Date: 1st March, 2010
Since this was my last day in Gokarna, and since I was all by myself, I decided to do things at my own pace.
Woke up at around 10am, did my business in the common restrooms, paid for my room/hut and then checked out. Stocked up on water and said my goodbyes to the staff at Sunset Cafe.
My second post has photos of Sunset Cafe but if you want to call for reservations, the numbers mentioned on the card they gave me are: (0) 94485 26270 & (0) 93410 79315. They have huts and rooms with prices starting from Rs. 250 onwards.
I thought I’d be of service to my readers and friends by checking out a few other hotel options that looked like decent places to stay on Kudle beach.
By far the most expensive hotel on Kudle Beach is Hotel Gokarna International.
And by ‘expensive,’ I mean this is the only proper hotel on Kudle beach. Just about everything else offers simple huts and small bricked rooms. Rates here range from Rs. 1200 ($26/€19) to Rs. 1500 ($33/€24) for double rooms. Not all rooms face the sea — so you can imagine which ones cost more. Hotel Gokarna International has a bar and a restaurant serving both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. And don’t worry, no shared bathrooms here.
Next up is a funky little place called Jazzmin Cafe & German Bakery. They were fairly accommodating and asked me to take as many photos as I wanted. So I did.
When I questioned them on prices, they told me it’s best I e-mail them with my “requirements” (e-mail: jazzmincafe@yahoo.com).
At the other extreme end of Kudle beach is Ganga Cafe, which looked like a pretty decent place too but I couldn’t have been bothered to walk all the way there with all my bags in the hot sun. Sorry.
UPDATE: A reader who visited in December 2017 was kind enough to share some numbers of places to stay on Kudle beach:
- Sangrila Cafe – 9611846251, 9535214217
- Sun Shine Cafe – 9686730995
- Sea View – 8884397213
- Shree Umamaheshwara Cottage – 8884073066, 9343596569
- Sea Rock Cafe – 9916729466, 7829814881
- Goutami Prasad Restaurant & Guesthouse – 9886897597, 9741397597
So with all my bags in tow, I made my way up the rabbit hole for the last time.
I took it slow as with a laptop on my back, a camera bag on the left shoulder and a tripod on the other — it was literally back-breaking.
I then took the same path over the hill to Om Beach, which is where I decided I’d spend the day before heading back to town. The reason I opted to stay back one more day was to take a lot of videos on my camera (Canon 7D). Of course, I did take photos in between.
It was already past noon by the time I reached Om Beach so I decided to have an early lunch. I walked into Namaste Cafe, by far the most popular joint on Om Beach and a preferred stay for many who tend to book rooms in advance.
Their restaurant was quite busy as well.
Namaste Cafe has a variety of rooms from basic huts to air-conditioned rooms and prices start from Rs. 200 upwards. For more information, call (08386) 257141/ (0) 94481 53643.
Om Beach attracted bus loads of people that day, guessing because some people got holidays for the festival of Holi.
After a long & lazy lunch, I decided to walk up Om Beach and climb up the path to Half-Moon beach. So I asked my waiter if I could leave my laptop bag at a safe location at the restaurant itself. After doing so, with my tripod and camera bag, I set off once again.
I had to wear socks this time as my feet were getting blisters and scratches from my floaters and from walking barefoot on the sand.
I took the same path we took the day before.
I stopped at the point from where if you were to take a left turn, you would be on the path to Half-Moon beach.
As it was nearing 5pm, I decided to head back to Om beach.
Back at Namaste Cafe, I collected my laptop bag, washed up, cooled off with a lime soda and then made my way up to the auto stand.
Got into one, and saw the beautiful coastlines of Gokarna one last time while I made my way back into town.
Since I had some time to kill before my boarding the bus, I went to the Gokarna beach area for some photographs.
By this point, my camera battery was dying from all the video I recorded during the day. But I couldn’t help but click these posters.
I don’t know what the play was about but I would’ve loved to have found out. Going by their faces I’m guessing it involves killing the make-up artist.
