Mumbai Questions - 1st time to India

shellabella

Hello India Mike,

I arrive in Mumbai on 17th January with my man and we have booked 2 nights in the Residency Fort (thanks for the tips). We dont really intend to spend too much longer in Mumbai so was wondering if I could grab some tips on essential must see's and do's. I have a lonely planet but I love getting little snippets from "real" people.

From there we are heading to Goa and from there we have 3 months of wherever our happy feet take us. Was wanting to get some tips on getting to Goa from Mumbai - is the train the best bet or are flights cheap enough?

Thanks all for any help x

sannna

Welcome to the forum!

For an idea of flight prices have a look at makemytrip.com. That will give you an indication. I don't know what the bestoption is, but as you have so much time to spend, I would suggest going over land by train, bus or car. Better for our precious world, and you actually get to see more too.

The Best of Mumbai LP is quite a good guide if you only have two days, and the highlights are all in there. Maybe it would be good if you give an indication of the things you would like to do see while in Mumbai. Is your interest food, shopping, buildings, residential areas, markets, temples, mosques, parks, nightlife, sports, bookshops, fairs etc.? That makes it easier for us to come up with ideas, I guess.

shellabella

Thanks for reply - I guess what I want tips on are - good places for food (any hidden gems), bars and markets.

We will definatley be going to elephanta island.

Was wondering too about taxi's have read a few reports which say there's a good chace of being ripped off is there an official taxi booth in the airport? Also is it worth hiring a taxi for the day? If so how do you pick one - i presume there are a load of them.

Cheers

sannna

All taxis in the cities have meters and taxi drivers are generally happy to use them. Maybe less so in Coloba, but just get out of the taxi and find another if he doesn't want to switch the meter on. The amount on the meter has to be multiplied by a certain number during the day, and a higher number during the night, after 22h), the driver carries a table for that. All drivers have one, although some may be sometimes a bit reluctant to use them at first. (Again this only happened to me in touristy areas). Insist, and the table will appear.

The airport has pre-paid taxi's. No worries there. (It might be that it is post-paid after all, the only thing that happens in that case is that your name and the taxi number are registered at the booth or exit, but you pay to the driver afterwards, according to the meter.) The only thing to look out for is that if you give a fivehundred note, that he will give you the change for 500, and not for 100. Or that he does not do a quick swap and shows you a 100 Rs note telling you you did not give enough. (Taxi fare from airport to south-Mumbai will be about 350 rs or so). This happened to me a few times, and not being 100% sure that I gave a 500 in the first place, I did not make a scene. What I do now if I arrive late and am tired and only have 500 to pay with, and no exact change, is that I keep the money in my hand, and only give it when he produces the change..

I wouldn't hire a taxi for the day. If there is one thing easily available in Mumbai it is taxi's. They are everywhere. I can't advise you on how to pick one for a whole day.

Let me think on the other questions regarding bars and food...

The markets I love for roaming around are the municipal markets in residential areas, such as the one in Dadar, or in Matunga. The flower market in Dadar early morning is also worth going to. That is, if you get happy from seeing all the colors of the rainbow :-)

My friend Goo

I heard the train ride from Mumbai to Goa is great cause of the scenery. I myself took a plane last time, it's really cheap

2 days in Mumbai, so sad. You wont have time to breathe in this amazing city.

In 2 days i would start by spending day one in coloba and around. See the Coloba market, Gateway of India and take the trip to Elephanta island. Do it early morning, the island is a time stealer.

Day 2 i would spend on a film city tour, i haven't done the tour myself though, but i heard it was pretty ok.

Regarding taxi's i was ripped off on my first trip in mumbai from the aiport. He put the meter on but drove around for ages. Always get a pre-paid from the airport. Thats a good rule of thumbs i use

Rob_Smith

Hi,
I only joined yesterday so not really able to advise anyone about anything yet. However, you may find this web site a help if you are planning to use the trains in India ...

http://www.seat61.com/India.htm

Cheers,

Rob

navinkurian2002

For taxis in the city read this post and here

Meru and cool cab would be an easy way to travel long distances . If you are on a budget then the local old run down taxis will do and rickshaws in the suburbs.

If you have time vist the kanheri cave on the other side of town . An early morning drive to the caves is the best .The statues there are much better than the ones at elephanta IMHO.

Place to eat out in bandra would be a good choice , bandra linking road has so many different types of restaurants .

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sannna

In addition to Navink's message: Waterfield Rd and Pali Hill Rd/St Johns Street are also good places to get good food in Bandra. Pali Hill is a nice area to walk around and see what kind of places the rich live in. Great bungalows, a very nice and relatively quiet area to roam around a bit and walk in to the occasional shops that are dotted around.

If you wat to buy chappals (sandals/flipflops), you can also enjoy your self a lot at the chappal market where Waterfield Rd and Linking Rd meet (Bandra West).

I quite like the Mumbai Times Cafe (corner 33th and 24th). It is an a lousy/tacky mall on the top floor, but the cafe itself is a nice quite place to read...a newspaper while enjoying coffee, tea and a sandwich. A floor below is a Magnet Supermarket.

There is live music sometimes at Bandra Bandstand in tyhe open air which you might enjoy. I thinkt is in the evenings, I will look up what the exact timings are and days are. It could be a worthwile experience.

shellabella

Thanks a million gang! All your tips are a great help.

Im sooo excited!

jyotirmoy

Don't miss seafood(Indian style) at Mahesh lunch home.

New-South-Welshman

Go to the one in the Fort area, and not Juhu. I found the staff at the Juhu one to be really obnoxious. The staff in Fort were excellent and told me and my mate stories about the place. By the way, I never knew prawns could get so big!

kristinm

2 days only in Mumbai.. we had 5 and still wanted to see and do and EAT more, its a great city.. there is a fantastic thread on Mumbai food, and we ate every meal pretty much at places recommended on this thread... Gastronomic pilgrimage in Mumbai. Also if you are only going to stay 2 days see this thread...Excellent driver in Mumbai - recommendation

Yes the fort Mahesh was wonderful - so friendly - and cheaper than Juhu I believe?

New-South-Welshman

Yeah it was cheaper. I got nearly identical meals from both Maheshs and the Fort one cost me Rs. 500 cheaper.

kristinm

Don't miss lunch at Britannia either - then you have to have a long walk before dinner at Mahesh!