Have you ever been to Shirdi Sai Baba temple? Or are you planning to visit soon? Be it any of these cases you will surely find this blog helpful to plan your perfect Shirdi trip.
In case you don’t know who we are…….
We call ourselves Travel Freaks……
Let’s start on this spiritual journey to Shirdi Saidham. You might be curious to know…
1. Where is Shirdi located and how to reach it?
Shirdi is located in the state of Maharashtra, India. It’s a small town famous for the Shirdi Sai Baba temple. Pilgrims and followers of Sai Baba from India and across the globe visit the temple to seek blessings.
The city is well connected by train/bus from all major cities of India. You can check for the train or bus schedule from Sainagar Shirdi Railway Station (SNSI) or the local bus depot. Also, you can plan to drive and reach by road.
The nearest airport to the city is Shirdi Airport (SAG). You can check out the flights as well.
You can plan your travel as per your budget, time and convenience.
Now that we have mentioned how you can reach Shirdi you might want to know….
2. Which is the best area to stay?
There are many stay options in close proximity to the temple area. You can easily find a double sharing room from 600- 1000 INR per night.
We would suggest to stay nearby so that you can plan your temple visit anytime which will be convenient as well.
Coming back to the blog, it was a weekend Saturday and we started our journey from Mumbai by train and reached Shirdi by around 11:30 AM. From the railway station, we took an auto to reach our hotel. It was a 10-minute drive from the railway station. Do not forget to negotiate for the fare.
Our stay was at a few minute’s walking distance from the Sai Baba temple. By the time we reached our stay and completed check-in formalities, it was already noon. So we decided to have our lunch.
There are many nearby restaurants wherein you could plan lunch/dinner. We also chose one randomly. After lunch, we planned to visit the Shani Signapur temple.
This temple is around 70 km from Shirdi’s main city. There were many tempo travellers (minivans and buses) you could get from the main road. Just check with the bus conductor and you can board any of these minivans/buses. We also boarded one such tempo traveller. It cost us around 200 INR per person.
We started around 2:30 PM and it took us around 2.5 hours to reach. The road condition was good. We stopped in between for a short break where we saw a bull rotating the wooden machine for taking out the sugarcane juice. It was a new experience. We also had fresh glasses of sugarcane juice and then moved ahead for the further journey.
As soon as we reached our bus driver and conductor told us that we would be given 1 hour to visit the temple and come back to the pickup point.
Now you might want to know…
3. How was the experience at Shani Signapur temple?
Shani Signapur temple is dedicated to Lord Shani. You could also buy black oil, black gram and water for offering from any nearby shops.
There is a weird fact about this small city that it didn’t have any doors or locks in the houses till a few years ago. It was believed that Lord Shani protects the locals from any thefts and the villagers trust the deity for this. We were shocked to hear this from the locals.
We left our footwear on the bus. After a few minutes walk we reached the temple. It was an open-air temple and we could see a bit of a crowd given the fact it was Saturday which is considered to be the day of Lord Shani.
There was a small queue for people who wanted to make the offerings of oil and water on the idol. It was a black stone idol of Lord Shani placed at the centre. We entered the temple and grabbed the position from where we could see the rituals performed. We spent some time in the temple premises, then proceeded towards the exit gate.
As we were on the way to return to the pickup area of the bus, there were many food and snack stalls. We bought some snacks and tea and relaxed sitting there for a bit.
Now it was time for our return journey. As soon as we boarded the bus, other travellers also started coming in. We waited for some time till everybody came and then the bus started.
We reached Shirdi back by 8:30 PM. The bus dropped us at the same place from where we boarded it in the afternoon. As we were hungry and there were many restaurants close to that area. We chose one and quickly glanced through their menu. The place had both indoor and outdoor seating. We sat outdoors because of the lively vibes. We ordered the food and shared our experiences about the Shirdi till the dinner arrived.
After having a sumptuous dinner we took a stroll through the area. There were many food outlets and other stores and shops for clothing as well. It gives you a good option for shopping. 🙂
As it was already around 10 PM we decided to go back to our stay and end our day.
Now you would like to know…..
4. When did we visit Shirdi Sai Baba Temple?
The next morning we woke up early and got ready to visit the temple. There are arti and rituals performed at different times. You can check out the timing on their official site or with your hotel and plan your visit accordingly in case you want to attend any specific ritual.
We reached the temple around 8 AM. There are many shops on the temple premises from where one can buy the offerings for Lord Sai Baba. Also, in return the shopkeepers allow you to keep your footwear there. We also bought a small offering package.
As we went inside, there was already a long queue also because of the day being Sunday. But the best part was the arrangement inside was good. There were fans and coolers everywhere. Also, you can get bottled water. So the devotees won’t find any discomfort standing in the queues.
The temple is grand from the inside. The ambience was so spiritual that we felt calm and peaceful. We felt like spending some more time inside but due to long queues, the security personnel do not allow us to stay there for long.
It was around 11:30 AM when we came out. We collected our footwear from the same shop. Then we decided to have lunch and head to the hotel for some rest.
As we had the train around 5 PM, we checked out from the hotel took an auto rickshaw and headed towards the railway station. The train was at the right time and we reached Mumbai around 10:30 PM.
Now, coming to one of the most important parts of the trip….budget breakup…
5. How much budget is required for a weekend trip to Shirdi?
Travel: Travelling to and fro from Mumbai cost us around. We took the morning train the fare for this was around 900 INR per person but you can also plan for other trains which depart on Friday night or other times. The price may vary from 130- 600 INR per person.
Stay: There are multiple hotel options near the temple premises. Budget hotels can cost around 500-1000 INR per person for 1 night.
Food: You can try out the local delicacies. The average meal cost is around 200-500 INR per person.
Transport and conveyance: As we stayed near the temple we didn’t require any transport. Only the Shani Signapur bus cost us 200 INR per person.
The total trip cost us approx 4000 INR per person considering the above factors.
We had a perfect weekend trip and with this, we are ending this blog. I hope you got a glimpse of how to plan for a weekend trip to Shirdi Sai Baba temple along with Shani Signapur.
Wait! We are not going anywhere without this last question……
6. What kind of help are we going to provide?
Let us inform you that we prepare itineraries not only for anywhere in India but also for Asia. We have been travelling since we were toddlers. So here in our blogs and stories, we will give you a glimpse of our journey and help you plan your trip.
Read about our Uzbekistan blogs.
Read about our Kazakhstan blogs.
Read about our Singapore blogs.
Read about our Vietnam blogs.
Read about our Cambodia blogs.
Read about our Bali blogs.
Read about our Kuala Lumpur blog series.
Read about our Sri Lanka blogs.
Read about our Nepal blogs.
Read about our Char Dham blogs.
Read about our Ladakh blogs.
Read about our day trip to Hyderabad.
Read about our Madhya Pradesh blogs.
Read about our Andaman and Nicobar blogs.
Do follow our Instagram handle @mindfulllofvacations and watch for the next destination story of a new place. For any query related to any trip, drop a mail at @mitkau007@gmail.com.
by mitkau