[abheekg]

I am planning a 1 week photography drive in Konkan, Goa and surrounding areas with a chinese lady friend between 17-24 July 2011.

I will be starting the journey from Mumbai after picking her up on 17th (Sunday) evening. I need inputs on a good itinerary including places that we can cover in 4-5 days, scenic route info including current route conditions and suggested places of stay, good petrol pumps accepting credit cards, recommended food stops enroute.

We want to explore the local life and are perfectly happy to stay in village / town homestays in various places including /Goa. We are not beach specific guys but will love to document the sea shore/ coast line and would like to drive around the coast line if possible. A part of the plan is staying put at one location for 2-3 days and exploring around it in the car. Alternatively we could also set up our base in a central location and do daily drives in various directions to explore the entire Konkan.

I will also need an idea if there are any self drive car rental agencies in / around mumbai from where we can hire a car (any model/make preference will be of a Gypsy though)

I will need help of forum members to finalise my plan and zero down on a suitable vehicle for the drive. Konkan / Goa addicts please help.

Looking forwards to your inputs.

Dr. A Ghosh
+919960332228

[Swanand Inamdar]

@abheekg: Firstly, any car would do for the drive, unless you plan on some off-road routes.
Secondly, the entire NH17 is a beautiful drive, specially in the monsoons. You would need 2-3 stops to cover the whole of Konkan. Start with a halt in Alibag/Murud Janjira. That area can be covered in two days or so.

Then head towards Ganaptipule. Halt there at the MTDC resort, and you can cover the nearby places through small drives.

The last halt can be at Sawantwadi/Sindhudurg, where you can halt for 2-3 days and cover the south Konkan part. There are plenty of resorts/guesthouses available. However, an advance booking might be required.

Hope that helps.

[abheekg]

Thank you Mr. Inamdar.

Are there any wildlife destinations on my route that I can think of exploring in the rains ? Checking the map, I can find that if I add another 500kms to my plan, I can reach Agumbe in Karnataka.

Waiting for your inputs.

[Swanand Inamdar]

There are two wildlife sancturay's in the vicinity.
1. Dajipur, near Kolhapur
2. Dandeli, near Belgaum.

Cant say about the road conditions to these places though. Been a long time since I went there.

Not too sure about the whereabouts of Agumbe, Karnataka. Never been there.

P.S: Please call me Swanand. Mr. Inamdar sounds too formal .

[ranjitp1]

NH17 during the monsoons is not a very pleasant proposition,nevertheless,you could consider coming via NH4 to Kolhapur,then cutting across to NH17 via the Dajipur Bison Sanctuary(renamed as Rajiv Gandhi Park now)-Phondaghat-Kankavli-NH17 and then onwards to Sawantwadi-Goa.On your return you could come via NH17 covering areas of Ganpatipule-Ratnagiri etc.

If you drive towards Mangalore you would see a lot more places where you can see the sea on one side of the road.Marvanthe for instance where you have the river Souparnika onto your left,then the NH17 and then you have the Arabian Sea to your right.That location is quite an amazing view.The Karwar Bay(100kms from Panjim) views are also quite amazing.

Just random thoughts that came along in no particular order.Towards Mangalore,you would cross upteen small bridges and streams.and the OM Beach at Gokarna(60kms from Karwar)Then you also have the sea temple(second largest shiva statue in the world reportedly) at Murudeshwar(130kms from Karwar),Marvanthe(where the sea and the river separated by the NH17,180kms from Karwar)from marvanthe you could head to Agumbe which is quite a spectacle in the rains(240kms from Karwar)

As for self drive options,you could talk to Autoriders in Mumbai,their cars have been decent and rates as well,though I doubt you would get a Gypsy on a self drive,

www.autoriders.net

The other options are Hertz & Avis which would ofcourse be expensive as compared to autoriders.Car Club too has a decent service.

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