[vineet_k21]

Friends

I'm planning for a coastal karntaka tour in March from Pune. I've 5 days and 4 nights to cover whatever possible but not in a dizzy. We like leisure holidays and have 2 young kids also travelling so can't make it a packed schedule.

Please suggest itineraries, must-see places, best beaches, tour experiences, maps, distances....any information that you may have on this please!

Cheers

[Abhay]

I was in Coastal Karnatak last week...it was an unplanned one (as in no bookings done anywhere before I left and with no fixed itinerary). But with kids I'm sure you need to consider places to stay in advance - there are a couple of good threads to get info about beaches/resorts in Karwar and near Maravanthe (which I did visit).
There are tonnes of temples on the way (which I avoided apart from Murudeshwar)

I can definitely tell you that the road conditions are good on NH17 till Udupi atleast. The stretch between Goa and Karwar is one of the most scenic drives I have done.

I would suggest that you pick a place first and then plan accordingly as 4/5 days is not much and its better to stay in one or two locations and do a few near-by drives rather than be on the run all the time.

[kraft.wagen]

Originally Posted by Abhay

I can definitely tell you that the road conditions are good on NH17 till Udupi atleast. The stretch between Goa and Karwar is one of the most scenic drives I have done.

The stretch of roads between, Udupi and Bhatkal are really bad.

You can spend a day at the Turtle Bay resort in maravanthe, its bang on the beach and a perfect place to realx away.

[MX6]

March shouldn't be a problem time to find acco in those parts. Coastal karnataka is best during monsoons though. Anyway beach lovers would be dismayed during monsoons as the sea gets pretty rough.
There are enough travelogues on Coastal karnataka in T-BHP. Have a look and tailor it according to your wish and likes. What are your kids looking for?

[rjstyles69]

If you really fancy seeing places in and around coastal karnataka take a look at my travelogues here (Travelogue :Coastal Karnataka Keeps calling me back ( Murudeshwara and Kundapura)) and here (My sojourn:Theerthahalli-Kuppali-Agumbe-Kundapur-Karkala-Mlr-Bekal-Muzhappilangad). Then you always have our official team bhp guide to coastal karnataka who is known by the handle samurai . Send him a PM and he should be able to help you plan your trip.

[vineet_k21]

Originally Posted by MX6

March shouldn't be a problem time to find acco in those parts. Coastal karnataka is best during monsoons though. Anyway beach lovers would be dismayed during monsoons as the sea gets pretty rough.
There are enough travelogues on Coastal karnataka in T-BHP. Have a look and tailor it according to your wish and likes. What are your kids looking for?

My kids love beach and hence have to time it before or after monsoons. I'm going through the various posts and see it I can make something suitable for me. Wanted to take a short-cut and check if there's anything available readily. Too much used to "Ctrl+C" and Ctrl+V"

[StarVegabond]

Vineet

You can look at following things

Day 1: Leave Pune early morning say 4 AM, drive through Kolhapur-Belgaum-Ankola to Gokarn. Stay at OM beach

Day 2: visit Karwar (some 50K KM drive) and return and stay at OM beach

Day 3: Drive towards Udupi, on way see Murudeshwar, Maravanthe, Kollur
Stay either in turtle Bay or Hotel Sheron in Kundapur or any other
hotel in Udupi

Day 4: visit to Udupi Krishna Temple, Malpe beach, St Mary's Island, Manipal etc Stay at Udupi itself. There are some attractions near by river rafting etc.

Day 5 : If you want to go to Mangalore, you can proceed

Day 6: Drive back to Pune via same route you used for onward journey.

You can do the reverse order also.
in my view, March would be very SUNNY and Hot, Humid in Coastal Karnataka. Not a good season to visit.

But you need to decide.

[lohithrao]

As far as i hear a week back, was told by my relative the roads are good now.
when had you been there?

Originally Posted by kraft.wagen

The stretch of roads between, Udupi and Bhatkal are really bad.

You can spend a day at the Turtle Bay resort in maravanthe, its bang on the beach and a perfect place to realx away.

[kraft.wagen]

Originally Posted by lohithrao

As far as i hear a week back, was told by my relative the roads are good now.
when had you been there?

