[PetrolRider]

Originally Posted by riteshritesh

I am planning an Odisha holiday for 4-5 nights end of this month. Need hotel recommendations for:
1 Night at Bhubaneshwar, 2 nights at Puri and 1 night near Chilika Lake or Gopalpur.
Me, Wife and atleast 1 if not 2 daughters will be traveling without a car.
Something less than 5000 Rs per night is sought.
Plan to visit whatever is possible in BBSR, then Sun Temple, Jagannath Temple and Chilika Lake for sure. Caves and sulphur springs are tentative.

For Bhubaneswar, you can check Crown / Swasti / Pal height / HHI etc. They are dead on center of the town and should come within your budget. If you can get some deal at MayFair, nothing beats it.

If you are not so much for religious things, I suggest making 2 nights at Bhubaneswar and 1 night at Puri . Considering just 50 KM apart, Bhubaneswar gives you much better access to hotels and food etc. For Puri, you can check any hotel on beach that is within 2KM range from temple. More than that, you would have issues in transportation. As you are planning Konark, don't forget Chandrabhaga beach.

Chilika lake can be done in a day from Bhubaneswar, there is no reason to stay there. In case if you are planing to stay, OTDC resort at Barkul would be the best option.
If you are planning to stay in Gopalpur, then try for Mayfair or Swasti.

You can skip sulfur spring and caves. For Puri temple visit, try to skip open darshan timing ("Sahana Mela") as that can be too crowded. Anyway, as last I knew, Puri temple is going through some repair and you have to do the Darshan through a glass partition.

[AutoAficionado]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

I would suggest to look out for accomodation in Airoli itself. You might be required to increase your budget by a couple of thousands more in a good locality like sector 3 or sector 9. This will save your commutational costs. The only thing which might work against you is the time frame of rental requirement.

Thanks ghodlur for the suggestion. What would be the minimum time frame which the owner/brokers might look out for when giving their house/apartment for rent. Would even providing a higher security deposit solve the issue.

For such a small time frame, you should look for a fully furnished accommodation only and this will bump the budget by a couple of thousands more. You haven't detailed if you are moving with your family. If so, suggest somewhere closer to D-Mart in sector 9.

Since the project duration is only for a shorter period(10 months), I prefer not to have a fully furnished accommodation since that would leave a hole in my pocket since there would be double expenditures as my family is not with me.

Although the suggestions for nearby areas such as Ghansoli, Koperhkhairane are valid, traversing the every busy and jam prone Thane/ Belapur road during peak time is exhausting. Thane is another option provided you get closest to the station which IMO would be very rare and pricey plus you will get old buildings. If you stay in Airoli, Autos will be the easiest way to commute to office.

I prefer to stay in close proximity to my office(Mindspace, Airoli) thereby saving time (a major factor in city like Mumbai) and avoiding the ever increasing traffic. I am closing on areas like the one you have mentioned.

Cheers!!!
AutoAficionado

[agbenny]

I am planning a trip between May 10-20 at Andamans, 2 adults and 2 kids (12,14).
We prefer to stay at some resort for 6 days. 5 days at Port Blair and 2 days at some other Island. Our budget is approx. 10-15K per night.

Any resort recommendations? Also, anything to be known particularly to not to miss - Restaurants, rental cars, beaches/places from your list?

(PS: After teambhpians recommendations for our trip to Goa in 2016, life was so simple, I got clear ideas, and I must mention it here in this time)

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by agbenny

We prefer to stay at some resort for 6 days. 5 days at Port Blair and 2 days at some other Island. Our budget is approx. 10-15K per night.

Do you have any specific reason to stay longer (5 days) at PortBlair ? Even though a beautiful city, I don't think Port Blair requires 5 days, you could turn the itenary other way - 5 days at any island (Havelock may be) and then 2 days at Port Blair.

That said, May will be too hot.

[avi550m]

Originally Posted by agbenny

I am planning a trip between May 10-20 at Andamans, 2 adults and 2 kids (12,14).
We prefer to stay at some resort for 6 days. 5 days at Port Blair and 2 days at some other Island. Our budget is approx. 10-15K per night.

Any resort recommendations? Also, anything to be known particularly to not to miss - Restaurants, rental cars, beaches/places from your list?

