slow boats from mumbai

haydn

Namaste/Salaam alaikum friends!
does anyone know about catching a boat of some kind(with life jackets!) from Mumbai to Diu? Done it? How was it? Cost?
also heading to Kashmir next winter. Recommended houseboats in Srinagar? Skiing in Gulmarg (om shanti shaggy). any stories?
thanks! haydn

steven_ber

Just noticed this post.

There are no boats to/from Diu from Mumbai or anywhere else.

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haydn

thanks Steven. why aren't there? there must've been once don't you think, given they were both Portugese trading ports? I guess things evolve. looks like the 24 hour bus then! what kicks!
shantih

amyl

umm I remember there was a nice info sharing about the boat/ferry service from Mumbai to different places like urs...Diu. From what I remember reading those posts, there WERE boats plying between Mumbai and places u can think of on that coastal line but no more. You will have to look out for that thread somehow to get to read something on this.

Never read it before so till now I was thinking it is Salaam Mailaikum whenever I hear some of my Dad's friends greet eachother . In response I know we say "Alaikum Salaam" hmmmm even this I used to think as Malaikum Salaam

Welcome to IM, Haydn!

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steven_ber

Try the following: -

Train 2971 departs Bandra Terminus (Mumbai) daily at 21:25 and gets to Sihor Jn at 10:57 the following morning.

2-tier air con = Rs 1133
3-tier air con = Rs 820
Sleeper Class = Rs 311

Sihor is about 22kms from Palitana, you could relax for a few hours then get a bus to Diu, the journey time from Palitana to Diu is between 4 and 6 hours. (different websites say different times)

steven_ber

One of the first questions I asked when indiamike.com first started was about a boat between Mumbai and Diu, I ended up telephoning Diu to find more info.

I'm confident I've read every thread since about the boat option and nobody has ever said there was a boat, I may have missed one though.

There is a direct plane, but the charges are high, about US$120 one-way per person (Air Deccan to Bhavnagar is much cheaper).

There have been many discussions about boats/ferries etc to Goa, and talk of a cruise liner (star cruises) going from Mumbai to Goa, Kerala, Lakshadweep etc., could that be what you're thinking of?

amyl

ummmm.....I think I had read about the places u have listed. Do not exactly remember if Diu was on the list of was-but-not-running-now boat service. Seeing your confidence I oblige by the fact that Diu never had any service as others(Goa, Lak.) did in the past. Apologies if misled

BTW noticed one typo in my earlier post, fixed it but it's still there in my quoted text in urs .....boats flying . Funny Typo!

steven_ber

I fixed the quote.

I'd love there to be a boat to Diu, it would be a wonderful way to get there.

There may have been one many years ago, but I've not heard of it.

I believe the Indian Navy used boats to bomb the fort, I guess we could have asked them for a lift.

navinkurian2002

I think we have gone full circle once twice and now its thrice

This first it was sam link which proposed to start a catamaran ,
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/a...how/333820.cms

Then it was Ocean Infrastructure
http://www.domain-b.com/news_review/...1202newsa.html

Guess nothing really became reality.

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steven_ber

I missed both of them.

Why do you think these companies make these claims?

I wonder if it's to boost share values in the short term?

A 400 seat catamaran between Mumbai and Diu???? it's unlikely to even cover it's costs, never mind the cost of purchasing or renting the catamaran.

machadinha

It seems there used to be a hovercraft ferry (catamaran?) from roughly Surat or Bharuch district to Bhavnagar District across the Gulf of Cambay.

This is years ago though (early-mid 90's?), and as noted the service was discontinued. Persisting rumors of it probably prompt the occasional questions about it.

From what I've read of those plans above, it looked to me like the idea to revive it is under constant revision, but so far nobody seems to have gotten it together. May just not be profitable indeed.

