[Dieseltuned]

Hi all,

A small update for whoever is planning to drive down to Gujarat via NH48.

It pains me to say this (being a regular user of this road) but the highway is in absolute shambles.

I drove down from Vadodara to Mumbai yesterday and it took us whopping 12 hours to cover this stretch, we started from vadodara at 2:00 PM and reached my home in Borivali at 01:30 AM in the night. This includes 2 very quick breaks (15-20 mins each) for food and refreshments for the family.

The highway has multiple diversions at Panoli, Navsari, Vapi and obviously the omnipresent snarls at Ghodbunder. The ghodbunder stretch is so bad at the moment that ISRO might come over and test their moon landing craft here.

The road has developed unaccountable potholes on all lanes and these are not minor inconviniences but major axle breakers and tyre busters. I counted atleast 8 cars halted to change their tyres in this stretch.

The situation at Navsari (around the area where bullet train work is ongoing) that we had to take a detour through a couple of internal village roads in pitch darkness.

So, my genuine advice is to AVOID this road till they fix it and if the travel is unavoidable then please use THE TRAIN.

P.S : The VandeBharat does this in 4 hours flat, if you can grab a seat

Regards
Diesel

[lnreddy]

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

Hi all,

A small update for whoever is planning to drive down to Gujarat via NH48.

Anyone has travelled from Bangalore to Ahmedabad / Surat in the route
Bangalore-Chitradurga-Sholapur-Malegaon-Surat / Ahmedabad? It will be 60 KMS more than the regular NH48. How is road condition?

Mod Note: Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.

[Dieseltuned]

Originally Posted by lnreddy

Anyone has travelled from Bangalore to Ahmedabad / Surat in the route
Bangalore-Chitradurga-Sholapur-Malegaon-Surat / Ahmedabad? It will be 60 KMS more than the regular NH48. How is road condition?

Mod Note: Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.

Is your destination Surat OR Ahmedabad ?

If it is Ahmedabad then there is no way to avoid the NH48 between Surat and Vadodara (till you hit the NE1) and you will still loose a couple of hours around Bharuch / Ankleshwar and Kim. (taking a diversion via Sayan - Olpad - Hansot - Ankleshwar is an option depending on the time of the day )

If it is Surat then you could try the Malegaon - Songadh - Vyara - Bardoli - Surat route. I have no idea of the road conditions on this route though.

DO NOT take the Saputara - Waghai - Chikhli route as you will again hit the NH48 traffic around Navsari.

Regards
Diesel

[sahil624]

Hi all, what is the latest condition of NH48 now that the rains have receded here in Mumbai. I intent to travel from Mumbai to Vadodara tomorrow morning. Some advise would be really helpful.

[yatee.rahul]

Hello friends,

I'm planning yet another road trip with my family this winter; planning to explore the Rann of Kutch this time.

I shall be driving from Kanpur to Bhuj and staying at Bhuj; we plan to explore that part of Gujarat. On our way back, we plan to visit the Gir national park as my 5 year old daughter is a wildlife enthusiast!

I have drafted an itinerary and seek suggestions from experienced travellers / drivers considering the route condition and comfort.

Sharing the plan I have drafted:

Day 1: Kanpur to Kota (549 km)
Day 2: Kota to Abu road (428 km)
Day 3: Abu road to Bhuj (402 km)
Day 4: stay at Bhuj
Day 5: stay at Bhuj
Day 6: stay at Bhuj
Day 7: Bhuj to Rann of Kutch (tent city) (82 km)
Day 8: Rann of Kutch to Rajkot (289 km)
Day 9: Rajkot to Gir (224 km)
Day 10: stay at Gir, day trip to Somnath
Day 11: Gir to Ahmedabad (319 km)
Day 12: stay at Ahmedabad
Day 13: Ahmedabad to kota (539 km)
Day 14: Kota to Kanpur (549 km)

I've never travelled on the Kanpur - Bhuj route via Abu road before, though I have done Kanpur - Ahmedabad in the past. Would really appreciate feedback from those who have done this route and locals who can help me tweak this itinerary to make the trip comfortable for my family.

Thanks and regards,
Rahul

[dmplog]

Hello - I am planning a Pune - Rajasthan road trip and intend to take a night halt at Ahmedabad both ways. As I will take Sardar Patel Ring Road (S. P. Ring Road), I need a good highway hotel that's clean and can provide a good resting place overnight. Don't need luxury, just comfortable, clean bed sheets and clean bathrooms is all I need. I think areas of Vastral, Odhav, Nana Chiloda, Kathwada, etc are the areas nearby the Ring Road. Any past experiences and/or recommendations please? TIA!

[Thumping Soul]

Hi All! I'm planning for a roadtrip to Gujarat, primarily focusing on Somnath, Dwarka, Bet Dwarka & Nageshwar. Would love to include Gir & Rann, if time permits. The entire plan is for the week of 24th December.

