Mumbai’s stark contrasts

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
5
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
8
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
7
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
5
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
7
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
7
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
67 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
192nd/454
Top 40%
continent
Asia
country
India
Length of time
1-2 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$70 (typically $20 - $130)
Time of year visited
February
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Big city Skyscrapers Slum / Shanty Town
All Tags
Beach promenade Bustling restaurants UNESCO world heritage site
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐

Summary

Indian cities are big, dirty, slow to travel around, typically shocking in their inequalities and increasingly expensive. Typically, I would say try to avoid them as the real highlights of this truly wonderful country are to be found outside the cities (in particular Jodphur – Jodphur’s Blue City and the spectacular Mehrangarh Fort, the Taj Mahal – The Taj Mahal and Udaiphur – The Lakeside and Palaces of Udaipur) … but, if you are to visit one, my recommendation would be Mumbai.

 

It has some central traditional sites (UNESCO World Heritage listed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj station, Taj Mahal Palace and Gateway to India monument) that are well worth checking out, but it’s real attraction is the furious energy and vibe that sets it apart.  I really enjoyed seeing the contrasts between the Dharavi Slum and the rising super wealthly sky scrapers all around it, and just generally wandering around the Fort / Kala Ghoda / Marine Drive area where you’ll see locals hanging out by the tropical water, playing cricket in the vast Oval Maidan grounds, and seeing that contrast between the historical / colonial world and the booming future India . . . that Mumbai is very much at the heart of.

 

Definitely worth the stop over.

 

Top tips:

#1 Stay around the Fort area.  Contrary to most Indian cities, its a really pleasant walking area and you can walk straight from your hotel to the Marine Drive Promenade, the gateway of India / Taj Mahal Palace hotel, the restaurants and bars of Kala Ghoda, and just generally pleasant spots like the giant Oval Maidan green area with (without exaggeration) 20+ games of cricket going on

 

#2 Do take a tour of the Dharavi Slum – before going I sort of had visions of a giant rubbish tip, but it’s far more organised than you would imagine.  The industries founded there (such as clay pots, glass, plastic recycling) are super impressive.  An astounding 1 million people live there (the 3rd largest slum in the world), where they work 7 days a week, yet I had a feeling of being very safe – never once worried for safety etc.  Something that stuck with me – bear in mind that 55% of Mumbai’s population lives in slums, and the word slum simply means a house built on government land.  I found it fascinating

 

#3 Be sure to tag on a visit to the clothes washing at Dhobi Ghat.  Surpassingly cool to see the scale and ingenuity they apply to wash something like 100,000 washes a day, and all under the backdrop of the rising, sparkling skyscrapers. Really recommend it

 

#4 For a view spot over Marine Drive and looking out into Back Bay and the Indian Ocean in the distance, I would recommend a sundowner at the Dome, which is part of the InterContinental

 

#5 Try to visit in the winter.  February was just perfect, but I’d imagine adding 15 degrees and 90% humidity would turn this into a slog

Highlights

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#1 The walk around Kala Rhoda to see the combination of old colonial architecture with energetic vibe and giant fields of locals playing 20+ games of cricket all at once

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#2 Taking a tour through the Dharavi slum - it’s pretty eye opening how tight / dirty / poor it can get, but also just how innovative the people have been to make this their home, the sheer amount of small businesses, and the level of order there to "make it all work". I left feeling like “slum” wasn’t a word that really did it justice. A different world

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#3 The clothes washing spot of Dhobi Ghat. It was super cool to walk around and see the sheer industry of how people get their clothes cleaned, with the sparkling skyscrapers as the back drop. Really recommend it

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#4 Enjoying the more luxury side of Mumbai . . . in this case, afternoon tea a the Taj Mahal Palace

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#5 Seeing the architectural hot spots like the UNESCO World Heritage listed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj station, Taj Mahal Palace and . . . in this case . . . the Gateway to India monument

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#6 Walking along the water front of Marine Drive. Wide walkway all along the shore with nice views all around

Experiences Nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

Other Great Asian City Trips

Cycling through Bangkok’s green Phrapradaeng Peninsular
⭐⭐

2 days for the classic highlights of Hong Kong
⭐⭐⭐

2 days in Singapore
⭐⭐

Beijing highlights for 2 days – 10 tips
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Getting lost in Hanoi Old Town
⭐⭐

Mandalay’s surrounding sites
⭐⭐⭐

Seeing the spectacular sights of Dubai
⭐⭐⭐

A day for Astana’s grand-scale architecture
⭐

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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