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Alibag or Alibaug is a town on the Konkan coast of Maharashtra near Mumbai. It's best known for its historic marine forts, fine beaches and clean water.

Get in

By boat

There are ferries and catamarans available from the Gateway of India, Mumbai. The journey takes 2 hours. However, service is suspended during the rains, i.e. May-October. The ferry takes you to Rewas and you are taken on a bus to Alibag. The cost of the bus trip is usually included in the ferry fare. This is the recommended way of getting to Alibag. A one-way trip by ferry costs ₹90 and by catamaran ₹150, both types of tickets include a bus trip to Alibag.

By bus

  • MSRTC buses should be available from various parts of Maharashtra. If you are leaving from Mumbai, then you have an option of boarding MSRTC buses, leaving every 30 mins - 1 hr from the Mumbai Central Bus Station. Though they might be uncomfortable, they top in terms of punctuality. Remember to grab a window seat!
  • Private buses can be chartered - a good option if you are going in a large group.

By car

  • Take a car or a taxi from Mumbai. Alibag is on the way to Goa from Mumbai, so you could do the trip as part of a trip down south to Goa. To reach Alibag from Mumbai, take the Mumbai-Goa-Ernakulam National Highway (NH17). At Wadkhal 'naka'(crossing), which is a little 8 km ahead of Pen, continue straight (the left turn keeps you on the highway to Goa), and you are now on the road to Alibag! Alibag is about 22 km from that point!
  • From Pune, take the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and take the Khopoli exit. From there drive towards Pen (30 km), then cross Mumbai-Goa highway to proceed towards Alibag.

By train

Alibag is not served by the Central Railway. The nearest Central Railway stations are very far - Panvel, 85 km away and Roha, 50 km away.

By bike

  • Take a car or a taxi from Mumbai. Alibag is on the way to Goa from Mumbai, so you could do the trip as part of a trip down south to Goa. To reach Alibag from Mumbai, take the Mumbai-Goa-Ernakulam National Highway (NH17). At Wadkhal 'naka'(crossing), which is a little 8 km ahead of Pen, continue straight (the left turn keeps you on the highway to Goa), and you are now on the road to Alibag! Alibag is about 22 km from that point!
  • From Pune, take the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and take the Khopoli exit. From there drive towards Pen (30 km), then cross Mumbai-Goa highway to proceed towards Alibag.

Get around

There are autos (shared/individual) available but the best bet is to have your own vehicle as you would like to hop on from one beach to another and you may not get anything in between.

See

  • 1 Kolaba Fort. A fort about 1km from the shore into the sea, reachable by foot at low tide (but not during the monsoon season). You can go on the island and roam around for free, but the entrance to the fort is by ticket only. ₹100 for foreign tourists. 
  • Alibaug Beach
  • Reach Alibaug from Pune
  • Kihim Beach
  • Mandwa Beach
  • Reach Kashid Beach
  • Kashid Beach
  • Nandgaon Beach
  • Akshi Beach. This is one of the best places to visit in Alibag. It is serene, clean and has a shallow gradient. The sand extends about 100m. A must see...
  • Revadanda Beach
  • Nagao Beach
  • Korlai Beach

Do

There isn't much to do in Alibag unless you love beaches. Arguably, the best beach in Alibag is Murud-Jajira with Kihim coming a close second.

  • Varsoli Beach. 

Buy

Eat

  • Sanman restaurant, specialises in sea food. They have different thalis with different fishes like Pomfret, Surmai etc. Each thali will have one fried piece and one curry piece of the fish. The rest of the items are also speciality of that area like bhakri (chapati) of rice powder, solkadhi (a refreshing appetiser prepared with the purple fruit kokam (garcinia) and coconut milk).
  • Fulora, Alibaug Rewas Rd, PNP Nagar. The restaurant specialises in seafood though all kinds of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. (updated Jun 2018)

Drink

Alibag has lots of restaurants and bars, and soft drinks and liquor are freely available.

Sleep

There are many homestays dotted along the 45 km road from Alibag to Murud. Rooms are like what you find in regular homes, generally cheaper than the regular hotels but service is only basic. They generally have parking space in the lawn in front. Rates vary with tourist season and the quality of the room.

Go next

  • Murud Janjira some distance away, in Murud town, Originally the fort was small wooden structure built by a Koli chief in the late 15th century. It was captured by Pir Khan, a general of Nizamshah of Ahmednagar. Later the fort was strengthened by Malik Ambar, the Abyssinian Siddi regent of Ahmednagar kings. From then onward Siddis became independent, owing allegiance to Adilshah and the Mughals as dictated by the times. Despite their repeated attempts, the Portuguese, the British and the Marathas failed to subdue the Siddi power. Shivaji’s all attempts to capture Janjira fort failed due to one reason or the other. Take a sailboat to the fort. It is on an island and built so that there is only one spot where the sailboat can land. When Sambhaji also failed to capture Janjira, he built another island fort, known as Kansa or Padmadurg, just 9km north of Janjira. Padmadurg was built so as to be able to bombard Murud Janjira.
  • Goa
  • Bombay
  • Pune
  • Go see more forts in Sindhudurg
  • Continue your trip of Konkan.
This city travel guide to Alibag is a usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.
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