Starting a series of some unexplored and unknown Beaches of India that I have been to in the past few years... All Crystal clear water... White sand... No population...No pollution...Blue waters... accross the Konkan cost of India
PS : Reach Day as Beach as each beach is a seperate itinerary in itself
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Beach No.1 - Bhatye Beach, Ratnagiri
A good 2 km long stretch of white sand beach, with many deposits of unique shells, is just 15 mins away from the City of Ratnagiri. Visited by few due to the private resorts along the beach, the place is perfect to spend a quite weekend away from the city life.
How To Reach- Direct Train to Ratnagiri or By Road take the NH 66 (8 hour drive from Mumbai). Overnight Sleeper buses are available too. The place has autos to take you around to various places of Ratnagiri. From Bus Station the Auto charges Rs 100 and from Railway Station Rs 200 to the Bhatye Beach
How Many Days- A two day trip is all you need to explore this place. Places to explore see-through
Ratnadurg Fort- For amazing Views
Mandvi Beach (Good for street food too)
Thiba Palace - A vintage structure of Burmese culture
Thiba Point - For a quite stroll in the garden
Light house Point
Fish Market
Where To Stay- Many beach resorts on this stretch. The best two resorts are Kohinoor Samudra Beach Resort and Ratnasagar Beach Resort
The food served at the resort is amazing. Specially try the Tandoori Prawns and Biryani (must haves)
Budget- Rs 7000 to 8000 for two people.
Beach no 2: Malgund Beach, Ganpatiphule
This is now one of the more popular places to visit in Maharashtra... Its just 35 km before Ratnagiri and is famous for the Ganesh temple that is right on the shore. Recently its been visited by a lot of local tourist and hence has a lot of resorts along the coastline. The beach starts at the Ganesh temple as Ganpatipule beach, it is the commercial one with lots of vendors and shacks, as you go up north from it you reach Malgund Beach which is prestine, quite and very pretty. Both are seperated by a very small creek that can be crossed on foot in low tide.
I had my first beach walk on this strech around the sunset and it was the most magical one for me. The sand changes after every 10-15 mins from soft sand to shell batches to rocky patches to quick sand.. It gives you an experience of all kinds of beaches in one go. Plus the creek crossing adds to the adventure. The entire stretch has beautiful palm trees that gives the picture perfect setting to your 1 and half hour Walk.
Just one thing...this place is not famous for drinking and parties like any other beach place as its more of a pilgrimage place. Infact no shack or resorts around here serves liquor.
How To Reach - By Road its a 7 hour journey on NH 66 again or a Taxi from Ratnagiri Station (35 KM away). Share Autos are available to take you around the small town at Rs 10-20 per seat basis
How Many Days - One Night 2 days is more than enough to unwind at the place. Make sure you do experience atleast one Sunset on this beach. Only place to visit is the Ganpatipule Temple that has an amazing Aarti in the morning. A small aquarium is there too which is cute.
Where To Stay- Various beach resorts are there along this stretch of 5 Kms like MTDC Resort ( The best property in this area). Now even Club Mahindra has a property there if you looking for luxury.
Budget- Rs 7000-8000 for a couple
Beach No 3- Savane and Anjarle Beach, Dapoli
Dapoli is a small town in Maharashtra which has a rich konkan culture. Its mainly a fishery village as it has a long stretch of beach seperated by a river/ creek on both sides. There are four beaches between these two creeks called Aade, Padle, Savane and Anjarle. Together its a 5 hour long walk... but out of the four savane and Anjarle are the prettiest. Anjarle Beach is also famous turtle hatching in the months of February to April. These two beaches are separated by a small rocky cliff which can be easily climbed if you looking for adventure...if not there is a way to get off the beach and visit a point called Friends Point that gives a mesmerizing 180° view of both the beaches.
The local food that you get here is just amazing. Technically there are no restaurants here its only locals who house guests and serve home made food with yummy sol curry and thecha
How to reach - Well thats a little tricky... You need to drive down to the village called Kelshi... To reach here too, you need to ferry your car on a boat or take the Velvi Kelshi road to reach directly. Its a 6 hour drive from Mumbai. Here you can get local autos that will take you to the Savane beach directly.
How Many Days- Weekend trip... There are two main beaches Savane and Anjarle and Friends point which is also a perfect sunset point. This place is more like a quite retreat away from city life to enjoy a beach village or have a dream beach house
Where to Stay- Not many options so please reserve in advance and go...Ketki beach resort and Samudra Gaaj Beach Resort. Lot of locals also open their houses for visitors if you are ok with home stay. For food its definitely recommended to eat at a locals house as they make yummy authentic konkan food
Budget - 3000-4000 a couple
Beach 4 - Velas Beach
One of my personal favourite beaches of Maharashtra... A small and quite village which is managed by the forest department as it is the conservation hub for Turtles. Every year turtles who were born at this beach go around the ocean and come back here to lay eggs. Hence this beach gives birth to hundreds of olive green turtles when the eggs hatch in the month of February to April. The conversation team takes care of the release of these turtle to the ocean which is called the turtle festival... The experience to see tiny little creatures making their way towards the ocean is one of a kind...
