[dvl666]

Thank you everyone for the updates on NH66 for Mumbai to Goa.

From what I read and infer it seems the roads are still incomplete and the diversions are better.

We intend to leave early on 1st Jun.

Any recent updates on roads, diversions and the stops for vegetarian snacks/lunch with clean washrooms would be big help.
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[Vandit]

Folks - I'll be driving from Dadar to Mapusa on the 31st of May.

On my last trip in March I took the following routing. A few rough sections till Sangameshwar, after which the section till Sakharpa was great. Post Sakharpa there was a few km's of road works going on.. but after re-joining the highway at Watul - it was fine.

Dadar-Atal Setu-Pen-Mangaon-Khed-Sangameshwar-Devrukh-Sakharpa-Watul-Kharepatan-Kankavli-Oros-Banda-Dhargal-Mapusa routing.

Question is, does this routing still hold good considering the overcast weather and forecasts? Or should I consider alternative routes?

Also I usually struggle to find a good stop for breakfast on the route near Chiplun/Khed - are there any good recommended places to consider? For lunch, I have fixed a great stop at Sakharpa - Hotel Sanket which is highly recommended.

[denzdm]

I drove on this route a month back in April and it was a breeze. Took me 12 hours door to door from Borivali to South Goa with 3 breaks.

Started at 4:30 and stopped at Hotel Anand Bhuvan for breakfast around 7:30 - https://maps.app.goo.gl/aJ1RfzLq9FoqnCAZ9
Next stop was the one you have shortlisted, Hotel Sanket - however, i didn't find it hygienic. Made a rest break nevertheless. Another option is Hotel Maitri Park a little ahead - https://maps.app.goo.gl/tVwTUzoYA8MnaGQ28

The situation changed drastically on my return trip (South Goa to Mumbai) this weekend. The Mangaon section took 90 mins to cross with some cars trying to jump queues. This added considerable amount of time. It wasn't attributed to any weather condition but sheer lack of patience and civic sense. I was crossing this bypass around 2 in the afternoon.

[Vandit]

Originally Posted by denzdm

I drove on this route a month back in April and it was a breeze. Took me 12 hours door to door from Borivali to South Goa with 3 breaks.

Started at 4:30 and stopped at Hotel Anand Bhuvan for breakfast around 7:30 - https://maps.app.goo.gl/aJ1RfzLq9FoqnCAZ9
Next stop was the one you have shortlisted, Hotel Sanket - however, i didn't find it hygienic. Made a rest break nevertheless. Another option is Hotel Maitri Park a little ahead - https://maps.app.goo.gl/tVwTUzoYA8MnaGQ28

The situation changed drastically on my return trip (South Goa to Mumbai) this weekend. The Mangaon section took 90 mins to cross with some cars trying to jump queues. This added considerable amount of time. It wasn't attributed to any weather condition but sheer lack of patience and civic sense. I was crossing this bypass around 2 in the afternoon.

Thanks. Will bookmark Anand Bhuvan on my waypoints.

A bit surprised on your observation at Hotel Sanket though, could you help elaborate a little bit on hygienic? I will skip them if you think it's concerning enough. Will also look at Maitri Park as a backup! Thanks.

Mangaon, I agree can be a hit or a miss with the crossing through market section.

[denzdm]

Originally Posted by Vandit

A bit surprised on your observation at Hotel Sanket though, could you help elaborate a little bit on hygienic? I will skip them if you think it's concerning enough. .

While I read mixed reviews about this place on Google, still made a short rest stop and didn't like the overall ambiance.

When we reached this place in the afternoon, we saw that the cassette AC has broken down and water had spilled over the floor. The workers were standing with their dirty feet on the chairs that were used by customers. It was an ugly sight. Just visited the washroom and left. Luckily the washrooms were maintained.

The place is at a great location at a perfect junction. However, they need to focus on hygiene.

[Ne0N]

Took the NH 66 on 25th May from Mumbai to Goa and returned on the 30th. The stretch upto Sangameshwar was decent with some diversions. Took the devruk-sakharpa route to reach Lanja. Certain sections of the devruk-sakharpa ghats have newly formed crators due to the rains. Left from Mumbai at 5.30 AM and was at Siolim by 7PM. Stopped at Oceano Pacific for lunch on the onwards journey and at Hotel Aaradhya for a tea and bio break. Both hotels have a decent washroom and food. On the return journey we stopped at Hotel anandi for lunch and at Drive inn for tea and to refuel. Started the return journey at 11.06 AM and reached home to Borivli by 00.10 AM. Speeds did not exceed 80Kmph.
Attaching the Google maps links for these hotels and rest stops.

