bY TRAIN

By train

Gokarna is connected by rail from Karwar, Ankola, Hubli, Mangalore, Kumta and Margao. The Konkan Railway [1] passes through Gokarna - Kumta (35 km) and Ankola (20 km) are the nearest major railway stations. However, some like Matsyagandha express(Mangalore-Mumbai via Madgaon) do stopover at Gokarna. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation [2] operates buses from these places to Gokarna. Gokarna's train station is actually about 8 kilometers away from the town, taxis usually ask for around Rs 250 whereas Rickshaws should be in the Rs 120-200 range (unless you arrive at nighttime during the monsoon). If you want to save some money, just take a right at the road right in front of the train station. Once you hit the main road, there's a bus stop where you can catch a bus that will take you into Gokarna for Rs 10.

By bus

Two buses operate daily from Bangalore to Gokarna — one non sleeper push-back seat delux state transport bus and one non-AC sleeper VRL private transport bus. It is a 12 hour overnight journey from Bangalore to Gokarna. the experience taking the overnight sleeper was described as "being driven in a bouncy castle driven by the wicked witch of the west" - beware. Till now there is no direct rail transport from Bangalore to Gokarna. Private buses also operate to/from Hampi/Hospet. You can book online ticket to gokarna from http://www.seabirdtourists.com/. National highway 17 is about 9 km from the town. The Bangalore - Goa highway passes through Ankola which is 20 km from the town.