Team-BHP - Need advice on a coastal trip

Hi All, My mother is here from Punjab and I have three days on the weekend to take her to a beach. My options are GOA or Ganapatiphule. Could you help me choose? Considering the time that I have, I am more inclined towards Ganapatiphule. I heard the beaches are clean and it is not so commercialized. If there is anybody who has been there recenlty and would be kind to share the experience?

I'd suggest Dive Agar than Ganapatipule - for a pristine beach, good acco and lovely food. Also your travel time from Mumbai will be approx. 5 hours. I've been going to this place almost every year and just love the beach here. There's a MTDC resort right on the beach or you can stay at Bhatwadekar's Anandyatri -
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff]http://www.anandyatri.in/accomodation.html[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

Hope this helps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by womanonwheels (Post 1721893)

2 days??? From Mumbai to Ganapatiphule...I thought it was 400 kms?

350 kms one way, that is 6-7 hours of driving each way. Get up late, have breakfast, have tea, lunch en route and that means you can reach in time for sunset:)

I was in Ganapatipule a week or so ago on my way back to Pune. If you are interested in a relaxing week-end at the beach, then do think of other places mentioned.

Kashid, Diveagar, Karde, Kihim etc are much better than Ganapatipule IMO (unless you are going there for the temple as the beach is not that safe to swim in either).

Abhay, do you have any information on the distance and route etc??

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abhay (Post 1721970)

Kashid is a far better option. Its only a 3 hour drive from Bombay, just a lil further from Alibaug.

Inspite of being close to Bombay, its still very clean and not crowded at all.

Things to do in the vicinity:

Visit the sea fort at Murud Janjira
Visit the Birla Temple closeby
A Wildlife sanctuary close by
Walks on the beach, and great coastal cuisine.

Places to stay
Prakruti Resorts Welcome :: Prakruti Resorts :: ?Your Gateway to Paradise?
Radisson Radisson Alibaug: Hotels in Alibaug Maharashtra: Hotel Alibaug Resort and Spa

I've stayed at Prakruti numerous times and simply love it. Staff is courteous, food is delicious, the setting is tranquil and to top it all they have a private entry to the beach. I've not personally tried Radisson, but friends have liked it.

Hope you have a lovely time there.

womanonwheels, you seem intent on GP then..I have the exact distances written in a notebook will post that from home (first time that we kept track of times/distances etc)

But from GP to Pune via Chiplun-Umbraj it is roughly 300+ kms. From Mumbai you have to take the NH17 till Chiplun and then head on to GP either via the Guhagar road (and take a left at Margtamhane - quite a scenic and empty road but not that good a surface) or continue on NH17 till Hathkhamba and take the road just before Ratnagiri.
There is one more road I think but I'm not sure about it.

With 3 days, I would rather go to Kashid or Murud-Karde-Harnai. A shorter drive, better roads, better options to stay in/eat in and definitely better beaches (I rate beaches on how they are for swimming/playing in the water and GP is definitely a dangerous spot for swimming.)

http://groups.google.com/group/hvkum...coast-nov-2005

Check out the route to Ganapatipule in the above log book.
Onward journey on the coastal roads via Ambet, Dapoli, Harnai, Guhagar, Dabhol and Kajurli, and return via NH17.

three days in hand, then go for ganapatipule.

day1-
start early from mumbai-nh17-nivali phata-right turn-ganapatipule.
stay at mtdc g'pule.
take darshan at ganapati temple and have fun at beach.

day2-
ganapatipule-coastal road-ratngagiri-pawas-ganeshgule-ratnagiri-ganapatipule.

visit thiba palace at ratnagiri.
visit swami mutt/temple at pawas.
visit virgin beach of ganeshgule. whole stretch of beach will be yours.

day 3
visit malgund near ganapatipule for poet keshavsut's home. have look at typical konkani homes and village.
visit konkan shrushti at ganapatipule.
start after early lunch toward mumbai.

30 km before chiplun, at savarde, do visit shivshrusti at derwan, off highway.
do visit parshuram temple , 10 km after chiplun.

Well you have multiple options. Ganpatipule might be a bit far. You could also look at
1) Kashid - Nice clean beach. Close to Mumbai with lots of good clean places to have food.

2) Karde / Harne - This is close to Dapoli. You can get to see some dolphins as there are boats available to take you to see some dolphins. Places to stay are mostly peoples home. Hotel Sagar Savalee is a nice place to stay.

3) Guhagar / Velneshwar - Nice place. Shiva Temple of Velneshwar as well as Durga Devi Temple. Nice clean beaches and one can enjoy it very much.

In all of the above options the beaches are of course awesome. You perhaps may not need to book in advance as the tourist season is over. Long weekends can be problematic with hotels not having accomodation.