[anekho]

Hey Guys!

My parents are planning a one day trip to Shirdi and need some suggestions!

The plan is to fly into Pune, arriving at around 6:00 AM. Drive to Shirdi, have darshan, and return to Pune Airport by 9:00 PM at the latest to catch the late night flight.

I would appreciate getting the following info from you guys:

1) A reliable and safe cab for the whole day, ie From morning pickup at Pune airport to drop back at the airport. Any pointers to a good 'travels'? Nothing fancy about the car, an Indica will do. Or should we just stick to the travels desk at the airport?

2) Suggested places to eat on the way to and from Shirdi, with clean toilets.

3) What time to should leave Shirdi in order to reach Pune Airport by 9:00 PM latest. (Keep in mind they'll need like a 45min break to eat something)

Thanks in advance!

[khoj]

1) There are two taxi services operating from the departure hall of the airport and these would be the best bet as they do have to come back to the airport.

More importantly have your dad take a good look at the vehicles tyres. We did the same day trip earlier this July and were shocked by the condition of the tyres of the taxis that came in originally and even the replacements. The tariffs varied between 5 to 6 K. Eventually took one directly from the hotel for 8K but it was in top notch condition so well worth the money.

2) An hours and three quarters drive from Pune will bring them to a place called the 'Smile Stone' this is just before Supe roughly 30 odd kilometers before Ahmednagar and a decent place to have a meal/snack on this route and it is open from very early morning to very late at night. This would be perfect for a stop, after which they can drive directly to Shirdi without wasting time in Ahmednagar. Read & see smile stone in the link.

Triplogue - India VII: Maharashtra II


In Ahmednagar itself after they cross the flyover over the rail lines there will be a smattering of hotels for the next 2 odd kilometers. There is a Dominios pizza outlet with dine in facility, not sure whether they have a toilet though. There are a couple of decent looking hotels on this stretch. After this it is a straight run to Shirdi.

3) Even though the entire stretch from Pune to Shirdi is a divided four line highway, I would recommend that they leave Shirdi by 4 in the afternoon as they will run into traffic from Ranjangaon onwards (50 kilometers prior to Pune) as there are literally thousands of people driving back to Pune from all of the factories and once they reach Ghorpodi area (10kms from the airport) the traffic is in Shambles. This is to reach Pune by 9 assuming that the flight's ETD is 10,00pm or beyond.

[anekho]

Thanks for the reply, khoj! Really appreciate it

Originally Posted by khoj

1) There are two taxi services operating from the departure hall of the airport and these would be the best bet as they do have to come back to the airport.

More importantly have your dad take a good look at the vehicles tyres. We did the same day trip earlier this July and were shocked by the condition of the tyres of the taxis that came in originally and even the replacements. The tariffs varied between 5 to 6 K. Eventually took one directly from the hotel for 8K but it was in top notch condition so well worth the money.

Sounds quite steep! For what car was this, and for how long? Last year we hired an indigo from our hotels travel desk at Shirdi, to drive us to Pune Airport for <1500 (Including return fare).

I was expecting something like 3000 for Pune - Shirdi - Pune in a day for an Indica!

Originally Posted by khoj

2) An hours and three quarters drive from Pune will bring them to a place called the 'Smile Stone' this is just before Supe roughly 30 odd kilometers before Ahmednagar and a decent place to have a meal/snack on this route and it is open from very early morning to very late at night. This would be perfect for a stop, after which they can drive directly to Shirdi without wasting time in Ahmednagar. Read & see smile stone in the link.

Sounds good - will definitely stop there!

Originally Posted by khoj

3) Even though the entire stretch from Pune to Shirdi is a divided four line highway, I would recommend that they leave Shirdi by 4 in the afternoon as they will run into traffic from Ranjangaon onwards (50 kilometers prior to Pune) as there are literally thousands of people driving back to Pune from all of the factories and once they reach Ghorpodi area (10kms from the airport) the traffic is in Shambles. This is to reach Pune by 9 assuming that the flight's ETD is 10,00pm or beyond.