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amyl

During my first visit to Daman (just wanted to try a Union Territory for a change...had some curiosity of what a Union Territory is so chose Daman & Diu....nearer to Mumbai) I had planned one day Daman and then a boat to Diu from there the next day. My Portuguese friend smiled at my oblivity when I asked where to take a boat to Diu from there. . I learned there were never any boats frmo Daman and unlikely to start in the future. I had this idea (stupid or whatever) that Daman and Diu must be nearby as they are referred as one UT. Its only from him that I learned it's another 750KM or something from Daman and yes more beautiful than Daman.

Not been tracking the sea-tourism on the west coast but got to read about the arrival of some houseboats at Tarkarli, from Kerala, to start the backwater thing in the Konkans. First ever I think! Its success/failure may be extrapolated to see if a cruise service from Mumbai can reap any profits.
But yes....a regular and affordable cruise service wud be just so much fun. Somehow Vijay Mallay must be given this hint to shed a fraction of his money into this business. He is the one who can afford a loss if it does not pick up.

machadinha

I think it must be understood in all of this that the old ferry, to the extent that it ever existed, was very much a commuter subway-on-water kind of affair from what I've gathered. Which also explains why it wouldn't have stopped in Diu. It's like that with similar ferries anywhere, whether tourists discover and like them as a handy transport means or not. The revenue for the tourist sector alone would probably just be too small.

(The renewed luxury ferry services as far as those go along the Maharashtra and Malabar coast I've read about are a case in point, very nice and very unaffordable from what I've seen, and more geared to the on-board casino experience than the getting there apparently. Which is fine of course if that's your thing. Same for the houseboats, sounds like cashing in to the Kerala Backwaters success right, it sounds as if like mushrooms they're springing up all over the place.)

Mid-90's Lonely Planet guides should have a caption on the (not) Diu ferry if I recall, even then being just a rumor of the past that the reader might have wanted to look into. I did but was in something of a hazed state wanting to get back home as soon as I could, anyway I think I was informed it was non-existent as pointed out, or I'm pretty sure of it rather or I'd have taken it.

(btw A recent question threw up the interesting possibility of But how's about hitching a ride with a local fisherman's boat? Would seem like a worthwhile endeavor to me provided you have ample time, however the simple answer was "no," concerns about waters there being sensitive owing to the proximity of the Pakistan border not the least of them, and hence the boatmen not being keen on taking you, even to the extent that they would be under any other circumstances.)

btw Amyl you do realize Daman is across the Gulf right? I believe Goa used to be in the same territory. Portuguese colonial remnants donchaknow, they were somehow kicked out rather belatedly (1961-'74. The Union Territory as such then existed from 1962-'87 it seems, later split into three with Dadra and Nagar Haveli, with Daman and Diu now forming a separate territory. See Steve's navy comments above. I believe the Diu airstrip was bombed even come to think of it, that's why it fell into disuse until fairly recently. Pretty much a bored kerfuffle from both sides like "let's flex our muscles one more time" really I think.)

shahronakm

The rates are similar to Kerala Houseboat rates. However the interiors of the same looks to be better (from the photographs)
Here is the link
http://www.maharashtratourism.gov.in...BoatHouse.html

Ronak.

steven_ber

Very interesting, but I have to ask, what is the scenery like on the Karli River?

From the website....

I tried to find Nerurpar on the map, but had no luck, but I found the 'Google Earth' coordinates for Nerur par bridge on the river, enter the following coordinates in to the search box at the top-left of the globe (once you've opened 'Google Earth').

16°1'5"N 73°37'27"E

They will take you straight to the bridge, then you can follow the river downstream (to the left) to the Arabian Sea.

I think 'Google Earth' has updated their images recently, I can't remember the images being this clear in the past, the coastal region is amazing viewing.

If you haven't installed Google Earth (free), you should, it's just amazing.

Google Earth download.

(If viewing Google Earth for the first time, be warned, it can distract you for hours.)

For those interested, I found the following 'tender notice' with all the requirements the houseboat owners had to adhere to in order to win the contract, another way of looking at it is, it's the best details you'll find anywhere about the houseboats, it's interesting, I wish I had more time to read it.

Tender Notice.