After this, I switched off my camera and made my way to bus. The VRL buses begin at the same spot they drop you in the morning coming from Bangalore. By 6:45pm, it makes it’s way to the town office where it picks up the remaining passengers.
I took this opportunity to go out and grab some grub. I had a sudden yearning to have some ice cream but some stores ran out. Others pointed me to an old rustic coffee shop up the road.
As I patiently waited for the old man at the counter to finish tabulating his bills, I asked for “ice cream”. And then he ran down the list of flavours he had. Going by what he listed, I realized this was home-made ice cream and not the usual mass-produced artificially-flavoured stuff.
I opted for a scoop of mango and he packed one up in a generic ice cream cup with a lid and spoon. All this for how much? Rs. 6 ($0.13).
In many ways, Gokarna feels like it’s stuck in time. A time and a place where you can get a cup of ice cream for just Rs. 6, where ATMs aren’t available in every nook & corner and amenities are basic at best.
The very same reasons I seemed to love Gokarna. It may not remain like this forever, that’s for sure, but I’m sure about one thing — I’m definitely coming back!
Book Gokarna hotels at Booking.com
Previous posts in this series:
Gokarna 2010: Day 2 – Gokarna town, Kudle Beach and Sunset Cafe
Gokarna 2010: Day 1 – Trekking from Kudle -> Om -> Half Moon -> Paradise beach
kavita
20/03/2010thank u for these pics
😉
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
March 20th, 2010 at 8:03 PM
Thank you for the comment.
*wink*
sanju
24/03/2010It was nice information on gokarna and pics realy good. lot of good explination. Keep it up
Thank you.
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
March 25th, 2010 at 2:31 AM
Thank Sanju. Just curious, how did you come across my blog?
SHARATH
29/03/2010GR8 WORK MITHUN…..PICS & INFO VERY VALUABLE…IT IS JUST THIS KIND OF ADVENTURE I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO AT GOKARNA WHEN I AM THERE, WILL SHARE THEM AFTER I RETURN….CHEERS ONCE AGAIN FOR THE GR8 WORK.
Trinity
31/05/2010Saswara Resort WARNING:
They have horrible customers service.
The receptionist doesn’t have any manners.
She almost spoiled my holiday exp.
Saswara NOT RECOMMENDED
EDIT: I don’t know if this comment is slander from the competition or a genuine complaint against Saswara resort. None the less, take it for what you will. – Mithun
Trinity Reply:
June 4th, 2010 at 7:08 PM
Update: saswara resort Representatives has asked sincere apologies and I was pleased the way they resolved the issue.
Sumit
11/08/2010Hi Buddy,
Theblog is very informative, specially your pics are very good. Thank you for shraing the details and contact numbers, this is the only site which could help me with the numbers.
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
August 11th, 2010 at 7:09 PM
Thanks for you comment Sumit. It’s exactly what I wanted to do with my recent travel posts. Even when I was researching, I found it really difficult to find about places to stay besides Namaste Cafe and Hotel Gokarna which was in the town. So I made it a point to note down the numbers of the whichever place looked decent. If you find any other decent joint, let me know, I shall update the post with the same.
Tanmoy
09/09/2010Hi Mithun,
Your blog is so damn good. I was searching for 2 days for travel guide info of GOKARNA but could not find anyone as helpful, as informative like you. Thanks a lot for your travel log and nice pictures. I’m going today and will follow your path, probably will stay at Sunset cafe 🙂
Cheers,
Tanmoy
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 5:03 PM
Appreciate your comment Tanmoy. Feel free to leave another comment with your experience once your back from your trip. And if you find any other place worth mentioning or recommending, let me know.
Shreekar
27/09/2010Hey Mithun, Gr8 info …. just have a small query … Hows safe would you say Namaste Cafe is at night … I mean when you go there with a Girl (GF/Wife), can you say its a decently safe place !!!!