Great info. The flight is at 23:XX, so a 16:00 departure will be the safest bet!

Thanks again

[khoj]

Originally Posted by anekho

Thanks for the reply, khoj! Really appreciate it
Sounds quite steep! For what car was this, and for how long? Last year we hired an indigo from our hotels travel desk at Shirdi, to drive us to Pune Airport for <1500 (Including return fare).

I was expecting something like 3000 for Pune - Shirdi - Pune in a day for an Indica!

Hi anekho,

That was an Innova with the captain seats in the middle row which was with us from 11.00 am (from the airport) on day one to 07.00 pm (drop off at The Westin) the next day. We stayed overnight at Shirdi.

[samsan02]

Hi,
Planning to go on this trip Pune - Shirdi - Shanishignapur - Pune , what would be the best route and option. Any cab/taxi tour service that can do that in 1 day?
Please suggest any such contacts. Also how much crowded will it be at both the places on 3rd Oct (Friday) 2014) ?

Suggest some stopovers in between, will be travelling with small kid & wife.

What is the best time to start at Pune.

Thanks

[ampere]

Originally Posted by samsan02

What is the best time to start at Pune.

Pune-Shirur-Nagar-Shani Shignapur - Shirdi and back the same way.
Smilestone beyond Shirur is a good place to break. Can be easily done in a day.

[jkrishnakj]

Originally Posted by ampere

Pune-Shirur-Nagar-Shani Shignapur - Shirdi and back the same way.
Smilestone beyond Shirur is a good place to break. Can be easily done in a day.

Thanks Ampere - Google throws up one more route from Pune via Chakan, Narayangaon to Shirdi.

I am planning to do a day trip tomorrow, with my parents, so wanted some help to decide what would be a better road to take. From the different threads I read here, the Nagar road route seems to be the most preferred one.

Also - from other friends who have frequented this place - two quick questions.
1. Will it be too much of a crowd tomorrow, Saturday? I have with me my parents who are quite old I plan to leave Pune by 5.00 AM
2. If time permits, we would like to visit Shani Singnapur. Does it fall on the Nagar - Shirdi route or is that a different diversion?
3. Do we need to do any advance reservations for Darshan at Shirdi?

Asking all this because its been 14 years since I have been there and realise quite a bit must have changed. Thanks in advance for your inputs.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Thanks Ampere - Google throws up one more route from Pune via Chakan, Narayangaon to Shirdi.

Take the time and test Nagar road. Thats the better option. Be aware roads around Shirdi (~25 km) are quite broken.

From the different threads I read here, the Nagar road route seems to be the most preferred one.

Thats correct.

Also - from other friends who have frequented this place - two quick questions.
1. Will it be too much of a crowd tomorrow, Saturday? I have with me my parents who are quite old I plan to leave Pune by 5.00 AM

Typically thursdays are more crowded. Sat should just be fine. Compared to what we see in Tirupathi this is a cake walk!

2. If time permits, we would like to visit Shani Singnapur. Does it fall on the Nagar - Shirdi route or is that a different diversion?
3. Do we need to do any advance reservations for Darshan at Shirdi?

Its on the way. When you are on the Nagar-Shirdi road, you can easily see a board indicating Shani Shignapur on to your right. Over all its about 70km from Shirdi. You dont any booking for this darshan.

[hserus]

OK - do yourself a favor BEFORE you book your tickets to Pune.

Preparation -

ALWAYS pre book your darshan (or aarti) at https://online.sai.org.in - once you register you can do this and also donate money / arrange for pujas / buy devotional books etc, all using your credit card. Only a limited number of slots are available so book your tickets, car and if necessary accomodation AFTER you book the darshan.

Once you book the darshan you have access to a priority queue that will enter through the Shani gate, so you have about half an hour or so of waiting instead of ~ 1-2 hours. Maybe a bit longer on thursdays but still in proportion to what I described.

