I had heard that Diu had some of the best beaches in India and that is why I had been wanting to go there for a long time. Somehow, the trip never materialized as Diu seemed quite off the way and the only way of going there was to plan an exclusive trip.
Although the aerial distance between Mumbai and Diu is ~270 km, the road distance between these two cities is ~850 km and hence whenever we thought of a beach destination, we used to end up in Goa (~600 km from Mumbai).
In March 2020, I finally decided to do this trip and convinced my mom to come along. We set out dreaming of a Goan type of a vacation – amazing beaches, cheap petrol, cheaper alcohol, and scrumptious seafood.
Diu was supposed to be everything I associated with Goa.
Read about other trips with my mom:
Delhi to Madhya Pradesh: Part 1
Delhi to Madhya Pradesh Part 2
Contents
The Planning
This was a long weekend for me as it was the Holi weekend giving me a five-day window for this trip. Since it was nearly 850km one-way, we did not want to do this without a stopover.
There were a number of diversions I initially considered – Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, Sula Vineyard in Nashik, Ahmedabad, Somnath and even as far as Indore. Nothing seemed to have the perfect combination of convenient + interesting + never been before.
On researching a bit more, I realized that there was a roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro ferry) which runs from Ghogha to Dahej and back on a daily basis. The ferry takes about 1 hour and saves 300 km of road distance (about 8 hours).
The tickets are priced at INR 1000 for a four wheeler and INR 350/person. This sounded interesting to me as it meant that we could take internal roads without worrying about the time per distance and could have more pit stops on the way. Just the way I like to travel.
I was told to book the ferry in advance as we had a car and the slot could fill up quickly. We decided to drive the entire 850 km on the way to Diu and then take the ferry on our way back for which we booked our tickets.
Update: Since the water level at Dahej was a constant problem leading to frequent cancellation of this ro-ro ferry, the route has now changed and the ferry runs from Hazira to Ghogha with tickets priced at ~650 INR per person and ~1400 INR per car.
Also, check out some amazingly useful roadtrip products on amazon:
Pepper Spray, Pee Safe, Peechute; car freshener, Car charger, Car charging cable, Car air pump , Car tissue holder, Car vacuum cleaner, Car door edge cover guard
Leg 1: Mumbai – Bharuch
We started from Mumbai early in the morning and headed towards NH48 where we had the staple Maharashtrian road trip breakfast of vada pavs and tea.
Since I don’t like driving on highways (unless I do not have the luxury of time), we mostly took the parallel coastal road from Dahanu till Udvada.
Tip: The petrol price in Daman and Gujarat is significantly lower than in Maharashtra. If possible, fill up you fuel tank at Daman.
Udvada is a small town in Valsad district and is famous for Udvada Atash Behram which is the most sacred Zoroastrian fire temple and the oldest continuously burning fire temples in India.
Non Parsis are not allowed to enter the Zoroastrian temples. There is also a Zoroastrian heritage museum in Udvada which is open to general public and provides good insight into the history of Parsis.
While in this region, do try the Parsi food. We tried it at a Parsi café named Café Farohar which is run by a charming Parsi lady who is full of stories. Unfortunately, we were not very hungry and could only afford to have some snacks which were delicious.
Taking multiple breaks, we finally reached Bharuch around 5PM and decided to halt there for the night.
Accommodation: There are many stopover hotels on NH48. We are not very fussy and since we only needed to spend a few hours at the hotel, the only things we ensured were cleanliness and safety. We stayed at Hotel Novus which was decent and had excellent food. The rooms had AC and were priced at around INR 1500/night.
Bharuch city is located at the mouth of Narmada river and since we only had a few hours of daylight in this city, we headed towards the river.
We visited the Narmada Park which is a well-maintained park on the banks of Narmada river. There is an entry ticket to this park (INR 10 per head) and has ample parking space. We took a quick round of the park, had ice creams and then headed towards Narmada Ghat.
The entry to the ghat is via the Nilkanteshwar temple which is next to the Narmada park. At the time of our visit, the water level in the river was good and you could also take a boat ride on this river.
Leg 2: Bharuch – Diu
Next morning, we continued on NH48 and headed towards Borsad via Vadodara city. Since it was very early in the morning, we could afford getting into Vadodara city without the fear of getting stuck in city traffic jams.
We took the Dholera-Ghariyadhar route. On the way we crossed the Blackbuck Safari lodge at Velvadar which could be a good place for another overnight stopover if you have the time.
