Hampi, Bijapur etc.

slhudson

Hi Everybody, so what's the best way to get from Bangalore to Hampi? I guess I could rent a car and driver - but are there flights? And if I rent a car and driver, do you have any suggestions where from?

I'm thinking 1 day to drive up, a couple of days there, 1 day to drive back to Bangalore.

Stephanie

aadil

You can get a car from Bangalore to drive you there. You will have to pay the night halt charges of Rs100 or Rs150 for each night out besides the car hiring and fuel costs as per the hiring terms and conditions. No extra charges for the driver's stay or food is necessary. You may of course tip the driver.

Do give yourself a couple of days more at Hampi to soak in the fantastic place. Some people even do it on a day trip but it all depends on how rushed you want it to be. I would suggest at least three full days in Hampi to really enjoy the beauty of the place. Walking up the hills to get a view of the ruined city and temples besides the lovely sunsets/sunrises, a walk along the river side from the Hampi Bazaar to the Vithala Temple or even a coracle ride to cross the river, hiring a bicycle or just plain walking, visiting the archeological museums are some of the interesting things you can do besides spending time doing nothing in particular in this small sleepy village!!! Do not stay in Hospet and travel to Hampi as some people do. KSTDC also arranges tours by bus from Bangalore but the number of days in Hampi is just one!!! Hope you enjoy your time out there.

Cheers,
Aadil.

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slhudson

Hi All, I'm planning to go to Hampi in November. I'm thinking to travel from Bangalore and then maybe take the train from whatever the nearest train station is near Hampi out to Goa.

First question - how to get from Bangalore to Hampi? Any suggestions? I'm thinking a car and driver, but don't know how long a drive it would be. And don't know any reputable car/driver agencies in Bangalore either.

Next question - where to stay? I'm thinking of somewhere nice but don't know if there's much in that area (Hospet?).

And last, anybody taken the train from that area out to Goa?

Stephanie

beach

Suggest Hampi Express for Bangalore to Hampi.That's is cheaper and efficient (overnight train journey) way to travel from Bangalore to Hampi.

Hospet has some "luxury" places . It's a small town. Staying at hampi is more "eventful" though....

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safari vala

if you are going straight from Hospet to Goa, there are some good temples at Gadag and nearby at Dambal on the way and Belgaum has a fort and no tourists.

Baba

There is a day train from Hospet to Madgaon in Goa which runs 3 or 4 times a week. Also do yourself a favour and stay in Hampi - Hospet is an abysmal place if you ask me...

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machadinha

For general background information, apart from Beach's excellent website on Hampi, linked to in his signature, do check also this thread by him: Hampi: Everything you want to know.

I'd suggest staying in Hampi itself yes, there are plenty of guesthouses there. Maybe if the backpacker "scene" is not your thing, Hospet would be the better choice, I'm not sure what it's like today.

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slhudson

Hi All, thanks for your responses. I'm not sure about staying in Hampi - I'm not big on roughing it (beware, this is what happens when you turn 60)!

Have now added Bijapur to my list - so now thinking Mumbia-Bijapur-Hampi-Bangalore or Mumbia-Goa-Bijapur-Hampi-Bangalore.

Any more thoughts?

Stephanie

vonkla

Another possibility is the KSTDC hotel in Kamalapur. This little village is situated at the other side of the ruins of Vijayanagara, 5 km from Hampi. In 2007 we payed 900 for a non AC and 1200 for an AC room.

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bruce3404

There's also a daily flight from Bangalore to Bellary, which is relatively near Hampi. Costs around $75 OW. Also, the best luxury hotel would be Hampi Boulders http://www.nivalink.com/bouldersresort/index.html it runs around $200/night (and I know from a previous post that you like luxury; this would be it in the Hampi area).

vonkla

We are from the same generation and that was the reason that we stayed in Kamalapur. The hotel was fine.

Bijapur is a nice place to stay for some days, there were just a few tourist. The consequence is that there are none luxury hotels as far as I know.

safari vala

northern karnataka is full of interesting places. I was there in Feb 2008.
I have been to Hampi before. this time I went to gadag, Badami,Mahakoota, Pattadakkal,Bijapur, Gulbarga,Bidar and onto Hyderabad in AP.I liked all of these places.

safari vala

Hospet has good hotel and food options. It is easy to get to hampi from hospet.I stayed in Hospet when i went in 2000.

slhudson

Hi everybody, thanks so much for the hotel ideas - and places to visit.

Now what about routing - has anybody done these routes:

Mumbia-Bijapur-Hampi or Mumbia-Goa-Bijapur-Hampi

Thanks for your input - it's so great to talk to the experts!

Stephanie

vonkla

We did this on a somewhat cumbersome manner. As you can read in our travel log our plane landed in Mumbai from where we took a car to Pune.
From there with the train to Solapur and then to Bijapur.
Next with a car to Badami and after some days with another car to Hampi.

http://www.indiamike.com/india/journ...urnal&j=9 468