nice beach close to Chennai??

crea · Mar 29th, 2007, 01:09

Hi,

Starting a four month trip in India from Chennai and want to rest and relax before heading off.
What is a nice spot to enjoy beachlife nowedays in the neighbourhood of Chennai. Is it be found or is it better to start from Trivandrum (can't remember the 'new' name) and go to Kovalam or Varkala?
Any suggestions?
Thanks a lot in advance,
Mea

cyberhippie · Mar 29th, 2007, 01:17

There's a chain of small beach resorts all the way down the coast from Madras. The only one I can personally recommend is the beach near to the entrance of Auroville.
Nice clean beach, shallow water and only the beginnings of tourism! There's a couple of basic budget guest houses here but Pondy is only 1/2 an hour away on the bus (to the south) so you might want to stay there!

If it 's a touristy resort your looking foe and a taste or culture and artisans at work. Then Mahaballipuram isn't a bad choice,it's just the neighboring beach is pretty dirty. Otherwise it's an ok place to stay for a few days and watch the stone carvers at work! You can always walk North for better/cleaner beaches!

Nick-H · Mar 29th, 2007, 02:14

Do you mean half an hour before Pondy when coming from Chennai?

Does anyone ever go to Kovalam-that's-kovalam-Tamil-Nadu-Not-Kovalam-Kerala? Yes, confusingly we have a Kovalam too --- about 35/45 minutes South of Chennai, just past a boating lake which I think is called Mettacaudu.

We went there a few weeks back, after a visit to said boating lake. Mrs N said that a lot of local visit visit --- but the general atmosphere of the village and beach seemed a bit rough to me. I'd be interested in other impressions.

Within Chennai itself I seldom go to the beach, but have a preference for Eliots's Beach at Besant Nagar rather than the huge main City beach --- Marina Beach.

pmvelu · Mar 29th, 2007, 11:22

Mea,

If you would like to visit calm clean nice beach, I would suggest Hotel Tamilnadu complex (As usual, My favourite - Road less travelled site) which is 5 km before mahabalipuram in Chennai to Mahabalipuram (alias Mahabs / Mamallapuram) East coast road. As I am Chennaite, I have visited this beach resort complex along withmy friends few times just for a day trip . What attracted me :
1) Nice Clean Beach (private?!)
2) There is absolutely no crowd (Each time we saw just 5 to 10 tourists along the beach) - Compared to the size of this property , It really looked liked a deserted place (But not scary type)
3) Even though there are rooms available, it's not mandatory to check-in. Just we can have 1 or 2 drinks in their bar OR order some food and can use the beach
4) And Swimming pool is also there which costs 150 Rs (For 2 hours) & if you check-in in a room, Swimming pool access & breakfast are free (That's what Reception told us)
5) All in all, if you just want to have sun bath , roam in the beach without any curious onlookers, this is the place to be

Nick-H · Mar 29th, 2007, 12:44

That sounds very nice

There is plenty of beach which is not full of tourists, but it will be full of fishermen and you may get plenty of the wrong kind of attention.

pmvelu · Mar 29th, 2007, 12:53

Ya Nick, this place is unbelievable . No fisher folks , No catamarans , No Local tourists, No Noice& another funny thing Which I noticed is that the number of employees in this complex always outnumbered the number of tourists (Atleast that's what we felt) ))::--

Next time when I go , will take some photos and post it in our site !!

Mar 29th, 2007, 01:09	#1
crea Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: netherlands Posts: 59	nice beach close to Chennai?? Hi, Starting a four month trip in India from Chennai and want to rest and relax before heading off. What is a nice spot to enjoy beachlife nowedays in the neighbourhood of Chennai. Is it be found or is it better to start from Trivandrum (can't remember the 'new' name) and go to Kovalam or Varkala? Any suggestions? Thanks a lot in advance, Mea

Mar 29th, 2007, 01:17	#2
cyberhippie Account Closed by User's Request Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: the Netherlands Posts: 6,012	There's a chain of small beach resorts all the way down the coast from Madras. The only one I can personally recommend is the beach near to the entrance of Auroville. Nice clean beach, shallow water and only the beginnings of tourism! There's a couple of basic budget guest houses here but Pondy is only 1/2 an hour away on the bus (to the south) so you might want to stay there! If it 's a touristy resort your looking foe and a taste or culture and artisans at work. Then Mahaballipuram isn't a bad choice,it's just the neighboring beach is pretty dirty. Otherwise it's an ok place to stay for a few days and watch the stone carvers at work! You can always walk North for better/cleaner beaches! Last edited by cyberhippie : Mar 29th, 2007 at 12:39.

Mar 29th, 2007, 02:14	#3
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 27,761	Do you mean half an hour before Pondy when coming from Chennai? Does anyone ever go to Kovalam-that's-kovalam-Tamil-Nadu-Not-Kovalam-Kerala? Yes, confusingly we have a Kovalam too --- about 35/45 minutes South of Chennai, just past a boating lake which I think is called Mettacaudu. We went there a few weeks back, after a visit to said boating lake. Mrs N said that a lot of local visit visit --- but the general atmosphere of the village and beach seemed a bit rough to me. I'd be interested in other impressions. Within Chennai itself I seldom go to the beach, but have a preference for Eliots's Beach at Besant Nagar rather than the huge main City beach --- Marina Beach. __________________ . Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

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Mar 29th, 2007, 11:22	#4
pmvelu Maha Guru Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Mysore Posts: 743	Mea, If you would like to visit calm clean nice beach, I would suggest Hotel Tamilnadu complex (As usual, My favourite - Road less travelled site) which is 5 km before mahabalipuram in Chennai to Mahabalipuram (alias Mahabs / Mamallapuram) East coast road. As I am Chennaite, I have visited this beach resort complex along withmy friends few times just for a day trip . What attracted me : 1) Nice Clean Beach (private?!) 2) There is absolutely no crowd (Each time we saw just 5 to 10 tourists along the beach) - Compared to the size of this property , It really looked liked a deserted place (But not scary type) 3) Even though there are rooms available, it's not mandatory to check-in. Just we can have 1 or 2 drinks in their bar OR order some food and can use the beach 4) And Swimming pool is also there which costs 150 Rs (For 2 hours) & if you check-in in a room, Swimming pool access & breakfast are free (That's what Reception told us) 5) All in all, if you just want to have sun bath , roam in the beach without any curious onlookers, this is the place to be

Mar 29th, 2007, 12:44	#5
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 27,761	That sounds very nice There is plenty of beach which is not full of tourists, but it will be full of fishermen and you may get plenty of the wrong kind of attention.

Mar 29th, 2007, 12:53	#6
pmvelu Maha Guru Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Mysore Posts: 743	Ya Nick, this place is unbelievable . No fisher folks , No catamarans , No Local tourists, No Noice& another funny thing Which I noticed is that the number of employees in this complex always outnumbered the number of tourists (Atleast that's what we felt) ))::-- Next time when I go , will take some photos and post it in our site !!

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