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Mumbai Darshan – What is the first thing which comes to your mind when you hear of Mumbai? Do comment below. We cannot think about one special thing about Mumbai, actually there are plenty of them. Starting from Marine Drive, to celebrities, to Gateway of India, the list is endless. So one thing for sure Mumbai will always hold a special place for all the people who have been there already or planning to visit the city in the future.

Mumbai is a combination of seven islands on the western part of India and serves as the commercial and cultural capital of the nation. It is also considered to be one of the most populous cities in the world. The name Mumbai is derived from the Hindu goddess Mumbadevi. It became the base of the Indian independence movement headed by Mahatma Gandhi in the year 1942 till the time India achieved its independence. Earlier known as Bombay, it was renamed to Mumbai in 1995.

How to reach?

Mumbai is very well connected via train, airlines and roadways. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus or earlier VT Station is the most prominent train station of the lot. It is also the second largest train station in the world. The city can be reached by National Highways number- 4, 17, 8, 9, 50 and 3. There are plenty of trains and flights connecting to Mumbai on a regular basis from major part of the country.

Major attractions near Mumbai

Mumbai acts as the connecting city to plenty of beautiful places in and around Maharashtra like Goa, Nashik, Pune, Lonavala, Mahabaleshwar etc. So if you are planning to come to Mumbai, you can easily combine these places along with your Mumbai itinerary. Along with them States and UT’s like Daman & Diu, Goa, Hyderabad, Gujarat & Karnataka form a part of its neighboring states. Read our blog for North Goa budget trip here.

Best time to visit

November to February is considered the best time to visit Mumbai because the weather stays pleasant and also its ideal for visiting the various places nearby Mumbai. Few consider monsoon season as the best season to visit the bustling city for watching the wet, wild seaside with the white frothy waves over a cup of hot coffee and tasty roadside snacks. During summer it generally stays humid and hot so its better to avoid during this time.

Getting around in Mumbai

Another important thing to note, Mumbai is pretty expensive when it comes to hotels and transport. The budget hotels in other cities which would cost you Rs 1000 – 1500 would cost you a minimum of Rs 2000-2500 if you are in Mumbai. Also Mumbai has lot of transport options, but covering the entire city via meter autos, taxis or on Ola, Uber would be quite expensive for a budget travel. As metro is still in development phase in Mumbai, try to cover as much of the places via their local train as possible as its the lifeline of the city and would cost you much less compared to other modes of transport.

Try to stay in areas which has adjacent railway stations, in that case you wont need to travel much for commute purposes. We chose to stay near Dadar railway station this time around.

Mumbai has a Central and Western Line. Do check their railway timetable. Most of the long distance trains go to CST via the Central Line and the Western line connects few of the major suburban areas and ends in Churchgate. Dadar is a major connecting point of both these railway line. Areas like Bandra, Andheri, Mahalaxmi, Lower Parel, Santacruz, Boriveli, Malad etc fall on the Western line and ends near Churchgate. Places like Kalya, Dombivali, Thane, Kurla, Dadar etc fall on the Central line connecting to CST.

Also to note Mumbai has a fast train and slow train. Fast trains will only stop in few selected areas, compared to slow trains so choose carefully which train to board. Also there are first class and second class train compartments, if you have booked tickets for second class don’t get into first class compartment and vice versa.

Mumbai has a metro railway as well but its connectivity is only limited to 3 routes, Versova – Andheri – Ghatkopar, Dahisar(E) – Andheri West & Dahisar (East) – Gundavali.

BEST is the company that primarily operates the public bus transport service in Mumbai and runs multiple number of city buses. They runs many buses between Vesave / Yari Road Bus Station and Jogeshwari Bus Station on daily basis.

Mumbai Darshan – Day 1

If you are coming to Mumbai, try to catch a train or flight which reaches Mumbai in the morning. In that case you would get two complete days to roam around the city without getting much exhausted. Remember Mumbai is a huge city, its almost double the size of Kolkata or New Delhi. So to cover everything in two days is impossible. So we have planned accordingly to cover the most touristy places for our first time visit. You can also try to cover this itinerary.

Once you land in Mumbai, get in a local train and get down near Churchgate. From Churchgate, take an auto, bus, taxi or just walk for 15 minutes from there to reach the Gateway of India.

Gateway of India – The Gateway overlooks the vastly stretched Arabian Sea. It was built by the British in 1919, by the then Governor of Bombay, Sir George Sydenham Clarke. It was constructed in honor of King George V and his wife Queen Mary when they were on their tour to India.

Just opposite to the Gateway, you can find the majestic Taj Palace Hotel.

Taj Palace Hotel – A brainchild of Jamsetji N Tata, the hotel opened its doors to precisely 17 guests on December 16, 1903. This was the same hotel which came under attack from terrorists on On November 26, 2008. The violence claimed lives of 166 people, including foreigners.

Elephanta Caves – From the Gateway of India, there are plenty of ferries which would take you to the Elephanta Caves. An hour-long ferry ride from the Gateway of India to the Elephanta Island in the Mumbai Harbour, will help you to see a hidden world of rock-cut caves robust in their carvings and beautiful Shaivite sculptures. The ride to the caves is actually the best part of the tour which we really enjoyed thoroughly. One can see various sea gulls which surrounds the boat along the journey to get food from the tourists. A wonderful sight indeed.

