Chikmagalur And River Tern Resorts

Welcome to the jungle, welcome to my home,
 A place where I live, the place where I roam.

Chikmagalur is a calm, serene town full of scenic surprises: hills, valleys, streams and the aroma of coffee wafting in the misty air. This famous coffee town, is located at a height of over 1900 meters in a luxuriant valley south of the Baba Bundangiri range. Blessed with silver cascades of mountain streams,rugged mountain trails and lush vegetation, Chikmagalur is a trekker’s delight.

After planning for a Long time , I could materialize only 2 plans .

PLAN A:

Best Planned Weekend Trip for chikmagalur and River Tern :-

Day 1 :-

1) Leave Bangalore at 6:00 am .

2) Reach River Tern Lodges and Resort at around 12.00 p.m . Enjoy the  package , which is Full “PAISA VASOOL” .

Day 2:-

3) Check out at 10.00 from River Tern .Go to Kallathi falls .

4) Reach Kallathi Falls in an 1 and a half hr at around 11:30 .enjoy for 30 min .

5) Set out for Hebbe Falls at 12.00 . Reach there at around 1.00 .

6) Have lunch packs and Enjoy for 2 hrs .

7) Set out for Mullayanagiri at 3:00 .Reach Mullayanagiri in 2 :00 hrs .

8) Enjoy the Sunset in Mullayanagiri .

9) Set back to Bangalore .

PLAN B:

Since I was traveling with my Parents and driving myself , I made a 3 day trip  .

The Best Planned 3-day trip for Chikmagalur and River Tern :-

Day 1:-

1) Leave Bangalore at 6:00 a.m to Chikmagalur .

2) Reach chikmagalur at around 12:30 . Stay at Chikmagalur in “Planters Court” or “Vasanth Vihar Hotel” .

3) Lunch + Rest . Set out to Bababudangiri at 3:00 p.m .

4) Reach bababudangiri at 4:30 . spend some time in Datta Peta .

5) set out for Mullayanagiri at 5:00 .

6) Reach Mullayanagiri at 5:30 . Enjoy sunset .

7) Come back to Gandhi Amusement Park on BR Hill Road at 7:30 .

8) Enjoy roaming in the park . Having a ride in Kids Train .

9) Have dinner before going to Hotel .

Day 2 :-

9) Set out for Hirekolale Lake,Chikmaglur at 5:30 a.m , which is about 24 km .Takes 1 hr .

10) Reach there at 6:30 a.m .spend 1 hr and click some beautiful pics .

11) Come back to hotel at 8:30 a.m.Freshen Up , breakfast .

12) Set out for River Tern at 10:00 a.m .

13) Reach River Tern Lodges and Resort at around 12.00 p.m . Enjoy the  package , which is Full “PAISA VASOOL” .

Day 3:-

14) Check out at 10.00 a.m from River Tern .Go to Kallathi falls .

15) Reach Kallathi Falls in an 1 hr 30 min at around 11:30 .enjoy for 1:00 hr .

15) Set out for Hebbe Falls at 12.30 p.m . Reach there at around 1.30 p.m .

16) Have lunch packs and Enjoy for 2hr 30 min .

17 Set out for Bangalore .

HOW TO REACH THERE :

You could take up 2 routes .

1) If you are taking up Plan A that means you want to go to River tern or Kemangundi first :-

follow -> Bangalore ->Tumkur -> Tiptur -> Arasikere-> Tarikere -> River Tern

Refer – http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/5444-bangalore-chikmaglur-trip-2.html   —–> #24 by Mogambo

2) If you are taking up Plan B that means you want to go to Chikmagalur first :

follow -> BLR-Magadi-Kunigal-Hassan-Belur-CKM

Refer – http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-travel-queries/62597-bangalore-chikmagalur.html

ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBERS :

Hotel Vasanth Vihar – Ratangiri Road , Chikmagalur , Karnataka – 577101 , India

Phn : 08262- 235585

The link has all the phone numbers and address of the Hotels in Chikmagalur .

These guys are genuine fellows and you can deposit some advance in their bank account to confirm your booking .

http://chickmagalur.nic.in/htmls/resorts_hotels.htm

River Tern Lodges -  It is located on a hillock, at the edge of the picturesque Bhadra River, near Lakkavalli, adjoining the northern boundaries of the Bhadra Tiger Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary .
Phn : 91 – 80- 25597021 , 91 – 80- 25597024 , 91 – 80- 25597025 , 91 – 80- 25586163

Enquiry can me made from – http://www.junglelodges.com/index.php/contact-us.html

HOW MUCH WOULD IT COST : Around Rs 4500 per head .

