Help - Nice Beach, not Goa or Kerala?

s.evans670@btinterne

Having been to India 4 times over the last 3 years and travelled from Amritsar in the north down to Kerala in the South, my better half has said she wants a winter holiday this year were we can just relax on a beach with not so much travelling carrying ruck sacs.I myself have a addiction with the country which has me wanting to go back there again this winter but I have to keep my partner content as well I looked at Sri Lanka but still can not get away from that buzz I get when I hit Delhi or Mumbai ( am I really that strange). So the Question I have is were can we go in India, were after I have had my city fix,can spend some relaxation time on a nice beach.One more thing Goa and Kerala are off limits, thank you Stephen

theyyamdancer

How about the Andaman Islands for the beach plus Chennai for the city. Or Lakshadweep Islands plus Cochin (oh, no, that is in Kerala). Or how about the beaches of the Konkan coast plus Mumbai.

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kullukid

Hi Stephen, similar story with me, Mrs KK wanteds to go to Seychelles, but as a compromise I'm going to Delhi, H.P. Kumbh Mela in Hardwar then Varanasi, Kolkatta then flying to Chennai to meet Mrs KK for a week in Andamans. KK

s.evans670@btinterne

I can see her point we spent days travelling on our last trip in March days and nights on trains, lots of flights and hotels, there is just so much too see.Im hoping via the site I can find a compromise.

Haylo

As your wife wants a relaxing holiday just this once, and as you have been to India four times in the last three years, instead of you trying to squeeze a bit of the holiday you want past her, how about giving your wife a break and letting her choose where you go on holiday this time?

Much as we all love India, ending up spending a holiday in another country would not be the end of the world!

If you do this for her this time, she's probably be more amenable to a suggestion of having more of the sort of holiday that you want in India next time.

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brishti

stephen -
city mumbai - close by there are a choice of wondrous beaches. just check the maharashtra forum.

town / kinda city mangalore - the konkan strip, right upto goa.

there is gujarat too - but i have no idea about the coastline there.

diu ?



:brishti

sanket2612

There are a lot of beaches that you can visit along the coast of maharashtra. You can find them at http://www.konkanyatra.com/beaches.html
However, these places are unlike goa where you can find shacks / hammocks right on the beach. But places like Hedvi,Harne, Sri vardhan are fabulous. There are small villages along the beach where you can find accommodation. Some places even have government run resorts. You can check http://www.maharashtratourism.gov.in/ for the same.
Alternately, Lakshdweep also seems suitable for your needs. You can book lakshdweep via http://www.pugmarksholidays.com/. I have booked a package from these guys for the month of Jan.

bonded

I would suggest Guhagar or Malvan.

s.evans670@btinterne

Your lucky its not my Everton forum, we will probably have 3 holidays next year plus a trip to Latvia to see her parents I will quite gladly let her pick Egypt plus one more in the summer.

machadinha

I guess roughly (some destinations in) the North-West, then Diu for the beach, could be nice, and always just for example.* She could even hang out there while you do some side trips in neighboring Gujarat, if so desired; or you could do small ones of such together, of course. Gujarat itself is pretty undertouristed, or by foreigners at least. There are some good destinations in the area that wouldn't be too involved to get to.

Diu is hardly not-visited, it should still be pretty relaxing though. Note the only thing here is that Gujarat being a dry state, while the Union Territory of Diu isn't and booze is cheap there to boot, half of Gujarat and no few from Mumbai flock here on weekends and during festivals and holidays to get absolutely plastered. It's not so bad, just not a good time to laze on the beach (watching tourist babes on the beach while doing said drinking is a popular pastime, you see); better to finish your book in your hotel room at such times, or to get on your bicycle or moped that you sensibly hired in town to explore the (tiny) island, or perhaps just to explore Diu Town itself, which isn't unattractive btw, and pretty quiet as soon as you step away from the bars and stuff. Or to make some weekend breaks on the mainland then.

* Or alternatively move up from Mumbai indeed; you could visit Diu's sister territory of Daman on the way even (like Goa, both are former Portuguese colonies, with a sort of lingering Mediterranean atmosphere to match. I quite like it, and they're just arguably far less on the main tourist trail than Goa would be.) Its beaches are far less nice than Diu's are, the description is otherwise pretty much the same though (including the boozing thing then, it is likewise situated within the state of Gujarat), and I quite liked it earlier this year (Daman actually offers just a little more to see as such -- although I certainly ran into a few Westerners here, of the very few I met, who complained about there being nothing to see or "do." And then I met some others who liked it just like I did; to each their own, right.) As the others have said, the Maharashtran coast is supposed to have some hidden gems, mostly known to Indian tourists it seems if at all, certainly not to many Westerners. You could see if the Outlook Traveller guidebook series has some titles for you to cover these, http://traveller.outlookindia.com/bookhome.aspx; if you have trouble getting these where you live, you'll find them (though not always all of them) on the ground in India's cities alright, often their sold-out titles as well and with any luck. Their Beaches and Weekend Breaks From Mumbai titles would probably fit the bill, for starters.

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gaurav1441

Well you can also head for Mahabalipuram or Pondicherry close to Chennai. If you prefer to be in Mainland India. Otherwise Andamans would be a good option.

machadinha

Yes; Mahabalipuram's beaches are nothing to write home about though, and when I revisited for a few hours earlier this year, the place arguably seemed to have been exploded by tourism (not least of it domestic, and not necessarily tastefully so) as compared to when I stayed there in 1993 (when it was already sort of growing out of a semi-undiscovered backpacker's hangout into a rather more developed place that was on the Indian tourist circuit as well, but certainly nothing like today).

Only to be expected, one supposes; but "nice" wouldn't be my description of it. On the east coast, I'd be tempted rather to see if e.g. Andhra Pradesh wouldn't have some nice and undiscovered beaches; you'd expect there to be.

Note that as in Goa, most of India's mainland beaches are tricky if not to say pretty dangerous for swimming owing to the undercurrents (and I found it so in Mahabs too, or perhaps I just didn't feel comfortable with it no more after some previous bad experiences elsewhere in India; I had the impression here I could feel those currents tugging right at me though, and I know drownings along Chennai's beaches just a little north from it are far from uncommon); Diu's waters in contrast I found very safe, and my impression was Daman isn't so tricky either; I don't know why that is, but I suspect their lying still somewhat in the shelter of the Gulf of Cambay has something to do with it.

vonkla

There is also the option to fly to Kolkata and from there go to the beaches of Orissa around Puri, Chilka lake or further to the South.

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machadinha

Indeed; I'd been thinking there have similarly been some good and interesting-sounding beaches along West Bengal's coast reported here. Probably far from on at least the foreign tourist trail again.

Ah, choices, choices... (Oh, and in terms of swimming, note e.g. Puri's beaches seem to be likewise infamous for drownings. Just be a little careful out there kids, shall we.)

techindia2010

Go for Gujarat.
In winter there are government Sponsored and Traditional festivals Like Dance Festival, Kite Festival, Rann Utsav,

And Diu has couples of good Beaches.
check on wikitravel Gujarat.