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Pune-Goa via Gokarna: 2 couples on a road trip in an 8-yr-old Hyundai

7th May 2025, 16:25 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

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There were no breakdowns or tyre punctures, but somehow I managed to get my i20 Active stuck in beach sand.

BHPian na_agrawal recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Not all those who wander are lost!!

Key points –

Car – My trusty 8-year-old Hyundai i20 Active Petrol.
Peeps – Me with my wife, my friend with his wife.
Time – 27th April to 4th May (8 days). 41 hrs 22 mins of driving.
Total kms driven – 1588km (home to home).
Overall fuel economy achieved – 13.44 kmpl. (4 adults and full boot luggage).
Best fuel economy achieved – 15.8 kmpl (Goa to Gokarna and within Gokarna).
Worst fuel economy achieved – 10.3 kmpl (Within Goa).
Total tolls – 690 (to and fro combined).
Cheapest fuel – 96.31/L (somewhere in Goa), most expensive fuel – 103.82/L (Pune).
No breakdowns, no punctures, no issues. Car performed ideally. Except one stuck-in-sand event.

Day -1

I went to sleep, or maybe tried to sleep early so as to leave as early as possible. Target was set somewhere around 4:45 am and to pickup my friend by 5:30 am from Katraj and leave for Gokarna. Had already refueled my car up to the brim and filled her shoes up with 33psi, filled up the windshield washer with the blue liquid. Bags packed and ready to be thrown in the car, snacks preordered from BBnow, and off we went to catch at least 5 hrs of sleep.

Day 0

But, my phone’s clock app knows better why, I left finally at 6 am from my home and picked my friend up at 6:50 am and finally left for our destination a full 1.5 hrs late. We drove leisurely, on a calm Sunday morning. The roads were relatively empty, and I was well aware of the route. This was my 4th excursion on this particular road and I had a good idea of the roads. Had some snacks on the way in the car, thus saving crucial morning hours. Stopped at the Anuskura ghat viewpoint at 11:20 am to catch a glimpse of the surroundings. (time as told by my Google timeline). Refueled at a South Goa petrol bunk somewhere around 4 pm. And finally reached my Airbnb at about 8pm. A good 13 hrs drive. Not much to show in pics on this day...

My steed at the Anuskura Ghat

A view of a somewhat dried up valley

Day 1-2-3

Drove around Gokarna visiting numerous places which caught our interests. Had a gala time with my friends after almost a year. Some of the notable places which I visited were Kamal Beach, Kudle Beach, Mantra Café.

Somewhere in Kamal Beach. This one is unexplored and we were the only ones there. I wouldn't recommend this one post sunset.

On the way to Kudle Beach

Om beach

Sunsets are a real peach on Kudle

Day 4

Gokarna to Goa

We left late. Yet again!! Somewhere about 12 noon. Plan was 10 am.

Stopped at Karwar beach, near Karwar INS Naval academy. The road and beach run almost parallel for about a km, and we decided to stop even though the temps were high and hot winds were blowing. I stopped my car right in front of the beach. Spent 10 mins, which felt like eternity in the hot sun and came back to my car only to find it stuck in the sand with at least 5 inches of my tire and rim buried deep into it. Tried hard to unstuck it, only to lodge it deeper into the sand.

Then, suddenly, I remembered Anshuman Bishnoi’s videos and tried to find a wooden plank nearby. Found 2 huge ones in barely 30 secs, tried to stick it under the front wheels and I gunned the car while doing a zig-zag pattern with the front wheels. The car started moving, my confidence got a boost, engaged reverse, then first, then again reverse and repeat. Barely 2 mins, and I was unstuck!! Thanks for the videos, man!

Reached Anjuna, Goa by 530 pm and checked in to our Airbnb.

Day 5-6

Roamed around Goa, visiting and covering the most as we could. Some of the notable places that I went to were Chapora Mangroves backwater Kayaking, Tomatoes Morjim, Nauti Amigo Cruise, Burger Factory.

A cruise night onboard Nauti Amigo. I will rate it 3/5.

A perfect evening date at Anjuna with my biwi.

Day 7

The day which takes us back home has come. We had planned to check out by 11 and have a good lunch and then leave for Pune by 12 noon. But traffic and the weekend ending made sure that we won’t be able to stick to those timelines. The rush, the traffic were crazy that day. Most of the cars bearing KA, MH, GJ and DD registration plates were flocking the restaurants and cafes. All had similar checkout times as well, everyone wanted to grab lunch and then leave for home. Eventually, with both our and the car’s full tummies, we left Goa at about 2pm.

Fun fact

I left Goa at exactly 60,000 kms on my odo. A new milestone for me.

Again, a full 2 hrs late. We encountered a huge traffic pile up at Karad, and up until that, it was a smooth drive. Karad traffic delayed up by a good 45-55 mins. As roads cleared up, we were able to stretch our legs and stopped at Rau Wada (superb food and good service) for dinner. Finally, we reached Katraj in Pune at about 1230 am in the night, dropped my friend, and proceeded to my home in Hadapsar. Parked my car at my residence at about 1:10 am. A tiring, 11-hour drive from Goa. (Generally, it takes 9 hours without the dense traffic).