Shirdi Saibaba
This is my travel experience to Shirdi Saibaba darshan from Bangalore
Day 1:
Reached Bangalore Yesvantpur Railway Station @0730
First things first- Book train tickets early! Earlier the better. I booked over a month earlier and return ticket was still in Waiting list!
Train Ticket cost:
Sleeper – 550/- ,
AC 3 tier- 1500/-
Travel time from Bangalore to Shirdi 19:31 or 27:20 depending on train.
SAINAGAR SHIRDI (Name of Shirdi railway station)
Day 2:
Hotel Check in
Reached Sainagar Shirdi Station bang on time- 11:25AM !
Once you get down on the platform you will be approached by auto guys. I paid 150/- with luggage. Here you get bigger autos with ample luggage space. If you have not booked a hotel, the auto guy will take you to a few hotels for no extra cost.
We saw hotel rooms from 1300/- to 2500/- (for double bed with one extra bed). The cheaper ones are not well maintained. For 2500/- (I negotiated to 2300/-) you get a good room with A/C. Same room without A/C was 300/- cheaper.
Shirdi Sai Baba Darshan
Day 2:
SaiNagar from tourist point of view- The temple immediately surrounded by shops and restaurants and then outer ring of hotels, hotels and more hotels.
There are many Telugu speaking people, restaurants serving great Idli, Dosa and south indian meals.
Everything in SaiNagar revolves around Sai Baba temple tourism.
Day 2:
We had booked an online Darshan for 200/- at 3PM.
We checked in and went for Darshan early (with our Tirupati experience). We were let in- they don’t check time. Go anytime on the same date
Darshan was a breeze! We were out after Darshan in about 30 minutes. Bought Laddoo prasad after darshan.
Footwear and mobile deposit counters are available.
Day 2:
Hotel taxi guy suggested we visit Shani Shingnapur the same day.
So we left for Shani Shingnapur temple 75km away at about 4PM. Took about 2 hours. But again it is not crowded, so no waiting etc.
Beware of guys selling temple offerings. One guy in a shop tried to sell us few offerings worth 50/- for 1100/-! Cab drivers also take you directly to these shops.
Thumb rule – Do not buy offerings from cab/auto driver suggested shop.
After a good visit to Shani temple, reached back hotel by around 9PM.
Taxi cost to Shani Shignapur : 2100/-
Sai Baba Darshan is open till 10:30 PM. So the area around is still abuzz till almost midnight.
It is very nice to walk around – shopping and snacking till late in the night. Quite safe since Hotels typically are just 1 km from temple and people are around till late in the night. Reached back hotel after dinner and walking by 2130 PM. Good Night 🙂
Day 3:
Booked the same cab for Ellora caves
Fare 3300/-
Distance about 100km.
Day 3:
Ellora caves: A must, must visit! Its awesome! It is something to experience, so not writing anything further. We spent 3.5 hours here.
You can indulge in some good hawker shopping here. With some negotiation we did get few stuff at real good rates. On the way back visited Hanuman temple. Bought peda sweet here.. very different and good!
Day 3:
Reached back Shirdi in the evening. Went for our evening stroll in the market. There was a Garba dance going on at 11:30 in the night since it was the day after Dusshera. Joined the dance for some time. Returned to Hotel past mid night.
Reached back Shirdi in the evening. Went for our evening stroll in the market. There was a Garba dance going on at 11:30 in the night since it was the day after Dusshera. Joined the dance for some time. Returned to Hotel past mid night.
Day 4:
Though earlier planned for Nashik, cancelled the program as all were quite tired. So got up a little late. Went for a nice Idli, Dosa breakfast. Chutney powder here is real good. Wanted to buy some but forgot.
Booked an auto for local sight seeing for 600/-. It was quite nice. Got to see some village area on the way to Panchmukhi Vishnu temple.
Back after local sight seeing by 2:30PM.
Day 4:
Spur of the moment decision to go for Darshan again as it was a Thursday! Deposited Shoes and mobile in the counter and joined the general queue. Being Thursday, expected Darshan to take time. Entered at 3:10PM. Were out of the temple at 3:50PM ! On a Thursday, without any ticket!
Day 4:
Went to a saree showroom on main road right opposite the temple.
There are 3 types of special sarees here-
Sugarcane Saree!– It is made of leftover sugarcane (once the juice has been extracted), sugarcane pulp. The fiber boasts of a sheen that makes it stand out amongst other eco-friendly fibres.
Himroo– It is a fabric made of silk and cotton that is locally grown in Aurangabad.
Paithani– This is made from very fine mulberry silk and is considered as one of the richest sarees in Maharashtra.
Bought 3 sarees for total of about 4000/- two sugarcane and one Himroo saree. Paithani was quite costly. Would suggest you to check out more authentic place to buy sarees.
Went to Sai Bhojnalaya for dinner. It is free or with 50/- ticket. Took 50/- ticket. A huge almost empty hall with many tables. We were served well and its a good feel factor. The food is trifle bland but good.
Day 5:
Train leaving at 8:30AM from SaiNagar Shirdi.
Train ticket not confirmed- still in waiting list!!
Desperately tried all possibilities like general ticket, cab to Pune and take train from there the next day. Nothing worked.
At last had to buy Air ticket. Shelled out cool 25K for 3 tickets. Airport is about 14km from temple area where our hotel was. Auto guy took 400/- for Airport drop. Luckily flight time was 4PM, so was able to make it in time in spite of ticket fiasco.
Pro Tip–
Train ticket booking: Best if you can get a confirmed ticket. This is specially important because if your WL does not get confirmed, the next train is after 3 days ! So you are stuck!
If you are not getting confirmed ticket, book Wait Listed ticket from starting station to the last station. You may spend a little more but chances of getting ticket confirmed is very high.
Day 5:
Landed at BIAL. Took an Airport bus to Hebbal (160/-). Do check if seats are available in the bus before getting on. Our bus was packed with luggage and people. Since I loaded in luggage and bus started to move, could not get off.
Overall what a great trip it was. I, wifey and son thoroughly enjoyed the trip.
What a great trip it was. I, wifey and son thoroughly enjoyed the trip.