[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by lodhra

Thank you sir, so as you advise i do not need o o back through golden bridge, i must stay left as bharuch approaches get on to the flyover and stay left and take the bridge open only to the cars

For ahmedabad expressway i had a confusion. I understood that after the 4 lane road ends there is a narrow single road towards ranson circle or about 20 kms and ihave to come back to the ranson circle and take a left to go to ranson toll booth. From here how do i get to ahmedabad varoda expressway,

Or are you suggesting there is another road just before the circle, or probably i got ou wrong ompletely

The 4-laned road ends at Chiloda Circle.
Continue Straight.
It is now 2-laned road for the next 14 kms, towards Ahmedabad.
You reach Ranasan Circle.
Turn left there onto SP Ring Road
Go on RIng Road for 15 kms, through the Ranasan Toll Gate, and immediately after the Ramol Toll Gate, you turn off at expressway entry point

[lodhra]

Thank you for the tips, it really helped me. I returned Ranthambore Mumbai in one day with breaks totaling of 16 hrs [left at 7 am, in bed by 12pm]

Some additions I would like to make for future travelers

1>Road from Kota city to highway is bad especially the stretch of Paryavaran industrial estate

2>If one passes Udaipur city early morning it is advisable to enter the city pass through Hathi pol circle, through Ghangor ghat gulab Bag and join the Udaipur Ahmedabad Highway. The Udaipur bypass while coming from Chittorgarh is one lane for atleast 10-12 kms with heavy traffic of trucks. However only do this if one reaches Udaipur early morning [before 9 am ] or late night [after 10 pm]

Thanks once again

[nix1976in]

Guys,
Am planning a drive to Ajmer this weekend. Could anyone pls advise if the route to be taken is still Mumbai-Udaipur-Chiitorgarh-Bhilwara-Kishangarh -Ajmer or is the NH 8 now 4 laned and we can take it all the way?

Regards,

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by nix1976in

Guys,
Am planning a drive to Ajmer this weekend. Could anyone pls advise if the route to be taken is still Mumbai-Udaipur-Chiitorgarh-Bhilwara-Kishangarh -Ajmer or is the NH 8 now 4 laned and we can take it all the way?

Regards,

Stick to the GQ via bhilwara better and faster road.

[vaibhavdalal]

Hi All,

I am taking my family & In Laws to Khumbhalgarh next weekend (Extended).

Plan is to leave on Friday evening @ around 5 / 6 PM once my elder son is back from his school.
and will be leaving the resort on Tuesday (timing depends on everyone's comfort ) I have informed them that the worst case senario is 11 AM as we will have atleast 14 hrs of travelling


Need inputs on the following

Possible routes, Road conditions and possible eateries on the way

Vehicle - XUV 500
Expected speed - <100 Kmph (considering FIL & MIL)
Breaks - Multiple on the way back



Have worked on 2 possible routes

Mumbai - himmatnagar will be NH8 then

either



Or




Looking forward to your inputs

[dushmish]

Hey Vaibhav,

Lovely time to be in Kumbhalgarh post rains. I have driven to this place many times. I suggest you stick to the GQ, i.e. Mumbai - Baroda - Ahmedabad - Himmatnagar - Udaipur. From Udaipur, stay on the road to Gogunda - Saira - Kumbhalgarh. The Road via Nathdwara is ok but not as fast as the Gogunda one. The one via Gogunda is 4 lane up to Jaswantgarh. Here you will take a right towards Saira.

While at Kumbhalgarh, do not miss the sound and light show in the evenings. One needs to walk and climb a lots to reach the highest point of the fort. So please ensure you are there as the gates open in the morning (around 9 am). Else it can get hot. Also carry enough drinking water for the fort visit and some snacks as well.

If you are interested in sighting leopards, check out the safari at Bera. Easy to spot leopards there. While you are at Kumbhalgarh, do not miss a visit to the famous Jain temple Ranakpur. It is a marvel with poetry in stone. I repeat, do not miss it.

Mumbai to Udaipur is under 12 hours. Udaipur to Kumbhalgarh is 2 hours via Gogunda - Jaswantgarh - Saira. Do let me know if you have any querries on places to stop along the way for breaks.

Drive safe!

D

[Drivethru]

Hi

I have travelled till udaipur last month on my way to Ludhiana from Mumbai. My inputs would be limited to the Mumbai udaipur section as I have not travelled the udaipur kumbalgarh stretch. From Mumbai till Ahmedabad the roads are good. To cross the famous Narmada bridge near bharuch I used the normal route onnthe national highway as the traffic was very less on that day on the Narmada bridge on the nh8.

Use the small bridge on the right side of the highway (when you are going from mumbai side) if you see a jam on the main bridge. Other team bhp ians had advised me to use the golden gate bridge for which you have to enter bharuch / ankleshwar town.

