Leisure Holiday Packages from Ahmedabad – Page 29

Leisure destinations from Ahmedabad – drive time, nights and budget

Per person on twin sharing in a good 3★ or 4★ resort with breakfast and dinner where listed, excluding fuel or flights from Ahmedabad unless mentioned. Premium is the 5★ or boutique-resort band.

Leisure packages on this page start under ₹7,000 per person for a 2-night Mount Abu, Saputara or Daman stay. The drive-to destinations are also the cheapest to upgrade: a palace hotel in Udaipur for one night costs less than a mid-range resort abroad.

Long-weekend calendar from Ahmedabad

Most leisure trips from Ahmedabad are built around a Friday or Monday off. Here is how we match the usual long weekends to destinations – exact dates shift each year, so check the current calendar with us.

Hotel prices in Mount Abu, Udaipur, Daman and Goa rise 30–60% on long weekends and Diwali–New Year, and the better properties sell out two to three weeks ahead. For a spontaneous weekend, Polo Forest, Statue of Unity and Saputara usually still have rooms.

Drive-to leisure breaks – Mount Abu, Udaipur, Saputara, Daman, Diu

• Mount Abu: Gujarat's favourite hill escape, just across the Rajasthan border. Nakki Lake boating, Sunset Point, Guru Shikhar, the Dilwara temples and Achalgarh fit easily into two relaxed days. Resorts with pools and pure-veg Gujarati restaurants everywhere. The Mount Abu Winter Festival is held around the last week of December.
• Udaipur: a lake city built for doing very little well – a boat ride on Pichola at sunset, a rooftop dinner with a palace view, a slow morning at Saheliyon ki Bari. The lake-view heritage hotels and the Fateh Sagar-side resorts are worth the upgrade. Add Kumbhalgarh or Ranakpur for a half-day drive.
• Saputara: Gujarat's only hill station, in the Dang forests. The lake, ropeway, Sunset Point and tribal museum are all within minutes of each other; the monsoon festival in August is the time to go for greenery and waterfalls (Gira falls). Hotels are simple; the better resorts are on the lake road.
• Daman: the quick beach fix from Ahmedabad – Devka and Jampore beaches, the Portuguese fort and church, seafront resorts with pools. Best from October to March; the sea is muddy in the monsoon.
• Diu: cleaner beaches than Daman (Nagoa, Ghoghla), the fort, Naida caves and a Portuguese old town; quieter and better for 3 nights. Combine with Somnath (about 90 minutes) for a darshan.
• Statue of Unity and Polo Forest: one-night escapes for families – the tent city, river rafting and the night laser show at Kevadia; forest camps, monuments and the Harnav river at Polo. Both work as a Saturday-night-out from Ahmedabad.
• Jawai and Kumbhalgarh: luxury camps among granite hills where leopards are seen on most evening drives, and the second-longest wall in the world – the best 2-night premium break within six hours of Ahmedabad.

Fly-away leisure – Goa, Kerala Ayurveda, Coorg, Maldives, Bali

• Goa: for leisure we book South Goa – Cavelossim, Benaulim, Varca, Agonda – where the beaches are wide, the resorts have large pools and the evenings are quiet. North Goa (Candolim, Calangute) for families who want restaurants and shopping within walking distance. Three or four nights, one hotel, a car for one day of sightseeing at most.
• Kerala Ayurveda: a 5–7 night stay at an Ayurveda resort in Kovalam, Varkala or Kumarakom with a doctor's consultation on arrival, daily treatments (abhyangam, shirodhara, podikizhi), yoga, and a sattvic vegetarian diet – naturally Jain-friendly. June to August is the traditional treatment season and the cheapest; October to March has the best weather. The best resorts need two to three months' notice.
• Coorg and Wayanad: coffee-estate homestays and resorts, misty mornings, a waterfall or two, and nothing on the schedule. Fly Ahmedabad–Bengaluru (Coorg, 5–6 hours by road) or Ahmedabad–Calicut (Wayanad, 2–3 hours).
• Maldives: the leisure benchmark. A 3–4 night resort stay with a half-board or all-inclusive plan, a beach villa with a water-villa night added if the budget allows, and transfers by speedboat (cheaper, 20–60 minutes) or seaplane (scenic, more expensive). Vegetarian menus are strong at the resorts we shortlist for Gujarati guests.
• Bali villa stay: a private pool villa in Ubud or Seminyak for 5–6 nights, a cook on request, spa days and one or two outings. Costs less than a Maldives water villa and suits families with children better.

How we choose leisure resorts for Gujarati families

• Food first: a pure-veg kitchen or a confirmed Jain menu, Gujarati dishes at least at dinner in Mount Abu, Udaipur, Saputara and Daman, and Indian vegetarian options confirmed in writing in Goa, Kerala, the Maldives and Bali.
• The pool matters more than the view: for families with children we check for a shallow section and a shaded deck; for couples, a quieter adults' pool or a private plunge pool.
• Room type honestly described: a "lake view" in Udaipur or a "sea view" in Daman often means a partial view; we tell you which rooms actually face the water and book those.
• Late checkout and early check-in are requested on every leisure booking, because a 2-night trip is a lot shorter if you lose both ends.
• Meal plan: for drive-to destinations we recommend breakfast-and-dinner (MAP) because good restaurants outside the resort are few; in Goa breakfast-only, because eating out is half the point; in the Maldives at least half-board.
• Senior-friendly: lifts, ground-floor rooms and short walks to the restaurant are confirmed for trips with grandparents.
• Your own car and driver for the drive-to breaks if you would rather not drive – an Innova or Tempo Traveller from your home in Ahmedabad, which turns the journey into part of the holiday.

Why leisure travellers from Ahmedabad book with Vibrant Holidays

• 11 years, C G Road office: drop in on a weekday or Saturday and pick the resort from photos we have taken ourselves, or do it on WhatsApp in ten minutes. IATA-accredited; member of TAAI, TAFI, ADTOI and IATO; recognised by the Ministry of Tourism.
• Live prices, no bait: what you see on this page is on sale today, including the long-weekend surcharge if your dates carry one.
• Pure-veg and Jain food confirmed in writing at every resort, including Ayurveda diets in Kerala and resort menus in the Maldives.
• Flights from Ahmedabad booked with the package, and a private transfer waiting – or a car and driver from your doorstep for the drive-to breaks.
• 24×7 on-tour support – one Ahmedabad number if the room, the food or the weather needs a change of plan.