Bangalore to Goa via Belgaum

[kumarrr]

I travelled to Goa on 19th September and drove back on 26th September and fortunately missed the heavy rains. As planned I started from Bangalore at 5:45 am on 19th but ended up spending an hour to reach Nelmangala because of a traffic jam just after 8th Mile. The chitradurga-Haveri via ranebennur stretch is still as bad as it was couple of years ago but the drive to Belgaum took me 8 hours 30 minutes with short breaks. The breaks were frequent as I was travelling with two young kids (7 yrs & 2 yrs). Stayed over at Kshema Inn [Food is good but the rooms are average, don't suggest staying in this Hotel] at Belgaum and left for Goa (Varca) on 20th Morning at 8:30 am. The drive through Anmod ghats is horrible, there is no road for almost 20 kilometers and for another 20 kilometers the road is bad in patches. You cannot drive above 40-50 kms speed for most part of the 40-50 kilometer drive. Similar problems when you reach Ponda as there are some roadworks going on near Ponda. It took me 3 hours 30 minutes to reach Club Mahindra, Varca resort.

Total Journey Time:
Bangalore to Belgaum : 500 kms- 8.5 hours
Belgaum to Varca-Goa: 150 kms (approx.)- 3.5 hours
Bangalore to Goa - 650 kms - 12 hours

But I found this route to be better than the Shimoga-Karwar route which I drove through last year and it had taken me 13-14 hours.

I started back from Goa on 26th Morning at 11:00 AM and reached Belgaum by 2:30 PM. I stayed over at Sanman Deluxe as I had not liked Kshema Inn. Sanman Deluxe is on College Road in the heart of the city and is very comfortable for an over-night stay. Tariff in the range of 800-1500. Started from Belgaum on 27th Morning at 9 am. Drive from Belgaum to Hubli is a dream the stretch took me less than an hour and kept up the high speeds till Haveri. Stopped over at Kamat just after Sira for Lunch. I thought about taking the Nelmangala-Rajankunte-Yelhanka-Bangalore route because of my experience of driving on Tumkur road on my way to Goa but decided against it. The decision paid off as the traffic police was directing traffic near the BMIC junction and I had covered 500 kilometers from Belgaum in 8 hours including a 1 hour Lunch Break and a few short breaks.

Total Journey Time:
Varca-Goa to Belgaum : 150 kms- 3.5 hours
Belgaum to Bangalore: 500 kms - 8 hours
Bangalore to Goa - 650 kms - 11.5 hours

I drive a Corolla 2007, the vehicle is good even on bad roads. The higher ground clearance is a big boon especially when you are driving on Indian roads after monsoons.
Mileage - 15-16kmpl throughout the journey.
Highest speed - 160 kmph

[gajadonga]

Which route did you take from Belgaum to Varca-goa

[goandude]

kumarr: nice write up for your first post. However you could have saved about 50 kms and an hour by getting off nh4 at Kittur and turning left to khanapur then onward to londa ponda varca.
even 3.5 hours for 150 km is not bad.
I did the above route in august. found 14 km of horrid road after londa. and sporadic potholes on the lollem ghat.

[kumarrr]

I drove from Belgaum-Khanapur-Londa-Aanmod-Mollem-Ponda-Margao route. Had to stop over in Belgaum as I had some social commitments. I have heard about the Kittur route, is the road as good as the Belgaum-Khanapur-Londa route?