1) River tern : Rs 3250 per head includes Lunch , Dinner and Breakfast.

2) Hotels in Chikmagalur depends on you . They are available from Rs 450 per room per night to Rs 14000 per room per night .

3) We took 1 ac room at Rs 850 in Vasanth Vihar Hotel .

4) Lunch at our expense – twice – Costs Rs 350 average per Lunch

5) Dinner at our expense – Once – Costs us 750 .

6) In all the Petrol expenses came close to Rs. 2800 .

7) Water Sports in River Tern are charged :-

   ‘Tranquiliser’ – 250 per head .

   ‘kayakeing , pedal boating , canoeing’ – 200 per head

   There is a Group package , which includes all sports and costs just 450 .

You can book Jungle Lodges and Resort from : http://www.junglelodges.com/index.php/online-reservation.html

HOW ABOUT THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE :-

We completely missed out our plans and Deadlines by huge margins .

Day 1 :-

We started from home at 9:40 a.m .Got stuck in traffic near Iscon Temple .

We took magadi road – kunigal route .

We reached Chikmagalur at around 4:00 p.m .To our surprise there were no rooms available in Planters court. Then we went to Vasanth Vihar Hotel .There were no rooms in that too .

Then we parked our car inside vasanth vihar hotel and started calling all the hotels from the list we were carrying . There was not a single hotel which said yes to us .

We became disappointed ,since the time was passing by and we were getting late for the sunset .

Finally after wasting a lot of time Receptionist of Vasanth Vihar Hotel gave us 1 Ac room at Rs. 850 for 4 of us. But it was around 5:45 and hence we decided to rest at hotel .In the evening we went to Gandhi Amusement Park .Day 1 was completely flop for us .

Day 2:-

We checked out of Hotel at around 7:30 a.m in the morning .Had Breakfast in a decent canteen on that BR hill road .Then we went to Mullayanagiri .It took us only 50 min to reach Mullayanagiri .

The beauty there was amazing . It was little cool there also at the top .
3 things were good there – 1) Temple at the Top 2) mystery Caves 3) temple 2 km before Mullayanagiri .

The clock showed 09:50 and we set out for River Tern.
We reached there at 12:10 p.m . We checked in , got refreshed .

River Tern Lodges and resort :-

The River Tern Lodge is a perfect blend of nature and wildlife .The lodge gets its name from the congregation of thousands of River Terns during their breeding on a nearby island.The River Tern Lodge is the ideal spot to get acquainted with nature in its serene beauty .

Just glance outside from your window toward your balcony . you wouldn't like to get away your eyes from there .JUST AMAZING .Wooden Hut was fully air conditioned .Our package Includes :-

1) Lunch – 1:00 p.m to 3:00 p.m

Lunch was delicious .

2) Safari in open Jeep – 4:00 p.m – 6:00 p.m

There were few places inside the jungle which are “JUST TOO BEAUTIFUL”

We were victim of an elephant charge too .But that was the best part of the safari . It was breath taking .

3) Tea and snacks – 6:15 p.m – 7:00 p.m

4) Documentary on TV – 7:00 p.m – 7:45 p.m

5) Dinner – 8:30 p.m .Dinner also was good .

6) Morning Tea and Snacks – 6:45a.m – 7:15 a.m

7) In case you want to do water sports (On your Own Expenses) – 7:00 am – 8:45 a.m

Here comes the second best part of the Trip .Water sports .

We did ‘Trampoline’ there .It was awesome . We enjoyed our heart out .

Water sport in charge also was very entertaining . He made music from water .

  8) 9:00 – 10:00 – Boating

This was the 3rd best thing of the Trip .Indeed a spectacular sight to behold! You can get mesmerized by observing their preening, feeding, cackling and many interesting antics .At one place we saw a herd of Wild dogs and wild Boars .This jungle experience was truly amazing .
       After such an amazing experience , I didn't wanted to exhaust my parents with a tight schedule.Hence I canceled the program for going to the Falls .

We set out for Bangalore at 12:30 p.m and reached bangalore by 7:00 p.m .

