Day - 1:
Took a zoomcar and started from Whitefield, Bengaluru to Dandeli , driving nearly 450 kms, quite a long drive covering flat roads, hills, plateaus, valleys, river beds,etc.,
Along side, we had chit chatting and laughter all over the journey and we had our packed home made breakfast (Idli with Yummy tomato thokku prepared by me and my friend 😋😋)
By around 2 pm, we reached our stay at White Petals, Dandeli.
We got refreshed and had good lunch (North Indian Thali - Chapathi with Karamani gravy, White pulav, Cauliflower gravy, rice - dal, fryumes). Then headed towards water activities in the famous Kali river.
We started with Kayaking, it was so funny that one person has to do row the boat and other one can simply sit, click photos and enjoy leisurely.
Next came Water Zorbing 🌊.Inside the giant inflatable ball, the three of us tumbled together in a full 360‑degree roll under water. We were tossed right and left, unable to control our screams, laughing and shrieking at the same time. Every attempt to stand up ended in another hilarious fall, and we just kept rolling endlessly. It was a mix of pure fun and a dash of fear — a wonderfully chaotic experience that drained us completely but left us grinning ear to ear.
We thought of going for rafting , but it was closed, so we planned to go by next day!
It was around 6 pm and the climate was so soothing .We all badly wanted a nice cup of tea/coffee.
We stopped near a bakery.we had vada-pav paired with hot coffee/tea.
Then we drove back to resort and it was half an hour drive in ghat section and it was so fearful as well.
We had a private pool party, like only our gang of 6 members were there. We took our speakers and vibed with our favourite songs, danced, enjoyed the pool to the core.
It was much refreshing! ☺️
Dinner was simple yet satisfying — chapathi with beans sabji, rice with dal — followed by a cozy campfire. The warmth felt like a gentle massage against the evening chill. We ended the day with cheerful conversations, laughter, and memories.
Day - 2:
Had a pleasant sleep on day 1 night in the stay and woke up early in the morning around 6.30 am (without any alarm 😜), as we were in trip mode. Went for a Nature's walk for more than 3 kms and the weather was so soothing and mist around. Had nice cup of coffee and had a photoshoot on the abandoned railway track 🤩.
Got ready,had a mild breakfast (poha, idly - sambar(sweet😜), chutney,Bread-butter-jam)and checked out the stay and heading towards the much awaited activity - The River Rafting, Dandeli!🥳🥳🥳
It was a fantastic experience for all of us, especially in the downstreams. Before hitting the downstreams, we were given enough instructions to row the boat unanimously like left, right, down,etc in all directions. When we entered, we were like flying in the river, adrenaline rushing and the moments were captured so nicely in the cameras too. To our surprise, when we go deep in the mid of the river, the boatman asked us to jump in the river altogether! The moments were so giggling, some of my friends(including me 😜) are short, we were like sinking in the river, but somehow boatman gave right instructions to hold the rope in the boat and lie down in water completely. It was so relaxing, sunlight gently warming our faces as we were floating in the river for more than 20 mins.Then, we came to the riverbed. It was so thrilling and unforgettable even now!🥳🥳 A must try water sport!🤩🥳
After Dandeli, we planned to go to Gokarna - Yana caves, Vibhuti falls. But, unfortunately,one of our friends had to leave the trip for family emergency. So we had to drop him in the nearest airport/railway station.
We don't know whether it's fortunate/unfortunate, we had to drop him in Goa Dabolim International Airport. We were all in one motto that he should reach on time, so we had mild snacks in between.Though it's nearest from Dandeli, the drive took time around 6 hours as it's 2- ways around hilly regions.We reached airport on time around 6.15 pm and dropped him in the right terminal.
For most of my friends, It's the first time that we are visiting Goa. All were like, "Finally touched Goa soil"🥳😜😜😜
We drove from South Goa to North Goa through Atal Bridge, it was so delightful🥳💥🎉🎊 and thereby the roads were so clean and well maintained, on the way, looked into Casinos and the Goa vibes all around!
Finally we landed in Goa's most famous beach - BAGA.🎊🏄☃️ We had dinner in Britto's restaurant (Mushroom pasta, Laccha paratha - mushroom gravy, French fries with 4 different sauces & mayos, Masala Papad, Lime Soda, Apple - guava mocktail🍟🥘🧋🍩). Dishes were so yummie 😋😋😋😋 and we really enjoyed as it is like "Candle Light Dinner with Beach Theme🍽️🍹🎉".
