6 days - In & out of Mumbai

MissAmes

Hi Everyone

Well done on a great site, really informative!

We are Australians in our early 30's, living in London and have traveled a bit through China, Vietnam, Japan, Western Europe and Morocco.

We know that 6 days, late May, is not long enough but that’s all we have – we also know it will be very, very hot but it seems we have done all our Asian travel so far during the highest temperature times. Our budget is likely to be generous although not extravagant – a domestic flight is fine. We have traveled independently and with groups before and are comfortable with either. Our travel objectives are much more about getting cultural insight than lazing around on the beach – you can do that anywhere.

Our flights are in and out of Mumbai (en route to Australia) so not ideal for seeing the most of India, but how much should we reasonably expect to see? Early ideas:

Should we just stay mainly in Maharashtra say Mumbai Eastwards towards Ellora then loop South and West and back up the Konkan Coast. A combination of trains and cars (with driver would be easier I suppose)

Southern India – Land in Mumbai, explore for a day or so then fly down to Kerala, into Cochin to see the Keralan Backwaters and/or Munnar and fly back – worth it?

Northern India – Any one way flight itinerary, say to Delhi, then to Agra and the Taj, Jaipur and back to Mumbai – would that work or is it trying to do too much? We have done overnight trains in Vietnam and China so would be OK with that…

Any advice would be appreciated we have been pouring over the guide books, and your site, and managed to really confuse ourselves.

Thanks

edwardseco

The heat complicates this since normally I would recommend staying in Maharashtra for such a short period..

aadil

Welcome to IM and Mumbai too!!! May will be pretty hot but if you are well prepared with your daily dosage of rehydration salts like Electral mixed with water then you should be fine.

Aurangabad is a lovely place to visit for the Ellora and Ajanta Caves along with some other beautiful monuments and sites like the Daulatabad Fort, Aurangabad Caves, Khuldabad (Emperor Aurangzeb's tomb), Bibi Ka Makbara (poor man's Taj Mahal), Grishneshwar Temple (one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in India), Pan Chakki (an old water run flour mill) and Himroo Saree making workshops. Also nearby is the Lonar Meteoritic Crater which is the 2nd largest in the world after the famous Barringer Meteor Crater in the USA. Lonar is a bit difficult to reach by the local State Transport (ST) buses but you could hire a vehicle to do the trip for a comfortable journey. You will have to travel by train since a car will be very expensive to hire as you will have to pay for the return to it's starting point. Six days is a bit less for India but then if you want to make the best out of the days you have then I guess this is the best you can do. Keep a couple of days for Mumbai city to see the Elephanta Caves as it involves a boat trip to Elephanta Island and a good view of the Mumbai harbour as well. Once you get back to Mumbai just head for the lovely beaches nearby at Murud and Nagaon where you can also see the beautiful Janjira Fort in the middle of the sea which is accessible by sailboat from Murud. A lovely trip which is just about an hour's catamaran ride away from Apollo Bunder in Mumbai.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Aadil.

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capt_mahajan

Aadil's advice is sound. It is a short trip.

And edwardseco is right. The heat will be killing in the interiors.

MissAmes

Aadil, Thanks for your ideas, great advice about the rehydration salts, we always carry them in case we get ill, but have always relied on loads of water to get us through on a general basis.

Best I investigate some of these other sights that you have mentioned.

Cheers

edwardseco

Aurangabad and environs is wonderful for sites but an oven in summer..

aadil

In the hot summer months in the central parts of India Electral is a wonderful and essential thing to take everyday even if you are feeling perfectly fine. Also having fresh lime juice added with salt and sugar will do the trick. Nimbu Pani is the Indian name for Fresh Lime water (or soda if you wish) but you can make it with Mineral water to avoid getting ill due to the local water. Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Aadil.

merains

hi u all,
i wud suggest southern india,kerala coz its god's own country and u wud luv the lush green things around.may be u gotta to be ready for some rains and heat,but u wud cherish through out ur life the rich heritage of kerala,cheers and decide fast to enjoy india

Mod Note

Hello again merains. As mentioned in your other post re visiting Kerala out of Chennai - please try to use full words. Thanks for your help with this.

MissAmes

Merains, A friend that just spent 3 months in India recommended Kerala as well due to the beauty and heat.
I am still not decided whether it is better to stay in Maharashtra or to go to Kerala. North is still really appealing as well but I think the heat probably writes it off.

AmericanChai

Just one thing to keep in mind about traveling north... transportation can become an issue. There were only a few flights from Mumbai to Delhi each day, and then it is a 6 hour drive from Delhi to Agra. This really takes one full day of travel out of your schedule. When I traveled to India last September with my mom we ended up cutting out the trip to the Taj due to the travel time.

There is so much to see in and around Mumbai. You have a large selection of beaches, scenery, hill stations, and entertainment.

I understand your desire to see Kerela as well... I would love it too. If you don't mind a partly rushed trip I would split it between the two and cut out the trip north.

Good Luck and Enjoy!

Amalfi

Altho the weather will not be conducive for a visit to North in late May , just wanted to correct the wrong impression being given by AmericanChai regarding travelling from Mumbai to Delhi and Agra.

There are upwards of 60 flights out of Mumbai for Delhi daily, sometimes 7-8 times an hour. Also, a train journey from Delhi to Agra is 1 hour 55 min by Shatabdi Express Train (90% Ontime 10% Before time ). Road trip is usually the last option for tourists who don't like to wake up early.

AmericanChai

Actually we had a very difficult time booking flights through to Dehli. Many delays (sometimes for 5-6 hours) made it very difficult to get a flight out at a good time. Depending on the way you travel, and the people in party train is not always a good option; but a car journey is nice so you can stop as needed. Just another option that is available, and a driver is no where near as crowded as the train! :-)

MissAmes

Hello again,

Firstly, thanks to everyone for their posts in April. Apologies for disappearing, realised that more India reading was required before I came asking for advice again.

I am now finalising our trip as we depart London on Thursday, 22 May

Would be great to get some feedback on what our new itinerary for the 6 days...

23 May - Mumbai
24 May - early train to Nasik, stay Nasik
25 May - late afternoon train back to Mumbai to stay the night
26 May - travel to Murud via Mundva hydrofoil and local bus from Alibag
27 - late afternoon travel back to Mumbai
28-Mumbai (fly out that night)

I know it seems like a lot of travel but we are really keen on Nasik and also don't want to miss a bit of the Konkan coast - part of which is a desire to see the scenery. Most travel legs seem to be no more than 4 hours at a time.

We also couldn't figure out a way to go from Nasik to Murud without going back through Mumbai - unless someone has a better suggestion??

Any advice would be great

Thanks!