[AbiS]

Guys I have made it to Ganpatipule last weekend and stayed there for 2 days in MTDC.

Car: Linea Diesel with wife, sister and a friend.

Source: Pimple Saudagar, Pune - Started @ 7 AM

Destination: MTDC, Ganpatipule - Reached @ 2 PM

Route:Pune -> Satara -> Umbraj-> Patan -> KoynaNagar-> Chiplun -> Ganpati Pule
(Avoid taking any shortcuts, I heard the roads are very bad)

Distance: 350 KM

Break: 3/4 breaks... including break fast and lunch

Road Condition: Very Good-Good-okay type.

Pune to Umbraj - Very Good, Umbraj - Ganpatipule: Mix Good and Average.

Good Experience: Driving @ Sea Beach , sunset, the long sea beach and Ratnagiri Mangos...

Bad Experience: Car sturk up on the beach and My car met with first accident.

Places around: Ganpati Temple, Malgund,Jaigarh...

Let the pic says rest...

[AbiS]

Some more pictures....Driving on the beach.. this was the best part of the trip !!!

[roamer]

Very Nice Abis. It seems there is a typo error in the thread title. It will be Ganapatipule. The pics are very good. Liked the Sunset pics.

Car stuck in sand? from where you entered the beachfront? Is it on the way to jaigad?

First accident? oops that was bad. Hope all were fine. Waiting for more pics and the log.

[Travel_newbie]

nice pics! especially the ones with car on the beach, should have been a good experience

[ukderebail]

Very good pictures of Ganpatipule beach, even the MTDC resort seems to be good place to stay. Did you visit Ratnagiri fort too.

[iridium]

Next time, please be extremely careful when you take your car onto the beach. Better still avoid it.

It can get stuck in the sand at any time. Once that happens, you will need a wooden plank to get out and its messy.

We ended up like that twice and its not a good experience especially when its getting dark.

Regards
Iridium.

[AbiS]

Thanks Guys...

Driving on the beach was a dream came true... But be careful and think twice before taking your car in the beach.

There is a way to take your car in the beach after Malgund and going towards Jaigarh. It was all fine while taking the car into the beach but when coming it stuck up twice. The front wheels started spinning and the car went more inside the sand . I tried to remove the sand from both the front wheels but it was very tough as the engine also started touching the sand. Luckily I found a very helpful family who came for my rescue. There were around 4 adults from their family and 3 from local guys and 1 of my friend. We all tried to push the car with back gear and high speed ... now we have managed to take out the car. Now again we have to try to go out of the beach... One guy suggested there is another way we can take out the car easily.. we went along the beach but did not find any way out. Finally we cruised the car , maintained the same speed and finally managed to move out....

Things to care while taking your car to the beach:

1) Take your car in the morning time, So that you have enough time if anything happens.
2) If you are in a group that would be good.
3) Before taking your car, ask the hotel manager about this and take his mobile number ... He might send some local guys for help.
4) Go into the beach with high speed other wise there are chances of getting stuck.
5) Be very careful and think twice but it is worth driving on the beach.

Experienced guys can add more.


Regarding the accident: It was a small accident however I had a very bad time with the driver. I had to drop my friend in the Ganpatipule bus stand near Bank of Maharastra, After dropping I reversed my car and coming straight. The bus was parked on half of the road and it was not parked straight. The bus started moving and so did I at the same time and bang.. my rear left door collide with the rear bumper of the bus.

The roads are very narrow in Ganpatipule and the crowd is very high so drive slowly and very carefully.

Regarding MTDC, I somehow did not find it good, May be I had high expectations... I had booked non ac konkani house as no ac rooms were left. Tariff was 1600 and when I checked in they asked for more 15% of luxury and extra taxes. That would have been fine had I been experienced good service. The service is very poor and slow. The restaurant is small if you consider number of cottages and konkani huts. You have to wait for 2 hrs to get a table and the main restaurant is 1 KM away from the konkani huts. So go early and catch a table. The only good thing is location, its bang on the beach....

There are couple of good resorts but they are not on the beach but Tranquility beach resort is on the beach... I will see it next time.

Mangoes,

Guys there are lot of mangoes , in the market, road side everywhere. I got 6 dozens @ 125 only which is sold at 350 in pune.

[jkrishnakj]

You seem to have had a fantastic experience ( barring the skirmish with the car and the bus ).

I had been to Ganapatipule way back in 1998 and i remember being the only one there. Hardly any crowd. When i see one of your pictures with so many people on the beach, i can imagine how popular this place has become.

Honestly, i am surprised to see so many people at a beach in the month of May. Wasnt it too hot and himid ?

[AbiS]

Added some more pics...temple, jaigarh port,a ship and a big fish

[AbiS]

At some part of the sea, it was looking yellowing and very oily... I have no idea what was that but it looked like some oil or chemical. I asked some local guys, they said its nothing its just chemical from a nearby plant. The bad part was people were having bath in that water... after saying these some people left that area and went to a new area but some guys still continued... I am not sure if the government is doing something for this or not as there are kids and old age who were having bath and it could cause immediate health problems.

[sandip]

Hi Abis,

Don't know whether to start with congratulating you on the trip or feeling sorry for the "brush" with the bus - OK, I have managed to do both, I guess.

I had a 5 hour halt in Ganapatipule in 2008 and since then am planning to visit over a weekend. Alas, the MTDC seems to be perpetually unavailable.

How did you manage to book it ? Did you go through any agent ? It's online booking never yields any results (at least for me).

PS : Hope your ride has recovered from the scratches.

[AbiS]

Originally Posted by sandip

Hi Abis,

Don't know whether to start with congratulating you on the trip or feeling sorry for the "brush" with the bus - OK, I have managed to do both, I guess.

I had a 5 hour halt in Ganapatipule in 2008 and since then am planning to visit over a weekend. Alas, the MTDC seems to be perpetually unavailable.

How did you manage to book it ? Did you go through any agent ? It's online booking never yields any results (at least for me).

PS : Hope your ride has recovered from the scratches.

I did the MTDC booking online. You can do it here: :: Login ::