The roads in Gujarat are amazingly smooth. And I am not talking about the National highways as I was rarely on them. Apart from one small stretch, all internal roads in Gujarat were in good condition.
Of course, we did have quite a few cows for company on these stretches.
The only issue here was the lack of restaurants and in turn the lack of washrooms. What did we do?
When you gotta go, you gotta go – it was the bushes for us. Read my article on washroom facilities on highways.
The drive was very scenic, mostly through countryside and every turn seemed to have a different landscape.
By the time we reached Diu, it was 4 PM. The approach into Diu instantly gives you a vacation feel.
We had not booked any accommodation in Diu, but had a few hotels in our mind. Since this was the Holi long weekend, we were a little skeptical about the availability and that is why we kept a few options. I wanted to stay near one of the beaches and as per my research Nagoa beach was the most commercial beach with many hotel options.
As it was already late in the evening, we directly headed towards Nagoa beach.
The first resort on the Nagoa beach stretch was Radhika beach resort. The property was good, rooms were luxurious and location was awesome. We got rooms for INR 5000/night (including breakfast) which seemed good and worth.
Leg 3: Stay in Diu
About Diu:
- Diu is an island which was a part of the UT of Daman and Diu and was merged in Jan 2020 to form the UT of “Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu”.
- It is situated in south of Gujarat and is separated from Daman by the Gulf of Khambhat.
- It was a Portuguese colony until 19 December 1961 when it got liberated.
- It has a blend of Portuguese and Gujarati culture.
- The total area of Diu is only 40 sq.km.
- Alcohol is legal (and cheap) in Diu while being illegal in the neighboring state of Gujarat and that is why a lot of people come to Diu for drinking. However, it is illegal to take alcohol out of this region.
Things to do in Diu
Diu fortress
This was built by the Portuguese in 1535 and is surrounded by the sea on three sides. It is one of the seven wonders of Portuguese origin in the world and is definitely worth a visit.
There is ample parking at this fortress and there is no entry ticket to visit it.
St. Paul’s church
Close to the fortress (walking distance) is the Saint Paul’s church which is one of the three churches built by Portuguese in Diu and is considered one of the best examples of baroque architecture. This is the only functional church in Diu.
Naida Caves
Around 3 km from the Diu fortress are the Naida caves which have an intricate network of tunnels and huge boulders.
It is believed that while erecting the fort, Portuguese collected building materials from these caves which caused the now seen troughs and crests. An alternate possibility or additional theory is that these caves were formed due to geological irregularities and processes over a significant period of time.
These caves have natural openings that allow sunlight to enter, making it perfect for a photoshoot. So do get a few photos here. The entry to these caves is free of cost.
INS Khukri Memorial
This is the memorial site of an Indian Naval submarine INS Khukri that was damaged and sunk during the 1971 Indo-Pak War. The submarine was destroyed on 9 December 1971 when torpedo shots were fired on it by Pakistan navy submarine PNS Hangor, sinking the ship 40 nautical miles off the coast of Diu. At the time of sinking, there were 18 officers and 176 sailors on board. A memorial was set up to show respect to these martyrs in Diu and comprises of a scaled model of INS Khukri kept inside a glass case placed atop a hillock facing the sea.
Till date, INS Khukri is the only Indian naval ship to have been lost in combat.
Nagoa beach
This is the most commercial beach in Diu and here you can engage in watersports like water scooter, Parasailing and banana boat along with ATV rides. The good bit is that the operators have a rate card approved by the government, so you can avoid haggling. The bad bit is the crowd.
When it comes to beaches, I can get quite critical. There are very few beaches that I have been to where I have not been compelled to go in for a swim. Nagoa beach was one of them. It was a crowded rocky beach and there were hardly any waves here, probably due to the crescent shape of the beach. Although the coastline for this beach is quite long, the sandy portion is small and hence that area tends to get very crowded.
The beach faces the east and a walk here while watching the sunrise was one of my favourite things to do here. Towards the hill end of the beach is a nice white sand section
Ghogla beach
This is a golden sand beach, well maintained and less crowded located on the outskirts of the city.
This is one of the eight beaches in India to have gotten the prestigious Blue Flag certification. This is an international level honour which is one of the world’s most recognized awards for clean, safe and environment-friendly beaches.
There is ample free parking here but unfortunately, there very few hotels near this beach.
Food
No to-do list can be completed without a mention of the food!
Being a sea food lover, I expected a lot from the food scene in Diu and I have to admit that I was a tad disappointed. Blame it on the ‘mini Goa’ expectation.