Roamed around Calangute and Baga areas, did shopping then enjoyed the sea breeze, waves,etc., till 2 am in the morning. Time well spent in BAGA beach and the day ended in happy mood in an expected venue!🥳🥳🥳
Day - 3:
We woke up refreshed in our Baga stay and kicked off the morning with a fun photoshoot — the candids turned out beautifully 🤩 , then had breakfast and went to one of the oldest Forts - Aguada Fort. It was built during Portuguese's Era , located on the south of Candolim, at the shore of the Mandovi River. A freshwater spring within the fort provided water supply to the ships that used to stop by and basically it acted like a defense for Portugese the then.
We had wonderful photoshoot sessions, it has its own scenic beauty as from the fort's wall, one will be able to see the vast Arabian sea on another side stretching endlessly.
The weather was so sunny and in order to quench the thirst, we had some refreshners like Kokkum juice and Jaljeera.
By then, lunch time had come, so we wanted to try some Goan type cuisine, we chose Kutumbh Restaurant! Food was so yummy like we had Konkani Veg Thali (Potato - Rava fry, green gram with coconut curry, cluster beans curry, Rice - Dal, Curd, Kesaribath, Papad) and Konkani Fish Thali (Fish - Rava fry, Fish gravy, Prawn curry, Rice , Papad)
Then we visited one of the famous churches in Goa - The Basilica of Bom Jesus, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As it was X-mas time, it was so crowded and we stood in line to visit an important place in the church. We were told like ,we would be able to see St Francis Xavier's dead body still there in the church who died on 16th century but it remained undecayed. It was really scary when we were about to reach near the body, it was kept in a glass coffin, kind of half-decayed body still able to see fingers and all. People were like touching the top of the coffin, peeping around, bowing down to him.
We travelled for some 20 kms and then decided to have dinner there as we planned to go Murudeshwar and stay, it was around 150 kms but travelling time was 4 hours. So, we started from Goa around 7.30 pm, while on the way, we had dinner in Bharat Cafe, Margoa. It's a nice restaurant in retro style.The cuisine was so good and tasty, we tasted Manglore Buns (must try) - a fluffy, well fermented buns along with its own chutney, Cheese Pav bhaaji, some Rotis with mushroom and paneer gravies.
Had been travelling for continuous 2 to 3 days, we were so exhausted and we all slept as soon as we boarded the car, except the driving friend. we reached Murudeshwar around 12 am in the morning.
The day ended with a sound sleep!😊
Day - 4:
Started the day with a nice breakfast at Naveen beach facing restaurant, Murudeshwar. Murudeshwar’s Shiva temple🛕 must have been an awe-inspiring experience, especially from the Raaja Gopuram's view point - One will be able to see Lord Shiva as well as the beach. It was a very hot day🥵 and crowded too. We had darshan and then enjoyed sometime in seashore near the temple.
Next on our wishlist is Honnavar🌳, we travelled for an hour and had a great meal at Baba's Cafe, rooftop restaurant (highly recommended). Then, we visited the Honnavar mangrove forest boardwalk along the Sharavathi River and Walked 1.5 km to reach the narrow walkway. We went for boating together on the backwaters near the river for around 40 minutes. Witnessing the beautiful sunset🌅 on the Arabian sea from the river boating must have been magical🤯💫✨.
After Honnavar, We started travelling towards Udupi and stopped for a tea break☕ on the way. Checked in in our stay near Malpe Beach🏖️🏝️, then had dinner (Neer Dosa, Mysore Masala Dosa, Dahi Puri, Cheese corn nuggets, Caramel custard) at famous Woodlands restaurant.
Day - 5:
On the Brahma Muhurtham around 5 am, we visited Udupi Krishna Mutt. The temple atmosphere was serene, filled with divine chants and the gentle glow of lamps. The Darshan of beautiful baby Krishna was truly enchanting and it is still reminding in my mind and hearts.💓
Then we had breakfast (Ghee Puttu, Udupi special idli, kesaribath, Idiyappam, Udupi special buns - must try) at Woodlands.
Then we started travelling back to Bengaluru.
It was a beautiful blend of fun, adventure, relaxation and spirituality 🛣️🚗😇💆🏻♂️ — exactly what a coastal Karnataka journey promises.
Memorable trip with memories to cherish for a lifetime !!!👏🏻🌀💤🏖️🌅🚗🧳✨
This adventure wouldn’t have been possible without my loving husband - Bala and my amazing friends - Karthi, Priyanka, Hema, Arun — forever thankful! 😍💖🙏🙏🙏
Captured, not copied 📸
Every picture you see here is clicked by us during our journey—nothing is taken from Google or any other external sources. These moments are completely our own!!!
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