This is a follow-up on my previous post, where I had attempted to showcase Sindhudurg.
For those of you who weren't able to read the previous post, my wife and son, who are suspected thalassophiles (fancy term for beach lovers), were eager to go on a holiday to Goa during their school Diwali break. Me, on the other hand, who didn't want to visit the same place again (we had last visited Goa in October 2021), suggested that we visit some other coastal town. When I finally managed to get a go-ahead on this, my research on scenic beach towns with a rich history and a sprinkling of ancient & medieval historical monuments led me to Sindhudurg as our holiday spot.
With this post, the first in a series of three, I am taking you along for a dive into our first full day in this coastal gem.
Choosing our accommodation
When it comes to looking for accommodation options, I like to start by plotting out all places of interest within a city/town and then make decisions based on factors like room cost, proximity to airports/railway stations, tourist spots and restaurants & eateries. In our case, we zeroed in on the Devbag peninsula (see Google Map screenshots below), hoping for smaller crowds and richer experiences. Going by the map, we believed that this spot would have a lot to offer in terms of beautiful beaches (including the sea on all three sides as the southernmost point of the peninsula), and unique experiences of the confluence of the tranquil backwaters of the Karli River and the vast expanse of the Arabian Sea at a point called the "Sangam".
We booked a room for 3 nights/4 days at Hotel Ocean Bliss. The booking was done on Indigo Airlines' hotel booking portal through an app which gave us a cashback of Rs.1,500. For more details on this cashback app, read this post.
The Train to Sindhudurg
The next important thing for us to decide was how to travel to Sindhudurg. We didn't fancy a 11 to 12-hour drive, so our next best (and most feasible and budget-friendly) option was to travel by train.
The Sindhudurg Express (10105 Diva-Sawantwadi Road) was our best bet at the time. On paper, the train was supposed to depart from Diva Junction (in the Thane district of the state of Maharashtra) at as early as 06:25 IST and was supposed to get us to our destination (either Sindhudurg or Kudal railway station) before 5 pm the same evening. The seats we had booked were in economy AC coaches, so we were looking forward to a comfortable and humidity-free journey.
With a 6:25 am departure, we had to wake at an unearthly hour (I actually woke up a few minutes before my 3 am alarm screeched to life). Although we managed to reach the station about 20 minutes before the departure time (we should have actually reached earlier, but Mumbai never sleeps), we had a tough time finding the correct platform. After a dozen frantic foot-over-bridge sprints and a volley of commuter queries, we found our way to the correct platform and our bogie just in time.
The journey went as planned until about 1:30 in the noon. From this point onwards, however, the train was forced to halt for more than an hour at a station named Ukshi to allow several other trains to cross the route. The congestion got cleared only at around 2:30 pm, and our train finally reached its destination at around 7pm, almost two hours later than scheduled.
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| The entrance to Sindhudurg railway station |
We were afraid that we might not be able to find transportation at the railway station so late in the evening. Thankfully, there were several rickshaws standing in wait, and we negotiated a deal with one. Having reached our hotel at around 8:30 pm, we simply dropped our bags in the room, proceeded to the restaurant for a quick dinner, and retired to our room for the night.
The next morning was a struggle to wake up for the complementary breakfast, since the previous day's travelling had left us really tired. At the breakfast table, I got my wife to agree that we would only relax in the hotel or at the private beach adjunct to the hotel. However, by around 12:30 in the noon, my wife changed her mind and got me to go for a stroll outside the hotel.
And that's where we were approached by a few local guys asking us if we would be interested in a motor boat ride to Tsunami Island and other spots. Our kilometre-long walk led to conversations with at least three different people on the subject, and eventually culminated in a deal struck with one of them for 3 pm.
And I must say that was a wonderful experience!
Our Boat Ride to Tsunami Island
For Rs.2,000, we had the boat all to ourselves. We were asked to take our shoes off at the jetty point before getting into the boat. Once the ride began, our navigator (who also doubled up as a guide) gave us information about all the beaches on the route, the forts & bastions on the shoreline, a lighthouse (close to a place called Vengurla on the Maharashtra-Goa border), and other interesting points on the route.
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| Our ride for the evening |
There was a unique sand bar in the middle of the sea, called Seagull island. We were told that seagulls, who are migratory birds from colder regions of Europe and Central Asia, frequent this spot at certain points of time during the day. What is also unique about this 'island' is that it only emerges from the sea during low tides.
Another golden spot on the route, and I mean that literally, was a unique scenic rock formation called the 'Golden Rocks' near the Nivati beach. The rocks shine like gold during sunrise and sunset, offering stunning views.
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| Golden Rock |
Also on this route were a couple of decrepit and forlorn forts on the hills skirting the shoreline; the names I am able to recall are Sarjekot and Nivati Killa. Then there was a lush coconut grove, which the navigator referred to as Mini Kerala.
At some point during the ride, the boatman pointed to a patch of the sea where apparently dolphins sometimes show up. Unfortunately, we were not able to spot anything.
Further down the line, he showed us the 'sangam point', viz., the point of convergence of the region's Karli river and the Arabian Sea.
On our journey back towards the jetty, the boatman made a 30 to 40-minute halt at the last spot on the ride, a small sandbar-like island at the delta of the Tarkarli river. Although some locals claim (falsely or out of ignorance) that the island was the formed after a tsunami in 2004, it is a natural phenomenon wherein an otherwise completely submerged sandbar appears only during low tide. Locals conduct water sports activities on this sandy strip, including banana boat rides, speed boating rides, kayaking, and others.
For the three of us, however, the biggest highlight was the intricate rangoli-like designs that we saw across almost the entire stretch. We soon realized these rangoli-like patterns were tiny sand bubbles—crafted by unseen sea creatures beneath.
It was only after a closer look that my wife spotted at least a million small-sized crabs peeking out of all of these holes!
When a local saw us treading carefully (partly out of fear of hurting them and partly out of the fear of getting attacked by the crabby multitude), he told us that they didn't bite. That’s when we shed all our hesitation, tiptoed through the crabby crowd, and captured it all on video. I have pasted one of these below for your viewing pleasure.
After clicking some wonderful shots of the sunset, we decided to get back to shore.
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| Sunset at Tsunami Island |
At the end of the almost two-hour boat ride, we went to have an early dinner at a Malvani Restaurant near the jetty point. In between bites and smiles, the three of us began a discussion and agreed that this was one of our best memories for 2025.
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| Clicked outside the jetty point |
Hope you enjoyed this somewhat lengthy post. Do share your thoughts, past experiences, and questions in the comments section.
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