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
September 30th, 2010 at 5:10 PM
Sorry for the late reply, I’m in Langkawi (Malaysia) currently. Namaste Cafe is the most popular joint on Om Beach so I’m pretty sure it’s safe — but I can’t promise you anything.
Sangeetha
27/09/2010Hey Mithun,
Awesome review..Planning a trip this week to Gokarna..Will post my experience soon!!
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
September 30th, 2010 at 5:10 PM
Thanks for your comment, and have fun!
SHank
04/10/2010Cheers Mate !! Extremely Informative. We went on a 5-hour trip to Gokarna and only managed to catch glimpses of Om beach and Gokarna dirty beach. Wish I had read this blog 3 days before. Anyways come November I will go there again (with a print out of your entire blog and pics)..Really appreciate you 🙂
Sravya
12/10/2010Hey! will going to gokarna for 2 days! this blog gave helped me alot in planning my trip. Thank you 🙂 I just wanted to know if namaste cafe had the best cottages on the beach?
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
October 12th, 2010 at 12:24 PM
Well, I do know they have basic and premium cottages (A/C, non A/C) and I really haven’t checked out the other stay options on Om Beach to give you a definite answer. Namaste Cafe is a popular place only because when you search for stay options in Gokarna, its the one place that comes up often — because they have a website and have been savvy so far.
I ate at their restaurant, had some decent food and their service was good. But experiences vary: http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g651646-d1157812-r64796465-Namaste_Cafe-Gokarna_Karnataka.html
Rahul
24/10/2010Excellent post! Just what I was looking for. And the pictures and your dry humour made the entire article totally worthwhile! Bravo, my friend!
mahaboob
25/10/2010Hi Mithun, thanks for ur excellent explanation about gokarna. actually i am plaanning to go there with my GF. could u please suggent the place to stay. which one wud be better to stay. either on the beach or inthe town. we are planning for 2 days. and alos we planned to visit temples. suggest me which wud be the best?
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
October 25th, 2010 at 2:44 PM
Well, if you are with your girlfriend and you want conveniences, your only options are either Hotel Gokarna International on Kudle Beach or Namaste Cafe on Om Beach. If you can make the climb up & down to Kudle beach, then I recommend Kudle beach over Om beach.
As for temples, there is only one major temple in the town. It’s close to the town beach so its not that hard to find.
Gautam
27/10/2010Mithun, Is there any other decent option to stay at Kudle other than Gokarna International beach resort at Kudle beach? Which would be your 2nd pick after Gokarna International resort? Does Sun Set Cafe have decent rooms for family also?
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
October 28th, 2010 at 1:25 AM
You’ll have to call up Sunset Cafe to see if they have family rooms. I did see larger bricked rooms, but don’t know if they can accommodate families. Don’t know any other stay options for families. Gokarna (Kudle & Om beach) isn’t exactly what I’d call ‘family destinations’. If you’re okay being around guesting smoking up pot and just lazing around, then fine.
Ranjanin
06/11/2010Oh Mithun – I’m a person who is damn fond of beaches.
I liked the way (style) U’ve written about ur time in those beach areas cos that’s my style too. Great.
I’d been to Pondicherry last week & felt like in heavens in Auroville beach. ABSOLUTELY safe beach to play in. My doter, grand doter & myself just played & played in that beach for more than 3 hours & still didnt feel like leaving from there.
How safe it the place near Om beach to stay in? I wanna take my doter & grand doter over there for a day from Bangalore. Though I’ve recorded the mobile numbers U’ve given I wana know from U.
Good luck-Bye for now. ranjanin21@yahoo.com
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
November 6th, 2010 at 8:16 PM
It’s fairly safe… but I can’t promise anything. Its now tourist season so it would be a good time to go as there will be crowds of people.
Rahul
02/12/2010Hi Mithun .. Loved your post.
We are planning to visit OM beach this moonth..I would like to know if there is any facility for Car parking in OM beach / Namaste Cafe ..