Hotel Oceano Pacific : https://maps.app.goo.gl/fhXywAPjEHjpuTrY9

Hotel Aaradhya :https://maps.app.goo.gl/kTzGpSzwUp8uDJWT7

Hotel Anandi :https://maps.app.goo.gl/WzBVLMPzNm73iAZC9

Hotel Drive Inn : https://maps.app.goo.gl/9pJurkc6MSe6u1cu7

[dvl666]

We left on 1st june at 5am and took the atal setu - pali - devrukh - sakharpa route till panji - goa ka atal bridge and then to mollem

Roads were decent and we managed an avg speed of 55kmph in our fully loaded troc - certain diversions are getting washed away and we have to be careful.

Will update once we return on 5th - 6th june about the stops we took (veg & jain food) and return journey

[porsche_guy]

Trip Report Mumbai-Ganpatipule-Goa via NH66

Since the last few years, me and few friends of mine usually plan a Goa trip in the first week of June. However this year, due to some scheduling reasons we made the trip in the last week of May. Unlike the last couple of times, we drove down this time in a Virtus GT and Nikhil aka Beemerbug_06’s Corolla— better known as Silver Streak here. Initial plan was to do a direct Mumbai-Goa run but later we planned to stop at Ganpatipule for the night. Following is the report for the journey. Do note that since I flew out due to personal reasons on the return leg directly to my hometown, this is a one way report. Rest of the folks could do the return leg in one shot within 12 hours including breaks.

Day 1

Route taken—

Dadar-Atal Setu-Pune Expressway-Khopoli-Kolad-Mangaon-Mahad-Chiplun-Sangameshwar-Ganpatipule

Time Taken: 7 hours including the first break after Setu of approx 30min and the second break at Hotel Anand Bhuvan in Mangaon for approx 45min

Road conditions— Post Khopoli till joining NH66 it’s a beautiful road. 2 lane well laid out asphalt. NH66 till Mangaon is largely good as well with 4 lane cemented roads. Few potholes here and there but not a big concern. Post Mangaon is where roadworks start. Not very frequent but few occasions when you need to get into the opposite lane/off the road etc. Beware of stray cattle and local drivers in this stretch. The Virtus had a close call here. Post Sangameshwar, roads change to rural single lane ones. But again well laid out asphalt for the most part. Few broken patches are present, however. The entire ghat section is via these roads— a very scenic route in monsoons and we hardly saw any traffic.

Our stop for the night: Om Mangalmurti Residency, Ganpatipule. Charged us a very reasonable amount for the night for the entire 3BHK villa. Good amount of parking can accommodate upto 5 cars inside the compound. Very clean and spacious villa— maintained exactly as shown in photos. All rooms have AC and extra mattresses. There is an 80 inch smart tv in living room with all OTT subscriptions and few games kept like cricket and badminton as well. We had asked them to arrange for our dinner at extra cost (approx 150 per person for veg thali). Superb homely and authentic food. Great views from up top and can see the sea right from the terrace. The caretakers were friendly and helpful too. Only small issue is approach road is dirt for the last 50 metres so in monsoon, can be slightly difficult although both our sedans managed without any issues whatsoever.



Setting off from Nikhil’s place at 5am



Regrouping after Atal Setu



Couple of pictures of the new sections of the NH66. Have to say- while the surfacing could have been far better, the sparse traffic makes driving here a delight


Another regroup at Hotel Anand Bhuvan. We saw very few good eateries post Mangaon so plan accordingly


Some sugary coffee and simple, yet delicious breakfast


View from the terrace of our Villa


Silver Streak looking fresh as ever


Konkan can be very charming in the rains

Day 2

Route taken—

Ganpatipule Temple-Ratnagiri-Pawas-Gavkhade-Rajapur-Kharepatan-Kudal-Banda-Mapusa-Panaji-Varca

Note: Google maps will show a route where you have to take left from Pawas Bus stand which is wrong. For the correct route, you have to head straight to go via Gavkhade towards Rajapur. This misadventure cost us approx 30 mins since it’s an internal road leading to a dead end. Once you go straight from Pawas bus stand, Google maps will reroute to the correct route.

Time taken: 6 hours including 3 small breaks of 10 min each for pictures, our misadventure at Pawas, a 10 min fuel break at Pernem and another bio break just ahead. No food breaks taken.

Road conditions— a very scenic two lane road till Ratnagiri post which it’s rural single lane asphalt roads till Rajapur. Sparse traffic, great scenery, great tarmac although be careful since roads can be a bit narrow for new drivers. Post Gavkhade, roads are nicer proper 2 lane on a plateau like terrain. A dream to drive on.

Post Rajapur, get on to NH66. Few patches of roadworks mean diversions are present but be alert since they can catch you off guard. Rest of the roads are excellent. Four lane well paved concrete and very less traffic. Kudal onwards especially no roadworks so can drive quite well.