Local stay -

For accommodation if you need it, there are plenty of cheap to costly-ish hotels in Shirdi, but for ~ 1k per night there's the AC rooms provided by the temple itself, and they have a shuttle van to the Mandir (as this is about 1 km away) or you can always have your driver drop you there, and pick you back up. You can also book these AC rooms on the online.sai.org.in site.

If you are travelling with kids and family, book a nice hotel - my favorites there (and I've stayed at all these) -

Keys Temple Tree - a bit far from the mandir, in the lane right next to the mandir's dormitory accomodation (so phone the hotel and ask for directions). http://keyshotels.com/hotels/hotels-...rdi/templetree - this offers a free shuttle to the temple.

Marigold - short walk down a straight road to the temple, but a mud road. Also offers a free shuttle, use it. http://www.marigoldregency.com/

St Laurn - More expensive (5 star resort + spa where the two above are 3.5 to 4 star), and I hear from friends that its nice but I haven't stayed there. http://stlaurnhotels.com/stlaurnhote...ation-and-spa/ - also some distance from the temple with a shuttle.

Keys and Marigold are around 2500-3500 per night, with some discounts possible on portals like booking.com, goibibo, yatra etc.

Getting there -

Use Carzonrent if you want an outstation car at a reasonable rate (~ 4..5k roundtrip depending on the vehicle but guaranteed that it'll be in great condition and highway worthy, the airport taxis are often ramshackle and with busted suspension, bald tyres etc). Or some of the local call taxi firms like Meru Cabs, Wings Cabs etc also offer intercity taxis at varying levels of cost and quality.

Carzonrent also offers self drive cars under their 'Myles' brand and you might want to consider that, but if so, pick a hotel that has parking inside its premises, which means a proper hotel like the ones above, rather than a lodge with street parking. And use the hotel shuttle, parking near the mandir is extremely tough to get and frequently fills up.

On your way to Shirdi - there's the smile stone restaurant, just before Supe (before the turn into Ahmednagar) - you can't miss it, very clearly signposted. Good food, clean loos. And there's a Cafe Coffee Day right next door that has rather better tea and coffee than you'll get in Smile Stone. Carry cash, the Smile Stone guys don't do credit cards.

There's a similar roadside rest stop - almost opposite smile stone, but on the side of the road returning to Pune, forgot the name but that too has very good food. There are also Kamat upahars etc on both sides of the road. My advice would be to ignore the idli / dosa etc that you see dished up at these places (which will be pedestrian in quality) and instead go straight for sabudana khichdi, misal pav type local dishes, which will be excellent.

There's a similar roadside rest stop - almost opposite smile stone, but on the side of the road returning to Pune, forgot the name but that too has very good food.

There are also Kamat upahars etc on both sides of the road, as well as several small dhabas especially on the outskirts of Shirdi, but caveat emptor, food quality varies (some of the dhabas are astonishingly good in terms of taste, and really cheap), and of course, no clean loos.

My advice would be to ignore the idli / dosa etc that you see dished up at all these smile stone, kamat etc places (which will be pedestrian in quality) and instead go straight for sabudana khichdi, misal pav type local dishes, which will be excellent.

While in Shirdi -

My personal preference is to book the Kakad aarti (early morning), and arrive in Pune in the mid afternoon, drive straight to Shirdi, arrive around 8:30 PM. Check into your room, grab dinner and sleep for two or three hours before you check out and arrive at the temple's Shani gate before 3:45 AM (preferably around 3:30 AM).

Or the other alternative if you have a slightly earlier flight available is, book the last aarti of the night (Shej aarti), finish your darshan that same night, sleep in your hotel room and leave in the early morning. The kakad and shej aartis, due to the timing, have the least amount of queue. The kakad aarti is a personal preference because several of the hymns sung then are much more familiar (utha utha sakala jana etc, ending with some verses from the middle of the Vishnu Sahasranamam).

Take your cellphone with you - and deposit it at the footwear and cellphone counter near the shani gate, as you will need it to call your driver. It is perfectly safe and they give you a token for it. Cameras etc are not allowed inside the mandir.

