Alibag’s Best-Kept Secrets – Discover its Hidden Gems

BeejLiving visited Alibag for 24 hours. Meandering through Alibag’s best-kept secret, a lesser-known paradise in India

Just a ferry ride away from Mumbai, Alibag, located in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, is no longer the sleepy coastal getaway for city dwellers. Alibag’s best-kept secrets include a new ferry service, new homestays and villas, and several décor shops for you to make a weekend out of your visit here. We tell you how to navigate this hinterland that was once home to the Bene Israeli Jews.

How to get there: The easiest way is by Ferry, either you can take a passenger ferry or speed boats from Gateway of India, or the M2M Ro-Pax ferry from Bhaucha Dhakka which can take cars and other modes of transport also, along with your pooches. Book in advance, else you will have to take the long road in.

Eat: While Alibag is no Goa when it comes to dining options, it offers some gems. Sanman Restaraunt offers incredible sea food and bhakris. Just across the road is Patil Paan shop which is a great digestive for your post meal. We ate a delicious home-cooked meal at Bohemyan Blue, but it is batch cooked so wait patiently for your turn. Other popular choices are the nautical-themed Boardwalk by Flamboyante by the jetty, Kikis Cafe and Deli, Suruchi’s Restaraunt and Mahesh Lunch Home. Several restaurants from Mumbai deliver to Alibag too, such as Mag St Bread Co and Iktara

Where to Stay: If you want the trappings of a five-star hotel, then choose the only hotel there, Radisson Blue Resort & Spa . The getaway is dotted with luxury villas. You can look at Lohono Stays by Isprava, Saffron Stays , and Airbnb.

What to buy: The town caters to the second-home owners and you can buy home decor, resort wear, and other assorted doodads at stores such as Ten94, Nostalgia (Right next door), Boba and Pinakin. Don’t leave without buying white onions which have a GI tag and bombil from the beach.

Beaches: The coastal city is dotted with beaches. You can visit Alibag beach, Kashid beach or KihimBeach. However, the weekends and evenings get very crowded, so you need to navigate past camels, horse carts and ATV bikes.

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Neeti Mehra is an award-winning, multidimensional communications professional and brand consultant with 20+ years of experience in bringing stories to life. She works as an independent storyteller at the intersection of sustainability, ecology and people, shaping the voice of homegrown and international brands. In 2007, she founded Beejliving, a multi-disciplinary platform that records our living traditions, making them accessible and relevant to a young, curious audience. Through the lens of modernity, she interprets ancient practices, showing there is an alternate, viable path to living a fast-paced, burnt-out life. In 2024, she was featured on the cover of The Week magazine's health supplement for being the leading voice in advocating slow living in India. In February, she launched the #BeejLivingPowerCircle a B2B platform targeted to help conscious businesses in India scale.

Neeti has partnered on projects with leading global brands such as Marriott International, Jaipur Rugs, AB InBev, South African Tourism and the India Wine Awards. She is a former editor with FICCI’s India Travel, LuxeBook, and Indian Express Newspapers.
She has been published in over 60 global publications such as Lonely Planet, Vogue, Condé Nast Traveller, GQ, The Hindu, Business Traveller UK, The Spruce, Treehugger and The Times of India, writing about responsible luxury and sustainable living.
A Technical Accountant, Neeti has a Post Graduate Certificate in Yoga & Tantra and Indian Aesthetics from Jnanapravaha. She has completed a CSR workshop with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. A student of Vedic studies since the past six years, she has also been studying Sanskrit. She has studied traditional knowledge of Ayurveda, Jyotish and Tantra with world-renowned Ayurvedic practitioner, Dr Robert Svoboda. A wine lover, she finished her WSET Level 1 award in wine with a perfect score.