The short version: Alibaug is more than a beach you drive to. Within an hour of our villas you have a sea fort you can walk to at low tide, a hilltop temple with a view over the whole coast, some of the quietest beaches near Mumbai, and birdwatching that drew India’s most famous ornithologist here decades ago. Here’s how to actually spend your days — from someone who lives here.
We’ve hosted guests in Kihim and Awas for years, and the same thing happens again and again: people arrive planning to “just relax by the pool,” and leave wishing they’d given the place another day. Alibaug rewards the curious. This is the guide we’d give a friend.
The Beaches
Most people picture one Alibaug beach. There are several, and they’re genuinely different.
Kihim Beach — quiet, tree-lined and a short walk from our Kihim villas. This is the one for a slow morning swim and an evening stroll, without the crowds that gather closer to Alibaug town.
Awas Beach — wide, calm and uncommercial, near Mango Beach House Awas. Good for long walks and genuinely empty on a weekday.
Alibaug Beach — the main town beach, with the Kolaba Fort rising out of the water in front of it. Livelier, with food stalls and horse-cart rides; worth it for the fort, not for solitude.
Nagaon & Varsoli — the water-sports beaches, a short drive south. Parasailing, jet-skis and banana boats run here in season (closed through the monsoon).
Kashid — about an hour south, and the prettiest stretch on this coast: white sand, blue water, casuarina trees. A full day-trip, but the one beach worth driving for.
The Forts
This coast was fought over for centuries, and the forts are the proof.
Kolaba Fort is the one everyone should see. It sits in the sea just off Alibaug beach, and at low tide you can walk out to it across the sand — at high tide you take a boat. It was the island stronghold of Kanhoji Angre, the Maratha admiral who held this coast against the British, Portuguese and Dutch navies. Inside are old temples, cannons and freshwater wells in the middle of the sea. Check the tide timings before you go — get them wrong and you’re either wading or waiting.
Korlai Fort, further south near Revdanda, is a Portuguese hill fort with a lighthouse and a long curtain wall snaking along the ridge. The village below still speaks a creole Portuguese found almost nowhere else in the world. The climb is worth it for the view alone.
Revdanda Fort — crumbling, overgrown, half-swallowed by palm groves and almost always empty. For anyone who likes their history quiet and atmospheric rather than restored.
Murud-Janjira — the great unconquered island sea fort, further down the coast. A longer day-trip, but one of the most impressive forts in India: no navy ever took it.
The Temples & Heritage
Kankeshwar Temple sits on a hilltop about 5 km from our Kihim villas, reached by a climb of several hundred steps through forest. The Shiva temple at the top is old and atmospheric, and the view over the coast on a clear morning is the reward for the legs.
Alibaug also holds a quieter piece of history most visitors never hear about: the Bene Israel Jewish community, one of the oldest Jewish communities in India, settled along this coast for centuries. There is a synagogue in the area and a Jewish cemetery in Kihim, roughly 2 km from our gate. It’s a small, moving corner of coastal history that rewards anyone curious enough to look for it.
The Birds & the Green
Kihim has a quiet claim to fame: Dr. Salim Ali, India’s most celebrated ornithologist — the “Birdman of India” — spent time here, and it was partly these surroundings that shaped his lifelong work. The birdlife is still remarkable, especially in and just after the monsoon, when the plantations come alive.
For wildlife on a larger scale, Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary is about an hour’s drive — a stretch of coastal forest that’s home to the giant Malabar squirrel, leopards, and a long list of birds. Go early for the best chance of seeing anything.
Even without going anywhere, the coconut and betel-nut plantations around the villages are worth a slow walk, binoculars optional. This is the quiet, green Alibaug that the day-trippers never see.
The Food
You come to the Konkan coast, you eat like it. The local cooking is Malvani and Konkan — coastal, coconut-rich, built around the day’s catch. Fresh fish, prawn curries, solkadhi, rice bhakri; spice balanced with the sweetness of coconut.
In Alibaug town and along the coast you’ll find seafood shacks and small family-run places that do this food well. But honestly, the best Malvani meal on this coast is often the one waiting for you at the villa — our kitchen cooks it fresh, from our own organic ethos, which is rather the point of staying somewhere that feeds you. More about the food here →
On the Water
Water sports — parasailing, jet-skiing, banana-boat rides — run mainly at Nagaon and Varsoli beaches, in season. Note that everything on the water closes during the monsoon (June to September), when the sea is dangerous. If water sports are the point of your trip, come in the dry months.
The ferry crossing itself is an experience worth having — arriving by sea from the Gateway of India, with the Mumbai skyline falling away behind you, beats the drive for sheer romance. We’ve written the full guide to getting here: How to Reach Alibaug from Mumbai →
How Many Days Do You Need?
A weekend (2 nights) is the classic Alibaug trip: one day for the beach and the pool, one day for Kolaba Fort and a wander, and a lot of good food in between.
Three nights lets you add Kashid, or a fort further south, or a morning at Phansad — without feeling rushed.
Longer, and Alibaug stops being a checklist and becomes a place you live in for a while — which, if we’re honest, is how we think it’s best enjoyed.
When to Visit
October to February is the classic season — dry, pleasant, perfect for beaches and forts and everything on the water.
March to May is hot but quiet, with the sea still open.
June to September is the monsoon — green, dramatic and nearly empty, with the sea closed to swimming and most ferries paused. It’s a very different Alibaug, and a quietly wonderful one if you know what you’re coming for. More on Alibaug in the monsoon →
Where to Stay While You Do All This
Everything above is within easy reach of our villas in Kihim and Awas — close enough to the sea to walk, far enough from the town to stay quiet. Whether you’re two people or sixteen, there’s a house that fits, and a kitchen that means you never have to think about dinner.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the top things to do in Alibaug?
Visit Kolaba Fort (walkable at low tide), relax on Kihim, Awas or Kashid beach, climb to Kankeshwar Temple for the view, try water sports at Nagaon, go birdwatching around Kihim, and eat Malvani coastal seafood. Most of it sits within an hour of the Kihim and Awas villages.
How many days are enough for Alibaug?
A two-night weekend covers the beach, Kolaba Fort and plenty of good food. Three nights lets you add Kashid, a southern fort or Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary without rushing.
Is Kolaba Fort worth visiting?
Yes. It is a sea fort just off Alibaug beach that you can walk to at low tide, with old temples, cannons and freshwater wells inside, and a strong Maratha history under Kanhoji Angre. Check the tide timings before you go.
What is the best beach in Alibaug?
For quiet, Kihim and Awas. For the main town scene and the fort, Alibaug Beach. For water sports, Nagaon and Varsoli. For sheer beauty, Kashid, about an hour south.
When is the best time to visit Alibaug?
October to February for the classic dry, pleasant season. The monsoon (June to September) is green and dramatic but the sea is closed to swimming and most ferries pause.
Is Alibaug good for birdwatching?
Yes. Kihim has long been known for its birdlife — Dr. Salim Ali, India’s famous ornithologist, spent time here — and Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary, about an hour away, adds forest wildlife including the giant Malabar squirrel.
Come and See It for Yourself
Alibaug gives back what you put in. Spend the whole weekend by the pool and it’s a nice break; give it a fort, a temple climb, a plate of fresh fish and a morning with the birds, and it becomes somewhere you’ll want to return to.
Stay where the guide was written.
