Mumbai to Aurangabad and back....whats best?

SitaParityaga

Ed is off to Mumbai next week, and wants to take a train up to Aurangabad to see the caves, then get a car to drive back to Mumbai with a stop at Shirdi and Nashik.

Does this sound like a good plan? I did a search on the old posts, and saw there are two trains leaving Mumbai for Aurangabad a day, one of which is an overnight.

Would love to hear from people who have made this trip: share any wisdom you might have.

Sita

SitaParityaga

I'm bumping this thread up in hopes there's someone who knows a bit about the route to and from Aurangabad.

Given its monsoon time, is it better to plan on the train or rent a car? Has anyone driven from Aurangabad to Shirdi to Nashik?

aadil

Hi there,

You can take the night train straight to Aurangabad either at about 2130 or about midnight depending on the day of travel as there are two different trains leaving at night and one in the morning. It is best to go by the night train as it reaches early in the morning fresh for you to go to the caves at Ellora or Ajanta depending on which one you want to see first and then see the other one on the next day. The Ellora caves can be done along with some of the other sites near and in Aurangabad like the Daulatabad Fort, Khuldabad, Bibi Ka Makbara, Panchakki, Grishneshwar temple, Himroo sarees workshop, etc. Going back via Shirdi and Nasik is something I have not done by car or train so cannot help on that one but I guess it would be best by train or bus as the monsoon means bad roads and driving conditions are worse than normal so I would not take that risk travelling by car. Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Aadil.

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Indiafan

We took the bus from Mumbai to Aurangabad. Did sightseeing there and one night. Then by car to Elloora and Ajanta. Back with train from Jargaon.

vsp27759

Dear Edsita,
First of all, kindly note that, if you hire a Car just for one direction, you will have to pay for both the directions. This is the Rule which the Agencies, that provide Car on Hire, would follow.
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As such, it is better, if you Hire a Car for the complete trip or share your car with other passengers proceeding in the same direction, which not only would bring down your financial commitment, since your are NOT required to pay for both the directions in such cases.
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To the best of my knowledge, Sharing Cars are available for Aurangabad-Shirdi and Shirdi-Nasik journeys. But for Ajanta, Ellora, andf local sight seeing, you can hire a car or avail the MTDC Buses (or) Private Travellers who conduct this Tour.
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Aurangabad-Ajanta Caves-Aurangabad eats away one full day.
Aurangabad-Ellore-Bibi-ka-Makbara eats away one full day.
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After finishing Shirdi & Nasik, take a train from Nasik to Mumbai.
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V.Srinivasa Prasad
12.6.2006/16.15 hrs.

man-go-tree

Hi,

I'm also thinking of making a stop in Nasik on the way from Mumbai to Aurangabad. I guess the best way from Mumbai to Nasik is taking a train since traffic can be a nightmare in Mumbai. But it seems that it's more convenient to take a bus or shared car from Nasik to Aurangabad. Does anyone knows how long this bus/car trip takes? There's some infos on the www.nashik.com web-page, but it's not very clear and I don't know if it's getting updated. Also, I'd like to know if there's lots of things to do/see in Nasik or if half of a day is enough.

Thanks

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