Coconut palms, mango orchards, chikoo wadis and paddy fields make Alibag a pleasantly verdant and unpolluted retreat. The area is particularly beautiful during the monsoons, with rain washed trees and the goodly smell of wet earth making you wish you could stay here forever.

Like other beaches on the Konkan coast, Alibag too has a historic fort, the Kulaba Fort, which is just off the main seashore. The fort can be visited during low tide when the waters have receded. It is important to time your trip otherwise you can get stranded once the tide comes in. However, if you do get marooned, there is a small village within the fort where you can potter around. From the main beach it will take about half an hour to walk to Kulaba fort, but a tonga can get you there quickly for Rs30-40. Built in 1680 by Shivaji, the fort is now crumbling - all that remains are the ramparts and a moss-encrusted step well. But it's still a great place to clamber around, look out at the sea and snap pictures of the shoreline.

Other attractions are the Magnetic Observatory and the white marbled Shri Vikram Vinayak Temple built by the Birlas. Though Alibag is great for sun-bathing, going for long walks and building sand castles, the waters are not very safe for anything more than paddling. There is a strong undercurrent and it is best not to swim out to sea unless you are a proficient swimmer. Hopefully, you will be lulled into complete submission by the Alibag magic and will want to spend your time lazing on the beach and not doing much else!

Getting there: Alibag is 108 km from Mumbai by road, a journey of 3 hours via Navi Mumbai. Konkan Railway trains from CST stop at Pen, 28 km from Alibag, from where you can take a bus, autorickshaw or taxi. The quickest way to get here is by launch (1 ½ hours) from Mumbai's Ferry Wharf at Sewri, alighting at Mandwa and catching a bus from the jetty to Alibag. There are catamarans and speedboat services (25 minutes) from Gateway of India to Mandwa. You can use autorickshaws to move around within Alibag.