[prasad14]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Day2 plan is tough specially considering the bad state of roads esp the NH17 and plus you would need to spend time at each location.taking into account these factors jog,murudeshwar,gokarna and reach Goa(atleast Karwar by 6pm)looks slightly ambitious IMHO.Roads in those parts would not be repaired so soon by October after the monsoons.I would reccomend you do Goa separately and then do a separate drive covering Jog-Chikmagalur,Murudeshwar,marvanthe,Gokarna and back to Hyderabad.The drives to those parts would be tiring and time consuming.Just my two paisa!

I second ranjitp1. Jog requires some luck, if there is a lot of water, its awesome and beyond words. Since you are going to Goa, you'd anyways see enough and more of beaches. Maravanthe is one beautiful stretch where for a few hundred mtrs you'd have sea on one side and a river, but you can't get into the sea as the govt has placed lot of boulders to avoid erosion. Murudeshwar and Gokarna do have temples and beaches, but given the time required for the journey and road conditions, please come back again exclusively for karnataka coastal and malnad/coorg trip.

Prasad

[deehunk]

It is possible to reach Shimoga by sunset but why you want to stretch this far to finally reach Goa. As suggested by others plan a separate trip to Coastal Karnataka sometime later, my brother-in law had a tough time in reaching Goa last November because of very bad roads and mis-guidance after Hubli. You can reach Hubli by evening, plan to stay overnight at Hubli and start for Goa next day early morning. Hubli to Goa is also a scenic route.

[lbhavani]

Originally Posted by prasad14

I second ranjitp1. Jog requires some luck, if there is a lot of water, its awesome and beyond words. Since you are going to Goa, you'd anyways see enough and more of beaches. Maravanthe is one beautiful stretch where for a few hundred mtrs you'd have sea on one side and a river, but you can't get into the sea as the govt has placed lot of boulders to avoid erosion. Murudeshwar and Gokarna do have temples and beaches, but given the time required for the journey and road conditions, please come back again exclusively for karnataka coastal and malnad/coorg trip.

Prasad

Thanks ranjitp1 and prasad14. I think it makes sense to skip NW and coastal Karnataka for now and plan another trip exclusively for those places.

Which is the best scenic route? 1) Hyd - Hubli - Ankola - karwar - Goa or 2) Hyderabad - Belgaum - Amboli - Goa.

I think we will need to make a night stay in Hubli or Belgaum based on the route taken and proceed to Goa the next day. Is staying at Green Valley Resort, Amboli or Banana County, yellapur for the night better option than staying at Hubli or Balgaum? we are three families traveling with kids.

-lb

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by lbhavani

Thanks ranjitp1 and prasad14. I think it makes sense to skip NW and coastal Karnataka for now and plan another trip exclusively for those places.

Which is the best scenic route? 1) Hyd - Hubli - Ankola - karwar - Goa or 2) Hyderabad - Belgaum - Amboli - Goa.

I think we will need to make a night stay in Hubli or Belgaum based on the route taken and proceed to Goa the next day. Is staying at Green Valley Resort, Amboli or Banana County, yellapur for the night better option than staying at Hubli or Balgaum? we are three families traveling with kids.

-lb

Both the routes are scenic,and both have ghat sections(it is a norm if you need to get to Goa).As for staying,both Banana County and Green Valley Resort are pretty sad.I would reccomend staying at Belgaum or Hubli if at all you need to do a stopover.Hubli has Clarks,Hans,Metropolis,Naveen which are all good.Belgaum has Sankam Residency on the NH4 and Eefa which is also good.Sanman Deluxe is also good for a stopover.

www.eefabelgaum.com
http://www.sanmandeluxe.com
www.sankam.in

If at all you do want to stay,do it on your return from Goa as invariably people tend to check out late from Goa.You do a leisurely drive to Hubli or Belgaum and stay the night and start early next day morning back to Hyd.

Onward journey if you manage to leave Hyd latest by 5am you should be comfortably in your hotel in Goa latest by 7pm(or earlier depending on the amount of time you spend on your breaks).Best time to leave would be 330am and be in Goa by 5pm.To experience both the routes,you could go via one(Hubli) and come back via the other(Amboli)

[prabingade]

Originally Posted by lbhavani

Thanks ranjitp1 and prasad14. I think it makes sense to skip NW and coastal Karnataka for now and plan another trip exclusively for those places.