How To Reach- Its a 6 hour journey by road along the NH 66. The only way to go is a private vehicle. Its a very small village with no network tower, hotels or public transport. MSRTC ST buses do have a stop at Velas
How Many Days- A 2 day trip is good if you leave on friday night or very early morning on Saturday. The turtle festival happens twice in a day, morning 8 am and evening 5 pm. If you do an overnight journey you can experience it thrice. You can also visit Bankot fort in the afternoon which is a very scenic spot.
Where To Stay- Many villagers open their houses to the tourist who visit for the Turtle festival. If you are going at any other time of the year you need to inform them beforehand. The food that these villagers serve is very basic but very tasty. Its served on banana leaves to give you a full village feel. Its highly recommended to go in groups to this place.
Budget 3000-4000 per person
Beach 5- Oyster Island Beaches
Well not exactly a traditional beach with sand and waves but an unknown unexplored island about 30 km off the coast in Karwar. It has a massive lighthouse which is managed by the coast guard. Other than that there is no one who lives on this island. Its a perfect camping place with multiple rocky beaches where you can get down and natural pools for a quick swim with colorful fishes. You need to carry food supplies and tents or sleeping bag as there are no huts or cottage to use. The old quaters used by indian coast guard are more like haunted houses. There is a fresh water well to draw water from, thats the only arrangement this island offers.
How To Reach- An overnight train journey to Karwar Station from where you need go to north of Karwar Beach and take a speed boat. Before this you need to have written permission to visit the island. Its a forty five minute journey to reach the island which is super scenic and fun
How Many Days- Well the full trip technically is 3 nights and 2 days but only one night is on the island and 2 nights in the to and fro train journey. On the island there are various places where you can trek down to and enjoy the different sights or just sit amd stare from one location. Its a definate must to go up the lighthouse to see the sunrise.
Where to Stay- Pitch your tent anywhere on the island or near the well as the whole island is yours. Its definitely recommended to go in a group or in a tour
Budget - Rs 7000-8000
Beach no. 6 : Om Beach , Gokarna Beach and Kudle Beach
All three of these beaches are in Gokarna only and can be covered together in one trip. Technically this area has a series of amazing beaches if you interested in a beach trek that starts from Kumta and ends at Gokarna, covering 7 pretty beaches. But if you are looking for a leisure trip then you can either stay at kudle beach that has maximum shacks or at Om beach that has maximum homestays. This place is mainly famous for foreign tourists and many Stay and cafes are owned by foreigners here who live here from September to March. Rest 6 months the locals manage their properties. The beaches are really pretty with long stretches of goldern sand and crystal clear water. The cafes around the beach offer the best of sea food n italian delicacies...And the vibe of this place is just another level...A perfect party destination but without pubs, just the chillout sundowners
How To Reach- Take a overnight train to Kumta, Its a 11 hour journey. There are local taxis and Autos that take you to Gokarna from there. If you take a slow train then you can get of at gokarna road too. There are trains from Goa to Gokarna as well that take 2 hours.
How Many Days - Ideally a 3 day 4 night trip is good to explore the whole place. Book a Stay for 2 Nights and 2 nights in train. All three beaches are very different from each other and has various cafes that are must visits Namaste Farm Cafe on OM beach is an amazing place to stay, Little Paradise, Sunset Cafe and La Pizzaria on Kudle beach, Chez Cristophe on Gokarna Beach... if you have more time you can explore even more.
Where to Stay - Gokarna offers a variety of options to stay..right from Zostel for solo travelers to Beach Huts by the cafes like sunset cafe .. to family villas like Sanskruti farms. You can pick as per the comforts you are looking for.
Budget- 8000-10000 per person for a luxury trip with Alcohol
Beach no. 7: Murudeshwar Beach
A magnificent place truly underrated and not promoted at all is Murudeshwar temple. It has a huge Shiva Statue and a Temple right at the coast and offers a panoramic view of the Arabian Sea from the top of the temple. The beaches of this place might not be the best as its open to the public and has lot of vendors around but still this beach is one of must visits. The Shiva Structure shines like gold in the night with a beautiful reflection of it on the water. The culture of this place is preserved well with a mix of Kanad and Udipi cruise served. There is a one of a kind restaurant build above the beach (yes the waves come and splash below you), called Murudeswara Sea View Restaurant that offers a perfect 180 ° view of the beach while you dine.
