Awesome Alibag

Over the summer, we were looking for a a quick getaway for a few days in India. Dimple suggested Alibag which is 2 and 1/2 hours from Mumbai. Now I had never been to Alibag before and hence my expectations were low. I half-heartedly agreed.
But boy, was I in for a surprise. Beautiful clean beaches, water sports, forts in the sea and good resorts were in store for us.

We stayed in 2 different resorts – 2 nights at Dewdrop Resort in Alibag and 1 night in Mahua Bagh Resort in Murud. Both resorts were nice.

Dewdrop is walking distance from Varsoli beach (5 mins). It offers 7 small cottages. Varsoli beach is a nice beach. Not crowded. Clean. No water sports though. Its meant for a calm walk or some good old sand fun. They even have built a new small park at the entrance of the beach which contains some good play structures for kids.

After Varsoli beach we went to Kihim beach. Kihim beach was also nice. A rocky appearance to the beach. No water sports here too. But there were some folks offering land parasailing (the jeep one).

Next morning we went to Alibag beach. Alibag beach is well developed (with proper parking) and you should not miss this beach. It has a fort in the middle of the sea. During low tide you can walk or take a horse carriage there. During high tide there are boats to take you there to the fort. The fort is small but impressive. Imagine building such a fort in the sea in olden times. Alibag beach is shallow and good for swimming and just lying around. So be sure to take swimming clothes along. None of the other beaches in Alibag are as good for swimming as Alibag beach.

In the evening we visited Nagaon beach. Now this beach is all about water sports. So it is crowded and because of water sports a bit muddy too. So not that good for swimming, etc. Water Sports are fun but you are responsible for your own safety (as with many things in India). Even Suravi was able to try one out.

Next day we left our resort to go towards Murud. On the way we stopped at Kashid beach. This was a nice beach with tall trees lined up and stalls which offered snacks and hammocks. Water was good to wade and play in. After spending some time in Kashid, we went to our next resort – Mahua Bagh Resorts – near the town of Murud. This is actually located in a farm. So there are many fruit trees. The approach road is a bit kaccha but other than that everything else is nice about this resort. We were the only ones at this resort when we went. So we were pampered. :-). Food was great. And they showed the kids their dogs and chickens.

Murud is famous for its fort Murud Janjira which is in the middle of the sea. You need to take a boat to reach there. The boat ride was a bit scary since they don’t provide life jackets and make all people sit on the floor of the boat. The fort is awesome but unfortunately not taken care of. In one of the lakes inside the fort we could see many plastic bottles. Its a pity the govt. is not taking good care of such a unique fort. Now Murud has a beach too which we did not goto.

Alibag does not have that many good restaurants. So choose a resort which offers you food as well. Don’t miss the local drink “Solkadi” (which is buttermilk + coconut). Its awesome.

Overall I came away very impressed with Alibag. Its a nice getaway for couple of days and close by to Mumbai too. Why go all the way to Goa for some beach fun?

Links:
Dewdrop Retreat: http://www.dewdropretreat.com/
Mahua Resorts: http://mahuaresorts.com/mahua_bagh.htm