Palolem, Goa to Hampi

rolahcoaster · Sep 12th, 2007, 18:18

Hi,

I'm visiting Palolem in December and was hoping somebody may be able to advise on the quickest way to get to Hampi. At the moment it looks like i'm going to have to travel up to Vasco de Gama and spend the night there before traveling on by train.
I really dont want to waste a day in Vasco as i'm only in India for a few weeks.

Many thanks

Richard

lucyl · Sep 12th, 2007, 19:59

I'm sure you can get to Hampi from Margao. better to take the train as theres nothing so time wasting a s a bus.From what I remember the train to Hampi only goes on certain days so do check. Would love to know how you get on as I will hopefuly be doing the same journey in December.

steven_ber · Sep 13th, 2007, 00:18

Train KAM2 departs Canacona (nearest station to Palolam) daily at 06:34 and gets to Madgaon at 07:12, this train has unreserved 2nd class only, this is also the monsoon timetable schedule (ends 1st November), I'm not sure if the times will change after 1st November, I'll check tonight when I get home.

Train 2848 departs Madgaon (Tue, Thu, Fri & Sun) at 08:15 and gets to Hospet (for Hampi) at 15:10 (2A, 3A, SL.)

rolahcoaster · Sep 19th, 2007, 02:12

Hi,

Many thanks for your replies. Do you know if there is a different timetable for the trains after Nov 1st? I'm now trying to plan the trip on the India rail site but they have no times for December yet.

steven_ber · Sep 19th, 2007, 03:38

Times from 1st November.

Train KAM2 departs Canacona daily at 06:30 and gets to Madgaon at 07:10 (virtually no change)

The following train keeps to the same times.

Train 2848 departs Madgaon (Tue, Thu, Fri & Sun) at 08:15 and gets to Hospet (for Hampi) at 15:10 (2A, 3A, SL.)

rolahcoaster · Sep 19th, 2007, 14:21

Hi Steven,

Many thanks for that. Could you plese give me some advice on my travel itenary if it's not too much trouble.

We are flying in to Mumbai on the 9th December and hoping to catch the train to Madgaon the following night. After a few days in Palolem we will be going to Hampi by train and back again a few days later. From there it all goes a bit hazy as we have 7 days till we need to be in Varkala for Christmas. I would like to visit places such as Murdeshwar, Gokarna and do a boat trip in Allepey.
The thing that worries me is trouble getting train tickets at that time of year. I know i will need to reserve a ticket from Mumbai to Madgaon but do you know if will i need to reserve on routes such as Madgaon to Hospet & Madgaon to Gokarna and then on to Varkala?
Also because i'm only going to be using the train 5-6 times over a 21 day period i'm unsure how to book the trains. The Indrail passes seem a bit much at £250 each approx for a 21 day pass i think.
I've also though about doing etickets through www.irtc.co.in (can you recommend this?) but can't work out a travel itinary because of the trouble finding timetables for December.

Sorry if i'm rambling but hopefully you can point me in the right direction.

Many thanks

Richard

steven_ber · Sep 20th, 2007, 15:48

I have to ask, why so many beaches?

I can understand a person finding a nice beach and staying for a week or more, but a nice relaxing beach loses its appeal when you're arriving one day and leaving the next.

The places you've chosen are arguably the beaches of yesterday, Palolem, Gokarna and Varkala were all in guidebooks a few years ago and listed as quiet 'off the beaten track' beaches, many would argue that this is no longer the case and that the easiest way to get to these beaches is to follow the crowds or book a tour.

I'll leave others to help you select a beach, I passed through Gokarna town and it looked nice and laid back (I think the best beaches are a few kms away from the town), and I visited Varkala, both of these visits were a few years ago though, and these beaches are the ones everybody seems to be heading to over the last few years.

I suggest you change your Itinerary a bit, go first from Mumbai to Hampi, see all options in the thread below.

Mumbai to Hospet (Hampi) good connection through Hubli

Then go from Hampi (via Hospet) to Madgaon, then to Palolem.

Train 2847 departs Hospet (M, W, Th, Sa only) at 06:30 and gets to Madgaon at 13:43

Train KR1 departs Madgaon daily at 14:25 and gets to Canacona at 14:58 (this train often runs 30-60 minutes late, so if 2847 is late, ask if this train has departed yet)

From Palolem, I suggest you visit Murudeshwar.

