Navi Mumbai

Navi Mumbai (Marathi: नवी मुंबई Navī Mumbaī), formerly New Bombay, is a planned city near Mumbai, India. It was founded in 1971, as a satellite township to take the pressure off the core city. Although it has been only partially successful in this sense, this has been changing with many IT and ITES industries setting up shop here.

This article also covers Panvel, a suburb of Navi Mumbai.

Get in
Navi Mumbai has a robust infrastructure, is well connected to other parts of the state and country and is relatively less polluted compared to nearby Mumbai.

By plane
The city does not have an airport yet, though a new international airport will be built in Navi Mumbai. It is expected to be operational in 2023 at the latest.

The closest airport is Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. Once you get off, you can take a train, bus or cab to get here.

By train
Suburban trains really are the best transport option for Navi Mumbai, considering the city's high traffic and pollution. The railway stations are quite neater than those in Mumbai. They are one of the very few stations in India which boast of beautiful infrastructure. There are three suburban railway lines running through the city, the Harbour Line, the Trans-Harbour Line and the Nerul–Uran Line.

The Harbour Line connects Mumbai to Navi Mumbai. The most important stations on the Harbour Line include:

The Trans-Harbour Line connects Thane to Navi Mumbai. The Central Railways run 12-car coaches between Thane–Panvel, Thane–Nerul routes. There are also fast trains running on these routes.

There are 5 suburban trains daily between CBD Belapur and Andheri (2 in the morning and 3 in the evening).

By car
Navi Mumbai is well connected with Mumbai. There are two entry points from Mumbai, via Chembur/Mankhurd and via the Airoli exit on the Eastern Express Highway. It will cost you ₹30 in toll. From Thane, you can enter the city via the Thane-Belapur road, and in fact the Airoli exit joins the Thane-Belapur road. This road has numerous entry points into the city, so you need to confirm which one to take.

The Thane-Belapur road also links up to the Mumbai–Pune Expressway.

By bus
Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) bus services run buses inside Navi Mumbai. NMMT has extended A/C bus service to Bandra & Borivali and is a very convenient way to travel to Mumbai as it has pressed latest Volvo buses in service. BEST has also started its A/C king Long buses from Navi Mumbai to Mumbai but the fares are higher and buses are not as comfortable as NMMT Volvo buses.

By taxi
Mumbai's taxis are allowed into Navi Mumbai. Hired cars are also a good way of getting into the city. If you are travelling from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai most taxis will expect the passengers to pay the toll on the bridges connecting the cities, in addition to the metered fare.

Here is an advice - Most taxi/rickshaw meters are doctored, at least in Navi Mumbai. So, better go by branded cab services - Mega Cab (022-42424242), Meru Cab (022-44224422), Gold Cab etc. You would get them at 30-60 minutes notice, they are sparkling clean, air-conditioned, punctual, honest, GPS-equipped-monitored and thus far secure at anytime. You get an SMS saying driver name, mobile number and car number 30 min before scheduled departure. 03-box cars only - Indigo Marina and Maruti Esteem only. Call center 24 hours, and not much difference in the day or night charges. Charge ₹15 per km point-to-point, with just ₹2 extra for first km in the night time. In fact, domestic airport has a dedicated areas in the common taxi stand for Mega and Meru cabs. e.g. You would shell out ₹450-600 from airport to Navi Mumbai depending upon where you go, whereas other cabs may fleece you to the tune of 1000-1600 easily while giving poor service.

By auto-rickshaw
Mumbai's auto-rickshaws are not allowed into Navi Mumbai. However, you can catch one right up to the toll gate at Airoli, walk across and catch one on the Navi Mumbai side. Similarly you can catch one to Mankhurd and then change over to a taxi to get to Vashi.

But sometime if you are lucky, you can get auto rickshaw between Makhurd and Vashi.

By auto-rickshaw
Auto-rickshaw is a popular mode of travel within the city. You will see 'rickshaw stands' at several busy corners of residential and commercial areas. The minimum fare is ₹23 and most rickshaw drivers abide by the meter reading. But in case of doubt, please request a meter card to confirm if you are being charged the correct amount.

If you wish to travel to any of the nodes of the city (say from Vashi to Nerul), most rickshaw drivers will ask for half or full return fare upfront. It is not mandatory to pay them the return fare and is entirely the discretion of the passenger whether or not he/she wishes to pay the fare. The rule of the land: if you do not wish to pay the return fare (or what the driver asks), you should not board the vehicle. Boarding the vehicle indicates your consent to pay the stipulated fare. Lastly, always let the driver specify the markup on the fare. Do not ask him if he wants a markup to go to any of the nodes!

Travel within any of the nodes is always by meter and without a markup. So please do not accept any other price quoted by the driver.

By metro
The Navi Mumbai Metro is the upcoming metro system that will serve Navi Mumbai.

