Gokarna (60 km south) is the most popular day trip from Karwar — a temple town on a beautiful headland with several beaches ranging from the busy main beach to the quieter Half Moon and Om beaches accessible by foot or boat. The Mahabaleshwar temple is one of the more significant Shiva shrines on the Karnataka coast. The road south from Karwar along the coast is good and the drive takes about 90 minutes.
Dandeli (117 km northeast) is the logical base for the Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve and the Kali River's white-water rafting stretches. A day trip is feasible but long; an overnight is more comfortable and gives access to dawn forest drives when wildlife sightings are more likely. Elephants, leopards, Malabar giant squirrels, and a good range of hornbills are among the possible sightings. The river provides some of the better rafting in South India.
Majali and Tilmati beaches lie a few kilometres south of Karwar along the coast road. Tilmati is notable for its dark volcanic sand, which is unusual on this coast. Both are quieter than Tagore Beach and see relatively few tourists. An autorickshaw from town will cover both in a half-day.
Goa is 107 km north and reachable in about two hours by road or one hour by Konkan Railway from Karwar to Madgaon. The contrast between Karwar's quiet pace and Goa's busier resort strip is marked, but the journey is easy and the options for a day or overnight extension are obvious.
Yana (about 80 km east) is a striking rock formation in the Western Ghats — two massive black crystalline limestone peaks rising from the forest. A short hike reaches the base of the main Bhairaveshwara Shikhara formation; there is a small Shiva shrine at the rock's foot. The road goes through good forest and the scenery is excellent.