[jeepster_chd]

Prologue

An avid hill lover, most of my getaways are to Himachal or J & K. Being from Chandigarh, this makes sense too as Shivalik hills are in close vicinity, so we do not have to think twice before heading out to Kasauli or Shimla on a weekend. We have done Padri Pass, explored Bhadarwah, Jai Valley, been to Prashar lake, Haripurdhar in the mountains to Bhangarh, Jaipur, Ajmer, Pushkar in Rajasthan and many more places. All this with me on the driver seat and wifey nursing to two infants on the backseat.

“It is impossible for me to remember how many days or weeks went by in this way. Time is round, and it rolls quickly.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis, Saint Francis

My elder kido recently turned 8 and the younger will be turning 6 in a couple of months - old enough to voice her opinion. And everyone at home now believes that they have had enough of hills and it’s time to head westwards.

Why Mumbai?

I and kids often watch television together and as all kids do, mine too ask a lot of questions. Initially, Tarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chasma fascinated them and the innocent minds thought the characters to be real. I searched for the actors on Wikipedia and introduced kids to the real individuals behind.

It’s such a great feeling when cute little faces light up.

In one episode of Indipedia on Epic channel, kids were amazed to see the anchor Edward Sonnenblick take us to the Mumbai's famous Dhobi Ghat. How tens of thousands of pieces of clothes from everywhere arrive here and are washed and ironed daily.

Similarly, recent extensive coverage of Ganesh Chaturthi from Mumbai on National Geographic caught kids fancy - how Ganpati ji is brought home, stays with the family and in the end, Visarjan is performed with a prayer requesting Ganpati ji to be back next year.

These are just a couple of incidences I would say that triggered the idea called Mumbaaai in the subconscious! And of course, we have Linking Road for wifey to shop around.

What's more! Kidos have never been on board an airplane which in itself is an experience.

Where in Mumbai?

Using best of my (limited) analytical capabilities, I have divided the trip into two - 3 nights in Fort area and will be putting up in Khar west for the remaining 2 nights, close to the Linking road.

How to Move Around?

No matter how fast, efficient and cheap Mumbai local might be, I'm not sure if I would board one. The other option is to take a cab for every place we visit. However, with long distances and higher base fare, waiting charges, per minute charges, etc. than most of the cities and considering the amount of traffic and the number of places we will be required to cover in a short span of time I fear if cab is a viable option or is it?

Yesterday, I came across Revv while casually surfing the net. What I found is that for my requirement of like 4 days and 22 hours, an Alto K10 without fuel and some 1100 free kilometers would cost around 10,500/- approx. and with fuel, the price climbs close to 13500/- approx. For the new Santro the price climbs further by some 700 rupees approx. The prices include refundable security amount of 2000 rupees. Therefore, the effective price comes around 8500 bucks for K10 (without fuel) which I believe isn't bad, or did I miss something?

Moreover, with a car at disposal, may be, I can snatch a day and plan a trip to some place near Mumbai.

Now, as you know the whole story;

What’s your take on it?

• To Take cab or rent a car?
• Is it really so easier and cheaper to rent a car?
• Are there any hidden costs/clauses that I need be vary of?
• How is the parking scene in Mumbai? Is it as bad as it is in Delhi or you can find a spot with little effort?
• What about traffic? Again, compared to Delhi.
• Is the parking paid everywhere or it depends from place to place?

If you have any other suggestion, I will be grateful to you.

Disclaimer:

I’m not associated to Revv or any other car rental company.

[sumeethaldankar]

I think one can rent a Ola cab for a certain duration/hours. A few of my colleagues came from Bangalore this week and went sight seeing in Mumbai with a rented old cab for 4 hours or so. Renting a self driven car would mean trying to find parking location for the night of wherever you go. In a Ola/Uber you can simply leave the parking headache to the driver. Whatever you do avoid driving in the prime time 10-12 PM and around 6-9 PM as these are the worst times to be on Mumbai roads.

[silverado]

One simple advice : Do not self drive.
Parking is a big hassle which you do not want to take in a new city.

You can take a Typical Mumbai Darshan bus one day which will run you through most touristy places.
When in Fort , do take kids on open double decker tour bus - Nilambari.
On other days, you can hire a OLA/UBER on hourly basis.

A good hill station near Mumbai is Matheran. Do visit it.
Its as pure a hill station as you can get, since no cars are allowed in Matheran. You don't need a car to go there, This is one place where you can take a local train from CSMT Station where the train starts.

[Hayek]

Parking is a nightmare in Bombay - both in Fort and Linking Road. Ola and Uber are easily available - except in evening peak hours when you don’t want to be traveling in any case. Use Ola and Uber. And if you wish, take an Ola Rental - will be relatively cheap and comfortable

[ifightforuser31]

I will give you a better idea. Buy an Aircon local train pass if you are on the western line. You'll be better off. Or Just take a normal local and slug it out like the rest of us, who knows you might enjoy it!

