Ahead of long weekend, hotspots around Mumbai virtually fully booked

With Independence Day falling on a Monday and Parsi New Year on Tuesday Mumbaikars got a muchcoveted long weekend But getaways like Mahabaleshwar Lonavala Alibaug and Goa are reporting high turnout and have been fully booked while transport fares have gone through the roofTravel agents told midday they have been flooded with bookings for this weekend since the past two months ldquoPeople have planned their vacation right from August 12 to August 18 which is Janmashtami This is the first time since COVID that we are seeing such a crazerdquo said a citybased travel agentRanjit Chavan a Vikhroli residentMayur Shah from RM Travels at Ghatkopar said ldquoWe have been getting bookings for hotels and resorts in Igatpuri Karjat Lonavala Alibag since the past two months This will continue till October month as people have started bookings for Diwali holidaysrdquoHigh cost not a worryNisha Dharod from Happy Travels said ldquoAll resorts and hotels near Mumbai are fully booked People are also ready to pay extra for bookings but we dont have any more space leftrdquoThe office of a private bus operator which runs bus services to Goa at Dadar File picldquoPeople are mostly going to Lonavala Karjat Mahabaleshwar Alibaug Igatpuri Matheran Khopoli and Ambivali which are near Mumbai as it saves travel timerdquo said Ratan Kadamwala director of Arc destination India Private Limited at Goregaon East Hemant Shah from Neel Travels in Ghatkopar West said ldquoAs airfare is too high currently people are booking cars But as most of our cars are booked and hotels at these places are also full we have to turn down customersrdquoNeha Vora a resident of Andheri West said ldquoThis time we are paying R23000 for 2 nights Earlier we had to pay Rs 13000Rs 14000 The prices have doubledrdquoRanjan Singh and his friends planned and made the bookings earlyldquoAs hotels were fully booked we changed the destination to Daman now which has added R20000 to the overall costrdquo said Sweta Shah a Ghatkopar residentGoa not far behindApart from the getaways near the city Goa is another popular destination for Mumbaikars this long patriotic weekend While the bookings portal for most MumbaiGoa trains show lsquoRegret Bookingrsquo which means even waitlisted tickets are not available flight booking charts show that oneway tickets to Goa usually priced between Rs 2500 and Rs 5000 have touched Rs 8000Rs 9000 for August 12 and August 13 Buses on the route are also at almost optimum capacity with the only tickets that are still available ranging between R4000 and R5000 as compared to the regular fare of Rs 1500Rs 2500 Shivaji Sutar chief public relations officer Central Railway said ldquoThere are always several special trains lined up but almost all trains are booked for these two daysrdquoPrice history of flights to GoaBook early or pay moreSiddhart Paralkar and his friend Avi Joshi and two others from a Thanebased software firm had started planning for a trip to Goa back in June and bookings were also done in advance midday caught up with him at Thane station waiting for the Madgaon train on Thursday ldquoWe had planned and confirmed all our bookings in advance We got a few beach rooms at Panjim and from there will be going to Dona Paula beach for motor boatingrdquo he saidVikhroli resident Ranjeet Chavan said ldquoIt was for the first time since the COVID19 pandemic started in 2020 that I planned a vacation as it was a long weekend but I had to buy all the tickets at premium rates Even the hotel prices were higher than usualrdquoldquoMy friends and I were among the lucky few who had planned this earlier and managed to get early bird discounts All of our bookings were done at normal ratesrdquo said Ranjan Singh a resident of western suburbsBoom in businessldquoWe are seeing some profitable business after a long time We suffered for two entire years due to the COVIDinduced lockdown and did not even get any support from the government We hope to survive with such good business As with airlines and railways we should also be permitted to adopt flexifares without any restrictions We cannot be compared with MSRTC which is supported by state funds at R360 crore per monthrdquo secretary of the Mumbai Bus Malak Sangathan MBMS saidCar and bus operator Astad Khadiwala a committee member of MBMS said ldquoThis coming long weekend which includes Monday Independence Day and Tuesday Parsi new year too is perfect for a getaway for most Mumbaikars and hence the tourism industry has seen a boom All trains flights and buses are full Hope the trend continues and the travel industry bounces back like preCOVID timesrdquoInputs from Sameer Surve and Suraj PandeyRs 8k9kCurrent price of oneway flight ticket to Goa