At the mandir, DO NOT buy flowers, brightly colored cloth etc from the fellows hanging about outside the temple. They will try to bill you 50 rupees for a small bunch of flowers or even (if you look like you're in a rush) 1000 rupees for a cheap polyester cloth. And in any case, whatever flowers, cloth etc that you buy from outside are collected by two helpers who stand in front of the queue and deposited in huge dustbins placed just before you enter the room where the samadhi is kept.

Take the inner of the two lines that form if you can as that will be the one that gets you a clearer view of Baba. In the outer line you will have to crane over the heads of the inner line people to get a proper darshan, or be more content with an occasional glimpse of the idol + a more proper view on the closed circuit TV screens mounted on the walls all over the place.

Assuming Kakad aarti, once the aarti is finished, get some hot tea, and leave Shirdi before 6:30 AM. You will reach Pune airport by noon or so, and can easily get lunch and catch an afternoon flight back home that way.

Note - 6:30 AM because the donation counter at the shrine opens at 6 AM sharp every day, which means you have about half an hour or so of walking around the temple seeing the other shrines inside it. Donating any amount of money at all over the internet will get you a printed receipt about two or three months later, with exactly one packet of udi prasad and one packet of the powdered sugar prasad. If you donate at the counter they'll give you a handful of udi / sugar packets and also - for higher amounts, give you a red cloth as a blessing. This comes in very handy to ensure that your udi prasad supply doesn't get exhausted between trips to Shirdi. If that is not a very big concern and you are rightly content with just the darshan of baba, you can leave far earlier by around 5:20 AM and beat a lot of the traffic on your way back.

Shani Shingnapur -

If you want to do Shani Shingnapur as well, take an evening flight. And of course, buy your own til oil BEFOREHAND for the shani shingnapur shrine - the local stores (at least one of which your cabbie already has an arrangement with so he will park right in front of that one, claiming the shopkeeper is an old friend and will give you a decent rate) will sell you overpriced oil + an old horseshoe / black "drishti" doll etc that you're asked to hang in front of your front door, but all that matters is you worshipping shani dev with a bottle of til oil. As liquids aren't allowed on a plane, my recommendation is a quick stop at a grocery store or supermarket in Pune on your way to Shirdi. Or if you miss that, ignore the stores outside and buy til oil at the counter inside the temple.

Return to Pune -

Start very early in the morning, ideally before 6 AM. Or you'll run into a crawl of traffic - first small tata magic vans, sumos etc plying point to point shani shingnapur - shirdi, and then the massive logjam that is the pune outskirts.

On arrival go straight to Pune airport, but if your return flight doesn't serve dinner (a reasonable supposition given that the most convenient flights for this sort of thing are generally Spicejet / Indigo / Go Air) you may want to grab dinner somewhere in Viman Nagar on the way to the airport, before you fly out.

Or maybe eat in the nearby Bund Garden Road area - which is anyway on the nagar road before you reach the airport, and has excellent restaurants plus at least one complex near a traffic intersection (the one opposite the Blue Nile restaurant) that has great food stalls in the basement.

Pune Airport is horrible - very limited facilities for food and shopping, limited seating, rundown facility. So spend a bare minimum of time there before you catch your flight back home.

Well, that's it. Post here if you have any further questions. Mods - if you wish, please make this sticky on top of the thread.

[jkrishnakj]

Many thanks Ampere, as always.

And hserus - lovely detailed post. Thanks heaps. Me and my parents are already at Pune now, and we plan to do a day trip tomorrow. In all probability, i'll leave around 4.30 am or so, catch breakfast at "Smile Stone" and then leave it to almighty in terms of the hours it might take for the darshan, and if time permitting, the stop over at Shani Singnapur is definitely on the cards.

I'll try the online link now and see if I can still manage something between now and tomorrow.

I shall return tomorrow evening and post an update on the day. Thanks again.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

In all probability, i'll leave around 4.30 am or so, catch breakfast at "Smile Stone" and then leave it to almighty in terms of the hours it might take for the darshan, and if time permitting, the stop over at Shani Singnapur is definitely on the cards.

Online darshan booking may be difficult for tomorrow. They are usual booked quite well in advance. But there is always a chance!