Ok, so my previous post was about local trains which you aren't keen on taking. Parking is a hassle anywhere in Mumbai and with the new laws, it might get expensive. In fact your vehicle can easily get towed away even if its parked legally. I guess the local municipal guys just do it to meet their quotas especially if its a hatchback. (I am saying this from experience, had my car towed).

Cabs might be a better bet for the 5 day period you are here. Renting one puts you in a spot again wrt parking.

[Shreyans_Jain]

When in Mumbai, do what Mumbaikars do: take the local. Mumbai locals are a most efficient, comfortable and undoubtedly the fastest way to get around the city. Just make sure you don’t travel during morning or evening rush hour, rest assured you’ll get comfortable seats 9 times out of 10. Use autos or Uber/Ola for last mile commute. All autos and taxis run by meter in Mumbai. Self drive car is the worst idea as roads are narrow with lots of traffic and parking is a big issue.

[GTO]

Mumbai is the MOST fun to drive early in the mornings, especially on the weekends. The city is truly charming, roads are empty and you'll get parking anywhere. Therefore, on the weekend dates, rent a self-drive and explore the city in the early mornings of Saturday & Sunday. Hit the road at 7 a.m. and drive around, catch the architecture of the Fort area & Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, eat yummy breakfast in Bandra / Colaba etc. Even Linking Road shopping is best done in the mornings (starting at 1030 a.m.). Evenings, park on Marine Drive or the Worli Sea Face, enjoy the ocean view, some nice family conversations with yummy street food.

On the other hand, for daytime & weekday commuting, Uber / Ola are best (note = Uber is much cheaper than Ola in Bombay).

Originally Posted by jeepster_chd

Using best of my (limited) analytical capabilities, I have divided the trip into two - 3 nights in Fort area and will be putting up in Khar west for the remaining 2 nights, close to the Linking road.

Two of the best areas IMHO! Bandra rocks (no. 1 in my opinion), followed by South Bombay. If you want to stay @ a single place, pick Prabhadevi or Worli as they are central. Suburbs & SoBo are more or less the same distance.

[alpha1]

AS everyone in this thread have recommended: strictly no self drive unless you wish to curse yourself finding the parking and ruining your vacation.

The situation is worse than NCR region because Mumbai is strictly short in space. IF you've never visited Mumbai, be prepared to be amazed at the compactness of structures and high density (of people, buildings) compared to NCR.

Olas and Ubers are available in plenty, autorickshaw drivers are order of magnitude better in their behavior, there are still Yellow taxis visible on the roads.
And of course you have the local trains that cover vast expanses quickly and economically.

[jeepster_chd]

Originally Posted by silverado

One simple advice : Do not self drive.
Parking is a big hassle which you do not want to take in a new city.

You can take a Typical Mumbai Darshan bus one day which will run you through most touristy places.
When in Fort , do take kids on open double decker tour bus - Nilambari.
On other days, you can hire a OLA/UBER on hourly basis.

A good hill station near Mumbai is Matheran. Do visit it.
Its as pure a hill station as you can get, since no cars are allowed in Matheran. You don't need a car to go there, This is one place where you can take a local train from CSMT Station where the train starts.

That's a lot of information . Sir, can Matheran be done in one day? I mean if we leave CST early like by 6 in the morning, can we be back comfortably by evening? And what's the best way to reach Matheran from Neral?

Originally Posted by GTO

Mumbai is the MOST fun to drive early in the mornings, especially on the weekends. The city is truly charming, roads are empty and you'll get parking anywhere. Therefore, on the weekend dates, rent a self-drive and explore the city in the early mornings of Saturday & Sunday. Hit the road at 7 a.m. and drive around, catch the architecture of the Fort area & Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, eat yummy breakfast in Bandra / Colaba etc. Even Linking Road shopping is best done in the mornings (starting at 1030 a.m.). Evenings, park on Marine Drive or the Worli Sea Face, enjoy the ocean view, some nice family conversations with yummy street food.

On the other hand, for daytime & weekday commuting, Uber / Ola are best (note = Uber is much cheaper than Ola in Bombay).

Two of the best areas IMHO! Bandra rocks (no. 1 in my opinion), followed by South Bombay. If you want to stay @ a single place, pick Prabhadevi or Worli as they are central. Suburbs & SoBo are more or less the same distance.

Only a BHPian can understand a fellow BHPian's strong urge to drive and self-explore the places Hopefully, I'll rent a car on the weekend.

Yes! I read a lot about night life in Bandra, and it also has Candies for kidos along with other places of interest. Being Punjabi, we are big time foodies and I'm busy watching street food videos of Juhu - Balaji pav bhaji, Sardar Pav bhaji Tardeo and what not

I have already booked a place to stay near universal fort and paid for the other in the Khar (West). Haven't told the kids about our plan, and I must admit it, I'm super excited.

[silverado]

Originally Posted by jeepster_chd

can Matheran be done in one day? I mean if we leave CST early like by 6 in the morning, can we be back comfortably by evening? And what's the best way to reach Matheran from Neral?

Absolutely, Matheran can easily be done in One day. Take karjat local early in morning it roughly takes 2.5 to 3 hours to reach Neral.

