How to Plan a 3 Day Trip to Mumbai in Just 4000 Rupees!

Mumbai, also known as the “City of Dreams” is in the bucket list of every traveller out there. The old city that also runs by the name of Bombay is the largest city in India and is of great importance. From “Film stars” to “Billionaires”, Mumbai is a hub of all the known people in India. Mumbai is famous for its rich culture and major trade ports which contributes to the import/export of the country.

Visiting this city was like a dream come true. With my friend Sibanarayan I embarked on the journey to a city surrounded by big tall towers and buildings, it’s rich nightlife and the amazing marine drive that lies at the heart of the city.

Today in this blog I will tell you how I managed to take a 3 day trip to this city in just under 4000 rupees!

We started our journey on July 3rd 2022 from Odisha, which lies in the eastern part of India. It takes a full day to reach Mumbai by train and as we were travelling in sleeper class, we paid 650 rs per person for the tickets. We finally reached Mumbai on the night of 7th July at around 1 am. We had not booked any accomodation and we were roaming on the streets of Bombay looking for a place to spend our nights.

Luckily we met a person who was also looking for an accomodation and now the 3 of us were wandering on the streets. After roaming for about half an hour we finally managed to get one hotel and we paid 500 rs each for the night.

DAY 1

We woke up to a bustling city and now we could experience the city in all it’s glory! We packed our bags and left the hotel by 8:30 am in the morning. We started looking for another accomodation so that we can leave our bags there. We managed to find an A/C dormitory near fort area which just costs  rs 300/- per person. It was a very clean dormitory with all facilities and a nice washroom. We left our bags there, filled up our water bottles and went out on the streets to start our day.

We started our journey towards “Gateway of India” as it was just 2 kms away from our hotel. Halfway there and we found a Mumbai tour bus service which was charging rs 250/- for a Bombay tour. We negotiated on the price a bit and managed to get the deal for rs 200/- per person. We parted our ways with the 3rd person as he had to leave for Pune that day. We started our bus trip at around 9:30 am in the morning starting with Gateway of India. We spent around 30 mins there, clicking some pics and savouring the views of the sea and the grand hotel “Taj”.

We moved next to an art museum located nearby where we looked at tons of different artworks. We were simply amazed by the details and precisions of those artworks. Some seemed to give optical illusions. Next, the bus moved around the city taking us to the Marine Drive which is also known as the “Queen’s Necklace” and then moving toward other places like the “Hanging Gardens”, Nehru Science Park, Hazrat Ali Dargah and a few temples. The most exciting moment of our trip started when we started moving towards Altamount road which is famously known as the “Billionare’s Row” as it houses some of India’s billionares like Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Singhania ( Chairman of the Raymond Group) to name a few. We were astonished at the big tall buildings all over the city and we simply couldn’t believe that humans are capable of building such grand structures!

We got the opportunity to see the house of Mukesh Ambani named “Antilia” which is world’s most expensive residential property standing at a valuation of 15,000 crores! The bus was throwing us off for 20 mins at each location so that we can explore it. We also spent some time at Nehru science park where we had our lunch at the cafeteria which cost us rs 130/- each. The food was simply delicious and we explored all the different chambers of the science park. After that we moved to the Bandra-Worli sea link, which connects Worli with Bandra through a bridge made in the sea. The bridge was beautiful and we could see all the grand buildings in south Bombay. As we entered Bandra, the whole scenario changed. It was covered with lush greenery and gardens all around and a major difference in transport could be found, as there were no cabs but autos all around compared to all cabs and no autos in south Bombay.

As we all know Bandra houses India’s most famous film stars, directors, singers and producers! The bus then took us to a trip to the residential properties of those film stars. We stopped in front of “Mannat” (Shahrukh Khan’s house) and then next we continued on our trip to see the properties of other famous actors like Salman Khan, Amir Khan, Tiger Shroff and also the building where Kapil Sharma’s show is hosted.  It was already 5pm by then and to conclude our trip, we finally moved towards the famous “Juhu” beach where spent an hour beside the sea and got some refreshments. It was 6 pm already and the bus was waiting for us. We started moving towards our starting point that is Gateway of India and as it was evening time, we could see the Mumbai traffic in its full glory.

