Shankarpur is near Digha and the place can be reached by taking any bus going to Digha. You need to getoff at a place called Choddomile or Chaulkhola (14 miles in Bengali) between Contai (Kanthi) and Digha - just before Ramnagar. The sea beach is a 15 minute ride by a car from Choddomile. You need to book a car to pick you up from Choddomile. Ask the hotel to do the car booking.
Otherwise, you can go straight to the Digha Bus stand (a further 25-30 minute ride) and then hire a cab from there.
There is also a direct bus to Shankarpur.
The best bus to take is the 7:30AM Airconditioned bus run by the "West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation". It starts from Dharmatala Bus Stand (near the Maidan market). You need to book in advance - the earlier you do so the better.Another good bus is the Ex Armyman's Service.(Reclining seats/Video Coach)This starts from Golpark at 6.30AM and is convenient for those travelling from South Calcutta.Again,advance booking advisable.
Travel Time by Bus: 4:30-5:00 (including a 30-40 minute snack break).
You can also reach Digha by train from Howrah or Shalimar. The train starts from Howrah on certain days of the week. Only on weekends do the railway provide Aircon chaircars. From there you have to hire a taxi / In bus go to Ramnagar and from there you have to hire trekker to go to the beach(approx. 40-50 min journey).
If you want to drive down to Shankarpur from Kolkata(Calcutta) - the directions are as follows - Take the Second Hooghly Bridge - Follow Kona Expressway ( 4-Lane road)- At the Bombay Road crossing take a left turn - Follow Bombay Road ( 4-Lane road) - You can break at the A1 Plaza inside the Reliance petro station. It would be to your left - a 30-40 minute ride from the Kona Expressway-Bombay Road junction - Keep straight till you cross the Rupnarayan river ( the bridge is one way and the river is wide)- After you cross the river you will see the Kolaghat Thermal Power Station to your left - Immediately after the Power Station is a junction - turn left towards Haldia - You have now hit the Haldia Highway (NH41), the road is being 4 laned, but most of it is still a 2 lane road - Keep straight till you hit the Nandakumar crossing, you can identify it easily as the crossing has a wide round circle - Turn right at this crossing, you have now hit the Digha Road, Digha Road is a 2 lane road, the road is smooth but narrow and the Buses drive at very high speed, so be extremely careful when overtaking -Follow Digha road - you will cross Narghat Bridge, Chandipur, Bajkul, Heria, Kanthi (Contai) - At Choddomile before Ramnagar take a left towards Shankarpur, This road is bad. You will have a river for company, it will be to your right - The first hotel to come up is '''Hotel Nest''' ( The best place to stay but not near the beach) - After ''Nest'' you come to a junction where the road bifurcates, the right road leads to the Joar and Matsyagandha tourist lodges, The left road takes you to the Shankarpur beach. Just before the beach an narrow unpaved road leads to the other hotels - '''Hotel Sandy Bay''' is the first.Hotel sand Bay is the best if u want to see sea from your bed............ Room No 303,304,305,306 (rate Rs.900/-,after discount Rs.735/-)......Fooding also nice...reasonable rate...
You should drink bottled water - Kinley can be had from the hotel or the small shops near the beach.
No one should leave Shankarpur without relaxing on the beach on a full moon night with a glass of vodka topped up with coconut water. The ambience is mesmerizing. The bar at Hotel Nest is damn good. But from Sandy Bay U can face the sea directly. You can also get enough of country liquor over there. It's a local alcoholic drink very strong in nature.
A liquor shop has opened just 50 m outside the gates of the Fisheries premises on the right fork from Hotel Nest. A variety of medium grade whiskies, rum, etc available.