[RM Motorsports]

I have to travel to Ahmedabad over coming weekend. Since many you have travelled on NH 48, just wanted to know about traffic situation.

If I leave tomorrow or Sunday, which day would be better?

Driving on Sunday would have less traffic compared to tomorrow (Sat) or more or less I should expect same traffic.

Earliest reply will be appreciated so I can plan my travel tomorrow if traffic doesnt make a lot of difference.

Cheers!!

[ACMerchant]

Originally Posted by RM Motorsports

I have to travel to Ahmedabad over coming weekend. Since many you have travelled on NH 48, just wanted to know about traffic situation.

If I leave tomorrow or Sunday, which day would be better?

Driving on Sunday would have less traffic compared to tomorrow (Sat) or more or less I should expect same traffic.

Earliest reply will be appreciated so I can plan my travel tomorrow if traffic doesnt make a lot of difference.

Cheers!!

Preferably tomorrow if possible as Sunday you may encounter home returning traffic as mostly all businesses start from Monday.

[sankdadevil]

Originally Posted by sankdadevil

Traveled from Pune to Vadodara a few days back.
...
I hope to find better roads on the way back. Fingers crossed!!

So I returned back to Pune on 30th October and the roads were a mixed bag. The stretch from Vadodara till Bharuch was smooth however I could just cruise between 70-90 KMpH due to traffic. We started early to beat the traffic and yet, the traffic was just there!

From Bharuch till Navsari it was broken roads however not as broken as on the other way. There are quite a few surprises hidden on the tarmac and it's best to drive very cautiously till you cross Navsari. The ride till GJ-MH border is ok'ish with a few potholes here and there, so be vigilant.

The biggest pain till the border were the reckless drivers. Somehow the people just lack basic sense of driving on NH's. On one shocking instance, an idiot (maniac) decided to brake hard and make a "U" turn along with his convoy of 2 other cars from the right-most lane as they missed an exit We were behind 3-4 cars and all of us had to brake hard. Luckily none of us crashed but I remember seeing the face of the driver in the car following us in my rear-view mirror and he was praying to God for saving him from a crash. A long truck with heavy carriage moving in left-most lane also had to brake hard to avoid hitting head-on the car making the "U" turn.

Once you cross the border, the roads are a dream come true. I had fun time pushing my City hard (for the first time since its purchase.) The fun continued all the way till we screeched to a halt at the Fountain Hotel crossing. It took us a good 45 mins to cross over a distance of barely 2-3 KMs. The road from there till start of NE is usual fare, full of construction, speed breakers and chaotic driving of rickshaw drivers.

Finding a parking spot at the food mall after crossing Khalapur toll naka was a task in itself which took us a good 15 mins. Driving on NE was slow due to the traffic and thankfully there were no breakdowns/accidents leading to congestion. There were long queues on either side of the Talegaon toll naka extending for a few KM's. It took us about 30 mins to cross the toll naka.

The entire journey which took me 9 hrs in 2020 (pandemic year) and 10 hrs in 2021, this time took 12 hrs 15 mins!

[JormundElver]

Hey, good folks.

Looking to do a weekend visit to Dahanu with some friends. We will be seven of us (4 adults, 3 kids) probably be taking out our two cars (the distance is about 130 kms, so hiring a larger since car doesn't make sense, given they charge for 300 kms).

Planning to leave leave from Bandra at about 8 AM so as to reach before noon and start the return journey at 11 AM from Dahanu.

Queries:
1. Any reliable COCO petrol outlets on the highway, or is it best to fuel up before the journey?

2. Since it's become almost impossible to stop at Hotel Fountain now due to roadworks on the highway, what are the alternate eating spots (preferably after Fountain) that a family can stop for breakfast and washroom?

[Dieseltuned]

Originally Posted by JormundElver

Hey, good folks.

Looking to do a weekend visit to Dahanu with some friends. We will be seven of us (4 adults, 3 kids) probably be taking out our two cars (the distance is about 130 kms, so hiring a larger since car doesn't make sense, given they charge for 300 kms).

Planning to leave leave from Bandra at about 8 AM so as to reach before noon and start the return journey at 11 AM from Dahanu.

Queries:
1. Any reliable COCO petrol outlets on the highway, or is it best to fuel up before the journey?

2. Since it's become almost impossible to stop at Hotel Fountain now due to roadworks on the highway, what are the alternate eating spots (preferably after Fountain) that a family can stop for breakfast and washroom?

