[sri1951]

Thanks! I have answered below in your mail

Originally Posted by ampere

- Do you intend to first go to Davanagere and then drive back Hampi/Badami?

Yes!

Originally Posted by ampere

- If yes, ask locals about how is the road to Jagallur. Thats the fastest way to hit NH13 from Davanagere. And you take that road from there on to Hospet.

Thanks for the tip. I realized from Google maps that I could take NH4 upto Chitradurga, byepass and get on to NH13. As per the map's timing it is almost the same time but I drive 35 KM more. The difference could be due to single and dual carriageway.

Originally Posted by ampere

- Places to stay for Hampi: Royal Orchid and Malligi in Hospet.

Thanks! I was also recommended Hampi's Boulders resort.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by sri1951

Thanks for the tip. I realized from Google maps that I could take NH4 upto Chitradurga, byepass and get on to NH13. As per the map's timing it is almost the same time but I drive 35 KM more. The difference could be due to single and dual carriageway.

My mistake here. I thought it would be much more. By all means drive till Chitradurga and take the NH13. Its worth it. But NH13 is not a 4-lane. Its a regular 2-lane highway. It used to be pathetic thanks to mining trucks. But now its been re-tarred.

[mayuresh]

At Hampi, if you want to stay on the "other side of the river" i.e. Virupapur, you can consider Shanthi or Mowgli. There are others, too.

Virupapur is a small village from where you can reach Hampi in about 10-15 mins of boat journey via Tungabhadra.

The accomodations are pretty basic, though it's a lazy quieter place than cities and one may like it for that. You can find the accommodation picture on the web and you can decide.

I lived in Shanthi, though did not find food or service up to the mark. Had food in Mowgli once during the stay and felt the place was a little better kept. Food was also better.

In Hampi, do not miss a lunch at Mango Tree restaurant. It's a very good place to eat. Avoid Mayura Bhuvaneshwari - KTDC run - horrible food, horrible service.

[Shashidl]

HI Bhpians,

I plan to travel to Tanuku in seemandhra region from Pune in my 7 year old Alto on the 13th of this month along with my parents. I would require your inputs on the following:

1 How is the road condition between Pune and Hyderabad stretch. I heard that recently the road conditions have improved on the NH9.The last time I did this stretch it was very dangerous with the number of diversions on the road
2 How is the road condition between Hyderabad and Vijayawada
3 Please suggest any good Dhabhas/hotels enroute i.e. between Pune and Tanuku.

My plan is to start off early at around 3am and reach Hyderabad by 3 pm where we have a place to rest. Take rest for at least 8-10 hrs and push of at around 3AM in the morning of 14th nd reach Tanuku by 11AM. Please suggest any changes if you think it is too ambitious specially considering that my parents would be accompanying me.

I plan to stick to NH9 all throughout : please suggest any alternative routes which may ease the journey.

[nawabnabeel]

Hi. The stretch between pune and solapur has improved a lot and 90% four laning has been completed on this route so no problem at all. Problem starts once you cross solapur. The solapur hyderabad stretch of nh9 is in a very very bad condition. Now the other option is to take solapur-akkalkot-aland-gulbarga-hyderabad route. This route has carpet like roads from aland all the way upto hyderabad but the road from akkalkot to aland is 20kms of hell. I took this route last week while coming from hyderabad to pune. It took us two hours to cover these 20kms in my vento. This road is full of craters and pot holes some very very deep and very very wide. You won't even find a meter of smooth tarmac on this road. Even truckers were finding it difficult to drive on it. The craters and pothole are so deep and wide that my car was literally diving in them and then coming out. I have travelled along the length and breadth of india but have never seen such a bad road.

There is one more option for you which is pune-solapur-umarga-aland-gulbarga-hyderabad. Umarga aland is 36 kms but I am not aware of the condition of these 36 kms so can't comment.

[JoseVijay]

Originally Posted by Shashidl

HI Bhpians,

I plan to travel to Tanuku in seemandhra region from Pune in my 7 year old Alto on the 13th of this month along with my parents. I would require your inputs on the following:

2 How is the road condition between Hyderabad and Vijayawada

I plan to stick to NH9 all throughout : please suggest any alternative routes which may ease the journey.

Hi,

The road between Hyderabad and Vijayawada is one of the best in the country. I drove upto Narketpalli yesterday and enjoyed it to the full.

All the best for your journey, drive safely and update us with the present condition of the roads you take.

[susheelwadke]

Planning a trip to Coorg in May 2014. Would be glad if I get inputs on road condition on the Mumbai- Kolhapur- Hubli- Sirsi- Shiruru- Coorg. I don't want to drive for more than 7 hours so that driving is pleasurable so plan to halt at Kolhapur Shiruru and reach Coorg. Any suggestions???? Also would like inputs to stay enroute. Am planning to spend 2 nights at Wild Woods Spa & Resort Shirur.


Sent from my iPhone using Team-BHP

[ampere]

Originally Posted by susheelwadke

Planning a trip to Coorg in May 2014. Would be glad if I get inputs on road condition on the Mumbai- Kolhapur- Hubli- Sirsi- Shiruru- Coorg.