SOME SCENIC SPOTS IN AND NEAR CHIKMAGALUR WHICH YOU SHOULD NOT MISS:-

Kemmangundi: 55 km north from Chikmagalur town is Kemmangundi, a scenic hill station on the Baba Budan Giri range of hills.

Hebbe Falls: This beautiful waterfall is over 10 km away from the famous hill station, Kemmangundi.

Kudremukh and National Park: 95 km southwest of Chikmagalur town is Kudremukh range (in Kannada Kudure = horse and mukha = face), so named because of the unique shape of the Kudremukh peak. If you are able to trek at the ToP Of Kudremukh , you will be able to glance on the Western coast of India .

Mullayanagiri:Beautiful Hill in BabaBudan Giri ranges famous mostly for watching sunsets from.

Kallathigiri Falls: Just 10 km away from Kemmangundi is Kallahathigiri falls, also known as Kalahasti falls.

River Tern Nestling in Bhadra Wildlife SanctuaryBhadra Wildlife Sanctuary: Occupying 495 km². of wildlife sanctuary and Project tiger reserve, this region is an important watershed of the Tungabhadra river. The huge reservoir here is the main water supply to several districts in the rain shadow regions of south Karnataka.River Tern resort is a Jungle Lodges Property with a beauiful location

St. Mary's Island

St. Mary’s Island got their name courtesy Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama who descended on these islands in 1498 before he reached Calicut. Gama called one of the islands “El Padron de Santa Maria.” The northernmost island is about a square mile in area and not more than 250 yards in width. It has a coconut grove, which makes it the shadiest island of the group .If you have never seen green and crystal clear water beach, here is the chance to see one .

HOW TO REACH THERE :-  

# The way to St. mary’s Island lies in between Mangalore and Turtle Bay Beach Resort on NH17 .

# We had planned to cover this in our return journey to Bangalore .

# After about 60 km from turtle bay towards mangalore , you will see Malpe Fisherman Association Board on the right hand Side .A better landmark is Sunshine Restaurant.This lane adjacent to this goes to the St. Mary’s Island fairy boarding point .

# You will have to pay some Rs. 5 per person to enter the Fishermen Board Area .

# Then you have to pay Rs. 100  per person as fairy charges to the St. Mary’s Island .

# The large fairy takes about 20 min to reach the island .

# Just 400 m from the island the large fairy transports people into smaller fairies which decks the island .

HOW ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE ON THE ST. MARY’s ISLAND :-

#The trip was wonderful.It is just like how you would have seen the pics in google .  

#It was worth standing in the queue for about 3 hours but try to avoid St. Mary’s island on a Holiday .It becomes too much crowded .

#I have never seen crystal clear , green water in India (don’t consider Andaman and Lakshwadeep).

If you like travelling and have not seen St. Mary’s Island , you have missed a very special site .

# I have never seen crystal clear , green water in India (don’t consider Andaman and Lakshwadeep).

If you like travelling and have not seen St. Mary’s Island , you have missed a very special site .

# I found it so beautiful that i canot descibe it in my words .

# You can get coldrinks and snacks on that island (only on weekends and holidays).There is no restaurant , so stuff yourself befre you go for the island trip .
# It is advisable to carry your own water and snacks .
# The fairy has timings . I think it runs on each hour .The frequency on that day was much better , probably 40 min, since the crowd was huge .
#Last fairy goes around 3.00 p.m .If the weather is good , you will love to spend whole day on that Island .

While returning we had dinner at Sunshine restaurant at around 8.00 p.m and headed back to bangalore .We reached bangalore at around 6:30 a.m . 

Beautiful Kovalam Beach

I visited Allepey and took an Awesome 22 hour House Boat Trip before starting for Kovalam .
The Road was extremely good . It was  a drive along the western coast of India , so we could see the sea shore along our route .We halted 2 times in between for 45(toilet)min, 45 (lunch)min each and reached Kovalam at around 4.00 p.m . Don’t be surprised , if you are served with hot and red coloured water . This is Mallu style . The driver(named Levin) was very good .

Our resort “Travancore palace Beach resort” was not on the beach as expected , but was not too far from the beach too .It was just 2 min walk from the beach .It had a nice swimming pool , nice rooms . But the rates were almost at par with the resorts or hotels on the Beach .standard room was Rs. 1500 (off season) in our resort and it costed around 1600 in “Pappukutty Beach Resort” .The same room will cost around 24oo in season .

We changed to our Beach attire and headed towards the beach .The view before the Light house gate is awsome and photographic .