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:30 PM
Yes, you can park it on top because you have to take a few steps down to get to Om beach and Namaste Cafe. It’s not too steep or anything, but yes, there is parking space available.
chethan
12/12/2010Hey, great job Mithun, ur effort appreciated man.. iv been there once but after reading the blog felt like i could have had more fun on those beaches… lovely place to be in and planning to go on dec 30th, this time lets see hw much fun i can have with all these info this time around. il share my experince and some more info about Gokarna when i come back this….
Regards,
Chethan
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
December 13th, 2010 at 2:55 PM
Feel free to do so, and if you hit up Kudle beach, take down some more numbers of some of the shacks which are not mentioned on this blog post. It will be useful for others.
Sushil
29/12/2010Thanx.. For the Phone #’s … Have Gone to Gokarna Before… But never bothered to write in any blog… The pics are really amazing and the Video’s gud…. Thanx for all the #.. that were updated….
Sharmila
15/02/2011Thank you so so so much for this!! you have no idea how much it helped me and my friends out. None of us had been to gokarna and since it was just a group of girls travelling, we weren’t sure about where to go and how to go about it. You’re our hero 😀
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
February 16th, 2011 at 1:24 PM
This blog post has helped quite a lot of people. Have fun in Gokarna Sharmila 🙂
akshath
21/04/2011hey mithun…good job on the pics….i wanted to ask if these places will be open in may as well….few of us are planning to go to gokarna from goa around the 10th of may….you think its a good idea(accomodation wise)?
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
April 21st, 2011 at 8:25 PM
Well, despite how popular this post is on Gokarna, I’m still no expert on the place 🙂 Having said that, I’m sure these places will be open as most of them are run by locals who turned their own homes into shacks to cater to tourists. They’re not going anywhere and May is still a decent time to go. Monsoon season is surely when business will slow down.
Paritosh
10/08/2011Hey Mithun,
Appreciate this awesome contribution of urs for all the travelers planning to go to gokarna, by sharing info in such detailed and visualized manner using pictures of all the places worth visiting.
Am visiting gokarna this weekend, thanks to u am more prepared and know where to go instead of wasting time wandering around. I was wondering how easy is to find a bike or car for hire in case wanna drive down to job falls and other places in the surrounding as am staying there for 4 days.
thanks again!
paritosh
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
August 10th, 2011 at 8:06 PM
Thank you so much for another one such comment 🙂 Glad to know this was of help to you. Do let me know how your stay turned out so I know which hotel/shack is good.
As for car rentals, I’m not too sure Paritosh but you will surely find somebody who can arrange one. Bikes are much easier to come by and if the hotels themselves can’t arrange one, you can find a few bike rentals in the main town near the Gokarna temple.
Vineet KK
30/09/2011Hi Mithun,
Thanks for providing plenty of useful information for a Gokarna visitor. I am planning to visit there this month and will be of great help if you can clarify a few points.
1. If I am staying at Om Beach (Namaste Cafe) , is it walkable distance to the Mahabaleswara temple? I would like to visit temple 2 times, so each time looking for auto is not a good option.
2. There are some reviews about Namaste Cafe not being a clean place. What is your opinion?
3. Any good veg restaurants in Gokarna?
thanks,
Vineet
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
September 30th, 2011 at 5:38 PM
Hey Vineet,
If you are referring to the main temple in Gokarna, Vineet you have no choice but to take an auto. Om beach is a good 15-20 minute drive to the main town. Is it walkable? Sure, if you don’t mind climbing up and down, you could do it in around 30-45minutes, but it will surely tire you. Please refer to my second post: http://mithunonthe.net/2010/03/14/gokarna-2010-day-2-gokarna-town-kudle-beach-and-sunset-cafe/
As for Namaste Cafe, people’s opinion’s and experiences vary Vineet. Namaste Cafe is the most popular hotel option in Gokarna because they were one of the first to market themselves well. So lots of people stay there, and I can’t vouch for their rooms because I haven’t stayed there yet. The more you pay, the better room you get. There aren’t many such hotels in Gokarna as the rest are all shacks.
