How To Plan a Weekend Getaway From Mumbai Without Spending Half Your Trip on the Road
Planning a weekend getaway sounds simple until everyone else has the same destination in mind. Your journey starts eating into the weekend itself. You get a little late to leave on a Friday, sit in traffic for hours, arrive late, sleep tired and before you know it, half of your Saturday is gone. By Sunday morning, it’s time to check out. The weekend escape barely feels like a break. Have you taken too many of such weekend trips near Mumbai?
The better way to plan weekend getaways near Mumbai or Pune is to start with the travel time you are willing to spend. Instead of focusing too much on the destinations you can visit, start by deciding how much time you are willing to spend on the road. A two-hour drive can give plenty of options, while 4-5 hour journeys are worth considering for a longer weekend.
In this blog, we tell you how to choose weekend getaway destinations near Mumbai and Pune that actually leave you with time to enjoy them.
Start With Your Travel Radius, Instead of Destination
These days, everyone saves every pretty place they see on Instagram and decides to go there. But for a getaway that doesn’t leave you tired, start by considering how far you are willing to travel. For a regular two-day weekend, the sweet spot is usually a destination that does not require an exhausting journey in either direction.
A useful way to find weekend getaways from Mumbai is to divide them into travel zones.
Places Under 2 Hours From Mumbai
If you only have half of Saturday and Sunday, pick places within 2 hours of Mumbai or its outskirts. You can leave by Saturday afternoon and reach by early evening. If you choose a hotel or accommodation closer to a tourist attraction, you can check it out the same day. You will have the entire Sunday to explore, eat, or simply relax.
Mandwa, Awas Beach, and Alibaug are the best places to visit and reach under 2 hours, especially if you’re located near South Mumbai. With ferry boat and jetty rides, you can reach Mandwa in just about an hour. You can reach just in time to catch sunset by the beach. Enjoy the local coastal food and Konkan vibe, just within a couple of hours.
For a more luxurious experience, book a private villa in Alibaug and enjoy the best hospitality with us.
Places Under 3 Hours From Mumbai
An hour longer of a journey and you can reach farther without any pit stops. If you plan well, you can beat the usual weekend traffic and have a good getaway. You can keep one or two activities if you are travelling with the kids.
Lonavala is the most obvious example; without this, any article for weekend getaways near Mumbai is incomplete. But its popularity also makes it a crowded spot on the weekends. For exclusivity, it is best to book villas in Lonavala, especially if you are a group of 5-6. You can enjoy amenities like a pool, garden, BBQ and movie nights, all within the premises.
Another lesser-explored region is Malshej Ghat. The best time to visit here is during monsoon and a few months after the rains. The rainy season turns the patch into beautiful green meadows and pleasant climes. You can also experience lakeside camping here, surrounded by hills on two sides.
Places Under 3-4 Hours From Mumbai
Once you move into the 3- to 4-hour range, the journey starts taking a chunk out of a two-day weekend getaway. It does not make these destinations a bad idea, but you need to be more deliberate about your arrival and departure timings and what to expect from this trip.
If you want something else from the Khandala-Lonavala circuit, head towards Nashik. Igatpuri is a great choice to visit during monsoon and early start of winter. With the new Samruddhi Marg, reaching Igatpuri is quicker. The lovely drive into the cooler hills makes it suited to weekends with the objective of disconnecting rather than keeping a to-do list.
On the other side towards the beaches, you can also reach Kashid and Revdanda a little ahead of Alibaug.
If you want to go specifically for activities, you can head to Kolad, a 3-4 hour ride from both Mumbai and Pune. So if your family/friends group is divided among the cities, Kolad is a great option too. There are resorts here which offer all-inclusive stays with activities like wall climbing, river crossing, rafting, campfire etc. This is perfect for a group that loves adventure and wants to do something different each time.
Plan The Best Weekend Getaway Which Leaves You With a Weekend
A lot of people do not really account for travel time too much when planning a getaway. But it does matter, especially if only one person is driving, or if you’re travelling by public transport. A 4-hour drive each way takes 8-9 hours of your weekend, even if the destination is worth visiting.
So to plan a weekend getaway from Mumbai and Pune that doesn’t tire you out, a travel-radius approach works. It helps you choose between a quick escape to Alibaug or Karjat, a familiar weekend in Lonavala, a slower break around Malshej or Igatpuri, or a longer trip to somewhere like Kashid or Kolad.
The goal is to come back feeling like you actually took a break. A weekend getaway should make you feel like you went somewhere and not just sat in a car and reached a hotel at the end.