 If you would get to the beach from the Light house side , you would pass a lot of restaurants and hotels just infornt of the beach separated by a platform .Down the Platform on to the beach , the sand is very soft but black .

The beach was very beautiful , full of foreigners , the water was super clean , The sand was black at some places . After about 20 min , the sun started setting . I think , I have seen the best sunset ever .

We went to the 2 hillocks , which is actually the best point to view the Sunset.Then we rushed in search of a massage parlour .There was a massage parlour , just 50 steps down towards the light house from our resort.Full Body relaxation Massage costed 700 rs.This was followed by free Steam bath .It was realy refreshing .

Then in the night we went out for the dinner in “Coconut Groove” .I was tired of eating south indian food , so we ordered  paneer pasanda, 1 vodka  with lemonide for me , 1 mocktail for my better half and chapatis .I expected that north indian food would be bad , but it turned down my expectations.Kovalam is very costly .Normal vegetarian  dish costed around 150-225 bugs .Our bill costed around 670 .There were only 4 variety of hard drinks available there .1 Beer was around 120 bugs .The experience of having dinner facing sea was something you cannot have anywhere except Kovalam Sea Facing Restaurants.

Next Day I got up at around 5.30 a.m and went to the beach around 5.45 a.m , assuming to see a beautiful sunrise .But sun rises from east and i was on the west coat of india , so poor show .We had a very good photo shoot in the  morning .

We didnot went ahead the sunset view point rocks the previousday , but real beauty of the beach was beyond that point .

The sand was white there and was very smooth and cool .That part of beach was devoid of Restaurants and Hotels . It was fully clean and amazing . A long walk in the shallow waters was very Romantic .I bathed in the crystal clear water of the Sea .It is also safe beach for swimming  .Since the crowd comprises mostly foriegners,my indian girls and ladies would feel comfortable in beach wear .

 We had breakfast at a Restaurant which stands 1st from the Light House . 1 plate vegetable sandwitch was around 50 bugs and 1 fruit bowl was around 75 bugs .
        
When the clock struck 11.30 a.m , we headed towards Bangalore .You can catch bus to bangalore from Trivandrum which is around 25km from Kovalam . Buses from Trivandrum to bangalore starts at around 3.30 .It is 14 hour drive .We took our bus from cochin , because there was hell lot of problems we faced beacuse of the Travel Agent .Please visit http://www.developmyindia.blogspot.com/ to know some of the facts which you should be cautious while travelling to Kerala .This blog will tell some of the bitter experience we faced beacuse of our travel agent . 

Please check my Post "Kerala - God's Own Country" for planning your Kovalam Trip .

WORD OF CAUTION – Don’t plan your package through Annapurna Travels (Mr. Ambrose).

BOTTOM LINE IS – KERALA IS REALLY GODS OWN COUNTRY .PEOPLE ARE GREAT . FOOD IS GOOD ,MASSAGES ARE REFRESHING , BEACH WATERS ARE CRYSTAL CLEAR .
HEY BEACH LOVERS  WHAT ELSE YOU WANT

Allepey House Boat Trip

Please check my Post "Kerala - God's Own Country" for planning your Allepey House Boat trip .
All the Houseboats are parked at the point from where the famous Nehru Cup begins .We were on the deck along with some ration and 3 men .1 cook , 1 Boat driver and 1 manager .As soon as we came on the deck we checked each and every thing .

 It had 2 rooms with 2 windows. It had a nice bed ,clean bathroom , beautiful Mosqito Net , fans , lights . Outside was the Dyning Area , Luckily the rain had stopped and the weather was cloudy with cool breeze blowing .I think this was the best part our house boat ride .As usual , i was playing with my Camera .My wife was getting irritated because i was spending more time clicking the photos than talking to her(can’t resist the beauty of nature) .

 

In between we bought fresh Prawns . Please bargain before you buy these fresh prawns , because they costed Rs. 900/kg .

Since we were contantly persuading  our Boar driver to buy the prawns and they struggled a lot to get the boat onto the shop that is why we bought 500 gms for rs . 450 .

At around 3.00 p.m we stopped for Lunch . It was such a romantic lunch -  Boat in the middle of the Lake with beautifully presented Food -(Fried Fish , dal , Rice , Prawns , Mooli , Sambar , Chapati) .I felt like the King of the Boat – 3 people just for me . Again we started , my wife drove the Boat for sometime and i was taking all sort of Crazy photographs .By that time the manager of the Boat knew that i am a true nature lover . We had 1 advantage that we had a comparitively small boat .