We finally reached south Bombay by 8:30 pm. We were really tired for the day but I managed to convince my friend Sibanarayan that we go visit the marine drive again to spend some time there. We walked another 2kms and reached marine drive. Huge crowd tends to gather there in the evening as everyone gets free from work and loves to spend some time by the sea. We sat there for like an hour enjoying the soothing breeze and then we started moving towards our dormitory. For dinner we grabbed some veg rolls and eggs that cost us rs 50/- each. This is how our DAY 1 came to an end.

(Tip- The bus conductor asks 400 rs extra for entry fees to certain places and 8d show, skip on the 8d show as it’s not really worth it and give just rs  100 extra)

DAY 2

Today we decided to give a visit to the famous “Elephanta Caves” which is located on an island 1.5 hours away from the Gateway of India port and is thought to be built between 5th-7th century AD. It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ferry services are available from 9am till 5pm. We left our hotel by 9am and then after having our breakfast we took a bus to the Gateway of India which just cost rs 12/- each.

We took a ferry from the port and the charges were rs 260/- each for a trip and back. We boarded the ferry and reached the island by 11:30 am in the morning. The view of the island was mesmerizing. It was fully covered with lush greenery and forests. We couldn’t control our excitement and rushed to the island to climb to the top, where the caves are located. Midway we stopped to buy some fruits from the local vendors who earn their living by serving tourists. A “Toy Train” also runs on the island which takes tourist from the starting point of the island to the trekking base. After clicking a few pics, we started our journey to the caves. After trekking up the mountains for 2kms, we finally reached the entry point of the caves where a fee of rs 50/- was charged as entry fees.

We started exploring the caves and we were surprised to see so many people from foreign countries visiting the cave. There were lots of artwork, statues and scriptures dedicated to Lord “Shiva”. The Caves were supposedly built by Hindu rulers. After exploring the caves for around 2 hours we moved to the top of the island where there were 2 big “Canons” placed on the the top. It was built under British rule and according to locals, it was there so the military can launch attacks on the sea from top of the island. There were 2 big military bases underground and we were completely thrilled to see those weapons.

We had our lunch by taking some fruits and biscuits and then spent another 2 hours exploring the whole island and now it was time to return back as the last ferry from the island leaves at 5pm. We started trekking downwards and took a ferry back to Mumbai by 4:30 pm. On our return journey we also a met a guy from Sweden who was visiting the city for 2 days. We reached Gateway of India by 6pm. After resting for a while, we started roaming on the streets to explore the market and after clicking some pics before CSMT railway station we decided to go the Marine drive again to call it a day.

DAY 3

Today we left the hotel with our bags as it was gonna be our last day in this dream city. We decided to explore other part of the city such as Andheri, Dadar and Kurla. We boarded on a local train from CSMT railway station and reached Andheri. The tickets cost us rs 30 each/-. My friend Sibanarayan was keen on visiting ZIMA (Zee Institute of Media and Arts) which is a film institute located in Andheri region of Mumbai. After reaching Andheri we moved toward the bus stand to board a bus for ZIMA. We reached ZIMA by 12:00 pm and were welcomed by the staff.

They showed us around the institute and told us about the courses that they offer. The ambience of the place was amazing. It had editing, music, sound engineering and film making courses. We loved the tour. After gathering all the necessary details we moved out of the institute and decided to visit the Infinity mall which was located just 2kms away from the institute. As soon as we entered the mall, it started raining heavily as it was monsoon time. We spent a few hours in the mall exploring the shops and relaxing. We moved out of the mall at around 4:00pm in the noon to head for Lokmanya Tilak Terminus railway station as we had our train back to Odisha at 7:35 pm in the evening. It was still raining heavily and we could see the drainage system of roads failing. The roads in Mumbai were like small ponds.

We booked an auto the Andheri railway station which cost us rs 30/-. Then we boarded the mumbai local and headed for Dadar, where we had to change train for Kurla for LTT railway station. Basically this is how our trip ended!!

(You can also plan your 3rd day to visit the local markets, cafes, malls and temples in the city)

Now, to sum up the costs, here is the total cost incurred in the trip(per person)-

Tavelling expenses- 2100 ( Incl. train, ferry and buses )

Food- 900

Accomodation- 1000

So this is how we managed to travel to Mumbai under the Budget of just Rs 4000! I hope this blog has helped you in getting an insight of how you can also plan a trip to Bombay and manage your day.