Honnavara is the kind of town, that you breeze past by on a train or on the highway. You dont plan a trip to Honnavara. If you dont get accommodation in Goa or Gokarna, you get nudged to find a place nearby and that's how people discover this town
In my case, I wanted a quiet destination by the Karnataka coast, so I avoided Gokarna. I found Kumta as a great place to stay, and used that 3 day weekend to also visit Honnavara. On my trip to Honnavara, I made it a point to visit the Mangrove forests which are a stone's throw away from the awe inspiring Sharavathi River Bridge. I wanted to show my son, a guided Mangrove forest tour, though he had seen one in Velas in 2017
So if you want a plan a trip here, you could use this plan
6 AM: Wake up early and finish breakfast at 730 am in Kumta Town. I had my breakfast at 5 mile Beach Resort. You could alternatively go have breakfast at Honnavara's Kamat Hotel. Pick the toll highway between Kumta and Honnavara and cross a bevy of tall trees chaperoning the Konkan Railways and the Road!
8 AM: Cross the Sharavathi River bridge and watch the morning winter sun warm your view
8 30 AM: You could chose to drive a little inside to catch views of Mavinakurve Rail Tunnel which shows you glimpses of how the Konkan railway cuts through a forest right through the Sharavathi River
9 AM- Noon- Spend time slowly walking through the Sharavathi Kandla Mangrove Forest
Noon-2 pm- Lunch by Kasarkod Eco Beach at Shanbhag Resort and enjoy the beach post that
You can divide your time here doing the following at the Sharavathi Kandla Mangrove Board.
Playing in the swing
Getting Selfies before the Mangroves board
Slowly soaking in the signboards that talk about the advantages of Mangroves by the coast
Walk and be mesmerised by the pairing of the colour of wood and greens in the board walk
Spend some time in the rest house and just quietly watch the day go by
Walk into the part of the mangroves that have no side support
Come back to the entrance and spend some time having snacks. You are finishing just when the crowd starts to come