[hsroy]

We (couple with 9yrs kid) are planning a trip to Gokarna in Sept end during Dussehra holidays. Want to see Jog Falls, Mirjan fort (plus one or two more places in Uttara Kannada and Shivamogga districts) on the way.

Can we anyone suggest the route to take plus where to plan for a night's halt if we plan to leave at 5 am from Bangalore ?

I drive a hatchback and am fine with Ghat roads but want to avoid narrow kutcha roads.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by hsroy

We (couple with 9yrs kid) are planning a trip to Gokarna in Sept end during Dussehra holidays. Want to see Jog Falls, Mirjan fort (plus one or two more places in Uttara Kannada and Shivamogga districts) on the way.

The fastest and widest road to Gokarna is this: Bangalore-Hubli-Ankola-Gokarna (ignore all shortcuts suggested by Google Maps along the way; this is the fastest and widest road). This is also a very scenic route.

However, since you want to visit Jog Falls and Shimoga district, the most natural route for you is this: Bangalore-Hiriyur-Hosadurga-Tarikere-Shimoga-Jog Falls-Honnavar-Gokarna. This route is quite scenic too, and except for the rough patch between Tarikere and Shimoga, the roads are generally good. I would suggest you stick to this route. Jog Falls is right on this route, so there is no detour required as such to visit Jog Falls.

Based on my recent drives on both these roads in last three months, and I can say that the roads are in general fine for a hatchback (again, do expect some bad patches and some potholes here and there which are common in the monsoon months; do not expect a perfect road).

Can we anyone suggest the route to take plus where to plan for a night's halt if we plan to leave at 5 am from Bangalore ?

If you start from Bangalore at 5am, you can easily reach Gokarna by the end of the day without any night halts. However, if you prefer a night halt, then Shimoga has a couple of options (Royal Orchid Central and Harsha the Fern are both good hotels in Shimoga), and then Hotel Green Embassy at Sagara (close to Jog Falls) is one more option for night halt. These are typical 3-star hotels in these smaller towns- good enough for a night's stay on the way. In addition, there are plenty of homestays in that area that you can search for if you are interested in homestays.

[krajeswarrao]

Originally Posted by the_joker

There used to be multiple good options:

I am planning with my family of 2 ladies over the week end. Looks like I am tempted to chose option 1 . My concerns are how good the roads are given that rainy season is just receding, secondly how are the restaurants on the way given that we need some bio breaks every 100 odd kms of driving especially for the ladies.

Mod Note: Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.

[airguitar]

Originally Posted by krajeswarrao

I am planning with my family of 2 ladies over the week end. Looks like I am tempted to chose option 1 . My concerns are how good the roads are given that rainy season is just receding, secondly how are the restaurants on the way given that we need some bio breaks every 100 odd kms of driving especially for the ladies.

Mod Note: Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.

As of July end - no issues on the roads until Jog. Some sections on the 2 laners may be average. Hiriyur - Ajjampura - Tarikere - Shimoga - Jog on the onward journey and Anandapuram - Nyamathi - Honnali - Malebennur - Harihar bypass - Davanagere - Bangalore on the return leg is what I did. The second one, despite longer distance, was pretty good and with some additional scenic stretches near Malebennur.

Stop overs
Ratnam @ Dobbespet, Kamat @ Sira (on the opposite side), Aramane Vaibhava @ Tarikere, Green Embassy's restaurant @ Sagar, Mayura Gerusoppa @ Jog, Pandurang Intl @ Kumata.


Not sure of road conditions beyond Jog.

[krajeswarrao]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

The fastest and widest road to Gokarna is this: Bangalore-Hubli-Ankola-Gokarna (ignore all shortcuts suggested by Google Maps along the way; this is the fastest and widest road). This is also a very scenic route.

Excellent details, thank you very much for these significant and very insightful inputs; These are precisely the directions and details I was looking for. Planning to start on 2nd September for a 4-day trip to Gokarna and cover Honnavar and Jog Falls.

[raghu13uk]

Originally Posted by hsroy

We (couple with 9yrs kid) are planning a trip to Gokarna in Sept end during Dussehra holidays.

Based on my travel twice each in last 3 months on Kumta-Ankola-Yellapura, Kumta- Siddapura-Jog, Kumta-Honnavara-Jog, here are my recommendations.


Bangalore - Jog - Siddapur - Kumta - Gokarna:

The following is the less traveled route but is in very good shape. Only locals use the Kumta-Siddapur road. This section has 5-6 kms of single road which is in good condition. But since the vehicular movement is less, you won't find it irritating for long. Also this route comes with thickest forest. (Avoid this route if it is late night and you/family is scared of lonely roads at night. It might be difficult to find help at night during vehicle breakdown due to lack of traffic at ghat section. However, the locals are helpful and there is no risk of theft/attack).


Gokarna - Sirsi - Haveri - Bangalore:

Despite the road work in Sirsi-Kumta ghat this is route is best. Most of the road is already cemented and only 4-5 kms is still single road.
This is the shortest route and has the widest roads and can be covered quickly.

The Yellapur-Ankola ghat is not in great condition and always chocked due to heavy truck movement.

The Honnavar- Jog route is in good condition, but I lately avoid it due to it being too curvy and my wife does not like the feeling.

Hotel: The only hotel i stop ever for breakfast/lunch/bio-break is Apoorva Resorts at Davanagere. The food is good and toilets are clean.

