Solo Camping in Alibaug

After hovering over the internet and searching for “Solo” camping in Alibaug, we could only find private groups organizing fancy camps cum beach party where food and drinks are already taken care of. But we didn’t want that so called “freedom”. True freedom is in being self-sufficient and camp solo in a natural setting.

Although there are a lot of things to be taken care of while camping solo anywhere safety-wise(not only from the wild animals but majorly from people who would place unnecessary rules and ones challenging your safety). You need to be extra vigilant when you’re with your spouse or better half. However, being a little aware goes a long way in you having a wholehearted free camping experience and live your dream.

I was lucky enough to have a spouse who enjoys nature as much as I do. One fine Saturday morning of a January, we decided to camp solo on a beach in Alibaug. We packed up our rug sacks with our 3-man Quechua tent and sleeping bag. It was already 12pm on a Saturday and we started off from Kharghar to CSMT in a local train. After reaching CSMT, we took a cab to gateway for a ferry to Mandwa Jetty. This was a very bad idea though since Alibaug is only 1.5hr from Panvel.

After a relaxing hourly ride to Mandwa Jetty, we boarded the local bus and dropped off to Alibaug. It was already 4 in the afternoon, we found a local bakery and gorged on puffs. We also packed some eatables for the night.

It was too late to get to Kashid and hence we decided we will camp at Revdanda only. This was the first time we were camping solo right on the beach and we were excited for the adventure to come.

There were a lot of auto ricks waiting and calling us to go to Revdanda beach, Kashid and nearby points. We boarded an auto to Revdanda beach and asked them to drop us to a nearby private campsite there (Rs.400). We wanted to get a fair idea of the number of private camps at Revdanda so that we could find safe place to setup our own tent.

Finally, we reached Revdanda after a 40 min ride from Alibaug market. It was already a sunset setting and the evening was getting beautiful. We crossed 2-3 large private camps with big shacks- almost like we see in Baga beach in Goa. The crowd was good, lot of couples and people were prepping for the night party.

Looking for a serene place to camp, away from the noise and away from people, we walked the entire stretch almost till the main entrance of Revdanda. Luckily there were some boys playing cricket on a huge barren land away from the private camps and it seemed like the perfect place given the fact it was about to get dark and we had to collect wood and setup the camp.

We approached a local boy who owned the land and requested whether we could place our tent. He was humble enough to allow us to place our tent anywhere we wanted. We found a leveled space free from the thorny bushes. Important point to be noted – Don’t place your tent anywhere on the beach, look for twigs and sand pattern made due to last night’s high tide. Ideally the water reaches that area and if you place your tent there are chances you may end up camping on the sea😉. Ideally your tent should be on a plateau surface where there are small bushes. There are chances of finding ticks and mosquitoes, but your bonfire can take care of that.

We started to place our tent as the dusk was fading. Luckily there was a big pile of wood right next to our tent. Thanks to that humble local boy who ran a small home-stay in the village behind us, he offered us dinner for the night. We couldn’t say no to the proposal of a delicious Malvani fish and solkadhi. However, it was 7 in the evening, and hunger struck us. Thankfully we kept 3-4 packets of Maggi with us, a boiling pan, a gauge and a lighter. We arranged drinking water from the village with the help of that same villager boy. It was the most delicious Maggi, somehow any food tastes a lot better when prepared on natural fire and consumed in a natural open setting under the stars.

We prepared for lighting up some more fire by collecting some more logs and twigs just to be sure we enjoy the bonfire for the next few hours before we doze off in our tent. Our sleeping bag was out and placed right next to the fire for us to lie down, relax and enjoy the evening and we could hear the light music from the other private camps which gave a good kick to the evening. It was 10 pm now and the village boy called us out for dinner. They had setup our dining outside their homestay, it was some 50 odd meters from our camp. Bhakri(rice pancakes), rice, pomfret fry, curry and solkadhi – A sumptuous dinner. Further relaxing into the cold evening, we

laid out our sleeping bag outside for star gazing with warm fire beside us. It was time for post dinner dessert as we’ve always started to do with all our camping trips – two large Dairy milk chocolates! It was time for the most sound sleep we couldn’t imagine.

Next day we got up early before the sun rose. The sweet sound of sea was enough to bring us out of the tent. The beach was empty with only 1-2 locals walking far off. It was time for a leisure stroll in the shallow waters.

After about half and hour it was time for coffee. We were carrying Nescafe Latte premix and couple of steel mugs specially for camping purposes. It was time for our morning fire. The water came to a boil easily and our frothy latte was ready. With the sun on the rise and weather still cool the coffee kick started our day perfectly.

Feeling like having local food for breakfast, we approached the nearby local homestay. Sweetly, they offered us poha(Flat rice) and pav with scrambled egg accompanied with hot tea.

Time for a refreshing bath in the salt-water of the sea, it was so much fun with us making a lot of videos and boomerangs, diving into shallow waters. We decided to sit in the sand and soak the sun till it started to get warm – around 10:30am.

Almost time to bid adieu to the campsite, we got ready and dismantled the tent, packed our rugsacks and rushed towards the busy area of Revdanda hoping to find a rickshaw to Alibaug bus stand. We got one very easily and reached the bus stand in around 40 min. Earliest bus to Panvel was supposed to arrive in an hour’s time. We decided to grab a bite in the small local restaurant at the bus stand. The bus arrived sooner than expected but luckily, we were done with eating and got into the ticket line. The relaxing 1.5-hour ride to Panvel in AC bus was enough to catch a nap. Refreshed, we got down at Panvel bus stand, booked a cab to Kharghar and back home happy and rejuvenated, ready for our next adventure – Kasol.