To Mumbai
If you're heading north to Mumbai , the quickest and easiest way is by plane . Between three and six planes leave Goa's Dabolim airport daily. One-way fares for the forty-minute flight range from $53 with Indian Airlines, or $83 with Sahara, to $93 ($72 for under 30s) with swisher Jet. In addition, Air India operate an Airbus service to Mumbai on Mondays and Thursdays. Few people seem to know about this flight, so you can nearly always get a seat on it; the one drawback is that you have to check in three hours before departure as Air India is an international carrier. Wherever possible, try to book tickets directly through the airline (for addresses see Listings). Private agents charge you the dollar fare at poor rates of exchange, although when you take into account the cost of the taxi and hassle involved in travelling to the airline office, the net saving of booking direct may seem irrelevant.

Since the inauguration of the Konkan Railway in 1996, journey times to Mumbai from Goa have been slashed from twenty-four to twelve hours. Two services run daily, the most convenient of them being the Konkan-Kanya Express (#0112), which departs from Margao at 6.15pm, arriving at CST (still commonly known as "Victoria Terminus", or "VT") at 6.35am the following day. The other fast train from Margao to Mumbai CST is the Madgaon-Mumbai Express (#0104).

The cheapest, though most nightmarish, way to get to Mumbai is by night bus , which takes fourteen to eighteen hours, covering 500km of rough road at often terrifying speeds. Fares vary according to levels of comfort, and luxury buses arrive two or three hours sooner. Book Kadamba bus tickets at their offices in the Panjim and Mapusa bus stands (daily 9-11am & 2-5pm); private companies sell theirs through the many travel agents immediately outside the bus stand in Panjim, and at the bottom of the square in Mapusa. The most popular private service to Mumbai, and the most expensive, is the 24-seater run by a company called Paulo Travels. A cramped berth on this bus (which bizarrely you may have to share) costs Rs600, and it is worth pointing out that women travellers have complained of harassment during the journey. For tickets, contact Paulo Holiday Makers, near the Kadamba bus stand, Panjim (tel 0832/223736) or at Hotel Nanutel , opposite Club Harmonia , Margao (tel 0834/721516). Information on all departures and fares is available from Goa Tourism's counter inside Panjim's bus stand (see Arrival, information and local transport).

To Hampi
Two or three clapped-out government buses leave Panjim's Kadamba stand (platform 9) each morning for Hospet, the last one at 10.30am. Brace yourself for a long, hard slog; all being well, it should take nine or ten hours, but delays and breakdowns are frustratingly frequent. Tickets for Kadamba and KSRTC (Karnatakan State Road Transport Corporation) services should be booked at least one day in advance at the hatches in the bus stand.

From Margao, you can also travel to Hampi on a swish new night bus , complete with pneumatic suspension and berths. The service, operated by a firm called Paulo Travels, leaves from a lot next to the Nanutel Hotel on Margao's Rua da Padre Miranda, at 6pm, arriving in Hampi early the next morning. Tickets cost around Rs375 and can be bought from most reputable travel agents around the state. Although the coach is comfortable enough, the coffin-like berths can get very hot and stuffy, making sleep very difficult; moreover, there have been complaints from women of harassment during the night on this service.

A much less stressful option than the bus is the twice-weekly train service, which leaves from Vasco (at 6.50am) and Margao (7.21am) stations on Tuesdays and Saturdays, arriving in Hospet just over eight and a half hours later at 4pm. Tickets can be bought on the day at either point of departure. This is a wonderful rail journey, taking you one of the wildest stretches of the Western Ghats, including the Dudhsagar Falls area. Travelling in the other direction, trains leave Hospet at 10.45am on Mondays and Fridays, and arrive in Margao at 6.45pm.

To Gokarna, Mangalore and southern Karnataka
From Goa, the fastest and most convenient way to travel down the coast to Gokarn is via the Konkan Railway . At 2.10pm, train #KR001 leaves Margao, passing through Chaudi at 3pm en route to Gokarn Road, the town's railhead, where it arrives at around 4.20pm. The station lies 9km east of Gokarn itself, but buses and rickshaws are on hand to shuttle passengers the rest of the way. As this is classed as a passenger service, you don't have to buy tickets in advance; just turn up at the station 30-45min before the departure time and pay at the regular ticket counter. As ever, it is a good idea to check timings in advance, through any tourist office or travel agent.

Buses take as much as two-and-a-half hours longer to cover the same route. A direct service leaves Margao's interstate stand in the north of town daily at 1pm. You can also get there by catching any of the services that run between Goa and Mangalore, and jumping off either at Ankola , or at the Gokarn junction on the main highway, from where frequent private minibuses and tempos run into town.

The Konkan highway is straightforward by motorcycle , with a better-than-average road surface, and frequent fuel stops along the way. Travelling on a rented bike also gives you the option of heading down sandy side lanes to explore some of the gorgeous beaches glimpsed from the road. Aside from the obvious dangers involved in motorcycling on Indian highways, the main drawback is crossing the border , which can involve a baksheesh transaction.

To Delhi
The Konkan Railway has also improved train services to Delhi , which can now be reached on the superfast Rajdhani Express #2431 in a little under 26 hours (Tues & Thurs only). A slower daily service, the Mangala Lakshadweep Express #2617, takes nearly 38 hours to cover the same distance. Alternatively, you can fly to the capital with Indian Airlines or Jet in 2hr 45min from around $245 one-way.