By car
By car, you can go through the Vashi–Mankhurd Bridge built over the sea, just by paying the over-valued toll tax. To welcome you in Navi Mumbai, there is a beautiful toll plaza at the end of the bridge to welcome you which acts as the entrance gate of Navi Mumbai.

Navi Mumbai's main arterial road - called the 'Palm Beach Road' will help link you to the various nodes of Navi Mumbai viz Vashi, Nerul, CBD Belapur, Kharghar and Panvel. It also links Navi Mumbai to Mhape and Thane. Palm Beach Road is a beautiful 4-lane highway with smooth tar roads and several exits to the nodes of the city.

See

 * Sagar Vihar, Vashi, A bridge connects Sagar Vihar to mini seashore Juhu Chowpatty. Very nice location for morning & evening joggers. Hawkers spoil the scene a bit, but overall a nice location to get stress free.
 * Sagar Vihar, Vashi, A bridge connects Sagar Vihar to mini seashore Juhu Chowpatty. Very nice location for morning & evening joggers. Hawkers spoil the scene a bit, but overall a nice location to get stress free.
 * Sagar Vihar, Vashi, A bridge connects Sagar Vihar to mini seashore Juhu Chowpatty. Very nice location for morning & evening joggers. Hawkers spoil the scene a bit, but overall a nice location to get stress free.
 * Sagar Vihar, Vashi, A bridge connects Sagar Vihar to mini seashore Juhu Chowpatty. Very nice location for morning & evening joggers. Hawkers spoil the scene a bit, but overall a nice location to get stress free.
 * Sagar Vihar, Vashi, A bridge connects Sagar Vihar to mini seashore Juhu Chowpatty. Very nice location for morning & evening joggers. Hawkers spoil the scene a bit, but overall a nice location to get stress free.
 * Sagar Vihar, Vashi, A bridge connects Sagar Vihar to mini seashore Juhu Chowpatty. Very nice location for morning & evening joggers. Hawkers spoil the scene a bit, but overall a nice location to get stress free.
 * Sagar Vihar, Vashi, A bridge connects Sagar Vihar to mini seashore Juhu Chowpatty. Very nice location for morning & evening joggers. Hawkers spoil the scene a bit, but overall a nice location to get stress free.
 * Sagar Vihar, Vashi, A bridge connects Sagar Vihar to mini seashore Juhu Chowpatty. Very nice location for morning & evening joggers. Hawkers spoil the scene a bit, but overall a nice location to get stress free.

Buy
The shopping market throughout Sector-17 is a good place to buy a variety of things at reasonable rates. There are many branded clothing outlets like Puma, Woodland, and Reebok. There are also many fast-food giants who have opened there like McDonald's, and Subway.



Eat
The food caters to all kinds of palates which includes Pan Indian (South, North, Central and Western Indian), of course Pizza Hut, Smokin Joes, Dominos and McDonalds, Chinese and other oriental and lots more. Some Indian food you could try includes Dosas, Idlis, Bhel, Sev Puri, Samosas, Ragda patties, Pulavs, Rajma Chawal and more. Indian food is really what food should be. There are more varieties of Indian food than probably any other cuisine in the world. After all that hot stuff you can try out the Indian slush called the ice gola in Kalakhatta flavor, which beats Pepsi and Coke hollow. You'll get those two in manned fountains at the food counters.



Stay safe
As the population and prosperity of the city rose through the years, it began to attract more criminal activity. One of the main reasons for the spurt in crime is continuous political meddling in police investigations and the grossly under-staffed police force.

There are very few police chowkies throughout Navi Mumbai with virtually non-existent beat chowkies and traffic police. Criminal activities in Navi Mumbai include chain snatching, pickpocketing and cellphone snatching. These crimes are mainly confined to sparsely populated areas. Navi Mumbai has witnessed several vehicle thefts and burglaries involving unoccupied houses. Murder and armed robbery take place in significant numbers. Riots and community feuds take place, especially in the Ghansoli area. There have been several instances where mobs of frustrated native villagers have beaten innocent law abiding residents. Nerul is especially plagued by robbery. The number of accidents on the Palm Beach Road caused by are growing at an alarming pace due to non existent traffic police or security cameras. The absence of street lights on the highway between Belapur and Kharghar poses a continued danger to motorists.

Shops and housing colonies often hire private security guards, as the police force is often overstretched. Businesses are expected to shut shop by 10PM. The Mumbai underworld has begun to take notice of the city, targeting the increasingly thriving businesses of cable operators, builders and real estate developers for extortion. On the whole, crime in Navi Mumbai is much less than in Mumbai.

Go next

 * Karnala Bird Sanctuary
 * Mumbai is a short train ride away from Navi Mumbai, and many people travel to Mumbai for the day.
 * The beautiful hill station of Lonavla is less than an hour's drive from Navi Mumbai.