There is a mc Donald with good parking and clean wash rooms towards your left before Surat. The roads after Gandhinagar on way to himmatnagar are bad for around 10 kms. Afterbthis bad stretch roads seemed by and large ok except for the post monsoon potholes. Once you enter Rajasthan be careful with the number of cows and buffaloes on the highways they could be really dangerous sometimes as they jump on to the roads out of nowhere.

We also stopped at the food court before you exit the baroda ahmedabad expressway.
this is few kms before ahmedabad. There were floods in bharuch in last week of august but situation must have improved by now. please don't forget to paste the yellow strip on your right headlight if you are travelling in Gujarat. It may save you a lot of time and pain if Gujarat police were to stop you for not having this yellow sticker on the headlight.

Have a safe trip.

[sumitdongerkery]

Hi

I just visited Khumbalgarh Udaipur this Jul. Drove down in my XUV500. Since I was not familiar with the road and also had my 2 yrs daughter along, we decided to take a break at AHmedabad while driving to Khumbalgarh. We started in the morning at 9.30 AM from Thane and reached Ahmedabad by 3.30PM. Took a break and started next day morning at 10.30 AM and reached Khumbalgarh at 3 PM. GPS was very effective. We went via Himmatnagar. After Udaipur last 50 KM stretch was painful. It took almost 90 minutes for us to complete that stretch and reach our resort. After 3 days stay at Khumbalgarh, we took our way back to Udaipur via Nathdwara (srinathji). We were at Udaipur for 2 days and took off to Mumbai. We started at 9.30 AM in the morning and touched down Thane at 6.30 PM. Roads are damn good. Car was consistently doing close to 140KMPH. We just took 1 break at Mac D in Surat and start from there at 3.30PM and reached thane in 3 hrs. All in all it was a very comfortable trip and we was 1900KM long trip.

Do PM me if you need any further info from me.

Cheers

[vaibhavdalal]

Originally Posted by dushmish

Hey Vaibhav,

I suggest you stick to the GQ, i.e. Mumbai - Baroda - Ahmedabad - Himmatnagar - Udaipur. From Udaipur, stay on the road to Gogunda - Saira - Kumbhalgarh.

Do let me know if you have any querries on places to stop along the way for breaks.

D

What's your recommendation for halt after Himmatnagar for breakfast, given below are approx time per location considering buffer for narmada bridge and minor (10min) breaks every 3/4 hours

Landmark - Time
Goregaon Link Road - 5:00 PM
Toll Naka - 5:45 PM
Virar - 6:30 PM
Manor - 7:15 PM
Talasari - 8:15 PM
Vapi - 9:00 PM
Surat - 10:30 PM
Bharuch - 12:15 AM
Baroda - 1:15 AM
Ahmedabad - 2:30 AM
Himmatnagar -4:30 AM
Udaipur - 8:30 AM
Khumbhalgarh - 11:00 AM

[dushmish]

Originally Posted by vaibhavdalal

What's your recommendation for halt after Himmatnagar for breakfast, given below are approx time per location considering buffer for narmada bridge and minor (10min) breaks every 3/4 hours

Landmark - Time
Goregaon Link Road - 5:00 PM
Toll Naka - 5:45 PM
Virar - 6:30 PM
Manor - 7:15 PM
Talasari - 8:15 PM
Vapi - 9:00 PM
Surat - 10:30 PM
Bharuch - 12:15 AM
Baroda - 1:15 AM
Ahmedabad - 2:30 AM
Himmatnagar -4:30 AM
Udaipur - 8:30 AM
Khumbhalgarh - 11:00 AM

Hey Vaibhav,

That is a detailed schedule you have. I would suggest not have one so detailed. What I do instead is Start from Goregaon (E) Near Oberoi Mall at 4 am and reach Ahmedabad by 11:30 latest. That is about 7 hours 30 minutes. 3 bio breaks including couple of tea breaks of ten minutes each. If you have such short milestones, trust me there will be deviations and that will lead to fatigue setting in quickly. Just a suggestion.

There is practically no place after Himmatnagar along the road for breakfast except a detour to Shyamlaji or RTDC Motel at Rishabdev. The later is about 50 minutes before Udaipur. You can get decent aaloo paranthas with dahi, basic sandwiches, milk, coffee and tea at the RTDC (Gavri). Else you may reach Udaipur in 3 hours 30 minutes or so and have some amazing pyaaz ki kachories and other stuff at Jodhpur mishthan bhandar opposite town hall.

Cheers,
Dushyant

[sameervg]

Hi all,

I am planning to drive from Thane to Rajasthan in Diwali vacation.