Here are my recommendations based on my trip to Andamans:

1. Do not spend too much time in Port Blair. It is the most 'city-like' of any area in the Andamans and there will not be much solitude, if that is what you are looking for.

2. There are a couple of islands - Ross & Smith Islands, which are a 15 minute boat ride from Port Blair. Of those, I would recommend Ross Island, which has old Japanese (WW2 era) ruins. But what makes Ross Island special is the fact that Peacocks and Deers roam freely around the place, and if you give them some food, the Deers will come right next to you.

3. There is the glass bottom boat ride at Smith Island, which is ok, but it cannot compare to the Snorkeling/Scuba-Diving/Sea-Walk activities which you will get on Havelock island.

4. Do not do your scuba activities at Smith Island, as it is overcrowded with tourists.

5. Make sure you take Makruzz or some other Private Ferry to the other islands. Do not take the government ferry. It is noisy and uncomfortable. You will have to book them in advance.

6. Neil Island is a small island and is worth 1-2 days. There are not any upmarket resorts on Neil Island.

7. Places to visit on Neil Island are Laxmanpur Beach, Bharatpur Beach and more importantly, the Natural Bridge, which makes for a nice picture opportunity. There are many shacks on the beaches for shopping and getting food. You can place an order and they will deliver it to your hotel. We got a Delicious crab dinner from one of the shacks.

8. The sun rises and sets early in the Andamans, so make sure you are off the beaches on Neil before sunset, as there are quite a few stray dogs which come out around evening time.

9. Now to the main island where I feel you spend the majority of your trip - Havelock Island. It is a massive island and the main attraction is Radhanagar Beach, whose sands are almost glass like in the evenings.

10. We stayed at two resorts in Havelock - Barefoot Resort which is close to Radhanagar Beach and Dolphin Resort, which is on the other side of the island and another beach (can't remember its name). Barefoot is a great rustic eco resort which brings you close to nature, and its proximity to Radhanagar beach makes it a great choice. If you want something more traditional with more luxuries , Dolphin is a great choice, with huge rooms and glass facing views of its own beach (which is ok, but not a patch on Radhanagar beach). Keep in mind food at Dolphin is rather limited and bland.

11. For watersport activities, you will have to take the boat to Elephant Beach, which is around half an hour from the main pier at Havelock. The Snorkeling and Sea-Walk were quite good at Elephant Beach. Keep in mind the beach closes at 3 PM (noone stays there overnight). I recommend taking the early morning boat to Elephant Beach, before the sun blazes.

12. I recommend Barefoot Scuba for the scuba diving. The instructors were great and everyone from kids to adults can partake in the activity. It needs to be booked in advance.

13. For great seafood in Havelock,the shacks near Radhanagar are hard to beat. We went to three random ones and the fried fish and crabs were amazing.

14. Make sure you pack a ton of sunscreen (at least SPF 40), umbrellas/caps and a ton of water since the sun blazes like anything. In fact, a lot of the activities were done early in the morning, or late in the afternoon. Also, there can be sudden random showers which can last for an hour or so, so the umbrellas will serve another purpose as well.

15. Small perk - I got to see a lot of sparrows on Havelock and Neil Islands, due to the (almost) lack of cell-phone coverage. Which brings to the fact that cellphone coverage is poor on the islands and my Vodafone had non-existent signal. Only BSNL provided good coverage on both Havelock and Neil Islands. On Port Blair I guess all networks would work.

I hope this information was useful to you. Andamans are a great place for a holiday.

[agbenny]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Do you have any specific reason to stay longer (5 days) at PortBlair ? Even though a beautiful city, I don't think Port Blair requires 5 days, you could turn the itenary other way - 5 days at any island (Havelock may be) and then 2 days at Port Blair.

That said, May will be too hot.

I should have been clear. I prefer 3 days at Port Blair and 2 days at some other Island.

[agbenny]

Originally Posted by avi550m

Here are my recommendations based on my trip to Andamans:

1. Do not spend too much time in Port Blair. It is the most 'city-like' of any area in the Andamans and there will not be much solitude, if that is what you are looking for.

2. There are a couple of islands - Ross & Smith Islands, which are a 15 minute boat ride from Port Blair. Of those, I would recommend Ross Island, which has old Japanese (WW2 era) ruins. But what makes Ross Island special is the fact that Peacocks and Deers roam freely around the place, and if you give them some food, the Deers will come right next to you.

