India is home to a variety of mountains, seas and forests but when you list your priorities when planning on India travel, forest is not likely to be on your mind but for the Royal Bengal Tiger. As for mountains, the eastern side of the country is better known for its rampant and angry yet beautiful seas than its hill stations.

In fact, when one thinks about visiting hill stations in east India, they can hardly ever think beyond Darjeeling. On the other hand, there are plenty of options for the tourists who like the rampaging and the roaring of the waves better. Even so, the most popular beach vacationing spots among the residents of the region have always been Digha and Puri. As for foreigners, these places are not all that popular yet but that is all the more reason why they might find these worth exploring.

Why Choose a Digha Trip?
Digha is the favorite beach destination for the people of Bengal and it is not uncommon to hear Bengali people say that they have been there seven, eight or even ten times. However, one can’t exactly say that the beauty of the place is going to attract people to come back over and over again; the phenomenon is more due to people seeing this as an easy weekend getaway once on twice every year.

That being said, visiting Digha is certainly recommended for those who have been to or are visiting eastern India and have yet to go to the beaches of Digha. The beaches are not awe inspiring but at the same time they are very comforting. The sea is among the most active ones that you can get in Bengal with waves being greater than others in the state.

However, the horse riding experience can often be a turn off given that half the beach is home to mules (whom locals refer to as horses). Beach shops are aplenty and there are many food stalls too. Also, if you want to get a tan, then there are no better places than Digha and Puri; often though, the tan is darker than what you would have wished for!

Why Choose a Puri Trip?
Puri is perhaps the greatest oceanic attraction in Eastern India. The number of tourists that this place gets each year is way more than what Digha gets especially because its tourists’ base is not limited to only the vacationers from Kolkata. In fact, Puri is no stranger to foreigners either although tourists from abroad do not make the bulk of the lot.

This Orissa beach is known for its extremely high tides and thunderous waves. Often the waves of the high tide sweep the beach from front to back at dusk prompting tourists to flee for cover from the water. Also, Orissa is home to the cream of the cottage industry craftsmen in India and that is what draws people from foreign countries here. To add value, this place is also looked at as a kind of pilgrimage which is famous for the temple of Shree Jagannath.

Contrasting Stays in Digha and Puri
In both Digha and Puri, reasonably budgeted hotels are aplenty. Both destinations can boast of having a number of holiday homes as well. However, since Puri is looked at as more a pilgrimage it does not have the same number of posh lodges as compared to some other beach destinations. Instead, it has a number of places for the elderly people where their lodging and fooding are both comfortable and inexpensive.

However, there is not much difference betweens the types of hotels in Digha and Puri either as Digha two does not boast a myriad of 5-stars. In fact, it may have some marks deducted on the grounds of cleanliness and food safety standards; not that Puri has got a humongous edge either though with regards to that.