Two brand new houseboats set to welcome tourists at Tarkali

If you are planning a trip to Tarkali for the sandy beaches dotted with tall coconut trees be read for a surprise as the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation MTDC has planned to introduce two houseboats in Octoberu00a0The two houseboats Savitri and Sindhukanya are airconditioned and fitted with all the luxuries that tourists would want to experienceu00a0 Sail Away The two houseboats Savitri and Sindhukanya areu00a0airconditioned and will offer all the luxuries that tourists would want to experience on a holiday PicSachin Thakare Nayna GuravBondarde Regional Manager of MTDC said ldquoSavitri is ready however Sindhukanyarsquos work is in the last stage right now I am sure it will be able to make it to the October deadlinerdquou00a0MTDC opened bookings for Diwali and yearend holidays on August 14 and resorts in Tarkali are almost 90 per cent full Ourists enjoying a fun day at the beach File Pic ldquoBeach resorts and houseboats are a great combination This is one of the main reasons why tourists prefer Tarkarli to other beaches in Konkanrdquo said one of the officialrsquos of MTDCu00a0With this the total number of houseboats at the spot will be increased to four in order to make sure that it can accommodate more touristsu00a0 Love is in the air Travellers especially honeymooners would benefit through the combination of existing beach resorts of Tarkali and the newly added houseboats to the adjacent Devbaug region u00a0ldquoI am getting married in December and since I have heard a lot about Tarkarli it will be the first destination for my honeymoon Though I was thinking of booking rooms in October but when I checked last week on MTDCrsquos website I found that all the rooms in the MTDC facility are fast filling uprdquo said Pushkar Borkar an IT professional who has already made arrangements for his stay at the beach resort and wishes to spend the last day at the houseboatu00a0 The houseboat service is operational between October 10 and May 25 and is shut for the rest of the year due to monsoons Though MTDC increased the number of houseboats from two to four the tourist department is not thinking about offering concessions to travellers However owing to the large demand rates have been hiked compared to the last two years A dayrsquos stay at the houseboat may cost you about Rs 8000 to Rs 10000 per night during the winter season u00a0 Konkan beach resorts 90 full Most beach resorts especially the ones owned and operated by Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation MTDC in the Konkan strip were 90 per cent full within the first two weeks since they opened for bookings The popular destinations among tourists are Tarkali Ganpatipule and Harihareshwar MTDC opened bookings of winter season starting October for Diwali and Christmas break on August 14 The MTDCrsquos website has been getting tremendous response from travellers across the country ldquoResorts in Tarkarli Ganpatipule and Harihareshwar are almost 90 per cent full between November 2 and 10 The resort at Ganpatipule has total 150 rooms But hardly any rooms are available during this period Same is the case with Tarkarli with only four rooms to go out of the 30 odd cottagesrdquo an MTDC booking official in the city said Currently MTDC owns and operates four beach resorts at Tarkarli Ganpatipule Harihareshwar and Velneshwar Rs 8k10k Cost of houseboat for a night