One of the primary things, I was researching for: Is it possible to book Abhishekam in both the Jyotirlingams - Somnath & Nageshwar, Online? If there's some portal and process details around it, pls do share the details.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Thumping Soul

roadtrip to Gujarat

4 years back we started from Amadavad on 23rd Dec morning saw Somnath, Gir, Dwarka, Nageshwar, Narara, Porbandar and were on our way to Bhuj on 26th Dec night. Factoring 2 days drive either way from Bangalore to Amadavad. This alone will take 8 days. Adding Kutch is impossible, unless you have an additional week in hand.

Its a big holiday weekend. I gave up visiting the deity seeing mad crowd. Somnath crowd control was the best and Nageshwar is manageable. Don't expect much on abishekam on such busy times.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Thumping Soul

Hi All! I'm planning for a roadtrip to Gujarat, primarily focusing on Somnath, Dwarka, Bet Dwarka & Nageshwar. Would love to include Gir & Rann, if time permits. The entire plan is for the week of 24th December.

Like Narayan said you can take out Kutch. If you want you can add Bhavnagar if you can quickly finish Gir. But thats a chance you need to see as it comes.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by ampere

If you want you can add Bhavnagar if you can quickly finish Gir.

Have you driven Somnath or Bhavnagar recently? If so can you post the latest conditions

[ampere]

Originally Posted by narayans80

Have you driven Somnath or Bhavnagar recently? If so can you post the latest conditions

We went quite some years back. The route we took was via Amreli and Chavand. From Chavand its a 4-lane I think (My recollections may be wrong).

But from a tourism point of view Bhavnagar is an amazing place. The visit to Nishkalank Mahadev temple is awesome (~35km from Bhavnagar). One has to go in the morning and walk into the sea when the tide is low visit the place and then the come back before the high tide hits. The Swami Narayan temple is also very beautiful place to visit.

From Bhavanagar one can directly head to Ahmedabad via Bagodara. There used to be a good food court (Gallops). It was good then. Again dont know how is it today. Roads were very decent 2-lane. At Bagodara you hit the AMD-Rajkot 4-lane.


Edit: What we did was : AMD-Rajkot-Dwarka/ Bhet Dwarka (stay)-Porbandar-Somnath (stay)-Gir (stay)-Bhavanagar (stay)-AMD

[dvl666]

Originally Posted by narayans80

Have you driven Somnath or Bhavnagar recently? If so can you post the latest conditions

After bhavnagar, you can even try the RoRo Ghogha ferry which drops you at Surat.
Check the timings of ferry & your schedule.

[gurminder_81]

Team,

Need some help planning on the Gujarat road trip in the mad holiday rush week of 24th Dec.

I have planned to dedicate the below mentioned timings in the sites:

1. Updarkot Fort, Junagadh: 25th Dec: approx 2 hrs in the afternoon. 12-2 PM
2. Somnath Temple: 26th Dec: approx 2 hrs in the evening from 8-10 PM (darshan closing time)
3. Dwarka Temple: 27th Dec: approx 2 hrs in the first half of the day: 11 AM - 1 PM (darshan closing time)
4. Rann of Kutch: 28th Dec: Full Day. Bhuj -> Rann -> Bhuj.

My query is, am I too ambitious for the timings given the holiday rush? 26th, 27th and 28th aren't really weekend offs. If not, how much time would suggest to keep for these locations.

Tx

[streetfighter]

Hi folks, planning a trip to Gujrat in my C5 Aircross with family during the Diwali holidays. I'll be the solo driver and since I have kids (7 and 13years) with me, want to take it easy. Following is a rough plan I want to take...

Day1: Mum - Hazira (drive). Hazira - Ghogha (by ferry) - Bhavnagar. Stay at Bhavnagar
Day2: Bhavnagar - Alang - Diu. Stay at Diu
Day 3: Diu - Somnath - Gir Devalia (safari) - Girnar. Stay at Girnar
Day 4: Girnar - Porbandar - Dwarka. Stay at Dwarka
Day 5: Dwarka local
Day 6: Dwarka - Bhuj/Dhordo. Stay at Bhuj
Day 7-9: Kutch
Day 10: Return to Mumbai from Kutch (can take a break midway as needed)

I have done the safari bookings but I did not get the Gir safari, hence booked for Devalia and Girnar Nature Safari. I've done the ropeway booking for Girnar. For stay at Kutch (thinking of Bhunga for the experience) I am thinking of doing a walk-in, is this too adventurous? Please note, this is a first time for me to Kutch. I also plan to visit Nadabet, the Indo-Pak border. Are there (diesel) fuel pumps in Rann of Kutch area? Any tips/pointers would be welcome. Thanks in advance.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by streetfighter

trip to Gujrat in my C5 Aircross with family during the Diwali holidays

Cutout Dahej-Gogha ferry and driving Bhavnagar-Diu part. Not worth it. Go either through Baroda or Amadavad-Rajkot.

Include Narara, which is 110 km from Dwarka towards Jamnagar. The visiting times are sensitive to tides. So please look at the low tide timings and visit accordingly.

Are stay options so easily available. Being Diwali time, am expecting crowds everywhere.

Nadabet/Vigakot would need permission from BSF office at Bhuj, which you have to get a day ahead. It will take an entire day for either. I remember you have to surrender phones at India Bridge