Oct 26, 2012 07:56 AM
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Visiting Tarkarli was on my mind for the last four years and finally we managed to do it last week.
Firstly, let me tell you about the place itself. I think it is one of the best beaches on the Western coast. A Virgin unspoilt beach with powdery white sand and emerald blue waters. The water is so clear that you can see the sea bed even at a 10 feet depth.
Really, it is the picture post card beach. there is a river karli which joins the sea. The sea is very safe, very shallow, we went almost 250 metres inside and the water barely came up to mid waist. (There are no life guards, most of the time you are alone on the beach, so be careful). The back water boat ride on this is really fantastic. it is like the kerala back waters ride ( I ve been to kerala and done that too), the boat rides are reasonable, you get to take an exclusive 1 1/2 hour back water ride for Rs 1000, (no other passengers, just you and your friends), a 2 hour ride for Rs 1200.00 and a 3 hr ride with one hour in the sea for Rs 1800.00. The boats are pretty safe, 40 feet long, with yamaha outboard engines, good quality life jackets. There are some excellent water sports like water scooter, bumpy ride, banana boat etc and very very reasonably priced. All these are based at a 50 m X 100 m long Tsunami island which surfaced after the 2004 Tsunami. This is the great part, now the not so good part.
If you are looking for a goa like experience, well, Tarkarli is NOT the place. The MTDC is located bang on the beach and is a great location for a resort but that is the only great thing I can say about the resort. The resort is located in a Casuarina grove (suru trees) and that is an added attraction.
Rooms: (Konkani AC rooms): Ok-ok rooms, running water, Cable TV, neat enough linen. Linen is changed every day. There is a tap outside the room to wash your sandy feet before you get in.There is no tea/coffee maker in the room. NO room service for tea/coffee etc.
Restaurant: Decent menu list. Makes you wait for 30-45 minutes before you are served. Better idea is to give them your menu. You do not get tea/coffee breakfast before 0800 hrs. Shuts down at 10 pm.
There is no Bar. So, carry your beer. (a couple of beer shops are available outside the resort).
There are no Sun umberallas and reclining beds like you see at every shack in Goa.
Most of the staff speak Marathi with a spattering of Hindi. All the Sea swimming notices are in Marathi, so had to ask the manager there to translate for me.
So all in all, if you are a nature lover, love the emerald blue seas, safe beach to swim in, want to chill out and do nothing, soak in the idyllic atmosphere, then just go for it. If you want lots of activity, shopping, pubs, beach shacks, lots of colour - then go to goa!!