Unlike Goa, there are very few standalone restaurants here. Most of the restaurants were within the resorts which is usually not my first choice. I prefer open restaurants with a sea view.
We tried proper meals at two restaurants: Gangasagar Bar and Restaurant which is the only restaurant on Nagoa beach and seemed like a desi bar crowded with local men. We finally ate there which was an experience by itself – read about the entire experience here. From food point of view, the food was decent and had a dhaba feel to it.
The other restaurant that we tried was Apana restaurant which is a sea facing restaurant on level one and has a beautiful view of the Diu jetty.
Another restaurant that was recommended to us was O Coqueiro resturant near Diu fortress which is an open air restaurant run by a family that excels in Portuguese food. We did not try this restaurant as we wanted a sea facing one and that is why we opted for the above Apana restaurant. Not sure what I missed.
And do remember – Alcohol is very cheap in Diu due to low taxes. If you do drink, make the most of it here. Do not buy bottles for consumption in any place other than Diu though as it is illegal and your car can be checked for it. Seems that it is a common practice to smuggle alcohol into Gujarat as it is not freely available there.
Leg 4: Diu – Bharuch
We stayed at Diu for 2 nights which I believe is sufficient if you want to explore the city. Our initial plan was to drive to Ghogha (near Bhavnagar) and then take the ferry to Dahej (near Bharuch) for which we had booked our ferry tickets in advance. This would have saved us around 300 km but unfortunately, the ferry for that particular day got cancelled due to low water level and we were left with no option but to drive all the way back.
I was really looking forward to the ferry ride as this was amongst the very few ro-ro ferries in India.
Also read about my first ferry experience in India which finally happened in July 2021 on my Mumbai to Goa Women’s road trip.
Initial disappointment changed to excitement as I started planning my return route. I chalked out the route using different roads than what we had used while getting to Diu. The final route was via Amreli.
We set off after an early breakfast at the resort and were contemplating completing the entire Diu-Mumbai stretch on the same day. This was going to be tough but not impossible. We decided to take a call on that later depending on our time per distance.
We were making good time when we met with an accident near Khambha in Gujarat. Read about the accident here. The accident definitely shook us and set us back by 2 hours. Even after we resumed our drive, I was too scared to go beyond 60 kmph.
Given the unexpected event, we realised that we would need to have an overnight stopover and kept the stopover destination as Bharuch.
By the time we reached NH48 at Karjan, it was already dark and we decided to not wait till Bharuch (which was around 1 hour further down the highway). The first hotel we saw was ‘Hotel Navjivan’ which seemed decent and was priced at 1000 INR. The rooms were just about ok but met our basic condition of safety, clean and air conditioned.
Exhausted from the nearly 12 hours of continuous drive, we had a quick dinner of Tandoori roti and Paneer and crashed in.
Leg 5: Karjan – Mumbai
This stretch was comparatively predictable and uneventful. We completed this stretch on Holi due to which we encountered less traffic. Alternating between NH48 and the parallel coastal roads we finally made it to Dahanu by lunch time and decided to stop at a sea facing restaurant named ‘Crazy Crab’ for lunch.
This was my second time here; the first being on my Delhi-Mumbai trip with my mom. During my first trip, no alcohol was being served here due to the highway liquor ban – this time my mom could enjoy some liquor while I could devour the prawns.
Following the rather long and lazy lunch, we restarted our journey and reached home by evening.
Finally I could check ‘drive to Diu’ off my list.
Possible Stopovers/Diversions on Mumbai-Diu route
If you are planning to drive the entire distance both ways, then it is advisable to make this a week long plan and explore at least one additional city on your wat to Diu and one on your way back. Below are some of the options:
- Statue of unity
- Champaner-Pavagadh Archeological Park
- Shoolpaneshwar wildlife sanctuary
- Bharuch
- Vadodara: check the Laxmi Vilas Palace here
- Surat
- Lothal port: This was one of the Indus valley civilization cities and is not too much of a diversion.
- Blackbuck Safari lodge in Velvadar
- Somnath
- Gir National Park
- Daman
- Dahanu: This can be a lunch stop
PS: Unfortunately, I lost my phone soon after this trip and since I had ignored the warnings on exceeding google storage limit, I lost many of my Diu photos. The ones posted here are the ones I used for Instagram stories.
Superb, inspired… diving is my hobby n love road trips. So definitely will keep checking out your blog. Cheers 😇👍