Cheap things to do in Mumbai
Street food, heritage walks and local bars without spending much at all.
This is Mumbai for the traveller who wants to eat standing up, wander colonial arcades, and catch a cricket match in the park rather than pay for a pool. Three days cover the Fort belt, the South Indian quarter of Matunga and the lanes of Bandra West: very different neighbourhoods, same low spend throughout. If your idea of a good night is seekh kebab on a pavement followed by one cold beer in an old Colaba café, this plan was made for you.
Day 1: Fort, Kala Ghoda and Colaba
Start in Mumbai's colonial core: Kala Ghoda coffee, an Irani café lunch and Flora Fountain, the city's great museum in the afternoon, then pavement kebabs and a beer under Mario Miranda murals.
- 9:30 AM
Kala Ghoda Cafe
Rope Walk Lane café in Kala Ghoda; coffee and the rasta omelette sandwich before the Fort walk.
Map - 12:30 PM
Kyani & Co
Irani café serving since 1904; bun maska, keema pav and sweet chai at the marble-topped tables.
Map - 2:00 PM
Hutatma Chowk
Flora Fountain (1864) beside the flame memorial to the 106 killed in the 1956 Samyukta Maharashtra protests.
Map - 4:30 PM
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya
Indo-Saracenic museum opened in 1922; give the miniature paintings and Gandhara Buddhas most of your hour.
Map - 7:30 PM
Bademiya
Iconic pavement stall for seekh kebab and baida roti, Mumbai street-food royalty at rock-bottom prices.
Map - 9:00 PM
Café Mondegar
Colaba Causeway café from 1932 with Mario Miranda murals and a jukebox; a cold beer to end the day.
Map
Day 2: Matunga and Shivaji Park
A slower, very local day built around South Indian breakfast, a flower and spice market, a Maharashtrian lunch and an afternoon watching cricket on Shivaji Park.
- 9:30 AM
Ram Ashraya
Classic South Indian breakfast here, idli, medu vada, filter coffee, expect a queue but it moves fast.
Map - 10:30 AM
Matunga Market
Matunga Market's Tamil quarter: fresh flowers, spices and street snacks, great browse for a thrifty traveller.
Map - 12:30 PM
- 2:00 PM
Shivaji Park
Free laps of the rain-tree path where Tendulkar trained, then Dadar Chowpatty beach a block west.
Map - 7:30 PM
Ashok Vada Pav
Vada pav fried to order near Kirti College; add a chura pav, the crispy batter bits stuffed in a bun.
Map
Day 3: Bandra West: lanes, murals, chaat
Spend the day in Bandra's old gaothans and street-art lanes, break for pani puri and a market browse, then finish with dinner close to the neighbourhood you've just learned.
- 9:30 AM
- 10:15 AM
Bandra West villages + street art
Wander the East Indian gaothans, Indo-Portuguese cottages and Bollywood Art Project murals on Chapel Road, all free.
Map - 12:30 PM
Elco Pani Puri Centre
Long-running Hill Road chaat house; pani puri made with filtered water, plus ragda pattice.
Map - 2:00 PM
- 4:30 PM
Carter Road Promenade
Free sea-facing walk north to Khar Danda; go toward sunset with the mangroves on the shore side.
Map - 7:30 PM
One Street Over
An easy sit-down dinner near Pali Naka, a short walk from where the market and promenade end.
Map
Where to stay
Hotel Residency Fort
Budget-priced and right in the Fort heritage belt, so Day 1 starts at your front door.
Namastey Mumbai Backpackers
A proper backpacker price point in Bandra, close to the Day 3 route and the Matunga leg by train.
Make Mumbai your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- Dharavi: a few days ahead
- Prithvi Theatre: a few days ahead
- Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre: a few days ahead
- Discover Sailing India: a few days ahead
- Bombay Presidency Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Willingdon Sports Club: weeks ahead
Skip these
- Do not swim at Juhu Beach. It is a sunset promenade and street food strip, not a swimming beach.
- Avoid Colaba Causeway export and gem scams and anyone steering you to a shop on commission.
- Buy Elephanta ferry tickets only at the official counter behind the Gateway.
- Confirm the per crab price before it is cooked at seafood restaurants.
The full Mumbai travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around