I asked him to take us only through the small canals . I saw a lot of Local people catching fishes with a stic and a thin thread with hook  . 

Some were using the public transport boats for their commutation .Some were rich so ,they had thier own boats .

Rich guys have Speed Boats parked in their garadges .There were bridges connecting the 2 sides of the canal .There was a beautiful church in the middle somewhere .It was awsome .You can seen the real beauty only when you travel to and from Allepy. 

I earlier had an intenstion of taking the Boat from Allepey to Kumarakoan . But , if you want to see the real beauty of nature don’t take this option . If you go from Allepey to Kumarakoan , you will ride only through the big Lake Vembanad. You will not find time to go through the small canals .

We stopped at 5.30 p.m infront of the Cooks home . Generally all the house boats rests at a common place , so we were little frightened at that time because only our houseboat was parked there .We took a long walk inside the Village , paddy fields and talked to some children in the sign language .We spent a very nice evening playing chess , chatting , singing , fishing .By the time we felt tired , food was again presented . It was nice , hygenic but i didnot liked it on that evening probably beacause i was eating the kadipata tadka for the 3rd time .While we were eating ,it started pouring like cats and dogs(rained heavily) .We went to sleep at around 10.00.But there was a fear building up in my minds primarily because of family . The windows were open ,  our boat was all alone in some village and we were on water .I remember taking a nap and then waking up like a dog as soon as i hear some noise  beacuse of some fish dive or running water .We woke up at 7.00 next morining with a nice Tea .

My wife did some fishing exrcise for some time , with no success .
Then at around 8.15 a.m , we got our breakfast (Idly , sambhar , Tea , Biscuits and Pineapple) .We left the House Boat at around 10.30 a.m .

Kerala - Plan And Review Allepey House Boat and Kovalam Trip

This is my first travel blog post , so i thought to start with the GOD’s OWN COUNTRY – Kerala .I had realised almost 1 month back that there is a Long Weekend(2nd Oct , 3rd Oct, 4th Oct) coming up .Even on my Jammu trip , I had Kerala ruling over mind . On 24th Sep , after checking out the Plan for the full trip , I went to Madiwala to Book the Tickets to Allepey .Though my wife told me that we should Hurry Up. I didn’t took her seriously . Finally my budget tour plan , took the biggest Jolt .Tickets were not available in any of the Buses .Thereby I got my first Lesson – For enjoying a long weekend around Bangalore , you should book your tickets at least 2 to 3 weeks in Advance .We had only 1 option left , that is to take a Packaged Tour from Choice Travels . A BUDGET TOUR to Kerala(only Allepey and Kovalam) for a couple could range between 11,500 to 14000 depending on the Class of Bus and choice Of Hotel.We had some specific requirements like Volvo Transfers and Beach resort .So, When we were planning the trip by ourselves, it was coming around 13700 for both of us with the Following break Up . Food is not included in the Above Assumptions .

OUR FIRST CHOICE :-
The Following Package for 2 days 2 nights would have cost us Rs. 13700

Day 1 Late Evening :-
1. Volvo Transfer from Bangalore to Allepey – Rs 950 * 2
We started at around 7.45 p.m in the evening from Bangalore
Day 2:-
2. Non Ac Deluxe House Boat for 22 hours from 12.00 p.m to 10.30 a.m (with Lunch , Dinner and Breakfast) – This was Rs. 4500 to Rs. 5500
Refer to the http://www.keralahouseboat.biz/kerala-houseboat-tariff.html
Day 3:-
3. Non Ac Indica with driver from Allepey to Kovalam  – Rs. 3400
A very well behave driver named Levin who accompanied us in our trip – 09446626448
4. Ac room in Pappukutty Beach Resort in Kovalam beach – Rs 1500 .
http://www.pappukuttybeachresort.com/facilities.html
Day 4 :-
5. Back to Allepey through same Non- AC Indica .
6. Volvo Tranfer from Allepey to Banaglore - 950 * 2

PLAN WHICH GOT MATERIALIZED :-

Since we had planned our trip and didn’t wanted to drop our plans for Kerala Trip , so we took a Customized package from CHOICE TRAVELS .
The following package for 2 days and 2 nights cost us Rs. 15,000