Once you are done with the Elephanta caves, take a taxi from there and head straight towards the Haji Ali Dargah which is located around 7.5km from the Gateway. Alternatively get to Churchgate and take a train towards Mahalaxmi station. Take a shared taxi from Mahalaxmi to Haji Ali Dargah.

Haji Ali Dargah – The Haji Ali Dargah dates back to 1431 and is associated with Sayyed Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari. This is one of the most renowned Islamic shrines and is a striking illustration of the Indo-Islamic architecture style. The pathway to the Dargah is absolutely stunning as it passes through the middle of the Arabian sea presenting a beautiful trail.

From Haji Ali entrance get in the subway cross the road and get a quick shared taxi to Mahalaxmi station. From Mahalaxmi get a train to Prabhadevi. From there just walk for few minutes to reach to the famous Shree Siddhi Vinayak Temple. Alternatively you can also take a direct taxi from outside of Haji Ali Dargah and get down near Siddhi Vinayak Temple, the distance is around 6.4km.

Shree Siddhi Vinayak Temple – This temple was constructed around the core shrine of Lord Ganesha in 19th November 1801. Lord Ganesha also know as Ganapati- meaning the Chief of the Ganas is assuming Nar-KunjaRoop or the elephant headed form, and being accompanied by Riddhi and Siddhi – the Goddesses of affluency and prosperity. Do remember that the Arati during the evening starts from 7:30 – 8 pm when devotees are not allowed to enter the temple shrine. You need to wait outside. So reach either before 7pm or after 8 pm.

From the Siddhi Vinayak temple get a taxi to reach to the famous Shree Mahalaxmi Temple. The distance is around 3.5km. Dont forget to witness the famous Antilia house of Mr Ambani on the way.

Shree Mahalaxmi Temple – This temple houses 3 idols of Goddess Kali, Mahalaxmi and Saraswati. Mahalakshmi Temple was constructed around 1761-1771 and it is one of the oldest temple in Mumbai. The temple is open from 6 AM to 10 PM and Entry is free.

Marine Drive – You can enjoy the rest of the evening either sitting along the shore near the famous Marine Drive or do some street shopping near Colaba Causeway. If you want to have some road side snacks in the evening do visit Girgaon Chowpatty which is adjacent to the Marine Drive.

Mumbai Darshan – Day 2

On your next day of Mumbai Darshan take a train to get down in Bandra and head towards the Mount Mary Church. Located on a small hillock at about 80 metres above the sea level in Bandra, this Church is the most beautiful church in Mumbai. The church was built in 1640 dedicated to Virgin Mary.

Once done, just walk down for 5 minutes to reach the famous Bandra Fort.

Bandra Fort – This fort was built in the year 1640 by the Portugese. The fort is currently being handled by Archaeological Survey of India. You can get a beautiful view of the famous Bandra Worli sea link which connects Worli and Bandra by a bridge built above the Arabian Sea.

Note : – Every time you hire a taxi to get to the sea link you need to give Rs 85 for one way journey.

Bandstand – Once done head back and walk for around 5 minutes to reach the Bandstand. Bandstand is a popular tourist destination and surrounded by nearby residence of several Bollywood celebrities. Its is a rocky beach and there is no sign of sand in the beach. Just opposite of Bandstand you can witness the house of one of the biggest celebrity of India, Sharukh Khan.

From Mannat, i.e. name of Sharukh’s house walk along the road for 5 minutes to witness the residential Galaxy apartment where Salman Khan resides.

Linking road market – Once done, head towards the famous Bandra Linking road and have your lunch there. There are plenty of restaurants there. After your lunch, go for street side shopping in the Linking road market. The market is open from 10 am to 9 pm. It is a paradise for girls to do street shopping.

Juhu Chowpatty – You can keep the shopping for eve also as per your schedule. If you do that, instead of shopping head towards the famous Juhu Chowpatty. This beach is famous for its variety of street food and mouth-watering delicacies. Most important are the Bhel, Panipuri, and Kala khatta. Don’t forget to try them. 

Jalsa – Just a 5 minutes walk from Juhu Beach you can witness the house Jalsa, of the biggest celebrity of the country Amitabh Bacchan. If he is in town he pays his followers a visit on every sunday between 5-6pm. We were lucky to witness this lifetime experience during our trip.

ISKCON Temple Juhu – If you are still not exhausted you can also pay a visit to the famous Iscon Temple which is a 10 minutes walk from Jalsa. ISKCON Juhu was opened to the public on 14th January 1978, and it has become an important place of worship for the devotees of Lord Krishna.

You can enjoy the rest of the evening at leisure.

Mumbai Darshan – Day 3

On your 3rd day of Mumbai Darshan you can do some last moment street shopping before heading towards your next destination.

Conclusion

Mumbai will always hold a very special place to our heart. We have visited to so many places in the country but the people in Mumbai and the vibe is something different altogether. It is considered one of the most safest place in India for women and thus many people chose to relocate to this city for their career purposes. Beautiful beaches, lovely neighborhood, tasty street food, and the hustle bustle makes a trip to Mumbai always memorable. Do read about our other blogs here

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