Plan in mind -
6th Nov : Thane to Palanpur (stopover)
7th Nov : Palanpur to Jaisalmer
7,8,9 Nov : Stay @ Jailsalmer (one night in Tent / Sand dunes)
10th Nov : Jailsalmer to Bikaner
10,11 Nov : Stay @ Bikaner
12th Nov : Bikaner to Jodhpur
12,13 Nov : Stay @ Jodhpur
14th Nov : Jodhpur to Udaipur
15th Nov : Udaipur to Vapi (sister's place)
16th Nov : Vapi to Thane.

We have recently done [flight :-(] Jaipur, Udaipur, Ranthambhore in April but now wanted drive to other part of Rajasthan.

I will be drive in my DZire VXI with my wife and 3 yr old son. Will be driving during day time only being with family.
We are comfortable with 10 to 12 hrs drives and can streach couple of hours more if required @ 80 to 100 kmph. Being child with us we count double the time for food.

Please suggest whether the plan is OK or do i need to change the route considering family drive mainly on Palanpur - Jailsalmer route. Also pls let me know current road conditions and possible traffic jams.

I am already looking forward for this great trip.

Cheers !

[sameervg]

Now the latest plan is

6th Nov : Thane to Palanpur (stopover)
7th Nov : Palanpur to Jaisalmer
7,8,Nov : Stay @ Jailsalmer
9th Nov : Jailsalmer to Bikaner
9,10 Nov : Stay @ Bikaner
11th Nov : Bikaner to Jodhpur
11,12 Nov : Stay @ Jodhpur
13th Nov : Jodhpur to Vadodara
14th Nov : Vadodara to Thane.

Please suggest for the petrol and food stopovers mainly on way to Jaisalmer , Bikaner and Jaipur. Accommodation suggestions are welcome. Planning to book hotels in a day or two.

Also suggest if any additional care to be taken other than standard car maintenance.

Cheers !

[sameervg]

Finalized on Patan instead of Palanpur for stopover as all the hotels are full in Palanpur.

[ashtech007]

Friends,

I am planning to take a road trip from Mumbai (Thane) - Ranthambore - Agra - Chandigarh - Manali- Chail - Mumbai in the first week of April (Vehicle XUV 500).

I have never driven on Mumbai - Ahmedabad route hence keen to take this on the Mumbai Ranthambore stretch. Plan to leave Thane at about 4-30 am with a night halt at Chittorgarh and reach Ranthambore by Day 2. Any general tips ?

Specifically

- Have been reading a lot of views on Bharuch Narmada bridge. Since this is my first time I plan to stick to the Narmada bridge on the bypass which I assume would be the straight forward option. Any suggestion ?

- Plan to take the Vadodara - Godhra - Modasa - Udaipur - Chittorgarh route which seems to be the most preferred these days.

- Understand that best route from Chittorgarh to Sawai Madhopur is via Kota. How much time will be required to cover this stretch, I plan to leave Chittorgarh early morning and take the afternoon safari at Ranthambore.

I would appreciate your views and general tips.

Regards,
Ashish

[SajiNSalin]

Ashish,

I had travelled from Surat to Ahmedabad the two weekends ago and the traffic jam at the Narmada bridge just before Bharuch is a nightmare. I got stuck for 3.5 hours from 2000 to 2330 hours during which time I could move just 2 km! Managed to reach a road divider and swung into the opposite side (wrong side!) and in 15 minutes had crossed the Narmada over a smaller bridge on the right side of the main bridge. This small bridge is open to light commercial vehicles coming from the Bharuch to Mumbai side, but if you reach it on the wrong side, the cops will allow you to cross on this small bridge.

What I would advice you is to cross over to the wrong side of NH8 just after the Ankaleshwar flyover and drive very carefully with you emergency flashers on for the next 12 km till you come to this small bridge and again very carefully cross this bridge with outmost caution.

The express way between Vadodara and Ahmedabad is really great and you will be able to cover the 93 km in just over an hour. If you exit at the outer ring road and take NH8 to Udaipur, it will take you another four hours to reach Udaipur. The Udaipur bypass is a real mess and may slow you down. Udaipur to Chittorgarh is another two hours. So the Thane to Chittorgarh drive will be about 14 hours without breaks: you can add meal breaks, bio breaks and fuel stops to the total.

I have driven the Vadodara to Halol road, it is good, not sure about the Godhra and Modassa part. But I feel you will be better off taking NE1 and NH8 as they are well maintained highways and more important four to six laned.

The Chittorgargh - Kota - Kapren - Lakheri - Sawai Madhopur road is good and will take you about seven hours of nonstop driving. Chittorgarh - Kota highway is superb with very little traffic, the Kota bypass is a mess, the remaining are two laned roads with medium traffic, but the road is good. If you leave about 0500 hours from Chittorgarh you should arrive by about 1300 hours in Ranthambore.

Have a safe trip.

Saji