Day 1 Late Evening :-
1. Volvo Transfer from Sofia Lines (which was extremely good Volvo Bus) from Banagalore to Allepey – (1st October Evening)
Day 2 :-
2. Non-AC Deluxe House Boat from Star House Boats (with Lunch , Dinner and Breakfast)- 12.00 p.m(2nd October) to 10.00 a.m (3rd October)
Day 3 :-
3. Non- AC Indica tranfer from Allepey to Kovalam  .(3rd October)
4. Travancore Palace Beach resort in Kovalam – Deluxe Room .(3rd to 4th October)
Day 4 :-
5. Back to Allepey through same Non- AC Indica .
6.. Volvo tranfers from Allepey to Banaglore – (4th October Evening)

EXPERIENCE FROM BANGALORE TO ALLEPEY :-

We started at around 7.45 p.m in the evening from Bangalore .The Volvo Journey was very much comfortable . It halted in the night for Dinner at a quite descent Restaurant . I wake up in Cochin (everybody calls it Ernakulum) at around 5.30 a.m . The bus dropped us at 7.15a.m in Allepey . It was rainig terribly there .We reached the office of Star House Boat Office comfortably (adjacent to Aluuka Jwellery shop) .It was like an OLD BDA Building , which was fully Manless at 7.15 a.m .They gave us 1 room for refreshment which was like a lodge ,suitable only for refreshment . They told us that pick up vehicle will come at around 11.30 a.m .We freshened up by 8.30 a.m and went out of the Complex .
 

There was a restaurant Just outside the Complex which was looking ok and Hygenic .I think that was the only restaurant , which was open at that time .To my surprise , food was not only descent but was Damm cheap too .I think we payed just Rs. 30 for 2 plates IDLY and 2 Tea .Since we had 3 hours we set out for Allepey beach .It was just 5-6 km from Alluka jwellery .I think Auto took Rs 30 .It was ok , water was not that clean . We clicked some good photographs near Sanjay Park .

ALLEPEY BEACH :-

On the beach , there is 1 place where Sea water is forming a Stream into the City . If somebody Plans to go to Allepey for its beach , please don’t .Its only worth doing a time pass for couple of hours . Some construction work was happeining when I visited Allepey beach , probably they are trying to make it more beautiful .Then we came back to the House Boat Office .

 

Virgin/Untouched Turtle Bay Beach Resort

Down to the beach , Down to the beach , On a sunny day we go
Down to the beach , Down to the beach , Where a pleasant sea breeze blows
Let’s have some fun , In the red-hot sun
Down to the beach , Down to the beach , there is still sun without snow

Turtle Bay Beach Resort is Located at Kundapura in Karnataka, Turtle Bay Beach Resort offers you the luxury of lounging on pristine golden sands, amidst swaying coconut palms.

The resort gets its name from the sea turtles that inhabit the beach during the nestingseason from October to December every year.

HOW TO REACH THERE FROM BANGALORE (Turtle Bay Beach Resort) : There are 2 routes whichleads to Kundapura where the resort is situated :-

 Address :-
Turtle Bay Beach Resort
Kanchugodu. Gujjadi Post.
KundapurTaluk .Udupi Dist.
Karnataka, PIN 576235  

Phone Numbers :-
Tele-:08254 265422, Mob-:09741133451  

Email: turtlebayindia@yahoo.com  

Website : www.turtlebayeco.com

1. First route (Bangalore – Mangalore -Turtle Bay Beach Resort)  

# Take the Chowdaiah Road ,NH4 (pass by Aranya Bhavan as landmark) , follow the NH4 for about 60 km .  

#Then take the NH 206 (Pass by Petrol bunk as a Landmark ) , follow the NH 206 for about 150 km .

# Word Of Caution :: Be careful before entring the Ghat Section , Roads are Damn Bad . i had seen 2,3 vehicles punctured in between . Check your tyres before and after the sghats Section.  

# Then take NH 48 , Hassan Main Road , follow NH 48 for about 190 Km . you will Come to Mangalore .  

# Take NH 17 from Mangalore which leads to Goa .  

# You will see Malpe Fisherman Association Board on the Left hand Side .A better landmark is Sunshine restaurant.This point is about 50 km from mangalore .The lane adjacent to this goes to the St. Mary’s Island fairy boarding point .  

