Aug 01, 2008 05:10 PM
15713 Views
I first read mouthshut few months back and I saw that it has lot of information to offer - thanks to all the contributors. Since then, whenever I plan for a new place I look it up in mouthshut and 90% of the times I've got reviews on them. This prompted me to sign up and star writing on mouthshut.
Murud is a great place to visit during early winter when the trees are still green, beaches are calm and you get the boat ride to Janjira fort. We started from Kalyan around 9:00 am. There are lots of buses that wll take you to Alibaug in the morning & a couple of buses that would take you directly to Murud. When we reached Kalyan at 9:00 the next bus to alibaug was at 10:15 so we took an ST to Panvel. Kalyan - Panvel is 1:15 hrs ride. Luckily, Immediately from Panvel we got a direct Delux(asiad) ST to Murud. The route is Panvel-Pen-Vadhkal-Alibaug-Murud. To reach Panvel, you take take buses from wither Thane, Borivali, Dadar, Kalyan etc. And so if you miss the direct bus to alibaug, get to Panvel. Chances are you may get some other bus which started from any other location.
Panvel to Alibaug took hardly 3 hrs and Alibaug to Murud takes roughly 2 hrs or less. The bus will first reach Murud Bazaar where it is advisable to get down and then leave for Murud Bus Depot from where you cannot get any transport other than another ST Bus.
We had planned to stay at Sand Piper Resorts. I had read a few reviews on Murud @ mouthshut and had mixed reactions on this resort but this was the only resort that looked comfortable & affordable. Golden Swan is another resort but it is highly priced - Rs.2500 for an AC Delux Double Room on weekdays. Sand Piper was Rs. 1700 for the same on weekdays & Sea Shell Resort Rs.2000 - again for the same. But for some reasons I liked Sand Piper becuase the reviews said it was on a hill top. We got a room because it was a weekday and there was no need to book it in advance. The only problem is there is no pukka/concrete/asphalt road to reach the resort and during the rains the road is damaged to an extenet that no auto wala is ready to take you till the resort. So we climbed the road which took us around 5 minutes. If you have heavy baggage avoid this resort or try to get some one from the resort to carry your bags.
The stay at resort was comfortable. They had a generator and so the A/C, lights, hot water were all functional inspite of the frequent power cuts. The food is reasonably priced as per mumbai standards and the quality is OK. We were happy with the service. The view from the room is awesome and no other resort in murud can beat the view. You can see the Kasa Fort, Murud Beach and other hills right from the bed. There are table and chairs arranged outside each room and we always preferred eating there.
Places to see - Murud Beach, Palace, Janjira Fort, Kasa Fort, Dutta Mandir, Igdah(masjid). The palace used to be ope nto visitors but now it is not. Kasa Fort also called as Padmadurga is like janjira fort surrounded by the sea, but not many tourists go there as the rocks around the fort prevent big motors boats from reaching there and the small boats can turn topsturvy with the waves. Dont try to reach if you are not a great8 swimmer. Janjira can be easliy reached and boat rides are available except the monsoon.
And yes, you have Cellone, Idea, Airtel & Tata mobile services available at Murud. No ATMs so carry lots of cash. The nearest ATM is at Alibaug 2 hrs away. An Auto ride may charge u Rs.500 to alibaug