Smilestone is a very good place for a break. From a food court to a Coffee Day you get every thing. Very relaxing for a break indeed.

[jkrishnakj]

^^
Ampere - Thanks again !.

I did try the online route per the link from hserus ( Is your real name SURESH )

I got through, stroke of luck I guess. I registered, and booked for us a darshan at 9.45 AM. So, I think I am all set for tomorrow. Cheers.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

^^
Ampere - Thanks again !.

I did try the online route per the link from hserus ( Is your real name SURESH )

I got through, stroke of luck I guess. I registered, and booked for us a darshan at 9.45 AM. So, I think I am all set for tomorrow. Cheers.

Yes, username = real name spelled backwards, how did you guess?

Baba wants you to see him, I guess. So go ahead - have a safe trip and enjoy the darshan.

If you say 9:45 then leave at least half an hour earlier than you plan - the trip takes about 5..6 hours depending on traffic congestion, how long you stop for pee breaks etc. If you travel with small kids you might run into multiple unscheduled stops, I hardly need to tell you.

Be sure that you reach the Shani gate by 9:10 or 9:15. So leave not later than 4 AM - and even then you had better make your cabbie step on the gas.

You will need about half an hour to freshen up etc after that long a journey so take that into account.

[jkrishnakj]

Suresh - 'I said exactly this to my parent - that Baba wanted me to visit his place - cant get any better. Felt so happy and peaceful now after this trip.

And to your name, I guessed it exactly by spelling your name backwards.

So, it was my, my parents and my Safari.

We left at 5.30 a.m this morning from near NIBM where I stay these days. We reached Smilestone at 7.10 am and treated ourselves to some real hot Poha and Upma ( nothing else was ready at that time ). The items were really tasty, the washrooms were quite neat and strongly recommend this place for others on this route.

We left after breakfast at 7.30 am and reached Shirdi at 8.45am itself. Left cell phones in the car itself.

Parking was a breeze, and we simply ignored all those who were trying to chase us to buy stuff. All we wanted was darshan, so we didn't want to buy anything there. We reached the main place and saw hordes of people in long queues for darshan, and I told myself to brace myself for 2 hours atleast.

Shani Gate - we were at 9.00 am. The security allowed us inside without any hassles. And god !, we were in the main hall for darshan within no time, and had some really super darshan - just super I would say. We were out of the main hall at 9.20. I just couldn't believe myself - so thanks heaps Suresh for the very useful post with the link that helped us.

We left Shirdi at 10.15 AM and reached Shani Singnapur at 11.30 am. We had bought the Til Oil offering at one provision shop at Shirdi itself, as advised.

Again, parking was a breeze, and a quick walk led us to yet another amazing darshan and all it took was 15 minutes in total, and this on a Saturday at this place.

We left from there at 12.15 pm, and started our return drive. Reached Smilestone at 1.30 pm, and had some quick lunch there. And with some uneventful and smooth driving, we could beat the Ranjangaon traffic in good time and I reached home at 3.30 PM.

What a day !.

ROADS - Roads are super smooth till you hit the A'Nagar by-pass. The by-pass which takes you to Shirdi is in SHAMBLES and the car took a big beating for all of 14 KM's. Heavy truck traffic on this route. Terrible is a smaller word for this road.

Good news is that I could see work happening to patch up the crater sized pot holes and there is some tarring work going on as well, so I presume the roads should be fine in a months time.

Overall, a very good trip.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by hserus

Yes, username = real name spelled backwards, how did you guess?

OT: See your introduction note. I had asked the same question then.

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

We left at 5.30 a.m this morning from near NIBM where I stay these days. We reached Smilestone at 7.10 am and treated ourselves to some real hot Poha and Upma ( nothing else was ready at that time ). The items were really tasty, the washrooms were quite neat and strongly recommend this place for others on this route.

Good to note about the uneventful drive. How were roads around Shirdi. Especial the last 25km ? Are there any signs of work? Its quite bad.

Nagar bypass? Which road did you take?