Drove to maravanthe early Dec and the stretch was really bad after Udupi..
Nice to hear the roads are better now, Pardon my wrong info

[hvkumar]

My favourite is the temple circuit in coastal/mountain Karnataka. It goes as follows:

Pune-Kolhapur-Belgaum-Hubli-Ankola-Gokarana (Temple & Om Beach)
Gokarna-Murudeshwara (Temple & Beach resort)
Murudeshwara-Kollur (Mookambika Temple)-Nagode-Sringeri (Temple)-Horanadu (Temple)-Kudremukh-Dharmastala (Temple)
Dharmastala-Subramanya (Temple)-Mangalore-Udupi (Temple, Malpe Beach & St Mary's Island)-Kundapura-Maravanthe (Beach resort)-Karwar (Beach resort)-Pune

[Abhay]

Originally Posted by kraft.wagen

Drove to maravanthe early Dec and the stretch was really bad after Udupi..
Nice to hear the roads are better now, Pardon my wrong info

As I said earlier, I did the stretch till Udupi LAST WEEK (26th of Jan to be precise) and the roads were not bad at all anywhere really. A few kms of broken surface (as you say near Bhatkal) is okay considering the OP has experience of roads in Maharashtra


vineet, you already have some nice options there. Turtle Bay is a nice place to stay (except for its food which is boring - no local food!!) with an excellent beach to frolic around in.

[vineet_k21]

Thanks friends for suggested itineraries esp. hvkumar and StarVegabond. Very helpful indeed. I'm aware that March might be a bit hot so definitley giving it another thought now. Will finalise by this weekend.

With some more research over the weekend a rough plan I chalked out was:

Day 1 - Pune-Kolhapur-Belgaum-Dandeli : Start early and reach Dandeli by 4-5 pm
Day 2 - Dandeli wildlife safari : stay in Dandeli
Day 3 - Dandeli-Karwar-Gokarna-Jog Falls-Murudeshwar : stay at Murudeshwar
Day 4 - Murudeshwar-Maravanthe-Kollur-Udupi : stay at Udupi
Day 5 - Start back to Pune via same road or via Hubli-Dharwad : night stay in Belgaum
Day 6 - Belgaum to Pune.

Does this look feasible/practical? Have I missed any important/interesting spot? Not too keen on covering all temples. But plan to keep a day spare in case want to spend more time along beachside in Murudeshwar, Gokarna or Karwar and relax.

Your feedback appreciated.

[FrankMartin]

Hi Vineet,

Did you finally make the trip to coastal Karnataka.
I am also planning a trip to Karwar - Gokarna in the next few weeks.

Especially wanted to know if you stayed at Dandeli.
I would be taking a similar route
Pune-Kolhapur-Belgaum-Dandeli - Karwar-Gokarna

Can you please share your experience and recommendations.

Thanks

[nishantgandhi]

Guys - did the Coastal Karnataka trip happen finally? Which route did you take? I'm planning on this in this month, hence quick inputs are needed.

[mayuresh]

Enthused by team bhp travelogues of the north and coastal Karnataka region,
plan to undertake a 5 day trip during Diwali to Sirsi.

Proposed plan is:

Day 0 : Pune - Kolhapur (stay) (will be able to start late afternoon only)

Day 1: Kolhapur - Sirsi (stay)

Day 2: Sahasralinga (and perhaps Sonda) + Banavasi

Day 3: Unchalli (and perhaps Benne Hole) falls (Not sure whether can cover Yana
as the route distance seems to be longer than it aerially appears in maps)

Day 4: Sirsi - Kolhapur (stay)

Day 5: Kolhapur - Pune


Please comment on the places to visit and the plan. Please also suggest decent
accommodation options in Sirsi.


Please suggest good veg food joints at Belgaum / Dharwad / Hubli (or on the
route), with good rest room facilities etc.


Regarding route, I think Pune-Hubli is obviously NH4.

From Hubli to Sirsi, seems like via Mundgod (SH69) looks obvious. However, how
is it to take NH67 via Kalaghatgi-Yellapur?


Thanks in advance.