Only one day in New Mangalore, India? Arriving with a cruise ship? Prefer to see sites of interest on a budget? Follow me!

Roadside Pepper Sales, Children - New Mangalore, India — Roadside Pepper Sales, Bored Children

We arrived in New Mangalore, India with a plan; we wanted to see a few temples and have a little beach time. Upon exiting the ship, we hightailed it straight out of the port on foot, thanking all of the overpriced taxis and tuk tuks for their offers, crossed the main road and waved the next bus down.

Bus Ride! New Mangalore, India — Bus Ride; Love the interior! New Mangalore, India

As we boarded the bus, we were given lots of curious stares; we informed the money collector we wanted to go to Kudroli Temple and he agreed to let us know when to get off and informed us our ride would cost 15 rupees ($0.20) each. The curious stares turned into friendly smiles and a few questions before we were informed to switch busses.

Dirt Road - New Mangalore, India — Dirt Road – New Mangalore, India

We jumped off the bus, crossed the road and hopped the next bus (additonal 15 rupees) to our destination, 4 stops. We spent about an hour at Kudroli Temple. No entrance fee.

Gold and Red - Kudroli Temple, New Mangalore, India — Gold and Red – Kudroli Temple, New Mangalore, India

Next, we grabbed a Tuk Tuk for 56 rupees ($0.82) and headed to the Kadri Manjunath Temple. The ride was great and the temple was worth seeing. No entrance fee.

Child Participates in Religious Ceremony - New Mangalore Temple, India — Child Participates in Religious Ceremony

Templed out, we decided to head to the beach for some drinks and some eats. We bargained the Tuk tuk ride to the beach for 200 rupees ($3.85) – probably too much, but he was super friendly so we agreed.

Friendly, Proud Tuk Tuk Driver - New Mangalore, India — Friendly, Proud Tuk Tuk Driver

Arrived at Panambur Beach about a 1/2 hour later, paid our driver and headed in. The beach looked lovely with it’s long stretches of sand and scant tourists. We head to one of the restaurants, but before we could sit down, we were informed there is no alcohol served or permitted anywhere on the beach. We then went to another restaurant where the staff seemed equally rude and decided we would call it a day. Please note: no smoking, no alcohol, pay for toilets, no internet.

Panambur Beach - New Mangalore, India — Panambur Beach – New Mangalore, India

We spoke with a Tuk Tuk who gave us a price for the short distance back to the port. As we were about to get in, he changed his price to almost double. We went to the next Tuk Tuk, but they were all rude and refused a proper price. A truck driver caught on to our dilemma, and offer to give us a ride for free to the port. As we climbed on to the back, all the Tuk tuks came and blocked the truck so he couldn’t drive. Eventually, we thanked the driver for his kindness, hopped off and proceeded to walk back to the ship. Eventually, a taxi stopped for us, charged $5.00 and took us the rest of the way with apologies for the very bad beach experience.

Ferris Wheel - Panambur Beach, New Mangalore, India — Ferris Wheel – Panambur Beach

Would I go back to New Mangalore? Probably not. Definitely not to Panambur Beach. We could have done without alcohol, no problem, but rudeness is unacceptable.

Next stop: Kochi / Cochin, India

Total cost: 286 Rupees + $5 = USD$4.26 + $5 (Understand the ripoff?)