour.
Digha Mohona (দীঘা মোহনা)
Sunrise at Digha Mohona is one of best local tours in Digha. You can visit the wholesale fish market here.
Digha/old Digha (দীঘা)
Digha is one of the most popular tourist spot in West Bengal. From the capital of Bengal, Kolkata it takes around 4-5 hrs to reach Digha by car. Originally known by the name “Beerkul,” it was first popularised during the British Raj by the then governor of Bengal, Warren Hastings, who said Digha as 'Brighton of the East'. Bengal Gazette (1778) noted down the bungalow of Hastings in Digha, which was built in 1775. Later tidal surge and land erosion had Beerkul reduced to rubble. Even Hastings' leisure bungalow also sank into the sea.
After a long gap, Digha had been a place of interest when John Frank Snaith came to Digha in 1923 and leased 11.5 acre area near the sea beach. That time Digha was a mere village, under Ramnagar thana, under Contai district. Mr. Snaith founded Runswick House.
It was developed into a tourist destination through the efforts of Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, the first chief minister of Bengal after the independence in 1947. After that the development of Digha was never stopped. In fact the present TMC-led state government constructed a Jagannath Temple in Digha, which is a replica of Puri's Jagannath Temple.
New Digha (নিউ দীঘা)
After 80's New Digha was commissioned as another sea beach as the beach of Digha was getting eroded heavily by the sea. It is nearly 3km away from Old Digha. You can have enjoy the beach here. Numerous hotels have been made in New Digha in last 10 years.
Udaypur (উদয়পুর)
Udaypur is located just at the border of West Bengal & Orissa. The beach is great but the crowd is not worth. You can drink alcohol on the beach by renting a table & chairs from the local shops. They will serve the food too. But too noisy, and not a good quality crowd - not my cup of tea.
Extending Digha trip to Orissa border areas:
Chandaneswar Shiva Temple Complex
Though main deity here is Shiva, there are several other temples are in the complex. Chandaneswar Shiva is swayambhu, meaning self originated here. The temple was built in Kalinga architectural way. Actual history of the temple is lost. Annually there are two major events celebrated here - first day of Oriya Calender (day of Vishuva Sankranti) & Chaitra/Charak Mela.
Talsari Sea Beach
Here view of the sea shore changes with the tide. Best place to stay here is Panthasala (under Orissa Tourism).
Bichitrapur Mangrove Sanctuary
From here you can go the beach of Subarna Island via boat. The boat journey is full of scenic beauty which must not be missed.
Bhusundeswar Temple
Hailed as Asia's largest Shiva Linga, there is no temple at all - just the Shiva Linga and make-shift temple with corrogated tin shade. There is no hurry in the rural atmosphere here except during different puja days. It is nearly 24km from Digha (approx. 48-50min travel via car). On the way you can see the Chandrabali Khati beach with fish market.