Which is the best scenic route? 1) Hyd - Hubli - Ankola - karwar - Goa or 2) Hyderabad - Belgaum - Amboli - Goa.

I think we will need to make a night stay in Hubli or Belgaum based on the route taken and proceed to Goa the next day. Is staying at Green Valley Resort, Amboli or Banana County, yellapur for the night better option than staying at Hubli or Balgaum? we are three families traveling with kids.

-lb

In addition to what Ranjit said, it mostly depends on which part of Goa you are visiting. If you are going north Goa then Amboli may be a better option while for South Goa, Hubli could be a better option.

I generally try to take one route while going and another while returning to complete a circle.

[Fiest@DuraTec]

Guys,

I am travelling to Goa on 29th of Sep, Saturday. I will be leaving early morning (around 4) and targeting to stroll on the streets of Goa by 3 P.M. I have the following routes in mind.

1. Hyderabad-Zaheerabad-Humnabad-Gulbarga-Jewargi-Bijapur-Athani-Chikodi-Gandiglaj-Ajra-Amboli Ghat-Sawantwadi-Goa.

2. Hyderabad - Mahbubnagar - Raichur - Sindhanur - Gangawati - Koppal - Hubli - Goa.

3. Hyderabad - Zaheerabad - Humnabad - Solapur - Kolhapur - Nipani - Sawantwadi - Goa.

In Goa, I will be staying nearby Calagunte beach, so thats my landmark.

I am looking forward for cleaner roads, don't mind if they are a bit longer.
I am familiar with the route no. 2 till Gangawati as I took this route to Hampi last december. The route was overall very good, except the few bad patches between Mahbubnagar and Raichur.

mobike008 took route no. 1 recently and reported it to be nice except the last strech starting from Sawantwadi.

Help please !!

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Fiest@DuraTec

mobike008 took route no. 1 recently and reported it to be nice except the last strech starting from Sawantwadi.

Help please !!

If its calangute beach. Its a no-brainer. Stick to the same route as mine. I did Hyd-Goa on that route in little over 10 hours so you can imagine the roads are that awesome.

Bad roads are on these places

1. When your crossing the Bijapur main city. 500 meters just before gol gumaz is bad

2. Just before sawantwadi it "may" be bad but, by now it should be laid out 99% sure.

[Fiest@DuraTec]

Originally Posted by mobike008

If its calangute beach. Its a no-brainer. Stick to the same route as mine. I did Hyd-Goa on that route in little over 10 hours so you can imagine the roads are that awesome.

Bad roads are on these places

1. When your crossing the Bijapur main city. 500 meters just before gol gumaz is bad.
2. Just before sawantwadi it "may" be bad but, by now it should be laid out 99% sure.

For point 1 : Someone suggested there was a bypass to avoid this ?? I will decide on the run for it, missus might want to see Gol Gumbaz.

Thanks Avinash, I will try to stick to this route.

Just out of curiosity, what is the problem with the Raichur-Hubli route (route no. 2)? It is also close to 730kms as per google.

Edit : Just checked out on Google for the Bijapur bypass. Is it the Bijapur ring road ?

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Fiest@DuraTec

Just out of curiosity, what is the problem with the Raichur-Hubli route (route no. 2)? It is also close to 730kms as per google.

I dont think there is anything wrong. I will ask a few guys who travelled on this route during Aug 15th weekend to reply to you here. Its just that its been ages i took that route and i am not very sure of what is right or wrong there.

I always used to travel via. solapur etc and used to reach in 14+ hours but, my previous trip via Bijapur reached in 10+ hours left me ecstatic ....Thats all....Besides the plus point of enjoying the scenary of Amboli Ghat

Btw, I personally wont be trying any other route unless something major goes wrong on this route.

[Fiest@DuraTec]

Originally Posted by mobike008

I dont think there is anything wrong. I will ask a few guys who travelled on this route during Aug 15th weekend to reply to you here. Its just that its been ages i took that route and i am not very sure of what is right or wrong there.

Great, that should be very helpful.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Btw, I personally wont be trying any other route unless something major goes wrong on this route.