From there the only mode of transport available right now is Taxi which you will easily get outside Neral Station. These are EECO's, you can hire an entire taxi so that kids are comfortable.Enjoy the Ghat ride

MSRTC mini bus also runs, but I am not aware of timings and it starts from Karjat.
Toy Train sadly is not running these days. It has been out of action since Aug 1st week, else that would have been the most perfect way to reach Matheran.

Once you reach Dasturi ( Taxi stops here ) , just follow the train line to Matheran ( 2kms ) since it has a gradual climb and you also get to see Panorama Point. Just travel light since Matheran is best enjoyed by foot.

On return journey take your taxi till Karjat Station since Train starts from there, and you can ensure you get a comfortable place.

[lamborghini]

Honestly - for local travel best to take an Uber / Ola.
It may cost more, but it is much more convenient than renting a self-drive. Parking is tough, and traffic can be a pain in some localities you plan to visit.

Given your location and points of interest - if you plan your trip well you could manage fine with taxis & walking. Maybe even using the well connected BEST network if needed.

Instead, as GTO & others have said - it would be better to rent a self-drive for the weekend / outstation trip.

[rakesh_r]

I would prefer to roam around on Uber any day. Parking is a big pain in Mumbai. If in the city side, you can use the yellow cabs to hop on and off. For the outstation trip, you can take a self-drive, maybe drive on the Mumbai Pune expressway, will be nice and green thanks to the monsoon. However you need to be little careful especially at the ghat areas where it gets a bit foggy. You might also encounter heavy rains.

[AMKAM]

As a lifelong Mumbaikar, I felt a strange excitement to read that Mumbai was selected by you as a getaway destination. Often, our routine lives cause us to have huge blind spots to what the city has to offer for the tourist. I would share the pointers below , some of which you may have figured out already.

1. Ola / Uber are best to travel around the city. For a city experience, you can opt to take the ubiquitous autorickshaws when you stay in Khar area ( ricks not allowed in 'city' limits). Occasionally, for the heck of it, if you wish to take the train, then you can try the trains starting / ending at Bandra on Western Railway. These are the emptiest and easiest to travel on, specially with kids. the m-indicator app on PlayStore will help you tremendously with that.

2. Among things that you would do , yes, Matheran is good and do-able in a day. But if you want to drive out, you could check out the possibility of renting a car and heading out to IMAGICA, an amusement park. You'll end up killing 2 birds in 1 stone; enjoy the drive through the city (ahem !) and then on the Mumbai Pune expressway and your kids would be thrilled with the amusement park .

3. Do check out the Prince of Wales museum (now called Chatrapati Shivaji Vastu Sangrahalay). Kids usually love their natural history section.

4. I hope you get a chance to take the ferry to the Elephanta island. Its a unique experience.

5. Finally, before you leave, no matter what you do or don't , sample some of Mumbai's street food. I'd recommend Ashok Vada Pav at Dadar , which is close to the Siddhivinayak Temple (if thats on your list). I won't go too much in detail on this, as it will surely lead to heated discussions , as Mumbaikar's are very touchy on the topic of good wada-pav centers.



Have a fun stay !!

[jeepster_chd]

Originally Posted by AMKAM

As a lifelong Mumbaikar, I felt a strange excitement to read that Mumbai was selected by you as a getaway destination. Often, our routine lives cause us to have huge blind spots to what the city has to offer for the tourist.

... I'd recommend Ashok Vada Pav at Dadar , which is close to the Siddhivinayak Temple

Why not Mumbai? A typical Mumbaikars' zeal, enthusiasm, liveliness, the way he celebrates festivals and his amazing attitude towards life never fail to impress. And that too when things don't come easy to you.

Mumbai, as suggested by everyone has many things to offer but more than anything else I believe Mumbai is an experience. Living at a place like Chandigarh, spacious home, ample car parking, planned market and office spaces, short distances and going by car wherever you go is taken for granted whereas life is completely different here. A different world altogether. Your city has its own train. And I can count on fingers how many times I have been on a train.

I'm sure people and the place are going to be a big learning experience for the kids.

Among other things, yes, Ashok Vada Pav is on my to do list. I have also downloaded the m-indicator app, it's a blessing. Thanks!

[MadTitan47]

Originally Posted by jeepster_chd

Prologue

What’s your take on it?

• To Take cab or rent a car?
• Is it really so easier and cheaper to rent a car?
• Are there any hidden costs/clauses that I need be vary of?
• How is the parking scene in Mumbai? Is it as bad as it is in Delhi or you can find a spot with little effort?
• What about traffic? Again, compared to Delhi.
• Is the parking paid everywhere or it depends from place to place?

I would suggest to consider normal taxies and autos also. The best thing about my Mumbai is that autos and taxies charge according to the meter and you don't have to haggle for the rate.

I suggest you book Ola/Uber for longer distance and duration, say one hour or so. Keep the option open for autos and taxies for smaller distance and duration specially in densely crowded areas. Remember you don't have to negotiate for the rates, they go by the meter on their own.