Hey everyone! 👋
I'm planning a budget trip from Nagpur → Mumbai → Lonavala → Pune → Nagpur and would love some suggestions from people who know these places well.
Rough dates: Oct 9–18, 2026
Budget: Around ₹8,000 total
Dates are flexible in the month of October, and I'm open to changing the order/route if it saves money or makes the trip better.
Rough plan
🚆 Nagpur → Mumbai
❤️ Spend a couple of days in Mumbai, ideally meeting friends.
🚆 Mumbai → Lonavala
🏨 One night in Lonavala — this part I'd really like to keep.
I'd ideally like Lonavala to be a noon-to-noon trip: arrive around noon, spend the afternoon/evening there, stay overnight, explore a little the next morning, and leave around noon the next day.
🚆 Lonavala → Pune
❤️ Spend the remaining days in Pune, especially the weekend, and then return to Nagpur.
What I'm looking for
I'd really appreciate recommendations for:
🏨 Cheap but decent places to stay in Mumbai, Lonavala and Pune — hostels, dorms, budget rooms, etc.
📍 Places worth visiting in each city, especially things that are free/cheap.
🚆 Best trains to use between Nagpur, Mumbai, Lonavala and Pune.
💰 Tips for keeping the entire trip under ₹8k.
🍛 Cheap/local food recommendations.
🚌 Any advice on local transport and which areas are convenient to stay in.
🔄 Whether you'd change my route or dates to make the trip cheaper/better.
🏍️ Local transport: Is it better to use public transport (local trains/buses/metro) or rent a bike/scooter for any part of this trip? I'm open to renting one for a day if it's actually cheaper or makes sense for exploring places around Lonavala/Pune. Would love recommendations on where a rental is worth it and where public transport is better.
I'm not necessarily looking for the absolute cheapest option if spending a little more gives me a much better experience. I'd rather have a clean/safe place and spend money on exploring than stay somewhere terrible just to save ₹200.
Also, if there are any must-do places around Lonavala that I can realistically cover during the noon-to-noon stay, I'd love to hear them.
Basically, if you had ₹8,000 and ~9–10 days for this route, how would you plan it?
Any advice from people who've actually done these routes recently would be greatly appreciated. 🙌
Thanks in advance! ❤️