What is your best tonic to get you out of a blue day (in this case, Blue Year ☹)
Shopping?
Eating?
Selfies?
For us, it is a Trip. And much better if it is a trip to the Beaches. Let’s make it better – how about a trip to non-crowded desolate beaches. And as I am a follower of the ‘Travel-for-All’ cult, let’s customize it to – Travelling with your Kids to the Less crowded beach destinations post Pandemic.
What Makes This Itinerary Special?
Ideal for the offbeat destination, adventure enthusiasts, solitude seekers, family trip, group trip, qualifies for social distancing. You can weave the destinations into one Road trip or visit the individual spots—ideal for Motorcycle, Cycle, and Car.
To view our Trip and Konkan Coast:
Our customized itinerary and plan:
Pune (Start point) – 375km- Ganeshghule beach - (43km) - Aare Ware beaches – (145km) - Malvan- Tarkarli/Devbaug beach --- Further ahead
Tourist Season: October to March
Rides: RE Bullet and Bajaj Avenger
Riders: Two adults and one child (Family travels)
Duration: 8 days
Time: October 2019
Road condition: Good.
How We Planned this Family Biking Trip?
Just before Corona had begun its trailers in Wuhan, we happened to explore a coastal road which took us to some of the not-so-well-known beaches. The idea was to trace the scenic Konkan coastal roads, which teased us for long on the Instagram posts of fellow travellers. Thus, we decided to ditch the National Highway. Keeping in mind the young pillion, our seven-year-old daughter, we prepared a comfortable itinerary. A useful accessory for young pillions: Harness. This will keep the child secure even when she falls asleep on the ride. We bought one from Amazon.
In my next post, I will cover how we made this child-friendly.
Here I am listing out some of the Beautiful Beaches that we covered. But before that, let me give you a glimpse of the road, which is as important as the destinations.
The road that added five stars to the Journey
Konkan Coast is the Western coastline of India that stretches along in Maharashtra. Some part of this coastal road outlines the coast, with the Arabian Sea on one side, while some ravels through the interior and runs through the beautiful shades of green, yellow, golden paddy fields.
You will surely be reminded of the famous number of John Denver, ‘Country Road Take Me Home.’
The road is a single lane but literally with zero traffic (as there is an alternate route via National Highway) makes it a comfortable ride.
You will get a glimpse of scenic and quaint villages that fall on this route.
After a 375 km of the ride from Pune through scenic ghat roads, we reached our first Beach Destination:
The Clean White Beach of GANESHGHULE
Ganeshghule is a small and remote village in Ratnagiri district, famous for its Alphonso mangoes. The place is hardly commercialized and thus offers the experience of virgin beaches. The idea of homestay is not yet popular here. Keeping this in mind, we had made an advance booking in the one and only resort at the place – Oceano Pearl Resort.
The resort's beachside location and its private beach make it an ideal destination for family outings and couples.
You Must Try their local cuisine, mainly Konkani Thali, Modak, and Surmai Fish.
Nearby Attractions: Ratnadurg fort, Ganpatipule temple, Aare-Ware Beach
AARE WARE Beaches
Our second Beach destination was Aare Ware Beaches. Aare and Ware are twin beaches that were formed by the submergence of a corner of the mountain.
The 43km ride to Aare Ware Beach from Ganeshghule was one of the most scenic road. It took us through the remote villages and then turning into a scenic coastal road with a beautiful view of the Arabian Sea on one side. Maggie points, corn cobs, bhel puri, coconut water and the sea breeze – this road was a perfect weekend getaway.
One can stay either at one of the resorts/homestays nearby or keep Ganeshghule as a base like we did.
Our recommend itinerary to turn this into a weekend destination: Ganpatipule temple and beach – Aare and Ware Beaches – Ratnadurg fort
MITHMUMBARI Beach; Great Ocean Road of India
This road was the MOST scenic coastal road of our trip, literally hugging the sea. No doubt it is a favorite among motorists and cyclists.
The beach was pristine white, unlike the famous beaches of India. One could feel the roll of the waves and the magical play of the sky on the sea. The experience cannot be described in words; you can only feel it. Tranquility, calm, and peace – our senses never felt this alive before.
We parked our bikes on the road and sat down to steal some of these moments while our daughter drew a pattern in the sand.
Out of the available options to stay, our personal favorite was Asmi Beach Resort. It is ideally sited over a hillock and gives you a panoramic view of the waves crashing over the winding coastal road. One may also explore MTDC resort, Maharasthra tourism development corporation, as an option.
Malvan-Tarkarli-Devbaug Beaches for the lovers of Water Sports
In our fourth Beach destination, we explored the interconnected coastal fishermen villages of Malvan, Tarkarli, and Devbaug.
Compared to our previous destination, we found this region more commercialized and crowded. There are many options available here for a stay, from bed and breakfast hotel to beachside resorts. We stayed in one of the resorts in Tarkarli.
Tarkarli is famous for snorkeling, scuba diving, and other water sports. It also has a scuba diving training center. A little further ahead was Devbaug beach, which is at the Sangam of Karli river and the Arabian Sea. You may get lucky in capturing some wonderful shots of fishing boats, fish lines, and birds. This place is essentially a fishermen beach. One may hire a boat for a ride to Tsunami island, backwaters.
In other nearby attractions, Sidhudurg is a must-visit.
It is located on a small island near Malvan called Khurte Bet. One needs a ferry to reach the fort. During high tides and rainy season, the fort is closed.
This is a best place for seafood lovers to enjoy their home-cooked delicacy with distinct flavour as they use lots of coconut and Malvani spices.
Our recommended local itinerary: Visit to Sindhudurg – Water sports activity at Tarkarli – Dinner of Malvani thali.
…
Unlike the popular Beach destinations of Goa, these beaches didn’t have party flavors of music, dance and alcohol. But they offered us a glimpse into their local culture, a connection with nature, and some valuable moments where we listened to the sounds of the waves and chirping of the birds uninterrupted.
This video from Malvan beach is my 'cheer up video.' You may experience the moments of calm and connect I have mentioned previously.
Inbox me for more details of this trip from Pune to Belgaum. I would love to hear your experiences about more such Bike destinations.
In my next Post I will cover the lesser known Beaches in Kutch, Gujarat.
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