Cheap dormitories, Budget advice & Other tips

Hi everyone,

I'm Sophia, a 19 year-old student from Utrecht, The Netherlands. I'll be in Mumbai from January 2-24 and I have no experience with/knowledge about India or Mumbai whatsoever. I could buy a cheap ticket of a friend, so here I am doing some research. I hope you can help me!

Accomodation
First of all, I can't seem to find much cheap accomodation online. Is it better to get rooms on the spot? Do you think I should stay at one place for the full three weeks or at different ho(s)tels? How much do you think it will cost me on average per night? Is staying in dormitories manageable or should I get private rooms? Is AC worth the extra costs? How dirty can the rooms get? should I then invest in more expensive rooms or spend the money on other things?

Budget
How much will living in Mumbai cost? I don't smoke nor drink that much alcoholic beverages, but I do like to visit musea, and spend money on entertainment etc. What is the minimum cost of living per day? Is 500 Rs to little? What is a more 'relaxed' daily budget? Can you list some prices? Like a meal/a beer/ a coke/ a museum ticket/ a cab/ entrance to a cultural site??

Also is Mumbai a place where negotiation in market places is common practice? How much percent can you normally get off?

Other tips
Is street food eatable? What are nice places to visit? Which areas are nice to walk around in? Are there places dangerous for girls on their own? Are the slums accessable/not to dangerous? Any other tips or advices?

Thank you so much for your help!

Sophia

One of the cheapest lodgings in town is the Salvation Army place...I'll get back to you this week, when I check it out to see how it scores on comfort and cleanliness since it's refurbishment, it used to be a hole..
I stay in a place called the Carlton Hotel just down the road which is cheap and cheerful, or there is Bentleys


500 Rupee is too little to enjoy Mumbai I feel, I would be looking at more in the region of 800 to 1000 minus the hotel charges of course. India and especially Mumbai is no longer as cheap as it was. Monuments can be from 100 to 250Rp, Museums from 300 minus a guide and another 100 for a audio guide.
A coke/mineral water can set you back 20 rupees and simple meal 80 to 150Rp,

The Bagdadi restaurant offers good clean Indian meat dishes, and you share the expereince with local Mumbiakers who know their food, you may have to que to get in it's so popular. Just along Tulloch road is one of Mumbai's best known street stalls the Bademiya, again a very popular spot the turn over means that this will be a safe place to eat...For sweets try the Badshah Restauant near crawfod Market for awesome faloodas and Kulfis..
Or after a few days getting used to the local food try Chowpatty beach where you can sample the snacks of Mumbai, like Paw Bhaji, Bel Puri and aloo tikkis.
Leopolds is a favourite with tourists but it's a expensive option these days with a main easily costing 200 - 300 Rps

The fort area is nice to wander around, as are the markets like Crawford and Chor Bazaar...A walk down Marine drive, Elephanta island and Bandra isn't totally devoid of charm I'm told (again I plan to visit this coming week, so I'll let you know)
Other places of Interest are Gandhi's house on Laburnum Road, the Buddhist caves at Kanheri.
On your way home visit The Rythm House for your Indian movie DVDs or music CDs one of the best selections I've seen anywhere in India

There are many other places of interest, and I'm sure there will be other suggestions forthcoming if you wait
If you've the stomach, and it doesn't tread on your idea of decency, then a trip to the biggest slum in India at Dharavi is doable which although labeled a slum, is a vibrant industrious and interesting community, many people offer tours of Dharavi these days..

Lastly why restrict yourself to Mumbai, there are many options around Maharashtra, Goa and karnataka, which could be seen within your time frame, it will also be easier on your pocket and lungs to get out of the city, if that's a option of course?


P.S. click the links for further info on the places I mentioned Doie

Thank you so much! This post really helps me a lot!!!

About the limits to Mumbai: Well I don't really know how much time I will need to visit Mumbai, mainly because I want to get to know the city a little better than just seeing all the tourist sites. Also I will need to rely on public transport to get there and I don't know how if that is possible.

Public transport and the foreign tourist quota on trains (if available) can get you to many nice places out of Mumbai, with your time frame this is certainly doable.
Mumbai as wonderful as it is, will grate on your nerves after some time, really look at spreading your wings.
From beaches to caves, craters to temples there is a lot of stuff you could fit into your time in India....

I really like Mumbai but would also suggest that you do not stay for more than a week. It is big and noisy and I suspect that more than a week will be too much.
Stay in Colaba area in the south, in terms of budget I guess salvation army dorms mentioned above will be a good bet.
Why not take a train to goa for a week or two? You could travel on sleeper class which is cheap and quite safe.

Thanks again! What would be nice places to visit then? I have a return ticket for Mumbai, so I don't want to end up spending more time in trains etc than actually enjoying my stay.

What would you recommend and how long is the traveltime from mumbai?

I have not been to Goa myself. Use the search option to find Goa threads. Its certainly accessible from Mumbai by overnight trainride. I think well worth the trip to experience beautiful beaches and little villages. I believe the southern beaches like palolem,patnem and agonda are more laid back then northern part in general from what I have read.
Maybe someone will be along with some suggestions for you.
Good luck

Sophietje, how about looking in a guidebook and see what's available in India that would interest YOU.

Goa is about 8-10 hours driving your own car, about 10-12 hours by train and about 14-15 hours by overnight buses. (A flight of course gets you there in an hour!)

All sensible recommendations above... though I would add YWCA to the list - it is in Colaba as well and right next to the touristy places.

However, Mumbai has loads of places worth seeing right form the south to the north - it depends on your interest really and not all would appeal to you as much. Once youhave decided on the places you would like to visit (or what you would like to do!) I can help you work out a fairly accurate budget. (with contingency expense separate)

As an example... some just like to soak in the sights and sounds of modern Mumbai while some might prefer to go searching for the old heritage areas of Mumbai... the original bylanes and the later British era. There are also many Portuguese forts dotting the Mumbai coast which are also quite interesting to visit. If its nature you are into, Mumbai is fairly close to a number of beaches and hill stations, so you can take your pick!

Mumbai really has a lot... most of it not that obvious ... hope you can distill your interests down, so I can try and help out with some recommendations!

Well oddly the Salvation Army wouldn't let me look at a room which is kinda strange he said all rooms were inhabited despite just checking someone out in front of me, so I don't know what that says about them?

Oh that's weird! But thank you so much for trying though.

After you told me 3 weeks in Mumbai seems a bit long I made an list of places I would like to visit. I found out how long the train trip would take and how much it would cost (mostly 3A but the 22h one 2A) just not how much time I would need for each city. I've also listed some places in each city which I would like to see, but I would really appreciate your advices. Especially regarding the distribution of the 20 days I have over these 4 cities.

Mumbai
Gateway to India
Elephant Caves
Colaba
Slum
Marine Drive

Ahmedabad
Sidi Saiyyed mosk
Gandi's home
Adalay step well
Hathe Singh Temple
Lake
Ashardham Temple

Jaipur
City Palace
Amer & Jaigarh fort
Jal Mahal
Jantar Mantar
Hawa Mahal

Agra
Taj Mahal
Agra fort
Mankameshwar Temple
Jama Masjid

All advice is appreciated!

I would like to help with your enquiry, but I would first like to know if you have dreadlocks?

Uh no, why??

Some helpful replies (and spelling corrections) in bold below