Short holiday destinations for the 16 long weekends in 2018

There are 16 LONG WEEKENDS in 2018, yes you read it right! And atleast 4 in the next three months alone. There is the weekend of 13th Feb, 1st March Holi weekend and 28th March is a 4 days off owing to Good Friday and Mahavir Jayanti.

We are gonna be totally sold out, trust me that’s how Mumbai is. I have now started driving out really early on Khandala expressway if its is a long weekend. Like if you start by 11am, you wouldn’t even reach the toll-plaza before 1am, Khandala will only be 4pm or so!

And there is practically nothing left to book if you haven’t really looked-up like 6 weeks in advance! I may be exaggerating a bit here but surely you need to book a minimum 4 weeks in advance.

Here are some of my favorite destinations that I would like to explore this year

# Big Red Tent These are campgrounds on the outskirts of our city and winters are the best time to set foot outdoors and experience the starry nights by the campfire, playing the guitar! This one is sort of a rough-it-out break in a REAL tent, but they have all the hygiene amenities in place!

# Luncheon at Alibaug’s Flamboyante If you are from Mumbai, you may have gone to Alibaug at least a couple of times already! Well this one is a bit different. If I have say just one 8 hour slot free for taking that much needed break, I would take a ferry from the Gateway of India, sail in the Arabian Sea for half hour or so and get off on the other side, which is Alibaug! Head straight to Flamboyante restaurant which is just after the jetty ends, treat my taste buds to a sumptuous luncheon preferably with a view of the sea. Then head back to Mumbai by 4pm so as to be home back just in time to put my kids to bed!

# Della Adventures This one is really my good old choice of I am in for some adventure. Zip lining, zorbing, go-karting are just a few of the 70 odd adventures they promise at this adventure resort. An overnight stay at their luxury tent house or cottage would be an added advantage!

# Hilton Shillim And when I am in for splurging on the weekend, this would be my #1 choice. No doubts there! The drive to this classy resort is as pretty as the resort itself. The food is yum and there are plenty of activates that the friendly activity coordinator hosts through the day to keep my LOs fully entertained while we enjoy some wine overlooking the infinity pool. A trek up the hills for buffet breakfast laid out by Hilton has long been on my things-to-do list. Hopefully, it will be striked off this year! BTW, you can also cycle up and down the hills inside this sprawling resort without running the hazards of being run down!

#Le Meridian Mahabaleshwar All of the above that’s true for Hilton Shillim holds true here plus there is strawberry picking and visit to the Mapro’s strawberry jam farms that a big hit, especially that I am a strawberry lover. It’s just that Mahabaleshwar is a tab bit far, so I’d rather do this over a 4-day weekend.