#For turtle bay beach resort still carry on for about 65km till you get the Trasi village.On the left hand side you will find 1 wine shop named “Anugraha Wines”.Take left adjacent to this and another left from the deadend .Continue straight for about  200m .You will find Turtle Bay Beach Resort on the right .  

Though this was mentioned as only 465 km from bangalore .But in practical this was around 540km from HSR Layout,Bangalore .  

2. Second Route -(Bangalore – Shimoga – Kundapur)  

HOW MUCH TIME WOULD IT TAKE :-
1. Bangalore to Turtle Bay Beach Resort (8 hours approximately):- 

# This is a weekend destination .We started at around 11.00 p.m from Bangalore and reached Turtle Bay around 12.00 p.m .
# This also includes 2 hours break in between + 2.5 hours jam at the outer of Bangalore .

# With a Non-stop break , you can reach turtle bay in 8 hours .

# This would take even less time if you follow the Shimoga route.I heard this route is very secluded with less people preferring it at night .

# With a Non-stop break , you can reach turtle bay in 8 hours .
# This would take even less time if you follow the Shimoga route.I heard this route is very secluded with less people preferring it at night .


HOW MUCH WOULD IT COST (whole trip – 4200 per person in a group of 5):-

We went in the peak season that is on 25th Dec holiday so it was 20% costly at that time .  

Please check out the rates in following link :-
http://www.turtlebayeco.com/rooms.html
#There are 4 types of rooms available – A/c Room , DLX Room , Standard Room , Budget Cabana .
# There is also a Dormitory available in case of big group .
# If you are going with family prefer to take standard room and above .

# Budget cabbana is like a hut with a double bed , fan , dressing table and a cubbord inside .There is no toilet and bathroom attached to Budget Cabanna but the common toilets are well maintained .1 part of the wall is concrete and other is Crisscrossed with Bamboo logs .Couples might not like the privacy it offers , but it is wonderful for bachelors and adventurists .

# Most Important Comment – Rooms gets booked very soon, since it is near to Manipal University .I booked it 1 month in advance through a Demand Draft of Rs. 2000 and still manage to get only the leftover – 1 standard room and 1 budget cabanna . 

Detailed Breakup of the trip :-
1. Around 1100 km covered – which costed us around 8500 with driver bhada .
2. Dinner is costly which is around 270 per head .
3. Lunch you have to order 2,3 hours in advance .
4. We went to a very small rock island which costed rs. 2000 for the fairy charges .
5. St. Mary’s Island fairy charges – 100 per head .
6. Rest was spent on food + snacks .

Specialty of the Turtle Bay Beach Resort :-  

Turtle Bay Beach Resort offers exciting outdoor options for the wild and the adventurous.Trekking, Scuba diving, snorkelling,and boat rides – find out which activity suits yourwild side best!  

Scuba Diving is only for the Licenced divers and is very costly – Rs. 6500 .
Snorkelling is also quite costly – Rs. 3500
Boat Ride is about – Rs. 2000 for a complete boat .

How About the Experience :-  

# We started in a fully adventuruous mode .Halted at a coffee cafe day at around 2.00 a.m.  

#Then made a second halt for 5-10 min before the bad tracks of Western Ghats started.Driver checked all the 4 tyres of the car.That patch of 60 km was pathetic .I saw about4 small cars punctured in the way .I advice – don’t take your own car . 

#Then we made the third halt after mangalore at Vishwasagar Vegetarian Restaurant .  

# The 4th halt was our destination – Turtle Bay Beach Resort .Even before going to the rooms , we checked out each and every thing on the resort .To my surprise , it was very beautiful . 

# In between we wasted so much time in asking the Trasi village .Actually we expected to reach turtle bay at about 9 a.m – 10 a.m as per google maps .  

#Resort has a beautiful private white sand beach (since it is an untouched beach . I can very well classifie it as a Private Beach). It has a Beach Volley Ball court , table tennis room + Dart Room , Yoga room , Havelocks .

# Most importantly the crowd was very good .Since i was travelling with my family,this
was my biggest fears .

# Beach is flat there .You can very well go down deep into it . It is ideal for Swimmimg.

# We carried our own drinks ,but getting ice was a big problem . Then we went to the Ice factory in the Trasi Village . Got a lots and lots of ice and made merry 

# Next day morning we went to rock Island trip . That is a beautiful island which is about 20 min from turtle bay in the sea .We caught fishes , crabs , sea urchins . Amazing Experience .

# Then we headed towards St. Mary’s Island .