Break journey GOA-COCHIN Where to stop??

Lilah

We just bookin tickects from Goa (Madgaon) to Kochi.

We were thinking of breaking the journey for the 2 days allowed and I guess we should book the onwards journey at the same time as these trains might be busy (we are travelling between christmas and NYE) ??

Any tips where to stop?? Or its better to just head straight for Kochi??

After 500 km there are
NILESHWAR
PAYYANUR
PAYANGADI
KANNUR
THALASSERY
VADAKARA
QUILANDI
KOZHIKKODE
FEROK
PARPANANGADI
TIRUR
KUTTIPPURAM
PATTAMBI
SHORANUR
THRISUR
ALUVA

Google gave some tips but id love to hear personal experiences!

steven_ber

Why 500kms?

That's the distance needed for a 'break of journey' ticket to save money, but a BOJ ticket can't be booked online.

2 days.....

Murdeshwar & Jog Falls

A local train departs Madgaon at about 13:00 and gets to Murdeshwar at about 16:30, you can book a 2nd class seat on the train. (train number KR1)

(let me know if you choose this option and I'll give you more info about KR1, and maybe a better place to board the train depending on where you're staying in Goa)

I can't give exact times because at the moment the monsoon timetable is in operation, this changes on November 1st.

Train 2618 departs Bhatkal (20kms south of Murdeshwar) daily at 21:55 and gets to Ernakulam Junction (for Cochin) at 10:00

Below is a link to a photo I took in Murudeshwar, scroll down below the photo for some info.

http://www.indiamike.com/photopost/s...2612/ppuser/40

I hired a car & driver to take me to Jog Falls, wait a few hours then bring me back, he charges Rs1000, Jog falls are the highest in India, and although they can disapoint if you're expecting loads of water, it's still a great (but VERY humid) place for a trip, very different from the coast.

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Lilah

Thanks for the tip, Looks great!

And BTW thanks for the awesome train information package!

We definitely want to go and see the Falls, do you think we can do this during the day and catch the evening train to cochin or is it pushing??

We were thinking maybe staing in Gokarna, but well see, might be too packed around christmas.. Any other suggestions??

If spending the night, Murdeshwar or Bhatkal?

steven_ber

Easily, it was 2 hours drive from Murdeshwar, have about 3 hours at the falls (unless you're tempted to walk down to the bottom of the falls, maybe 2 hours to get to the bottom and back up, but increasingly slippy as you go down, and dangeriously slippy towards the bottom), you could even pack your bags and keep your stuff in the car and go straight to Bhatkal from the falls (about 2.5 hours).

Instead of Goa, or after Goa?

Goa will be packed, I've seen Gokarna described as 'becoming too touristy' and this will be magnified over Xmas and New Year, but I certainly can't see the point of going to both Goa and Gokarna, Murudeshwar doesn't see foreign tourists and hasn't worked out that these foreign tourists are to be ripped off for every $ possible, a very welcome change from Goa.


Murdeshwar, that statue will have you sitting staring for hours, I stayed in a business style hotel next to the statue, Rs1000 a night, but a good hotel and the view of the whole coastline from my balcony was stunning.

There are cheaper hotels as well.

Bhatkal is a Muslim town, and a friendly place, but is's a bit of an drab place, but I only spent a couple of hours there looking to buy a kettle, long story......

trustindia

Gokarne and Goa offer two quite different experiences as such it's worth visiting both, if only because they are so close together and accessible.

Goa will be chockers at Christmas and New Year but after this rush I expect it to be pretty quiet again this year, South Goa is more laid back than the north and offers some really quiet beaches to sun yourself on.

Goa contrary to often stated opinions isn't a rip off. it's simply cashing in on it's status, and rightly so, local people don't really want to eat fish curry rice for eternity, they have plans and ambitions too.
Rickshaw driver and taxi drivers have inflated the price a little but I don't see much wrong with that given that its still cheaper than many worlwide destinations and like I said they want to move on with their life......

Eat in flashy beach restaurants and you'll pay for the privilage it's true but Palolem for instance is still very cheap, if you eat and stay a bit back from the beach.
Even on the beach there are cheapish options
Plenty of people still living on small budgets the length of the Goa coastline, and still many warm and honest people to be found too.
I find Goa to be one of the cheaper destinations in India, once you've got the cheap room sorted (200 a night) eating and a few beers is still pretty cheap, a Thali/fish curry rice for 25 Rupees, small beer for 18 Rupees, brekkie 11 ruppees, samosas 3 rupoees, bread rolls 2 ruppees, ohmlette 8 rupees, all under your nose, if you go look.

