Sea fort views, fish thalis and of course some of the state’s best beaches… why fly straight to Goa when the coastal route via a luxury yacht has so much more to offer! Most people love beaches and most Mumbaikars will agree that there’s nothing like a trip to Goa to experience the state’s wonderful beaches. The 550-kilometer stretch of coastline that separates Mumbai and Goa isn’t exactly barren. It has a few choice pickings of its own, depending on the style of beach you’re looking for. These are coastal beaches and the best time to visit these beaches is from September, when the monsoon ends, to March, the beginning of summer!
Kihim, the last-minute-decision beach! Come here to get away from the crowded beaches of Alibaug. Kihim is close to Mumbai, closer than Alibaug in fact. Kihim’s proximity to Alibaug means you’re never short of supplies and alcohol, and it’s proximity to Mumbai means you’re never too far from home.
Murud, for the island sea fort and food lover, is a clean, relatively less crowded beach than the nearby Kashid beach, and the nearby rocky Nandgaon beach, with high-end resorts for comfortable accommodation. You should spend a day and a night here for two main reasons. It’s the closest beach to the massive Janjira fort nearby and the food is excellent.
Diveagar The most peaceful beach of them all; it’s beautiful with a vast expanse of gorgeous sand and surf (about six kilometers long) and a few birds for company. This is where you come to relax. The nearest town or main road is a world away. All you have is the beach, and, a short walk away, a few homestays and guesthouses surrounded by acres of coconut and betel plantations.
Devbaug beach is close to Tarkarli, near Malvan, about 500 kilometers from Mumbai, close to the border with Goa. At the Malvan pier, you can arrange boat rides to go diving, snorkeling, dolphin watching and to go explore Sindhudurg, another enormous island sea fort. Devbaug itself is a narrow strip of clean beach, less visited than its popular neighbour Tarkarli to the north. However, the Karli river running along Devbaug’s inner coast gives the place a very backwater type feel, excellent for boating. You can also use Devbaug as a base from where you can travel to Nivati, a cut-off beach with a hill to explore, and the so-called Tsunami Island, a sand bank that they say rose out of the sea after the 2004 tsunami.
