Where should I stay in Mumbai?

Colaba is the right answer for a first trip to Mumbai. It sits at the southern tip of the peninsula, and from most hotels on Shahid Bhagat Singh Road you can walk to the Gateway of India (1924) in 8 minutes, to the CSMVS museum (1922) in 12, and to the Rajabai Clock Tower (1878) in about 20. The sticky, salt-heavy air wraps around you within 30 seconds of stepping outside. It's late June. Mid-range hotels here run $80-150 per night, which gets you air conditioning that works and a lobby that smells like jasmine instead of diesel. The Taj Mahal Palace sits at the waterfront and charges $350-500, but the Abode Bombay on Lansdowne Road costs $90-130 and puts you closer to Colaba Causeway's street food stalls. Churchgate Station is a 15-minute walk or a 40-rupee taxi ride north, and from there the Western Line takes you to Bandra in 35 minutes.

Bandra West is the alternative if you want to eat well and sleep without horns under your window until 1am. The neighbourhood sits across the Bandra-Worli Sea Link from South Mumbai, about 25 minutes by taxi without traffic, closer to 50 during the 6-8pm crawl. Hotel rates drop to $60-110. Pali Hill Road and its side lanes have the densest restaurant stretch in Mumbai. Bastian on Linking Road does seafood that locals will argue about for an hour. You'll hear auto-rickshaw horns and Bollywood playback from passing cars on Carter Road, where the evening promenade smells like roasting corn and wet concrete after the afternoon rain. Mount Mary Church (1904) is a 10-minute walk uphill from Pali Naka. The Bandra station on the Western Line connects you to Churchgate in about 35 minutes on a non-peak train, though the 8:30am southbound car holds 300 people in a space rated for 100. Take the 9:15 instead.

Mumbai's monsoon runs from early June through September. Right now the temperature sits at 27.7°C but feels like 33°C with 86% humidity, and light drizzle is the default state of the sky. Your clothes will feel damp 20 minutes after you put them on. A hotel with a working dehumidifier is worth an extra $10-15 per night. The local trains are the fastest way to move north-south, but they flood during heavy downpours in July and August. When that happens, a 10-kilometre Uber ride costs roughly 250-350 rupees ($2.50-3.70). A working phone with data matters more in Mumbai than in most cities you'll visit. Get an eSIM before you land so you can pull up maps and cab apps the moment you clear customs at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. The airport sits in Andheri, about 28 kilometres north of Colaba, and a prepaid taxi to Colaba costs around 800 rupees ($8.50), taking 60-90 minutes depending on traffic.

Skip Andheri East as a base unless you have a 6am flight. It's loud at every hour, the air smells like exhaust and frying oil, and there's nothing within a 20-minute walk worth your limited days. Navi Mumbai sits across the harbour, and a cab to the Gateway of India takes 90 minutes on a good day. Juhu sounds appealing because of the beach, but the sand is grey-brown and the crowds are thick. The famous Juhu Beach chaat stalls sell pani puri for 40 rupees and bhel puri for 50. They're worth a taxi trip from Colaba, not a hotel booking. If you're choosing between Colaba and Fort/Kala Ghoda, know that they share a border. Fort puts you closer to CST station and the Jehangir Art Gallery. The difference is a 10-minute walk, and Colaba has more hotel inventory below $150.