Mumbai Shore Excursion - With Train Ride

We have been to Mumbai before and thoroughly enjoyed it. We were looking forward to seeing more of the city, as proposed by Lijo. However, this tour fell far short of our expectations. We were given options along the way - driving to places and being asked who wanted to do what. With a bus load of people, you can't really expect full agreement, so we just drove from place to place. Three of us finally managed to get off the bus to visit a temple, we were rushed from the lookout at the laundry. When we visited the market, the guide marched on ahead talking all the time to the people near him, the people at the back didn't hear one word. When we complained about this, we were told it had nothing to do with him, we should complain to the management. We had free time at the Gate of India (12 minutes) but were told we couldn't go into the Taj Mahal Hotel. This was not true, as others on other tours did visit the Hotel. However, when we visited one of the emporiums, we spent ages there, bored to tears, waiting to depart. Very few people were interested in buying carpets in our group, so we just stood around looking at each other. By this time, people were starting to get annoyed. The tour was supposed to be a day tour, and even though the ship arrived late, we expected the seven hours as promised. The tour barely lasted 4.5 hours. By the way, we did not get the train ride. A very disappointing tour.

This tour by Muziris Heritage Day Tours was a pleasant surprise and Mumbai was much more pleasant than we expected. The tour bus picked up fourteen of us outside the passenger terminal where the ship berthed. We did not experience normal Mumbai because it was a Sunday, but this made it very easy in traffic and sightseeing. The small bus got around the streets easily and the excellent driver assisted us to cross the roads at times and moved the bus to meet us after getting off to see sights keeping it cool for us on a hot day. Our guide Sangeetha was so good that she could brighten up anything and anyone. What a beautiful and knowledgeable person. We saw everything on the itinerary except for the lunch delivering Dabawalla because it was Sunday and workers had the day off. The tour was comprehensive for the time we had in Mumbai. A lunch stop own cost with the option of dining in the Taj Mahal Hotel was wonderful and Sangeetha helped us to select local street food from the menu. The train ride was easy because the crowds didnt exist but it would be interesting on a regular workday.

We booked this tour through Muziris tours and LiJose. Mumbai is a very busy city with hundreds of car and thousands of people. We visited the highlights of this busy city, the fruit market, the washing place, Ghandi's Mumbai home and museum, the carpet and gold street and last but not least the train ride. Although it was only 2 stops, it gave us a flavor for the train ride that the residents do everyday. The tour delivered all that it promised.