Boards are over and our son wants four days in Gokarna with five friends

Practical detail first: who runs the homestay, and has any parent spoken to them on the phone? That would be my minimum. I did a trip like this after my 10th with three friends, and one friend's aunt lived in the same town. That one adult nearby made all our parents relax. Still the best four days of that year ❤

my parents said no to exactly this at 15. i went at 18 and it was fine. not sure the three years changed anything except how much they worried

Speaking only as someone who was that boy at 16: we went to Goa, told our parents it was Hampi, and it was fine. Mostly. Whatever you decide, I'd want a kid to feel he can tell you the real destination.

Mine is a baby, so this is far off for us. But my nanna let me go to Araku with friends after inter on the condition that we called home from every STD booth on the way. Maybe the modern version is a location share for the four days?

The budget and contact list are impressive. I'd ask him to walk you through an ordinary hour there: where they eat, who holds the money, what happens if someone falls ill at 11 pm. A polished plan usually shows its gaps in the boring details.

Late to this, but did you decide? My brother did Gokarna at 16 and the only trouble was the overnight bus. Maybe the compromise is a train and a stay someone has checked.