[arnav17]

Hello everyone.

Hope you all are doing good.

We are taking a trip from Bangalore to Gokarna, which is a small temple town on the Arabian Coast, Right next to Goa. It is roughly 500 km, which will be with stops in between. The plan is to leave early morning and reach by Afternoon/evening.
Here is the route we are taking :




We are doing this trip in our trusted Safari Dicor, 2008 and was wondering if there are things to carry in respect to the car and keep in mind with such a long journey.

The car is going for a full service before the trip with a check, top up of all the lubes, engine oil, AC gas, etc, but apart from that is there anything else to do/carry to ensure maximum safety and smoothness?
Please do let us know.
Thanks in advance.

[hsroy]

Originally Posted by arnav17

.....there anything else to do/carry to ensure maximum safety and smoothness?...

Be sure to save the download / save offline the map of that region on google maps (signal is likely to be down lots of time).

Originally Posted by raghu13uk

.....
Despite the road work in Sirsi-Kumta ghat this is route is best. Most of the road is already cemented and only 4-5 kms is still single road.
This is the shortest route and has the widest roads and can be covered quickly.

..... The Honnavar- Jog route is in good condition, but I lately avoid it due to it being too curvy and my wife does not like the feeling......

Thanks for your inputs. Yes... we will definitely take the Gokarna-Sirsi-Haveri route on my way back.

For onwards, probably will take Jog-Honnavar route since want to stop by at one of the beaches between Honnavar and Kumta. But via Siddapur sounds interesting alternative in case there is any change of plans.

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

T...... I would suggest you stick to this route. Jog Falls is right on this route, so there is no detour required as such to visit Jog Falls.

If you start from Bangalore at 5am, you can easily reach Gokarna by the end of the day without any night halts. .....

Thanks a lot for your detailed suggestions. I have decided to drive all the way to Gokarna the same day, with stop at Jog Falls plus 1-2 places maybe.

Am thinking of sticking to the highway till Ranebennur and then divert towards Jog Falls.


The 1st one seems shortest and goes directly towards Jog Falls after Shiralakoppa.

The 2nd one is slightly longer via Sagara and offers the option of short detour to Honnermaradu/Sharavati backwaters.

Don't want to consider the 3rd option via Shikaripur since that seems much longer.

[raghu13uk]

Originally Posted by arnav17

The plan is to leave early morning and reach by Afternoon/evening.

I usually start by 5am, so that I can avoid the traffic in Bangalore-Tumkur stretch. With a breakfast/bio stop at Apoorva Resort, I usually reach before 1pm.

The route is clean until the Sirsi ghat where some construction might slow you down. (I haven't been on that route in the last 3 months. So things might have improved now)

Keep a change of Rs20 for the AkkiAlur- Haveri toll, which doesn't accept FastTag. Other than that you don't need anything special.

Note: Try to visit Mirjan Fort on Kumta-Gokarna highway. Just 500m deviation from highway. Might add an hour to your schedule. It closes by 5pm strictly.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by hsroy

Thanks a lot for your detailed suggestions. I have decided to drive all the way to Gokarna the same day, with stop at Jog Falls plus 1-2 places maybe.

Jog is not a point location which you want to drive 400+ kms; see the falls and move on to Gokarna. You should surely plan an extra day, go around and then move to Gokarna the second day.

You may have constraints on time. But this is a time which you want to enjoy seeing around. Hence my suggestion.

[hsroy]

Originally Posted by ampere

Jog is not a point location .....plan an extra day, go around and then move to Gokarna the second day.....

Thanks. Yes...I had initially thought of something similar. But since time is a constraint, want to explore Uttara Kannada this time and plan for places around Shimoga and Chickmagalur separately since there is a lot in Malenadu we haven't explored so far.
So plan to drive upto Jog/Sagara with very few breaks. Then take it slow with multiple stops and reach Gokarna by night.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by hsroy

So plan to drive upto Jog/Sagara with very few breaks. Then take it slow with multiple stops and reach Gokarna by night.

I meant there are many places around Jog itself that you may want to visit and spend time. Leaving that conversation aside, Siddapur-Jog is a good road to take.

[Capri89]

Originally Posted by hsroy

We (couple with 9yrs kid) are planning a trip to Gokarna in Sept end during Dussehra holidays.
I drive a hatchback and am fine with Ghat roads but want to avoid narrow kutcha roads.

Hi, hope you had a good trip. Please share your experience on routes, pit stops for bio and food breaks etc. I have scheduled a Bangalore Gokarna trip starting 24th.(family of 4 adults). Hence this request.

[Capri89]

Originally Posted by raghu13uk

Gokarna - Sirsi - Haveri - Bangalore:

Despite the road work in Sirsi-Kumta ghat this is route is best. Most of the road is already cemented and only 4-5 kms is still single road.
This is the shortest route and has the widest roads and can be covered quickly.

Did this route last Monday. Haveri-Sirsi-Divgi not a preferred route, given the current road conditions. Found loose gravels in most of the stretches. Couldn't find much cemented roads, except towards the last few kms where the ghat road meets the Ankola-Kumta NH.

But, probably, other routes are worse. I don't know.

[sanchari]

I am looking for recommendations for reasonable priced hotels in Gokarna for end of Dec for a religious ceremony. Non-ac is fine, needs to be clean , with western commode and neatly maintained. Ok with home stays or AirBnB types too