We first heard about Bordi Beach while flipping through the pages of a vacation guide. What really appealed to us about this location was the very easy access. Not having a vehicle of our own, we mostly plan our trips to somewhat easily accessible locations from Mumbai, and getting to Bordi was a breeze - you simply take a train to Gholvad and a 10-minutes Rickshaw ride to Bordi. Long, bumpy ST bus rides are not required at all.
The guide had many nice things to say about Bordi, apart from the fact that it was so easily accessible and yet undisturbed. After we checked it out for ourselves, we felt that a review on MouthShut was in order.
*Highlights
*If you have kids and like to have the peace of mind in knowing that they are safe while they play on the beach, you will like this place. While we don’t have any kids as yet, this was one thought that crossed our minds while we saw some kids playing. You go to a place like Aksa and you have to worry about the currents, etc. At Bordi you will have fewer of those worries since there isn’t much of a current and the water is shallow for a pretty large distance.
If you simply enjoy getting away from the busy city life and love the open air, Bordi offers you all of that. You will find few people on the beach even on weekends. It is possible to have your own private little chat without being annoyed by beggars and hawkers. The locals too are civilized and you won’t find them staring at you like the idiots at Juhu and Chowpatty.
There’s a camping ground along one section of the beach where the Suru trees provide some relief from the sun. A few makeshift benches have been thoughtfully placed under the trees, facing the sea. The sunsets here are breathtaking and you can get some really good pictures of yourself on the beach with the setting sun in the background. You’ll also run into some overly friendly dogs that can become a bit of a nuisance. If you decide to go out for a late night jog/run on the beach - do bear those dogs in mind.
Every now and then you will see a pair of bullock carts making their way from one end of the beach to the other. The carts seem to prefer using the beach while transporting their wares from the market and back. In an odd way, the carts do add to the scenery, and you probably could hop on for a short ride if you’ve never been on a bullock cart ever.
There are numerous chickoo farms in this region. Gholvad is famous for it’s chickoos like Nasik is to grapes, and you can purchase chickoos near Gholvad station. One of the resorts, Anand Resort is built around a Chickoo plantation. They even have a small open-air restaurant (more like a canteen actually) called Chickooland. If you’ve never seen Chickoo trees before, you will be delighted by the number of chickoos around. The best ones are those that have fallen right out of the tree, they are bar far sweeter than the ones that are ripened in a box. There isn't anything else to really see in Gholvad apart from the chickoo farms.
Lowlights
If you expect to see water lapping at your toes when you go to the beach and love to hear the sound of waves crashing ….. Bordi is not the place for you.
The tide is low for a major part of daylight hours at Bordi. And it is really low with the water nearly a kilometer away from the beach! You get a narrow strip of sand and then just dark black seabed to all the way to the water.
This region appears to have a very smooth and shallow incline towards the water. The locals told us that high tide happens only on full moon and moonless nights when the water gets very close to the shore. The daily high-tide mostly happens at late night, and even at that point the water is still about 50 meters away from the sand.
Choice of food is limited. There are several hotels and homes that serve food, but expect to serve them several hours of advance notice if you expect to eat at their place.
Power cuts are frequent - it may be advisable to stay at a hotel with a generator. There is a lot of electric load shedding that goes on during the day. Each day you will have around 6 hours with electric power, unless your resort has their own generator (a few of them do). If you go during the summer time, the load shedding bit will get very annoying.
There’s two hours in the morning, two in the noon, and 2 more in the evening. They shed a little less on the weekends, but it could still be a bother. After all, who wants to have that sort of tension when you are on vacation?
*Other Stuff
*Like most of northern Maharashtra beaches, Bordi had dark, blackish sand - a lot like Anrnala beach, Kelva beach, etc. If you're not okay with this type of sand and wish to visit only white(ish) sand beaches, I'd recommend that check out the region on Wikimapia or Google Maps. It is easy to identify the color of the sand from the aerial view.
Getting there
You can get here by road or rail, and keeping in mind that we don't have our own ride, we chose the Saurashtra Express. You can also get here by local train, if you don't mind changing trains, since Gholvad is only one station after Dahanu Road.
There’s a rickshaw stand immediately outside the station and the honest drivers charge only Rs. 5 per seat to take you to Bordi. You also have the option of renting the entire rickshaw for Rs. 20 (as of Feb 2006) - this option is best if you wish to have your privacy on the ride or are not traveling very light on the luggage.
Accommodation
There are several small resorts in Bordi. One of the best places to be is the MTDC Bordi Resort. Like most other MTDC resorts they have a monopoly on the best location - right on the beach. No other resort in Bordi is located on the beach.
While being a great supporter of the MTDC, I do need to add in that the MTDC Resort at Matheran Hill Station is in the worst location and has the saddest looking rooms.
Food
There aren’t any big hotels in Bordi. You have small food outlets run by caterers and resort owners, and the offer simple food. You can get both veg and non-veg, and if meals are not a big deal, you will manage okay.
There are many Parsi families in this town and some of them offer food and lodging in their large homes. While some of these Parsi places have a reputation for serving very good food, you have to give them several hours notice before you can grab a bite. Most of the places that served anything special need you to inform them early in the day, if you want to have dinner at that place. A minimal of 5 hours notice is expected! So, if you decide to grab a bite in the next hour, you will have to make do with the so-so food served by the restaurants adjoining the resorts.
Sight-seeing
We spent 3 days here, but did not wander far from the resort. Along the beach, you have the camping ground where you can catch the sunset.
Every weekend there’s something called the Gujar Fair that takes place right in Bordi. In three words - don’t even bother. It is just a vegetable and grain market with a few unattractive clothing stalls. It is a big hit among the locals, but most of those folks have never been to Linking Road and Crawford Market.
*Carry Along
*A big beach mat, an umbrella to protect your head from the sun, Camera!
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