Vegetarian restaurants are the only thing you will find in the main temple town. On Om Beach and Kudle Beach, you won’t find strictly vegetarian restaurants. They’re cafes that serve both veg and non-veg, so don’t be surprised when you find Israeli breakfast(!) not find idlis on the menu 🙂 Om and Kudle caters to the tourist and foreign crowds, not the religious crowd who visit Gokarna for the temple. So if visiting the temple is your main purpose of going to Gokarna, I don’t think Om or Kudle Beach are your best choices for basing yourself.
Thanks for the comment 🙂
Vishal
15/10/2011We are planning to gokarna from college,nearly 60 students both boys ang girls…. Can u suggest anything like Big halls to stay….
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
October 15th, 2011 at 1:26 PM
Sorry but 60 people at a time, there is absolutely no hotel near the beaches of Om or Kudle that can accommodate that many. You may ask Hotel Gokarna International in the town but I don’t think even they have halls. When I see college bus tours, I see them only take the students to Om Beach.
Harish
30/11/2011U rock man, i have read most of ur blogs n s u du have lot of amazing pics and even im intrested in photography but an ameture as of now…. keep up the great work.
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
November 30th, 2011 at 3:22 PM
Thanks for the compliments and as for photography, trust me, I learnt by just clicking. I didn’t begin with an expensive DSLR mind you 🙂
Harish
30/11/2011Im planning for an New Year Trip hope it turns out good as ur blog has multiplied my expectations… 🙂
Harish
30/11/2011As of now i have a 14 MP Digital SLR but not satisfied with the quality would love to take up a course and graduate to a more professional camera and then pursue my photography as of now i have some time crunch… So wrz ur next trip to?
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
December 1st, 2011 at 11:46 AM
A 14mp DSLR isn’t good enough? 🙂 I suggest you best learn how to properly use it before upgrading. My next trip is to a place called Gandikota in Andhra Pradesh.
Harish
02/12/2011Checked out Gandikota cool place…. please update with the Roads and accomadaion over there…..
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
December 2nd, 2011 at 12:34 PM
Oh you have been there? Where did you stay?
rahul
02/12/2011gr8 info on this page…
v r 2 cples going to gokarna this december 2nd week ..any good and budget place to stay at half moon beach? huts will do.. pl give contact numbers if u have…and is half moon beach very small? is it too deserted and safe for ladies?what is cost of huts? and where should we stop from train at ?kumta or karwar ? which is more near to half moon beach? how do we go from kumta/karwar to half moon?
and anybody went to paradise beach in this november? heard that forest dept have removed shacks and if this is wrong we want to stay at paradise beach only and hoping that may be huts have sprung up again after demolition..(exactly this happens in cities) and for that huts contact numbers needed
and how do u compare goa beach stay with gokarna? basically we dont want crowds and have been to goa last year.. and thanks for replies in advance
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
December 2nd, 2011 at 7:29 PM
Any more questions? 🙂
Sorry but I can’t answer most of them and you’ll have to do your own research. I never took the train to Gokarna and instead, just went by bus. I don’t have phone numbers for anything except for the ones listed above. Since it’s been over one & half years since I posted this, I don’t remember anything from Half Moon beach or Paradise beach, but yes they are remote. Safety will only depend on the crowd you come across during your stay but considering only Om beach sees the bus load of tourists, the other beaches are usually frequented by the more adventure seeking Indian crowd and foreigners.
You can’t compare all of Goa to Gokarna. Goa has extremely crowded beaches and then you have less crowded ones in both north and south Goa — you just need to find them. Gokarna is a better bet if you have already been to Goa, but mind you, you are going in a month when tourism to these spots are often at its peak.
Rahul Devnath
05/12/2011Interestingly me and my friends have been going to Gokarna for past 3 years. But you blog is a great experience with all the beautiful pictures even for people who have already been there. Gokarna has also grown much in these years and lot of crowd. Let’s see how’s it going be this time.