Train KR1 departs Canacona daily at 14:58 and get to Murudeshwar at 17:01

Book 2 nights in a hotel, on the 2nd day, take a taxi to Jog Falls, it will wait for a couple of hours and bring you back to Murudeshwar, we paid Rs1000 for our taxi.

Then....

Train 2618 departs Bhatkal (20kms south of Murudeshwar) daily at 21:55 and gets to Ernakulam Junction (Cochin) at 10:00 the next morning.

Have a few days in Cochin, then a few days in the hills, then a backwater cruise, and then go to Varkala.

An Indrail pass isn't needed.

The IRCTC website is the place to book tickets, book all long distance tickets as early as possible.

The trains in Kerala are just short distance, so just buy unreserved 2nd class tickets from the stations.

rolahcoaster · Oct 11th, 2007, 17:03

Hi Steven,

Many thanks for your reply it's really appreciated. I decided to take your advice and cut out Gokarna from my itinary and instead go to Murdeshwar (it looks pretty amazing).
I've finally booked my first ticket through IRSTC and found it quite straight forward. There is however one query i hope you can answer.
On the booking form i chose 2 upper births (not sure how we could guarantee being together) but on the eticket there is no confirmation of this. All i have under the Coach No/Seat/Berth status is /0000/ CONFIRMED. How would i find out where we are sitting and if we are getting upper births.

Cheers

Richard

wichy · Oct 12th, 2007, 03:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucyl

I'm sure you can get to Hampi from Margao. better to take the train as theres nothing so time wasting a s a bus.From what I remember the train to Hampi only goes on certain days so do check. Would love to know how you get on as I will hopefuly be doing the same journey in December.

Don't want to start the new thread, as I have about the same question. I'm planning to take a bus (I think - private overnight sleeper bus) from Panaji to Hampi. Is it possible? At LP they write there are lots of private buses - I hope it's true. Don't want to spend half a day in the train... :-(

steven_ber · Oct 12th, 2007, 18:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by rolahcoaster

On the booking form i chose 2 upper births (not sure how we could guarantee being together) but on the eticket there is no confirmation of this. All i have under the Coach No/Seat/Berth status is /0000/ CONFIRMED. How would i find out where we are sitting and if we are getting upper births.

Cheers

Richard

Class and train are so important when asking this kind of question.

From another reply........

Quote:

If you've booked in First Class (either air con or not), you won't get a berth number till the chart is prepared (about 4-6 hours before the train departs from it's originating station), this is to allow the railways to allocate the berths in the best way (couples travelling together, single women not booked into a compartment with 3 men etc.)

Some times the railway adds an extra carriage (or 2) to a train, in this case, you will be sold a ticket without a berth number, the railway will add the extra carriage(s) once they know how many tickets have been booked, then they will allocate berths when they prepare the chart, I know this can happen with Sleeper Class, but I've (so far) not heard of it happening with other classes.

You keep the same ticket, then when you get to the platform, look for the reservation charts and find your carriage and berth number, any staff, especially train staff will be happy to help.

The ticket man on the train will also have a copy of the reservation chart, and there will also be a copy next to a carriage door (every bookable carriage).

It's all a lot easier than it sounds.

rolahcoaster · Oct 12th, 2007, 19:30

Steven,

Many thanks for the reply. I've treated us to first class for this train so that would explain it.

Many thanks again for all your help

Richard

chaos76 · Oct 12th, 2007, 20:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by wichy

Don't want to start the new thread, as I have about the same question. I'm planning to take a bus (I think - private overnight sleeper bus) from Panaji to Hampi. Is it possible? At LP they write there are lots of private buses - I hope it's true. Don't want to spend half a day in the train... :-(

Hi Wichy,

there are lots of sleeper buses to Hampi. But instead of spending half a day on a train, you will spent more than 12 hours (depending on traffic) in a bus on a bumpy road.... (perhaps even with a bus driver who thinks he is Lewis Hamilton...)

Enjoy your trip!

wichy · Oct 13th, 2007, 03:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by chaos76

there are lots of sleeper buses to Hampi. But instead of spending half a day on a train, you will spent more than 12 hours (depending on traffic) in a bus on a bumpy road....

