Alibag
Alibag is a town on the Konkan coast of Maharashtra near Bombay. It's best known for its historic marine forts, fine beaches and clean water.
Get in
By boat
There are ferries and catamarans available from the Gateway of India, Bombay. The journey takes 2 hours. However, service is suspended during the rains, i.e. May-October. The ferry takes you to Rewas and you are taken on a bus to Alibag. The cost of the bus trip is usually included in the ferry fare. This is the recommended way of getting to Alibag.
- Maldar Catamaran: +91 22 2282 9695, +91 22 2282 3841, Rs. 170.
By bus
- MSRTC buses should be available from various parts of Maharashtra. They will be uncomfortable and not recommended.
- Private buses can be chartered - a good option if you are going in a large group.
By car
- Take a car or a taxi from Bombay. Alibag is on the way to Goa from Bombay, so you could do the trip as part of a trip down south to Goa.
- From Pune, you could take Bombay-Pune Expressway and take the Khopoli exit. From there drive towards Pen (30 km, this stretch is bad), then cross Bombay-Goa highway to proceed towards Alibag.
By train
Alibag is served by the Konkan Railway and the Central Railway. The nearest Konkan Railway station is Panvel, 85 km away, while the nearest Central Railway station is Roha, 50 km away. If you are getting here from Bombay, you'd be taking the Konkan Railway.
Get around
There are autos (shared/individual) available but the best bet is to have your own vehicle as you would like to hop on from one beach to another and you may not get anything in between.
See
Eat
- Sanman restaurant, specialises in sea food. They have different thalis with different fishes like Pomfret, Surmai etc. Each thali will have one fried piece and one curry piece of the fish. The rest of the items are also speciality of that area like bhakri (chapati) of rice powder, solkadhi (a concoction of coconut water with certain things).
Sleep
There are many homestays dotted along the 45 km road from Alibag to Murud. Rooms are like what you find in regular homes, generally cheaper than the regular hotels but service is only basic. They generally have parking space in the lawn in front. Rates vary with tourist season and the quality of the room.
- Hotel Ravikiran near Vidyanagar, Rewas Road, Alibag +91 02141 22459, +91 02141 22460
- MTDC Holiday Home near Kihim beach.+91 02141 38253 There is a formerly MTDC run, but now privatized resort that offers fully furnished tents. Not available during the monsoons.
- Kashid Beach Resort near Kashid beach
- Prakriti resort near Kashid beach.
Get out
- Murud Janjira => some distance away, in Murud town, a fort built by an Abyssinian pirate named Siddhi Johar. Take a sailboat to the fort. It is on an island and built so that there is only one spot where the sailboat can land. Close to this fort is Padmadurg, yet another fort built on an island. Padmadurg was built so as to be able to bombard Murud Janjira.
- Goa
- Bombay
- Pune
- Go see more forts in Sindhudurg =>
- Continue your trip of Konkan.
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