Shree Dutt at Manor seems to be a good option for food. Tank up before the Journey for the peace of mind. Leaving at 8 AM will get you stuck on the fountain nightmare, leaving early is preferable.

[JormundElver]

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

Shree Dutt at Manor seems to be a good option for food. Tank up before the Journey for the peace of mind. Leaving at 8 AM will get you stuck on the fountain nightmare, leaving early is preferable.

Thank you so much.

How much earlier would you recommend?

Shree Dutt is good, yeah, I remember that from a previous trip.

[Dieseltuned]

Originally Posted by JormundElver

Thank you so much.

How much earlier would you recommend?

Shree Dutt is good, yeah, I remember that from a previous trip.

I generally plan to cross the fountain junction by 6:30 am if it is a weekday (including Saturday) and 7:30 am to cross fountain on a Sunday.

[JormundElver]

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

I generally plan to cross the fountain junction by 6:30 am if it is a weekday (including Saturday) and 7:30 am to cross fountain on a Sunday.

That early will be difficult to manage with the kids etc. but I'll try to bring departure time forward as much as I can.

[ACMerchant]

Originally Posted by JormundElver

Hey, good folks.

Looking to do a weekend visit to Dahanu with some friends. We will be seven of us (4 adults, 3 kids) probably be taking out our two cars (the distance is about 130 kms, so hiring a larger since car doesn't make sense, given they charge for 300 kms).

Planning to leave leave from Bandra at about 8 AM so as to reach before noon and start the return journey at 11 AM from Dahanu.

Queries:
1. Any reliable COCO petrol outlets on the highway, or is it best to fuel up before the journey?

2. Since it's become almost impossible to stop at Hotel Fountain now due to roadworks on the highway, what are the alternate eating spots (preferably after Fountain) that a family can stop for breakfast and washroom?

A good place with clean bathrooms is ANAM next to IOC pump but on the opposite side. You will have to take the underpass immediately after Silver miles Hotel and then keeping to the left you will come there. While returning a slight wrong side for about 100 mts and again the underpass turn right to go towards Dahanu.
Another one is Hotel Ahura and Jay Jalaram but both after Dahanu. All the hotels have clean restrooms and excellent food. All on google maps.

If you want to leave Dahanu at 11.00 then please start latest by 06.30. You won't get stuck at fountain as they have created a diversion and when you take the left turn you will come straight near the bridge and again you can take a left to proceed towards Ahmadabad.

[JormundElver]

Originally Posted by ACMerchant

A good place with clean bathrooms is ANAM next to IOC pump but on the opposite side. You will have to take the underpass immediately after Silver miles Hotel and then keeping to the left you will come there. While returning a slight wrong side for about 100 mts and again the underpass turn right to go towards Dahanu.
Another one is Hotel Ahura and Jay Jalaram but both after Dahanu. All the hotels have clean restrooms and excellent food. All on google maps.

If you want to leave Dahanu at 11.00 then please start latest by 06.30. You won't get stuck at fountain as they have created a diversion and when you take the left turn you will come straight near the bridge and again you can take a left to proceed towards Ahmadabad.

It's 11 the next day, sorry if that wasn't clear. Thanks for the reccos.

[ts75]

Had to do Mumbai – Ahmedabad – Mumbai all of a sudden.

18.11.2022 Friday, Mumbai - Ahmedabad
Started from South Mumbai at about 5 pm. In Bandra WEH, the MMRDA billboard gives estimate time for reaching Dahisar Toll naka and airport, which were more or less accurate. Reached Fountain Hotel at around 7:30 pm. Halted at a place called Waltain Kathiawadi which is shortly ahead of it. The paneer item was good and fresh. But lots of mosquitoes at the area. Started at 8:30 pm from there and reached Ahmedabad Vastrapur at 4:30 am (i.e 8 hours).
Road conditions have significantly improved post-monsoon. There were undulations around Surat and in couple of overbridges but nothing major enough. One has to slow down on such patches and it becomes alright after a few hundred metres.
Google maps showed traffic jam ahead of Bharuch and rerouted through Ankleshwar city via Narmada Maiya bridge. It was a breeze. The only other traffic jam was at the toll gate prior to Vadodara (hold up of 10-15 minutes) which I thought was nothing but man-made mismanagement.

20.11.2022 Sunday, Ahmedabad - Mumbai
Started back at 5:30 pm and it took 8 hours to reach Fountain. No major holdups anywhere (few minutes at Maharashtra border due to trucks occupying right most lane). Road conditions were good and similar as described above.

