We haven't gone out for a looong holiday for over 5 years and wifey (my very own wifey, just to be more specific and a bit more ahem, cautious!) was getting desperate on this issue. It was one of her best and most comprehended complaints, which was set on her brain's auto reminder panel and let me tell ya, when it comes to complain department, her brain's performance can beat Super Computer on any damn day.
Long story short, we finally planned a week trip to the state of Gujrat (India) and targeted to cover Dwarika, Somnath, Nageshwar and Diu regions. It was me, my very own wifey, her parents and a driver. In India, it makes perfect sense to occasionally travel with in laws, even after marriage; that's one of the most 'under-understood-ed' reason why we boast of least divorce rate across the world!
Back to topic, there were 5 of us and we traveled around 2500 Kms in our six days trip. Dwarka, Somnath and Nageshwar were places of religious importance, Dwarka being associated with Lord Krishna and Somnath and Nageshwar are associated with Lord Shiva. I can write a whole book on this topic but as I am only suppose to write an article, that too on Diu, so I will just tell you people about the last two days which we spent in Diu.
Diu is a commercial place which is famous for its beaches. Most of the Indians like to spend their holidays in Goa because it is traditionally followed up by masses as well as classes for being the best beach spot in India. Honestly, I can not compare Goa to Diu as I have never been to Goa but from what I heard from my trusted circle, who have been a regular there, is that beaches in Goa have became over crowded and super commercial with time. They are also not that clean as they use to be and the sea water too has started showing signs of being over used (whatever that means!).
On the other hand, Diu is a calm place, not much crowded, either with tourist or its very own localites ( population is well under 50 K; was told by a localite). Their administration too looked concerned about its maintenance, which becomes evident when you travel across the city and relax in the beaches, which are super clean.
Diu is a small island on the outskirts of Gujrat; its a union territory and hence it does not comes under the state of Gujrat. So, if you travel the place on a cab, then your vehicle is going to be duly inspected before entering Diu. It has quite a few beaches, NaGoa Beach being the most popular and the most commercial one. We spent least time there because of the crowd. We rather preferred serene Dinosaur point, which is a beach cum kids playing zone; the intensity of the sea waves out there were simply astonishing.
There is another beach cum tourist spot ( some memorial, I can not remember exactly); the beach area of that place was relaxing. The waves were almost dead at the bay and some people were even swimming there. We inquired if we can do the same and we were told that it is not permitted at any of the beaches; plus there were no life guards around and if we are still OK with it, then we can kindly swim at our own risk.
I can not swim, neither I was interested in wasting my time in trying to learn half swimming but my wife had other plans. She was tempted by the beach and was very eager to try her hands... legs, I mean (either of them actually) at swimming. Thats the first time I ACTUALLY realized how important the oldie-in-laws, especially the ones with the classical no-no-do-not-do-that-in-
Apart from beaches, Diu has some mundane tourist spots like city museum, some kind of fort, a couple of church, some desi temples bla bla. You can visit them as per your interest. They are basically related with the history, culture and tradition of Diu (mostly Portugal, as it was occupied by Portuguese until 1961, I guess.. you can check Google if you want exact details of date or places or whateva).
Now some budget travel tips. If you are American or European, you are going to find India super cheap despite how often you are tricked, technically or unethically ( or whateva the case may be) by local vendor. Specifically speaking about Diu, you can find good hotels/ guest house (as per Indian standards, of course) under $ 100/day. If you want find economic ones, then you just got to go a little deeper in the 'galis' of Diu and you can find decent hotels at half the price. If you know how to bargain then you can save a few more bucks that way (keywords – off season, 'we know India', 'don't try to cheat, we know the rates', 'other hotel is offering half price' etc.).
Personally, I prefer Budget trips and when you are with like minded people, it becomes easy to strategize the same. So, we searched a bit and found a newly constructed Hotel. On further inquiry, we found that it is actually under construction (on paper, i.e. w/o license!), we used keyword 'off season' (which was actually true) and also 'bramha vaakya' – “ahithi devo bhava!”' (Google for what it means) and finally got an AC room (you can got Non AC one too at half price of AC room) for Rs. 1250/- per day (around $ 15). The size of the room was small but as we only wanted to spend night there, we did not mind that too much.
You can find enough Sea Food in Diu. We being vegetarian sticked to 'our types of restaurants'. We were satisfied by what we ate in those two days and from that I can conclude that non veggies too would not be disappointed with their stuff. Just be careful with drinking water and use mineral water bottles. If you want to save money on that, then search for hotels or restaurants that provide RO water and request them to fill your empty bottles. They wont mind that provided you stay/eat there.
Out total expenditure was under 45 K INR ( appx. $ 700) which is quite good for 4 people X 6 days trip. Cab charges (including Driver's DA) is included in it. All and all, we had great time in Gujrat and I believe that our couple of days stay in Diu was a perfect way of ending this refreshing trip. In case you have any questions regarding this article (or any other comments for that matter), feel free to leave a comment.
Cheers!