Same pinch. Thats the reason I wanted to stick to the route via gangawati(because its been tried recently), only problem is being unsure about the route ahead of gangawati.

[Ardy]

Originally Posted by Fiest@DuraTec

Great, that should be very helpful.



Same pinch. Thats the reason I wanted to stick to the route via gangawati(because its been tried recently), only problem is being unsure about the route ahead of gangawati.

The Raichur - Hubli route is absolutely fine. No issues at all. The road surface is fairly good, barring the speed breakers.

I took this route in August and on the return we covered the entire distance in less than 11 hours.

Cheers,
Ardy

[Fiest@DuraTec]

Originally Posted by Ardy

The Raichur - Hubli route is absolutely fine. No issues at all. The road surface is fairly good, barring the speed breakers.

I took this route in August and on the return we covered the entire distance in less than 11 hours.

Cheers,
Ardy

Hey thanks Ardy. I should probably do it in a circle, I will start on one and return from another. Passing so near from Hampi will definitely tempt me for a stay

Edit : Another question, anyone has any idea on the Castle House for a stay ?

[enragz]

Originally Posted by Fiest@DuraTec

Hey thanks Ardy. I should probably do it in a circle, I will start on one and return from another. Passing so near from Hampi will definitely tempt me for a stay

Edit : Another question, anyone has any idea on the Castle House for a stay ?

Hey, i am planning to drive from hyderabad to goa on 24th Oct. How did your trip go. What route did you take and how are the road conditions.

[suresheadala]

Originally Posted by enragz

Hey, i am planning to drive from hyderabad to goa on 24th Oct. How did your trip go. What route did you take and how are the road conditions.

I went to Goa recently(27th Sep - 2nd Oct).

Forward Route -Hyderabad-Zaheerabad-Humnabad-Gulbarga-Jewargi-Bijapur-Athani-Chikodi-Gandiglaj-Ajra-Amboli Ghat-Sawantwadi-Calangute(North Goa).

Road condition between Zaheerabad and Humnabad is bad. Bridge under repair near Gulbargs, traffic diverted. Did 30-40 km of offroading. Took more then One and half hours to cover that distance. Road between Ajra and Amboli ghat is not good. Nearly 20km of bad patch. But Amboli ghat is a great experience. Beautiful whether(raining), good roads and great view.
Started at 5am in Hyd(Miyapur) and reached Calangute beach at 8:30pm.
We took 3-4 small breaks and a 20 min lunch break.

Return Route - Palolem(South Goa) - Hubli - Gadag - Kushtagi - Sindhanur - Raichur - Mahbubnagar - Hyderabad.

Road till Gadag is good. Missed planned(Palolem(South Goa) - Hubli - Koppal - Gangawati - Sindhanur - Raichur - Mahbubnagar - Hyderabad) route. Navigator got confused looking at the map and guided to Gadag - Kushtagi route instead of Gadag - Koppal route. Gadag to Kushtagi is single road but in good condition. Horrible road between Kushtagi and Sindhanur. Nearly 30-40 km of bad patch. Road from Sindhanur to Raichur is Good. Raichur to Jadcharla route requires little more concentration because of potholes.
Later i inquired with a friend who stays in Raichur, he said Raichur - Hubli road via Gangawati is in good condition.
Started at 6am in Palolem beach and reached Hyd at 8:30pm.

We took 3-4 small breaks and a 30 min lunch break.

I suggest Hyd - Raichur - Sindhanur - Gangawati - Koppal - Hubli - Goa route.
If you choose this route for return journey, I suggest you to start early in Goa so that you can cover Raichur - Jadcharla stretch in day light.

[gajadonga]

Hyd - Raichur - Sindhanur - Gangawati - Koppal - Hubli - Karwar - Goa route.
This route is a good route and I use this when going to Goa

Mahabubnagar-Raichur occasinal potholes very sparse traffic.(100kms)

Raichur-Gangawathi good road lot of speed breakers nearing villages.
.
Sindanur-Kushtagi-Gadag is not advisable due to bad roads.

After Gangawathi you reach a cross road called Budguppa cross.
From this place to Koppal is about 25kms and newly laid road.

Hubli city you have to ask for directions towards Karwar.

As mentioned by @suresheadala if you are heading for South Goa
this route is a good option.