A Memorable Vacation & Stay at Puri Beach

Puri is one of the most popular vacation destinations for most people in Eastern India. It is also gaining popularity among the rest of the country. Two reasons why Puri is gaining popularity among vacationers are the (a) The Jagannath Temple and the (b) Puri Beach. When I am in Puri, I don't know which one comes first. Being a religious/spiritual person, I enjoy every moment of my visit to the sacred Puri temple. At the same time, a stay in a sea facing room in one of the good resorts / hotels in Puri is not something one can easily forget. (Check out these hotels in Puri if you are planning on visiting this beach city any time soon). So what makes me come back to Puri again and again? I guess it it both. I don't believe Puri will be as memorable without both - the temple and the beach.

An Evening at The Temple

When I am at Puri, I usually prefer visiting the Jagannath Temple in the evening when things have cooled down a bit. We usually enter the temple from the back entrance - which many consider as auspicious. One can take an auto rikshaw ride for Rs. 40.  We start by going around the main temple once, stopping at each of the little temples surrounding it. The prominent ones being the Maha Laxmi Temple, the Vimala Temple and the Ganesh Temple. It usually takes about 30 minutes to do this. We follow this with the main temple visit and a view of the three statues - Lord Jagannath, Goddess Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra. After a few minutes of meditation we head out to the area where they serve Prasad - which could be a full meal by itself. There are many people and organizations that can arrange private lunch inside the temple. We like using one of these services. A nice meal in the temple campus and another stop to view the temple pretty much concludes our temple visit. 

Stay at a nice Hotel in Puri near the Beach

Mahodadhi Palace - Spacious rooms with balcony

Sonar Bangla - A nice hotel on Puri beach.

We always prefer staying in a beach front hotel - a hotel that is right next to the beach. Usually these beach hotels will be along the Marine Drive or on Chakrathirtha Road. You will find lots of hotels on one side of the road and the beach on the other side. Advance booking of one of these nice Puri hotels near beach will ensure a good sea facing room - some come with a balcony. One of my favorite hotel on the beach is Mahodadhi Palace - a fine Puri heritage hotel. The hotel has very few rooms but is extremely well maintained. Rooms cost about Rs. 4500 per night's stay. HotelPushpak.com provides discounts on online booking of many Puri hotels including Mahodadhi. Since this hotel has very few rooms, advance booking is absolutely recommended. The hotel has a nice swimming pool with sitting chair all around and a kids pool as well. There is a roof top restaurant where one can enjoy the cool breeze of the ocean while having a tasty snack or meal. Among other good but economical hotels in Puri near the beach is Hotel Sonar Bangla. Staying at a nice hotel near the Puri beach is  obviously preferable but not always possible because of high demand for these beach hotels and high price per night's stay. Here are a few things I personally enjoy doing during my stays near the beach. (a) Enjoy a cup of tea with my wife (and parents - if they are visiting) from the room's balcony with soothing sound of the waves crashing against the beach, (b) Walking along the beach in the evening, (c) Watching people on the beach - families, couples, singles - all having the fun of their life. (d) And of course visiting my favorites Chinese restaurant in the town - Chung Wah! 

If I have enough time - we will occasionally drive on the Marine Drive to Konark and enjoy an afternoon at the Sun Temple. 

On your next Puri trip, no matter how you spend your time, make sure to stay in a beach hotel. I would love to hear about your experience. Enjoy!

Learn more about Puri.

List of hotels near Jagannath Temple with full distance details