Yes, I know. I have my experience with sleeper bus - from Udaipur to Jodhpur. Unfogettable experience - I must say

(but it was funny enough too.. and this time, I think it'll be even more funny - it's not only me and my friend, it's 8 girls - we can share our emotions

) But anyway it's preferrable to me than half-day train...

Thanks for the info :-)

rolahcoaster · Oct 18th, 2007, 19:51

Hi Steven,

I have just booked 2 x 2AC seats side berth for a me and my wife on a couple of our journeys. However I have just read Beaches excellent thread on the trains & seating and noted that he says these are a bit small, if you are over 5ft 5inches. Do you know if this Is true as i am 6ft 2inches? If so is it easy to change your seat position on the IRCTC website.
Also what do you think the best berths are for a couple. I remember tha last time i was in India about 10 years ago and if you get an upper and lower the person on the lower normally gets a load of people sitting on their bed when they are trying to sleep.

Hope you can help

steven_ber · Oct 18th, 2007, 20:01

I prefer the side berths as you and your partner are facing each other on single window seats during the day, others are not so keen on side berths.

Upper side berth in 2A are 184cms long, lower side berths are 186cms long.

The other berths in 2A are 184cms (upper) and 173cms long (lower).

You can't change your berths online, you have to buy other tickets, see what you get, then cancel one set of tickets.

Sep 12th, 2007, 18:18	#1
rolahcoaster Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: london Posts: 10	Palolem, Goa to Hampi Hi, I'm visiting Palolem in December and was hoping somebody may be able to advise on the quickest way to get to Hampi. At the moment it looks like i'm going to have to travel up to Vasco de Gama and spend the night there before traveling on by train. I really dont want to waste a day in Vasco as i'm only in India for a few weeks. Many thanks Richard

Sep 13th, 2007, 00:18	#3
steven_ber Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: London, England. Posts: 9,622	Train KAM2 departs Canacona (nearest station to Palolam) daily at 06:34 and gets to Madgaon at 07:12, this train has unreserved 2nd class only, this is also the monsoon timetable schedule (ends 1st November), I'm not sure if the times will change after 1st November, I'll check tonight when I get home. Train 2848 departs Madgaon (Tue, Thu, Fri & Sun) at 08:15 and gets to Hospet (for Hampi) at 15:10 (2A, 3A, SL.) __________________ . How to get helpful replies to your transport/Itinerary questions. Train information.

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Sep 12th, 2007, 19:59	#2
lucyl Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: london Posts: 37	I'm sure you can get to Hampi from Margao. better to take the train as theres nothing so time wasting a s a bus.From what I remember the train to Hampi only goes on certain days so do check. Would love to know how you get on as I will hopefuly be doing the same journey in December.

Sep 19th, 2007, 02:12	#4
rolahcoaster Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: london Posts: 10	Hi, Many thanks for your replies. Do you know if there is a different timetable for the trains after Nov 1st? I'm now trying to plan the trip on the India rail site but they have no times for December yet.

Sep 19th, 2007, 03:38	#5
steven_ber Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: London, England. Posts: 9,622	Times from 1st November. Train KAM2 departs Canacona daily at 06:30 and gets to Madgaon at 07:10 (virtually no change) The following train keeps to the same times. Train 2848 departs Madgaon (Tue, Thu, Fri & Sun) at 08:15 and gets to Hospet (for Hampi) at 15:10 (2A, 3A, SL.)

Sep 19th, 2007, 14:21	#6
rolahcoaster Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: london Posts: 10	Hi Steven, Many thanks for that. Could you plese give me some advice on my travel itenary if it's not too much trouble. We are flying in to Mumbai on the 9th December and hoping to catch the train to Madgaon the following night. After a few days in Palolem we will be going to Hampi by train and back again a few days later. From there it all goes a bit hazy as we have 7 days till we need to be in Varkala for Christmas. I would like to visit places such as Murdeshwar, Gokarna and do a boat trip in Allepey. The thing that worries me is trouble getting train tickets at that time of year. I know i will need to reserve a ticket from Mumbai to Madgaon but do you know if will i need to reserve on routes such as Madgaon to Hospet & Madgaon to Gokarna and then on to Varkala? Also because i'm only going to be using the train 5-6 times over a 21 day period i'm unsure how to book the trains. The Indrail passes seem a bit much at £250 each approx for a 21 day pass i think. I've also though about doing etickets through www.irtc.co.in (can you recommend this?) but can't work out a travel itinary because of the trouble finding timetables for December. Sorry if i'm rambling but hopefully you can point me in the right direction. Many thanks Richard