York_Katni

It may not be a bad idea to get down at Honnavar and head to Talguppa. There is a nice little rail bus which goes through very pretty countryside and head down south via Agumbe which is one the highest points in Karnataka and discloses the scenery of the Western ghat area in its entirity.The drive through Agume near Shimoga[which is an ideal getaway from Honnavar]. All that is required is some appetite for a rough bus ride away from the beaten track. But the scenery will more than compensate for that.

There are numerous coffe plantations and if one could get in touch by email with the PR folks of Tata Coffe, one could have a tour of the plantation, see how coffee leaves are plucked and processed.

paulmitchell

Hi,

Would just like to jump on the bandwagon on this one if poss. My other half and I will be staying in Benaulim in Goa, and were then going to take the same train down to Kochi.

Steven, any chance you could let me have the train info you mentioned for the KR1? We too were thinking about going to Jog Falls, and were trying to find out the best way. KR1 is the Konkan Railway I assume?

We also wondered about going to Udipi - any thoughts or recommendations on the place?

Kind regards,

PM

steven_ber

Great info (as usual) YK, I've heard the Talgupa-Shimoga rail bus has stopped as the line is being converted to broad gauge.

I NEARLY took the rail bus a few years ago, I took the overnight train from Bangalore, then stood chatting to a girl and feeding a dog for an hour, not realising that the rail bus used a different gauge and departed from a different part of the station, I had to take a bus to Jog falls.

KR is Konkan Railway.

The extra info is better for people coming from North Goa who could board the train before Madgaon, this would allow them to get the seats of their choice without booking ahead, although the train isn't too busy, it does fill up a bit at Madgaon, there will still be seats, but it's great if you can get on before these people and get seats next to the window and all sitting together.

Hold on, I've got another idea......

The following times are from 1st November.

The train starts it's journey in Verna (18kms north of Madgaon) at 13:55 (though it's often an hour late), then the train calls at Majorda, then Suravali (14:09), then Madgaon (arr 14:15, dep 14:25)

Suravali station is about the same distance from Benaulim as Madgaon, get to the station by 13:55 and just buy a 2nd class single to wherever you're going.

The train has 1 bookable 2nd class (seat) carrisge, and about 4 unreserved carriages.

An advantage to getting on the train early is that you can find the 'Emergency window' (seats 13, 42, 67 & 96), these have red metal bars that can be lifter and locked away, this gives you great views with nothing to obstruct you view.

See photos in the following post, the photo without the bars was taken on KR1.

Sleeper Class details & photos.

The train then goes to Cancona (for Palolam, 14:58), Gokarna Road (16:05), Honnavar (16:35), Murdeshwar (17:01), Udupi (18:48) and Mangalore junction (Kankanadi, 20:30) and Mangalore Central (20:45).

I've not been to Udupi, but plan to go on my next trip.

York_Katni

Hi Steven,
I am quite sure that the rail bus is still operational. The Southern time table lists it and newspaper reports have not forecasted anything to the contrary. IR has not shown any special interest to convert the line to BG.

Agumbe is one of the most scenic places in India and the ride on that road is said to be memorable, because of the jungle and the many hairpin curves.
Best Regards
York_Katni

vsp27759

Dear YK,

The Shimoga-Talguppa MG Section had been closed for Conversion long ago. In fact the IRFCians from Hyderabad (**including me)/Bangalore/Chennai were the last rail-fans to travel in this 'cute' Rail-bus in April,2007!!!
---
"We" reached Talguppa by Rail-bus. Then, we travelled from Talguppa to Honnavar, Honnavar to Kumta, Kumta to Sirsi and Sirsi to Hubli - by Buses.

paulmitchell

Excellent, super informative as always, thanks guys.

It would be nice to have an India Mike for my everyday life back home, so that when I don't know what to do, I just post a reply and wiser people show me the way!!

Thanks again.

PM

Lilah

Yeah, Thanks for the great info!


We already booked (thanks to you, there were only few tickest left) Karwar-Kochi traintickets.. But we wanted to break the journey if possible, as there seems to be so much interesting stuff on the way..

And we thought we could just board the train from a later station, but now it seems that its not the case..

Anaway, well see when in India if we can manage to see the Jog falls. If not then the next time