How To Reach - Overnight journey of about 12 hours to Murudeshwar Station ( Mangalore express is the best train of konkan kanya). Local car or Autos are available at the station for the beach
How Many Days- Technically a weekend trip is enough if you are covering only Murudeshwar but its recommended to club this trip with either a visit to Netrani Island or Jog falls and Yana Caves depending on your interest and make it a 3 nights 2 days trip.
Where to stay - This place offers only small homestays and guest house that are like bed and breakfast places. Nothing fancy is available. There are some good oyo options too now.
Budget - 4000-5000 for Murudeshwar alone.
Beach No 8- Varca Beach, Goa
The only beach where I have gone more than 5 times and still not bored of it. I know many people like Goa for its parties and celebrations but I go to Goa for its beaches and good food in the local shacks. The best of the beaches of Goa are nested in the South Goa stretch after Colva Beach. Varca Beach is a private stretch for Club Mahindra Resorts and Emrald Resort. It has a nice lagoon as well as a long stretch of Goldern Sand and crystal clear water. One section of the beach also has amazing shell deposits which you can sit and collect every morning. The beach is sooo clean that the star fish n jelly fishes frequently come to meet you at the shore. You can also spot dolphins in a boat ride in this area. By far this is the cleanest beach I have been to. ( PS: I have been to Andamans too). The beach does have a shack in the peak season to have chilled beers and amazing sea food and in the off-season there are some shacks just outside the resort.
How To Reach- I think everyone knows how to reach Goa. Its a 20 mins Journey from Madgaon Station for Varca beach. Goa now has its own cab service too. You can download Goa Miles and reach easily
How Many Days- Once you reach this place even 7 days seem less but a 3-4 day escape is ideal.
Where to Stay- Club Mahindra Resort which is on this beach is ideal. If you are staying in North Goa you can just plan a day visit to this resort, enjoy a nice meal in the day and chill on the beach in the evening
Budget- 10,000- 12000 for a couple for 2 Days
Beach No 9. Palolem Beach, Canacona
Going further south in Goa just near the border of Karnataka is the Cotigaon area which is a Wildlife Sanctuary. This place has mostly locals and foreigners visiting or some wildlife enthusiasts as its not too popular yet. The beach is extremely pretty with an island nearby that you can walk upto in low tide. The beach has some really cool shacks for some drinks and also to stay. If you are up for a little adventure...just a few kms south of this beach is an amazing camp site. There is a short one hour trek to reach this campsite and obviously you need to carry everything along with you to survive the night (including water) ...even the little bates to go fishing ... or there wont be any dinner... The campsite is a perfect place to just sit and enjoy a 270° view of water around you, almost like island camping. The sunset was obviously beautiful but the best was the moon set in the water at night... its Amazing...
How To Reach - Again Goa everyone can reach, Coatigaon is about 40 km south of Madgaon so about 1 hour journey. Its advisable to hire a car for the entire duration of stay rather than just drop for this place
How Many Days- 3 nights 4 days is good to explore this area completely... If you are not camping then 2 nights is good too... plus 2 nights to travel if you are coming by train or driving down. Overall a 5 day trip
Where To Stay- There is a guest house inside the wildlife sanctuary too but with limited booking availablity. You can choose between staying inside the sanctuary or outside near the Palolem Beach and just visit the sanctuary in the day for Safari
Budget - 6000-7000 per person
Beach No.10 Kelwa Beach
If you are having some immediate beach cravings and dont want to travel for long, this is the perfect beach to go. Just one and half hour drive from Mumbai ( Technically a part of Mumbai itself if you consider Virar , Palghar as a part of Mumbai) Kelwa beach is in the Palghar Area of Thane district which is around 80 KMs from Borivali. You can just book a Ola for a couple of hours and go to this place and come back. Its perfect for just a Sunday day trip to enjoy the Sunset or an overnight trip to relax and come back. Not many beach resorts as such but there are hotels at a walking distance from the beach. Its nice and quite here not like the Mumbai beach melas. You can enjoy a peaceful walk around the shore or take a horse ride/ cart for some fun.
How To Reach - Local train to Palghar and an Auto from there or Drive down yourself in private car or Ola/ Uber rentals.
How Many Days - Saturday Evening to Sunday Afternoon is ideal. If you do not want to stay then you can leave around 3 pm enjoy the sunset and come back by 9 pm
You may also like to read: kozhikode beach, dapoli beach
Where To Stay - Many small hotels are there like KD Residency, Blue Roof Sea Side, Coconut Valley Resort etc. Not many people visit here so on the spot you will find availablity in these places.
Budget - 1000-2000 per person
Thats the end of Beach series... look out for more such offbeat places on #TurtleXplores
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