3. There is the glass bottom boat ride at Smith Island, which is ok, but it cannot compare to the Snorkeling/Scuba-Diving/Sea-Walk activities which you will get on Havelock island.

4. Do not do your scuba activities at Smith Island, as it is overcrowded with tourists.

5. Make sure you take Makruzz or some other Private Ferry to the other islands. Do not take the government ferry. It is noisy and uncomfortable. You will have to book them in advance.

6. Neil Island is a small island and is worth 1-2 days. There are not any upmarket resorts on Neil Island.

7. Places to visit on Neil Island are Laxmanpur Beach, Bharatpur Beach and more importantly, the Natural Bridge, which makes for a nice picture opportunity. There are many shacks on the beaches for shopping and getting food. You can place an order and they will deliver it to your hotel. We got a Delicious crab dinner from one of the shacks.

8. The sun rises and sets early in the Andamans, so make sure you are off the beaches on Neil before sunset, as there are quite a few stray dogs which come out around evening time.

9. Now to the main island where I feel you spend the majority of your trip - Havelock Island. It is a massive island and the main attraction is Radhanagar Beach, whose sands are almost glass like in the evenings.

10. We stayed at two resorts in Havelock - Barefoot Resort which is close to Radhanagar Beach and Dolphin Resort, which is on the other side of the island and another beach (can't remember its name). Barefoot is a great rustic eco resort which brings you close to nature, and its proximity to Radhanagar beach makes it a great choice. If you want something more traditional with more luxuries , Dolphin is a great choice, with huge rooms and glass facing views of its own beach (which is ok, but not a patch on Radhanagar beach). Keep in mind food at Dolphin is rather limited and bland.

11. For watersport activities, you will have to take the boat to Elephant Beach, which is around half an hour from the main pier at Havelock. The Snorkeling and Sea-Walk were quite good at Elephant Beach. Keep in mind the beach closes at 3 PM (noone stays there overnight). I recommend taking the early morning boat to Elephant Beach, before the sun blazes.

12. I recommend Barefoot Scuba for the scuba diving. The instructors were great and everyone from kids to adults can partake in the activity. It needs to be booked in advance.

13. For great seafood in Havelock,the shacks near Radhanagar are hard to beat. We went to three random ones and the fried fish and crabs were amazing.

14. Make sure you pack a ton of sunscreen (at least SPF 40), umbrellas/caps and a ton of water since the sun blazes like anything. In fact, a lot of the activities were done early in the morning, or late in the afternoon. Also, there can be sudden random showers which can last for an hour or so, so the umbrellas will serve another purpose as well.

15. Small perk - I got to see a lot of sparrows on Havelock and Neil Islands, due to the (almost) lack of cell-phone coverage. Which brings to the fact that cellphone coverage is poor on the islands and my Vodafone had non-existent signal. Only BSNL provided good coverage on both Havelock and Neil Islands. On Port Blair I guess all networks would work.

I hope this information was useful to you. Andamans are a great place for a holiday.

Thanks for the very detailed information. This helps a lot. I plan to stay for 6 days 5 nights, and I trust this is enough to cover and not to miss important places. Correct? We do not want to run between places too.

[avi550m]

Originally Posted by agbenny

Thanks for the very detailed information. This helps a lot. I plan to stay for 6 days 5 nights, and I trust this is enough to cover and not to miss important places. Correct? We do not want to run between places too.

Here is how a 6 day - 5 nights itinerary might be scheduled:

Day 1 - Land Port Blair in morning - Go to Resort - Evening Cellular Jail + Sound and Light Show

Day 2 - Take Morning Boat to Ross and Smith Islands - Return in Afternoon - Evening for Shopping / Exploring Port Blair

Day 3 - Take Ferry to Havelock Island in the morning - Go to Resort - Afternoon Radhanagar Beach - Evening at Leisure

Day 4 - Havelock Island - Elephant Beach by morning boat - Watersport activities - Evening at Leisure

Day 5 - Either: Day at Havelock - Scuba Diving in the morning - Afternoon Radhanagar Beach

OR

Day 5 - Take Ferry to Neil Island - Go to Resort - afternoon/evening for Beach + Natural Bridge

Day 6 - Return to Port Blair - Take Afternoon Flight Back

OR Spend Day at Port Blair

Day 7 - Take morning flight back

Important: Keep in Mind check-out in most hotels/resorts in Andamans is early morning (8 AM). This is because most flights/ferry's arrive around 10AM and people check in at that time. They are strict about the check-out timings too.

