Road trip to Mulki, Karnataka

Back in October, 2022, I, along with a bunch of friends, decided to go to Mulki to learn surfing. Mulki is a small town on the west coast of India in the state of Karnataka, India. It is quite accessible by railways as there are number of trains going towards Mangalore that stop by at Mulki. Mangalore airport is around 30km (40min ride) as well. However, we decided to travel by road from Pune that took us around 18hrs with a few breaks in between. We decided to do that in one stretch, however you can always take a break at Goa/Gokarna.

Surf town of India

Mulki, also called as the surf town of India is known for its famous surfing schools namely Aquatic Indica Surf School (where I enrolled) and Mantra Surf Club. Due to its unique geographical location, Mulki's beaches are far away from the land due to the Shambhavi river flowing through, thereby making it private and clean. Along with surfing, you can kayak and do stand-up paddling (SUP) in the river during the evenings. The town also has some skating rings so you can give that a try as well.

Things to know before you go to learn surfing

1. You don't need to know swimming: Yes this came as a surprise to me too as I don't know how to swim and I had to confirm this several times with the instructors before enrolling. For beginners, the surf lessons are conducted in depths of 4'-5'. Along with this, you are always tied to the surfboard (which is made of a material that allows it to float), you are always safe. Moreover, you can even wear a life jacket for extra protection.
   
   

2. Like all sports, you need physical strength to surf: Riding with the waves and being in the water for 2-3 hours a day means you need strength to surf. However, if you plan to enrol, start doing some basic exercises a few days prior to get your body moving.
   
   

3. Fear of waves: As someone who has a slight fear of water bodies, surfing initially felt daunting. However as I got used to it in the next 2-3 days, the fear slowly faded away. A big shoutout to the instructors at the school and peers who encouraged me to keep going.
   
   

4. Becoming a pro-surfer: Again like all sports, you cannot become a pro-surfer in 5 or 10 days. Its a life long journey and its with immense practice that you can surf without any instructor. So if you have an image of you effortlessly surfing on the beaches of Australia after taking a 5-day course, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

Surf School life - Experiences at Aquatic Indica Surf School

The surf schools offer courses that are 3,5,10,15 days long. You can choose as per convenience. We choose a 5-day course (here's a reel about it). You can modify your course durations once you start to learn surfing and even take a day's break in between (not recommended but you do you :D)

As with any coastal region of India, the temperatures are soaring beyond 30°C after 11am. So all the surfing lessons happens early in the morning from 7:30 - 10:30am. A wake up call starts around 6:30am and after the morning activities, everybody is headed to the dining area for some fruits or tea/coffee. After applying a ton of sunscreen (water repellent ones), we walk towards the Shambhavi river. We all huddle up in a boat and cross the river to reach the Sasihitlu Beach.

The first exercise of the morning is to carry your surfboard from the store room to the beach. Post setting up, a basic warm up exercise of 30min is carried out along with some surfboard stand-up techniques. Each day a 15min theory class is conducted to explain how the waves work and how you can read them to catch it and surf. The 3-hour long session with a break of 30min in-between is exhausting but leaves you with a feeling of new energy.

The afternoons are usually chill where you can just lie around, drink coconut water/kombucha, eat seafood, play table tennis or work from there (if you are like me who maximises all your holidays). In the evenings during the sunset, you can kayak in the calm waters of the river or try your hand at SUP.

Cost of the trip

Back in October 2022, the surfing lessons cost us around Rs. 8,000 for a 5-day course, dorms for around Rs. 1500/night and Rs.500 for every kayak/SUP sessions. The total trip costed me around Rs 17,000 including the travel cost. Here is a reel about all the different options of course durations and stay facilities.

Special shoutout to Aquatic Indica Surf School for having one of the most friendly instructors who encourage and motivate you along with having fun with you. Special love to all the people we met at the school who created this amazing energy and vibe. Hoping to go for another surfing session soon!

If you have an evening free then visit the Surathkal beach during the sunset which is a 20-km ride from Mulki, famously known for its abandoned ship.

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