[Dieseltuned]

Just did a Mumbai - Bharuch round trip.

This time being a Sunday I lazed off and my start from Borivali was delayed at 9:30 am. The highway is in good shape all the way to Bhilad check post. A few potholes around Vapi but nothing to worry about. The patch from palsana (surat) till Kim is still in bad shape and road surface is very uneven. Good thing is the authorities have done a lot of layering work around Bhilad/Vapi/Navsari and made the surface motorable. My onward journey to Bharuch took me 5 hours but the return was almost 6.5 owing to very heavy truck traffic.

I now just hope that the Fountain hotel bridge opens in the next couple of months. Since the last 6 months a lot of work has progressed on this bridge.

Regards
Diesel

[RohanDeshmukh]

Hi Folks

Just did a Pune - Ahmedabad - Pune trip

I started on 23rd Dec at around 4:30 AM with a senior citizen and a 9 year old kid. It was fairly smooth all the way without any traffic problem anywhere. I was informed about Shree Datta snacks enroute and intended to stop there. However, I lost patience and stopped at another food mall (which I found out was just before Shree Datta snacks). But, the washrooms were clean and there was Joshi Wade wale.

There was a huge queue at the Maharashtra Check Post. There were quite a few vehicles that took the other side of the road and bypassed the entire stretch. After that it was a decent ride. Only problem is the heavy truck traffic and as someone mentioned above, it is like playing a video game. One has to continuously change lanes and find way around the trucks.

Baroda - Ahmedabad highway was superb and I was extremely comfortable (more than on Mum-Pune Expressway) on that stretch.

Must say, was scary to drive in Ahmedabad city in the beginning as no one seemed to follow any traffic signal, barring a some signals. Later got used to it and was extremely careful as I didn't know how to fight in Gujrati

We started return journey on 25th at around 10 AM after breakfast at the hotel. This time the plan was to take a pit stop halt at Vapi. On return journey as well, there was some traffic jam before Surat and Google showed another route through a village and then back on the main road, saving 10 precious minutes.

Post that there was a smooth ride till Vapi. After an overnight stay in Vapi, started towards Pune at 6 AM. Had a breakfast break in Thane and then another smooth drive, until hitting traffic at Vasai/Virar. Once, I hit the Expressway, it was a good ride and I thoroughly enjoyed the journey!

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by RohanDeshmukh

Hi Folks

Just did a Pune - Ahmedabad - Pune trip

I started on 23rd Dec at around 4:30 AM with a senior citizen and a 9 year old kid. It was fairly smooth all the way without any traffic problem anywhere. I was informed about Shree Datta snacks enroute and intended to stop there. However, I lost patience and stopped at another food mall (which I found out was just before Shree Datta snacks). But, the washrooms were clean and there was Joshi Wade wale.

There was a huge queue at the Maharashtra Check Post. There were quite a few vehicles that took the other side of the road and bypassed the entire stretch. After that it was a decent ride. Only problem is the heavy truck traffic and as someone mentioned above, it is like playing a video game. One has to continuously change lanes and find way around the trucks.

Baroda - Ahmedabad highway was superb and I was extremely comfortable (more than on Mum-Pune Expressway) on that stretch.

Must say, was scary to drive in Ahmedabad city in the beginning as no one seemed to follow any traffic signal, barring a some signals. Later got used to it and was extremely careful as I didn't know how to fight in Gujrati

We started return journey on 25th at around 10 AM after breakfast at the hotel. This time the plan was to take a pit stop halt at Vapi. On return journey as well, there was some traffic jam before Surat and Google showed another route through a village and then back on the main road, saving 10 precious minutes.

Post that there was a smooth ride till Vapi. After an overnight stay in Vapi, started towards Pune at 6 AM. Had a breakfast break in Thane and then another smooth drive, until hitting traffic at Vasai/Virar. Once, I hit the Expressway, it was a good ride and I thoroughly enjoyed the journey!

Kindly post for the benefit of readers what was your drive time from Pune to Ahmedabad.Started at 430am and reached AMD at what time.Thanks in advance.

[RohanDeshmukh]

Apologies. I forgot to mention that

Pune - Ahmedabad - Start time 4:30 - Arrival Time around 18:30
Ahmedabad - Vapi - Start time 10:00 - Arrival Time around 17:00
Vapi - Pune - Start time 06:10 - Arrival time around 14:00

Thanks!