Shiroor is not in Coorg. Its near Bhatkal on the coast.

Route :
Mumbai-Pune-Kolhapur-Belgaum-Hubli (NH4)
Hubli-Yellapur-Ankola (NH63)
Ankola-Honnavar-Bhatkal-Shiroor. (NH17)

You can stay at Hubli. Clarks Inn is the best possible place in Hubli.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by ampere

You can stay at Hubli. Clarks Inn is the best possible place in Hubli.

+
Hotel Metropolis, if you are looking for a clean budget hotel.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

+
Hotel Metropolis, if you are looking for a clean budget hotel.

That also reminds me. And thanks to Ranjit for this out. Hubli now also has a Taj Gateway.

But its quite a pain getting there. Its on the old Dharwad-Hubli highway.

[susheelwadke]

@ampere Thanks for the input. Yes I'm aware that Shiruru is near Bhatkal however I plan to have a night halt at Wild woods spa and then proceed to Coorg.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by susheelwadke

@ampere Thanks for the input. Yes I'm aware that Shiruru is near Bhatkal however I plan to have a night halt at Wild woods spa and then proceed to Coorg.

Shiroor-Coorg:

I think the Google option is the best.

Bhatkal-Kundapur-Udupi-Mangalore bypass-Bantwal-Puttur-Sulia-Madikeri.

- Roads around Bhatkal not that great.
- Some sections of Sulia-Sampaje not good.

[Drivethru]

I drove from Mumbai to Nanded and back this weekend.
While going to Nanded took the Mumbai – Pune – Tembhurni – Barshi – Yedshi – Latur – Loha – Nanded Route
Mumbai to Tembhurni roads are good. After Tembhurni roads are very patchy and can be called average at best. I was surprised to see toll gates after Tembhurni with such badly maintained roads. Its around 600kms route. Beyond Tembhurni there are no great places to eat or stop over. So have some back up.
On the way back, I took the Nanded – Loha – Gangakhed – Parli Vaijnath – Ambajogai – Kaij – Jamkhed – Ahmednagar – Pune – Mumbai route.
The road from Nanded till Jamkhed is in bad condition. Travelling by sedans is not a great idea. If you have a choice travel by an SUV or a vehicle which can take bad roads, pot holes and some off roading.
There are diversions on this route for some bridges which are under construction. The roads are pathetic to say the least. Once you reach ahmednagar and you are on the Pune Nagar highway roads are awesome. Ahmednagar to Pune stretch has some good restaurants on the highway. Smilestone Motels before Shirur has a ccd and a food court with wash rooms. Stopped at ccd for a quick coffee and snack.
The Mumbai Nanded route via tembhurni is longer by 25 kms as per my calculation but is the preferred route. The Nanded – Jamkhed Stretch is avoidable IMO.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

Hope they remove the speedbreakers between bangalore and Madikeri

Good info there. Here is the link to another source:

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nationa...cle5983238.ece


To Summarize:

- NH161 : Its the old NH218 (Humnabad-Bijapur-Hubli). They are extending it from Humnabad to Bidar. 218 is already quite good. Not a major update

- NH 50 – Jewargi-Siruguppa-Bellary-Hiriyur-Chikkanayakanahalli-Nagamangala-Srirangapatna-Mysore- Nanjangud

Again if you see here : Srirangapatna-Neligere-Huliyar stretch is superb SH.And so is Hiriyur-Chalkere-Bellary. No need for any work. Again not a major improvement

- NH 73 – Mudigere-Chikmagalur-Kadur (72 km);
Short distance. Dont know why this coversion. Transfer of budget?

NH 75 – Bantwal-Puttur-Sullia-Madikeri-Periyapatna-Mysore-Srirangapatna -Mandya-Ramanagaram-Bangalore (367.46 km);

This is the BIG one. Mysore Road now to be called a NH. If so, as you rightly said they need to make bypasses for each city and remove the humps. Lets see if they can achieve? More than improving the road conditions, I hope it does not turn out into a logistical nightmare.

- NH 67 – Bhanapur-Kukkunur-Yelburga-Gajendragad-Badami-Guledagudda-Bagalkot- Gadankeri (156.62 km);

Main advantage : Access to Badami heritage site. Confusion with the number. The current NH67 is Bandipur-Ooty-Karur-Trichy-Velankanni.

- NH 50 Gulbarga-Chowdapur-Afzalpur-Solapur (Maharashtra) (104.80 km)
Makes sense in some way, as it can add to improved connectivity for various transits. Not sure about the current road conditions to figure out how much of an effort it would be.

- NH 169 – Tirthahalli- Agumbe-Hebri-Udupi (87.60 km).
Again Tirthahalli-Agumbe-Someshwar is awesome. They just need to patch up and tar the Someshwar-Hebri-Udupi section. Again not a big as per me. But yes, this would make Udupi acess quite amazing. This option is quite good even now.

[ramanak]

Hi all,

A relative of mine is driving down to Mumbai from Bhilai.Route planned is NH6 till Dhule and NH3 via Nashik to Mumbai.How are the road conditions at present? He is driving a Wagon R.How many hours will the trip take for a conservative driver?Please advise if better alternate routes are available.

Thanks
Ramanak.