Our Travels: Padubidri Blue Flag Beach.

Padubidri Blue Flag Beach.

Recently while staying at Paradise Isle Resort Malpe, we went to visit Padubidri Beach Blue Flag Beach.

Our taxi driver asked us if we wanted to go there by the highway or by alternate Malpe Padukar to Pangla Road Route.

We opted for Malpe Padukar to Pangla Road route. Glad we did. This route is on a strip of land less than a kilometre in width between the Arabian Sea and the backwaters. View it on Google Maps.

While driving, in many places you can see water on both sides of the road. It is very picturesque and beautiful. The sight of small single-storied houses with red-roofed Mangalore tiles nestling among lush green coconut grooves presents a pretty picture.

Though this has nothing to do with the review of Podubidri Beach Blue Flag Beach, I decided to open my review by writing about it as I personally feel that it is a very picturesque drive and one must not miss it.

Now a word about Blue Fag Beach. Just to save you a google search :-)

It is an eco-label certification awarded to beaches, marinas, and sustainable boat tourism operators. It is given by an international jury of members from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Their recommendations are based on 33 criteria under four categories, viz, environmental education, quality of bathing water, environmental management and conservation. It is considered a very prestigious award and a matter of pride for any beach, marina or tour operator to be presented with this certification.

Podibidri Beach is one of the only 12 beaches in India that have been awarded Blue Flag Certification.

Enough parking is provided for the visitors to park their vehicles. The entry fee for three hours is RS 40/- per adult.

A very nice and unique circular gate provides entry to the beach.

One thing that strikes you is the cleanliness all around, the paths, the garden the beach and the surroundings is the 'Cleanliness', and no wonder as that is one of the criteria for the award of the blue flag certification.

A combination of an umbrella and a mat or an umbrella and a recliner are available. Information boards give information about various aspects of the beach. Among the facilities provided are washrooms for ladies, gents and differently-abled people, a changing room and an open-air shower facility is also available. There is a walking track and Kids' play area. Towards the backwater side watersport facilities are also available. There is a cafe. We ordered milkshakes which were reasonably priced and were quite good.

The white sands and the blue waters looked very clean and inviting but as we had not gone with a plan to swim, we just enjoyed the beauty.

After spending a wonderful and enjoyable time at Pdoubodri Blue Flag Beach we returned with good memories.