[inder]

Guys any good estate stays in Conoor or nearby areas ? Any website where I can find such properties.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by inder

Guys any good estate stays in Conoor or nearby areas ? Any website where I can find such properties.

I have heard positive reviews for Acres Wild Coonoor, no personal experience.
Look up the forum threads with a search and you will find more.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by agbenny

I should have been clear. I prefer 3 days at Port Blair and 2 days at some other Island.

OK. One issue with travel to Andaman is the arrival / departures of flight. Most (all?) flights arrive in morning from mainland and depart before noon. So, you will anyway get a half day at Portblair on the day you arrive. You can utilize it for local sightseeing.

Similarly, ferry to islands are all before afternoon. You can try evening ferry from Makruzz, however its comparatively less reliable. When we booked too, they cancelled the evening one and accommodated us in the morning ferry.

Similarly, on return from islands you will reach PortBlair before noon. You again got a half day till your flight the next day. I guess this time is more than enough to roam around Portblair. You can utilize remaining time for island.

In Havelock, Barefoot is usually suggested. However, we stayed in a smaller resort adjacent to Barefoot Scuba and found it good.

Originally Posted by inder

Guys any good estate stays in Conoor or nearby areas ? Any website where I can find such properties.

Sorry, no idea personal experience. However as NPV mentioned, acres wild is highly rated. I opted out of that since it was mostly a farm experience than a stay option.

Also, when are you planning the trip? It will be too hot and dry now.

[agbenny]

Originally Posted by inder

Guys any good estate stays in Conoor or nearby areas ? Any website where I can find such properties.

If you are OK to stat at Kotagiri, You can choose http://www.greennest.in. One of my client. Mr. Ram runs this, mention my name for a discount.

if you like Ooty - Take sagarresorts.com - again use my name (Benny) and you get some discount. At the time (1 hr before), if you message me - I can call people over there to get better discounts. We as family stay only at this two places.

Thanks mpksuhas for the wise suggestions.
I am grateful to avi550m for very detailed ideas and plans. You guys are marvelous.

[aadya]

Hi we are travelling to Mysore, as a family on one day trip. Would reach mysore by train at 630 am and leave mysore by train at 10.30 pm. Planning for mysore sightseeing from about 9 am till 8 pm. 11 Adults and 4 kids. Would require a decent accommodation - clean and safe for refreshing on reaching mysore and before leaving mysore. Thinking of hiring a TT for the day tour of mysore. Any leads/advice?

And also next day the same group is travelling to Dandeli via Hubli. Any suggestion for morning breakfast at Hubli? Should have clean toilets and decent vegetarian food.

Thanks in advance.

[creative420]

Looking for suggestions to stay in North Goa ( Vagator-Morjim area) for 3 nights. Budget is up to 7k a night. Need something that offers peaceful and exclusive experience. Please throw some suggestions.

[King_pin09]

Originally Posted by aadya

Hi we are travelling to Mysore, ...... Would require a decent accommodation - clean and safe for refreshing on reaching mysore and before leaving mysore. Thinking of hiring a TT for the day tour of mysore. Any leads/advice?

Well Mysore is a popular tourist destination and finding a decent accommodation should not be an effort. Nonetheless, for sake of basic reference I suggest Kings Kastle, Roopa, Golden Castle, Sandesh The prince, President, etc., which are well maintained and pocket friendly.

Originally Posted by aadya

And also next day the same group is travelling to Dandeli via Hubli. Any suggestion for morning breakfast at Hubli? Should have clean toilets and decent vegetarian food.

I suggest avoid entering any hotel adjoining the Old Bus stand, they are stinky and poor on hygiene. Travelling just a Km or so ahead will give lots of options, such as Clarks Inn, Denissons, Hans etc. For budget conscious, Hotel Swati on Lamington road is also available. If you decide to travel further to Dharwad then hotel Hoysala is available. There are several other properties on Hubli - Dharwad highway such as Kamat yatrinivas which are very clean, hygienic and economical.