Udupi Mangaluru Goa bus train flight comparison

This post compares various travel options between Udupi/Mangaluru & Goa.

	Pros	Cons
Flight		-Very expensive -No direct flight, one stop only -Airport taxi cost extra -End to End time same/more than train/bus
Train	Very cheap tickets Vande Bharath available	Taxi cost from Railway station to hotel (North Goa)
Drive	Ideal for group of 3-5 people Saves taxi cost inside Goa Very high flexibility	500 INR toll one way Road has few bad patches Not economical for 1 person
Bus	Convenient pickup & drop points Can take a pilot or rents a 2W in Goa	700-1000 INR per person

Flight- there are no direct flights between Mangaluru & Goa. We’ve to fly to Bengaluru or Mumbai and take another flight to reach Goa. This will easily cost 6000-8000 INR one way plus several thousand in airport taxi cost (Goa taxis are expensive, Mangaluru airport to Udupi is 3500 INR in taxi). Thus flight is not really a practical option for Udupi/Mangaluru people planning to visit Goa

Train: There’s Vande Bharath and a dozen other trains on the Konkan railway route connecting Udupi/Mangaluru and Madgaon (Goa)- we can reach Goa in about 5 to 7 hours by train. However we need to factor the cost of reaching the railway station & the cost of reaching the destination in Goa from Madgaon railway station. If you plan to go somewhere in North Goa, taxi costs will be in thousands.

Train ticket- sleeper class can cost as little as 300 INR but it is the last mile connectivity cost (Auto/taxi from Madgaon station) that will burn your pocket.

Driving: There are 5 toll booths between Mangaluru & Goa, collecting about 450-500 INR one way. The road is fine but has several bad patches, under construction sections and monsoon induced potholes. If there’re 4-5 people, driving in our own vehicle makes sense, we can reach Goa in about 5-6 hours from Mangaluru.

Driving saves you the cost and trouble of hiring a taxi or self drive car once inside Goa and gives you lots of flexibility on your plan. We can stop at will (there’s Honnavara, Murudeshwara, Gokarna, Ankola, Karwar etc along the way).

Bus: Buses are a very convenient option, as you can board them anywhere on the highway and get off anywhere till their last stop (Say Mapusa). A bus ticket costs about 700 to 1000 INR depending on operator, seat type, season etc.

I’ve driven to Goa 3-4 times so far from Udupi and used to fly from Chennai/took a bus from Blr once. Trying Udupi-Mapusa Sugama tourist bus service this week. Let me see how it goes.