For the second day, I took over the wheel for the entire leg and the Corolla truly impressed me with its poise, the SUV like stance and a very robust feeling suspension setup. The hydraulic power steering also gave good feedback although it’s clear that it’s a car that prefers to cruise over being hustled along which complimented my driving style quite well. That’s no small feat for what is a 20 year old car today.

Overall for the entire trip, we were cruising at 80-90kph with a few bursts of 100 in the Corolla, primarily due to the short gearing taking a toll on the efficiency at higher speeds. The Virtus GT however, being far more modern and powerful was always ahead of us. Truth be told, they did have more enthusiastic drivers too while I wanted to soak in the scenery more.


A very early morning darshan at the Ganpatipule Temple


A stunningly breathtaking Aare Ware beach with the rain gods taking over the skies


A very happy Toyota owner



Another magnificent spot— the Purnagad bridge where you can see the river meet the sea


An absolute delight to drive even after 20 years

[Vandit]

Originally Posted by dvl666

Will update once we return on 5th - 6th june about the stops we took (veg & jain food) and return journey

Hey mate, what route did you take on the return?

[Utopian]

Originally Posted by porsche_guy

[h3][b]Trip Report Mumbai-Ganpatipule-Goa via NH66...

Despite the years, the Indian OG Corolla looks and feels the best. Unless it is the 1.5 heart, I think it can still give the Virtus some competition, if drive with some enthusiasm.

But I agree, this route is to be enjoyed as well. Do post some more pics of the property as well.

[dvl666]

Originally Posted by Vandit

Hey mate, what route did you take on the return?

I took the toota phoota road back (nh66 all the way) since I had time and had to prove a point about gmaps to our fellow traveller

I suggest you take the devrukh way back
Its a nicer and cleaner road

Also inside goa use gmaps for traffic and diversions

[porsche_guy]

Originally Posted by Utopian

Despite the years, the Indian OG Corolla looks and feels the best. Unless it is the 1.5 heart, I think it can still give the Virtus some competition, if drive with some enthusiasm.

But I agree, this route is to be enjoyed as well. Do post some more pics of the property as well.

The Virtus being the 1.5 GT was obviously quite a lot quicker. But the Corolla performed flawlessly too. Mainly, despite the shorter ratios the larger displacement and under-stressed engine meant the cruising was very comfortable. It managed to deliver an overall fuel efficiency of 14-14.5kmpl as well. Which was around the same range as the Virtus (give or take 1-1.5kmpl). While driving it really didn’t feel like a 20 year old car at all and was quite tight.

As for the property, my apologies since we did not manage to take pictures. It was a boys trip so we were more focused on having fun than anything else! Be rest assured however, that the listing on Airbnb as well as Google is very accurate. The place was exactly as shown in pictures.

It was an absolutely gorgeous drive and after this experience I’m very keen on planning a Konkan road trip soon.

[Vandit]

Originally Posted by dvl666

I took the toota phoota road back (nh66 all the way) since I had time and had to prove a point about gmaps to our fellow traveller

I suggest you take the devrukh way back
Its a nicer and cleaner road

Also inside goa use gmaps for traffic and diversions

Thanks man, I took NH66 back to Mumbai via Devrukh, with the turnoff at Watul. The State Highway was in excellent condition till Devrukh. Overall though, it NH66 is in very poor condition compared to NH48. Khed, Chiplun etc as usual, completely in a mess, with no signs of any active work. Sangameshwar bus stop was a warzone with absolutely chaotic traffic at the bottleneck where the bridge bypass is being constructed.

Left Mapusa sharp 0800hrs - (the most delayed time I've ever left Goa) and reached Dadar around 1755, with a 45min stop for lunch at Hotel Kiran in Lonere just before Mangaon.

Mangaon crossing was busy, but thankfully painless.

If it wasn't for the much shorter length and lower travel time, I'd have preferred NH48. It's way better for the car and the frustration levels as well.

However something really depressing and concerning caught my eye on the return journey. The saddest aspect I've seen now in all these years of driving is the massive rock cutting and leveling of hills. There's massive destruction almost every few kilometers with JCB's and dumpers cutting into the hillside. I wonder if anyone is looking at this? It's absolutely infuriating to see just how high and how much of rock cutting is going on all along the stretch. It's absolutely rampant. Hills are being levied (I presume for the rocks and gravel needs to construct these concrete roads), but in my view, it's going to forever alter the pristine ecology of the Konkan region. It was such a pleasant sight to see the lands and hills covered in lush rich green of the monsoon season, only to find these horrible brown patches ruining it with JCB's excavating and filling up one dumper after the other.

Even right adjoining NH66, shallow field lands are being leveled and raised and flattened to the road level in preparation for construction.