Agra to Hampi to Goa by train

Les - Wicker DAD

Hi all,

I'm new to the site, but my first post got imidiate help so I'm very glad I found you!

I'm looking to travel to Goa for the second time next year. This time we thought we would spice things up, by avoiding the package deals and :-

Flying to Delhi - day sight seeing
Travel by train to Agra - again a day or two sight seeing including the Taj Mahal
Travel by train to Goa (this is where I need the help - see below)
2 weeks beach holiday in Goa
Travel by train to Mumbai with a day in Mumbai to look around
Fly from Mumbai back to London.


The flights and Hotels etc are all easy to pre-book, the help / advice I need is with the train journey.

Preferred Option is to go Agra - Hampi - Goa by train. Is this posible?

Another Option would be to go Agra - Goa - Hampi - Goa but this will add a day or two on trains which I'd rather avoid.

Least preffered option is to go direct from Agra to Goa on the Mangala express and miss Hampi altogether but it seems a shame to miss such a wonderful place. If we were to do this are there any places of interest for a 1 night stopover between Agra and Goa on the Managala Express? or indeed are there any portions of the Mangala express journey that are particularly spectacular / beautiful?

Your thoughts and help would be very much appreciated.


Thanks

Les

wichy

It's possible - if you take a direct train (2780 GOA EXPRESS) to Hubli and than take a bus or taxi or another train to Hampi (it's about 3-4 hour's ride I believe). But - a train ride from Agra to Hubli will take about 36 hours. The Hampi-Goa leg is much shorter - take 7603 KCG YPR EXP from Hospet, which is about 15-18 km from Hampi.

You can avoid Goa-Hampi train in option Agra-Goa-Hampi-Goa using sleeper buses Goa-Hampi, there are lots of them, but it's not a pleasant travel ((

If I were you, I would left Hampi for the next time, when your starting point will be nearer to it, and go from Agra to Goa via Ellora-Ajantha, which is World Heritage Site too. You can take a train from Agra to Jalgaon (it takes only 13-15 hours and there are some convenient overnight trains), take a bus or a taxi, get to Ajantha and than continue to Aurangabad. You can take a direct overnight train Agra-Aurangabad as well, but Ajantha caves is closer to Jalgaon than to Aurangabad. You can spend 1-2 days there, visit Ellora caves and Daulatabad (an excellent fort, if you're are interested), explore the city (it's pleasant enough and have it's own "Taj for poor people" - Bibi-qa-Maqbara, so you can compare )))), and than get to Manmad (about 100 km west of Aurangabad, there is plenty of trains, or you can take a taxi) to catch a train 2742 PNBE VSG EXPRES at 4:35 PM - straight to Goa. :-))) So the next morning at 9 AM you can relax on the beach. )))

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Past the point of no return...

bonded

Another option could be train 2628 from Agra Cantt. (AGC) 00:05 Guntakal (GTL) 06:40 around 120 kms from Hampi running daily classes available 2A, 3A, SL

Train 7603 Hospet (HPT) 06:30 Madgaon (MAO) 13:40 running daily classes available 2A and SL

Les - Wicker DAD

thanks for the help and advice guys.