Explore Mumbai with Kids – Part 2

Over a session of yoga a German mommy friend and me got talking a couple of weeks ago on what to do with Kids in Mumbai and she said she doesn’t think Mumbai has too much for kids to offer. There are a lot of restrictions with areas and traffic and then everything else is pretty much the same. Public places are for the masses and really there isn’t too much to do except hangout in the building park or at a friends. That’s why play dates are a lifeline in this city. It was then that I conceived Part 2 of the Explore Mumbai guide with so many new places to check out and try this summer. You will be in a dilemma of where to start? Make sure you have stuff ticked off our Part 1 Series

Here is a list of a few things you can try over the week or weekends with your kids to discover everything Mumbai has to offer from Museums to Beaches to Views and much, much more 🙂 You can even look at our last post to explore the historic beauties of Mumbai, click here.

It is divided into categories of Religious Places, Museums, Parks, Short Trips, Outdoor Activities, Beaches, Flora & Fauna, and Views.

Religious Places

There are several religious places you can visit to share the faith. It is not necessary for you to follow a particular religion or practices for you to go there. You and your kids can either go and admire the place or follow the custom

• Siddhivinayak Temple, Prabhadevi
• Mount Mary, Bandra
• Haji Ali Mosque, Haji Mali near Mahalaxmi
• Mahalaxmi Temple, Mahalaxmi
• Afghan Church, Navy Nagar, Colaba
• St Thomas Cathedral, Kala Ghoda, Fort
• Iskon Temple , Juhu & Babulnath
• Babulnath Temple, Babulnath near NanaChowk

Museums

• Monetary Museum: Money can actually be surprisingly fascinating to kids and to us. So go learn about the history of money and coins at the Ballard Estate.
• Nehru Planetarium: This is a fascinating place for both you and your children to go because there are so many cool things to do and see over there; all the way from galaxies to how noises are formed.
• Mani Bhavan: Or better known as Gandhi’s house during the period he was in India is located in Gamdevi, South Mumbai. Take your child to learn more about one of the greatest men India has ever seen with a library, museum of all his things preserved and many pictures on the walls.
• Dr Bhaudaji Lad Museum: A new place in association with the V&A Museum in London. This was has great workshops for kids all through summer. Click here for details
• Chatrapati Shivaji Vastu Sanghralaya(Formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum). Click here to read our review.

Parks

• Sanjay Gandhi National Park: Take a walk through nature to show your children the beauties of bees, birds, animals, insects, and plant-spotting. At the end you can spend some quality time with you little ones at a picnic spot by the Tulsi River. Carry food if you like. Click here to read our review
• Mahim Nature Park: Tucked away behind a slum is one of the city’s greenest lungs. Take a walk around, read a book to your kids, or play games there in the serenity of the Mithi Rivers and the trees.
• Sunny Parks: Bombay has some great parks all over the city.
  • BPT, Colaba Woods and Horniman Circle gardens in South Bombay
  • Diamond Gardens in Chembur
  • Johnson and Johnson gardens  and Kalidas Park in Mulund
  • Airport Garden in Santacruz (which has some cute model planes)
  • Kaifi Azmi Park in Juhu (where all the trees and plants have a little botanical name, history & information placard)
  • Rajesh Khanna garden in Santa Cruz that has a toy train
  • Patwardhan Park in Bandra (which has a musical fountain)
  • Jogger’s Park (which incidentally also has a Juhu variant)
  • Sanjay Gandhi National park in Borivli which also has boating and a toy train
  • Mahindra Park ( also called as Amarsons garden) . Must visit for the outdoor equipments for play that the park has to offer alongwith sand play
  • Aadhya Shankaracharya Park ( also known as teh Pochkanwala Garden) known for its brilliant landscape. Click here to read our review

Take a Short Trip

• Ferry Rides: Take your kids on a small boat trip to Madh Island, Gateway, Mandwa, or Elephanta. Don’t except any lovely smells, yet it is the smell of Mumbai. Click here to read our review
• Flamingos in Sewri: Pick a morning on the weekend and go visit the thousands of pink beauties that arrive in Sewri. It’s a beautiful sight and a fun trip with your entire family. Click here for more information.
• Take a Train Ride: Choose the right time around after lunch and experience and Indian train ride with all the people selling accessories, clothes, bindis stationary, toys, books, household things and so much more.
• Sea Link: Take a short road trip from between Bandra and Worli to let your kids have a view of the beautiful sea. Stop at either side of the sea link, at Worli Sea Face or Bandra Fort, and have a snack. The fort also has an amphitheatre to catch some concerts or plays.

Outdoor Activities

• Cricket Matches: Go enjoy day playing at Azad Maidan, Oval Maidan or Shivaji Park and catch a cricket match while you’re there with your kids. Even if you’re not a big fan watching a real match can be fun.
• Garage Sales: Pick out a book or something you or your child likes from a garge sale or flea market. Welfare for Stray Dogs has them every few months where the proceeds go towards first-aid and medical help for strays in Bombay. There are flea markets at Olive and Zenzi quite regularly too.
• Welfare of Stray Dogs: If your kids are dog lovers, take them for a walk from WSD or just spend some time petting and playing with them.
• Markets: Go look at some of the fascinating and large flower, vegetable and fruit markets here in Bombay with your kids. Let your kids feel the textures and look at the thousands and shapes and sizes. It’s a fun trip to take especially when it’s a really big one!
  • Dadar Flower Market
  • Crawford Fruit Market
  • Bhaji Galli in Nanachowk

Hit the Beaches

Go drink some nariyal pani and have some kulfi in the nice hot sun. Don’t say it’s too dirty, you don’t need to go in the water; instead let your kids ride on the Ferris wheels and have some chana-jor garam.

• Chowpatty. Click here to read our review
• Shivaji Park
• Juhu
• Versova
• Aksa
• Madh
• Marve
• Uttan
• Gorai

Plants, Animals & Nature

• Byculla Zoo: This is a great place to go and it’s not as bad as people say, I’ve been there with my kids and we enjoyed a fun and beautiful picnic. Click here to read our review
• Plant Nursery: Show your kids all the variety of plants available. Let them choose one and take it home, it’s a great way to teach them how to care for something. It doesn’t have to be far, go to the one closest to you (Prabhadevi, Santa cruz, Bandra West, Navi Mumbai, Kemps Corner, Byculla and all over Bombay).
• Dolphin Irla Aquarium: At Vile Parle you will find a cute place where there is a boating pond, a toy train and in the middle of the pond an aquarium. Your kids will love to see the ducks, rabbits, squirrels, and parrots along with all the other sea creatures there.
• Mahalaxmi Racecourse: Visit the beautiful horses during the horse racing season from November to March and request a member to show you around the stables. Let your kids feed them apples, pet them and watch them lounge around. If you’re lucky you can even see them practicing. You could also take them bicycling or for a walk as its open to all.
• Butterfly Park: It is a beautiful park to visit and excting see all these lovely tiny creatures. Click here to read our review
• The Taraporewala Aquarium: It’s probably not the nicest aquarium, but its worth a visit to show your kids all the underwater creatures.

View from the Top

Find the best views in Bombay to see its beauty. None of them is Mt Everest, and can be easily found with directions.

• Malabar Hill
• St Baptista garden-on-a-hill in Mazgaon.
• Sion fort hill.
• Gilbert Hill in Andheri
• Aer, the rooftop of Four Seasons in Worli

Enjoy some amazing weekends with you kids!!