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Peel off a minimum of 3 days from your Goa itinerary and make an excellent tour of the spectacular Hampi ruins site. People who has ample time in hand, tends to hang around in Hampi for longer than they originally planned. Hampi has that aura to lure people to stay longer....keep that in mind while chalking out your itinerary.

So how to travel from Goa to Hampi? You've two major options: Bus and Train.

Trains to Hampi: Hospet (HPT) is the nearest railway station for Hampi. Target the 4-weekly Vasco da Gama to Howrah Express (Train No: 18048 ) that goes via Hospet. Goa to Hospet is an 8 hours journey.

Howrah Express leaves from Vasco (VSG) at 7.10AM and stops at Madgaon (MAO), Sanvordem Chuch (SVM), Kulem (QLM) and Castle Rock (CLR) stations of Goa.

By the way you can book the ticket from Vasco to Hospet and opt for any of the boarding stations while booking. Sometimes one one of those boarding station suits better to plan your Goa itinerary. The Howrah Express operate from Goa on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

The return train , the Howrah to Vasco da Gama Express (Train Number: 18047) leaves Hospet at 6.30 AM and arrives by 3PM at Vasco.

You can buy unreserved ticket at the railway station counters. However you'll be better off if reserved the tickets in advance.

Unreserved ticket (buy directly at platform counter) costs about Rs120 (under 2USD), Sleeper Class about Rs230, 2AC about Rs850 and 3AC about Rs600. Tickets do get overbooked, especially during the peak seasons (Nov-Feb)

Log on to the official irctc.co.in website for schedules, seat availability check and also for online reservation.

The train negotiates through the curvy mountainous terrain of the Western Ghats as it crosses from Goa to Karnataka. Between Kulem and Castle Rock lookout for the spectacular Dudhsagar Falls. It appears on your right when traveling towards Hospet from Goa.

Thanks to the day time traveling of the train in the region, you can watch this in both the trips, Goa to Hospet and Hospet to Goa.

Bus to Hampi: Avoid this, if you can manage to travel by train. If you have no choice, get advances reservation. The state buses operate from the Kadamba Bus Stand in Panjim.

The bus journey from Panjim to Hospet takes about 9-10 hours.

From Hospet travel to Hampi site by the local bus (very cheap) or hire a local taxi/auto rickshaw (expensive).