Day Trip to Goa from Kundapura: options

2025 I had no trip to Goa so far. The opportunity recently opened up. I had to visit Goa to practice Golf. The location was The Lalit Goa golf resort and spa in Canacona, South Goa. It is about 200 kms from Kundapura. 

My options were as follows 

Option 1 was drive the car: 400-420 kms round trip drive would cost 3500 INR in petrol and another 600 INR in petrol, total cost 4100 INR +, too much for just one person and about 8 hours of driving effort.

Option 2: Bike: Same distance on bike costs less in fuel- about 1000 INR and no toll, but riding so much is lots of effort and stress.

Having a vehicle at disposal gives us higher flexibility but for one person and without any plan to explore a lot, it was lots of expenses. I just wanted to try my golf and return. 

Option 3: Train + Bus: Most trains that go to Goa from Udupi do NOT stop at Canacona station. They stop only at Madgaon, so reaching Canacona from Madgaon is an expensive affair given how much Goa taxis cost. So I chose to take train to Karwar and from there Kadamba bus to Canacona.

• Kundapura to Karwar Panchaganga express sleeper ticket is about 200 INR one way including convenience fee, so that is 400 INR. I could get confirmed ticket 4 days prior to travel date as Kundapaura- Karwar is the last stretch of the train and most people get off before Kundapura. Panchaganga express is fairly fast- covers, covers 180 kms in about 2.5-3 hours.
• I had all the time, so I walked 6.5 kms from Karwar railway station to city. You can take an auto or wait for a bus to reach more conveniently. 
• Karwar to Canacona in Kadamba bus was 58 INR (Non AC). AC bus costs about 80 INR
• However while KSRTC bus takes the highway and we can get off right next to The Lalit Goa (some 500 meter away), Kadamba buses take a longer interior route and stops at Canacona bus stand, which is 2.5 kms from The Lalit. So I had to spend 120 INR on auto to reach the Lalit. 
• On the way back I walked to Canacona bus stop, took an AC bus to Purthagali (20INR), visited the newly launched Rama Statue and Purthagali math, then took another bus to Karwar (63 INR) 
• Walked a few kms towards railway station, hopped on a bus for last few kms as time was running out (12 INR) 

Option 4 was to reach either Karwar or Goa and then hire a taxi. Taxi from karwar would need interstate permit, Taxi in Goa cost a lot, so this isn't a viable option

Option 5: Overnight bus- buses like Sugama operate between Udupi and Goa, but their timing wasn't very suitable for my trip. They start at night, arrive very early morning. 

Factoring little more I spent on breakfast, lunch, snacks, bike petrol and and parking, it cost me around 1100 INR for the Goa trip. Another option was to stay overnight in Goa- but year-end cost is high and without a transportation, it is hard to explore so I will keep that for some other time.