Sep 20th, 2007, 15:48	#7
steven_ber Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: London, England. Posts: 9,622	I have to ask, why so many beaches? I can understand a person finding a nice beach and staying for a week or more, but a nice relaxing beach loses its appeal when you're arriving one day and leaving the next. The places you've chosen are arguably the beaches of yesterday, Palolem, Gokarna and Varkala were all in guidebooks a few years ago and listed as quiet 'off the beaten track' beaches, many would argue that this is no longer the case and that the easiest way to get to these beaches is to follow the crowds or book a tour. I'll leave others to help you select a beach, I passed through Gokarna town and it looked nice and laid back (I think the best beaches are a few kms away from the town), and I visited Varkala, both of these visits were a few years ago though, and these beaches are the ones everybody seems to be heading to over the last few years. I suggest you change your Itinerary a bit, go first from Mumbai to Hampi, see all options in the thread below. Mumbai to Hospet (Hampi) good connection through Hubli Then go from Hampi (via Hospet) to Madgaon, then to Palolem. Train 2847 departs Hospet (M, W, Th, Sa only) at 06:30 and gets to Madgaon at 13:43 Train KR1 departs Madgaon daily at 14:25 and gets to Canacona at 14:58 (this train often runs 30-60 minutes late, so if 2847 is late, ask if this train has departed yet) From Palolem, I suggest you visit Murudeshwar. Train KR1 departs Canacona daily at 14:58 and get to Murudeshwar at 17:01 Book 2 nights in a hotel, on the 2nd day, take a taxi to Jog Falls, it will wait for a couple of hours and bring you back to Murudeshwar, we paid Rs1000 for our taxi. Then.... Train 2618 departs Bhatkal (20kms south of Murudeshwar) daily at 21:55 and gets to Ernakulam Junction (Cochin) at 10:00 the next morning. Have a few days in Cochin, then a few days in the hills, then a backwater cruise, and then go to Varkala. An Indrail pass isn't needed. The IRCTC website is the place to book tickets, book all long distance tickets as early as possible. The trains in Kerala are just short distance, so just buy unreserved 2nd class tickets from the stations.

Oct 11th, 2007, 17:03	#8
rolahcoaster Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: london Posts: 10	Hi Steven, Many thanks for your reply it's really appreciated. I decided to take your advice and cut out Gokarna from my itinary and instead go to Murdeshwar (it looks pretty amazing). I've finally booked my first ticket through IRSTC and found it quite straight forward. There is however one query i hope you can answer. On the booking form i chose 2 upper births (not sure how we could guarantee being together) but on the eticket there is no confirmation of this. All i have under the Coach No/Seat/Berth status is /0000/ CONFIRMED. How would i find out where we are sitting and if we are getting upper births. Cheers Richard

Oct 12th, 2007, 19:30	#11
rolahcoaster Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: london Posts: 10	Steven, Many thanks for the reply. I've treated us to first class for this train so that would explain it. Many thanks again for all your help Richard

Oct 18th, 2007, 19:51	#14
rolahcoaster Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: london Posts: 10	Hi Steven, I have just booked 2 x 2AC seats side berth for a me and my wife on a couple of our journeys. However I have just read Beaches excellent thread on the trains & seating and noted that he says these are a bit small, if you are over 5ft 5inches. Do you know if this Is true as i am 6ft 2inches? If so is it easy to change your seat position on the IRCTC website. Also what do you think the best berths are for a couple. I remember tha last time i was in India about 10 years ago and if you get an upper and lower the person on the lower normally gets a load of people sitting on their bed when they are trying to sleep. Hope you can help

Oct 18th, 2007, 20:01	#15
steven_ber Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: London, England. Posts: 9,622	I prefer the side berths as you and your partner are facing each other on single window seats during the day, others are not so keen on side berths. Upper side berth in 2A are 184cms long, lower side berths are 186cms long. The other berths in 2A are 184cms (upper) and 173cms long (lower). You can't change your berths online, you have to buy other tickets, see what you get, then cancel one set of tickets.

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