Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting There & Around
Ordinary buses shuttle between Ganpatipule and Ratnagiri (?49, 1½ hours). An autorick-
shaw will cost ?400. An autorickshaw ride from the MSRTC bus stand to the MTDC Re-
sort will cost ?25.
One MSRTC bus heads out at 8.45am to Mumbai (?428, 10 hours), and departs from
Mumbai at 8pm. There are three daily buses each to Pune (?330) and Kohalpur (?135).
Ratnagiri's train station is 6km out of town on the road to/from Kohalpur. From Rat-
nagiri, the Mandovi Express goes to Mumbai (2nd class/1st class ?123/1365, 6½ hours,
2.25pm). The return train heading for Goa (2nd class/1st class ?105/1125, 3½ hours) is at
1.15pm. From Ratnagiri's old bus stand, semideluxe buses leave for Goa (?255, seven
hours) and Kolhapur (?150, four hours).
Information
There is a Bank of Maharashtra ATM at the entrance of the Ganesha Temple, and a much
more reliable Bank of India ATM in town, about 400m from the MTDC Resort. For inter-
net (?100 per hour), look for Tapaswi Sandanand Niwas who works in the Spanco office
beside the Bank of Maharashtra (not the aforementioned ATM).
Tarkarli & Malvan
02365
A government tourism promo parades this place as comparable to Tahiti, which may be a
bit ambitious! Within striking distance of Goa, about 200km from Ratnagiri, pristine
Tarkarli boasts near-white sands and sparkling waters, but what's lacking is tourist infra-
structure and resort-style comforts, but do you care?
The monstrous
Sindhudurg Fort
, built by Shivaji and dating from 1664, lies on an offshore
island and can be reached by frequent ferries (?30) from Malvan. MTDC can arrange
snorkelling trips to the clear waters around the fortress.
sort about backwater tours on its fabulous
houseboats
(
8805389003; standard/luxury incl full board
?7410/9690)
.
The closest train station is Kudal, 38km away. Frequent buses (?28, one hour) cover the
route from Malvan bus stand. An autorickshaw from Kudal to Malvan or Tarkarli is about
