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Nearest airport is Hubli (200kms).
DAY - 1
- Arrive at Gokarna Station. You can wait in the waiting room there till 6 am and then head to the beach.
- Take a local bus from the main road about 400 m from station gate. You’ll get them at 15 minute intervals.
- Reach main beach and have breakfast at restaurants around bus stand.
- Freshen up at pay and use bathroom at Main beach. Start the trek and head to the temple visible on the hill to the left.
- Go up the stone steps from temple and keep trekking along the shore till the point named "Labyrinth" on google maps.
- Keep trekking on the trail and you’ll arrive at Kudle beach entrance.
- Rest, relax and swim at Kudle beach and eat or drink till 12pm in the shacks.
- Continue trek towards OM beach. The trail starts with some steps, then you can follow the shoreline and reach Om Beach via a Park at the end.
- Have lunch at Namaste cafe at Om Beach.
- Continue Trek from Om Beach to Half Moon Beach.
- The trail is well marked but wild enough for an adventure.
- Reach Half Moon beach and relax for a while or continue to Paradise beach.
- Reach Paradise via the same trail and set up your camp.
- No restaurants, shacks or vendors here; so carry food packets of choice for your dinner.
DAY - 2
- Start your day with watching Dolphins early morning near Paradise Beach and take the first ferry to Kudle Beach.
- Have Breakfast at Uma Maheshwari Cafe just at the start of Kudle beach.
- Spend the whole day at Kudle beach playing Beach Games, Kayaking, Swimming, Trying food from cafes and relaxing till evening.
- Head to the sunset point near Kudle Beach, marked as the Labyrinth on maps.
- Watch the sunset. Camp at the same spot. There are no laws pertaining to camping at public spots in India in general, so wait till the crowd clears so no hindrances are caused.
DAY - 3
- Start with a beautiful sunrise view from your camping spot on the hill.
- Head to Main Beach
- Explore Local Market near the beach. Opens from 9 am onward.
- Head to Namaste Samudra Cafe on main beach.
- Relax and enjoy sunset.
- Rent Local bikes after sunset from the shops outside bus stand.
- Take the bikes to Belekan beach and ask the last shack owner for the trail to Paradise beach.
- He let’s you park your vehicle in his shack for ₹20/bike for the night.
- Start your night trek from Belekan Beach to Paradise Beach via clearly marked trail (also on google maps)
- Reach Paradise and camp there for the night.
DAY - 4
- Start your day with the trek back to Belekan beach and take your bikes to Vibhooti Falls.
- Reach Vibhooti falls with breakfast on the way.
- Swim in the Falls
- Go to Yana caves and check out the rock formations.
- Return to Gokarna and spend time on beach or depart from Kumta/Karwar via which ever means of transport you plan to take.
One of the best properties to stay on a budget in Gokarna is the Halfway Home, near Kudle Beach.. The place offers the best authentic South Indian Food. It is maintained perfectly with quality accommodation, bathrooms and facilities like good wifi! Highly recommended if you plan on not camping.
Go ahead and check them out if you’re in a dilemma of choosing the right property, it won’t disappoint!
Other than this, there are lots of shacks with rooms at Main beach, Kudle beach and Om Beach. Also 1 or 2 at Half Moon Beach. Belkan beach also, but not worth staying there.
The Zostel at Kudle is another great option if you want to like staying there.
Main bus stand has a few good luxury hotels around it as well.
For the ultra luxury lover a must stay place is – Kahani Paradise Resort with their infinity pool and beautiful atmosphere.
WHERE TO EAT :-
Namaste Samudra Cafe at Main beach had the best food .
Bhagwan cafe main beach
Halfway home, Kudle beach for good south Indian meal.
Uma Maheshwari cafe at Kudle beach had good view and decent breakfast of pan cakes and aloo parathas.
Namaste cafe at Om Beach seemed good place to eat.
HOW TO TRAVEL AROUND :-
- Gokarna is small place and you can choose to trek from one beach to other.
- Plus you can take ferry to all these beaches rather than taking your vehicle.
- Railway station and some other far off beaches are connected via local bus systems from the bus stand.
- Rent a scooter for travelling to other off-beat places a little away from Gokarna. Bike Rental starts at ₹300-400 for 24 hours. Ferry rides start at ₹100.
- Don’t carry alcohol or any other substances with you anywhere as there’ll be frequent checks at different places throughout Gokarna.
- Camping is good at Paradise beach. Other than that there wasn’t any clear undisturbed place in Gokarna area where you can camp.You can try camping it at Labyrinth.
- Use a refillable bottle with you and ask the shack owners to fill it. So you don’t have to spend money on buying bottles and don’t have to worry about the trash.
- There are great places like the Nirvana Beach and Honey beach nearby Gokarna that are worth the visit if time permits.