[RedRaider]

Further to my post number 116 above, we left Chandani Chowk at around 6.45 a.m. on 24th December, went via Mangaon and NH 66 upto Sangameshwar, turned left and reached Pawas and Adiware via Devrukh, Sakharpa and Devadhe. ( Turn right on the Sakharpa Lanja road. You cross the NH 66 at Devadhe and take the road to Pawas.) Except for a small paver block patch in between Mangaon and Lonere and some road works going on between Sakharpa and Devadhe, the road conditions are good to ok. We reached Adiware at around 1 p.m. with a small break for tea near Kashedi. No tolls .

On the return, left Adiware at 3 p.m. and reached Pune at 10 p.m. via Rajapur, Anuskura and Malkapur. Faced some traffic jams in Malkapur and then again between Karad and Satara.

If one has to really compare, the return journey road surfaces were better than the onward journey road surfaces via NH 66, but this was compensated by the sparse traffic via Tamhini, Mangaon and NH 66.

[Amarjeetphukan]

HI guys

Need help.

I am driving to Goa from Mumbai on the 19th night, I will be alone and will be leaving around 7 pm. I would like to stop on the way post around 3 - 4 hrs of driving.

Which route do you guys suggest I take? And where should I aim to reach for the night stay?

[suryaj1990]

Ideally in 3-4 hours, your should reach Pune which will be a comfortable place to stay. On the mumbai - goa route, your best bet would be Mahad. I have not seen any prominent property on this route specially up till Chiplun

[MadTitan47]

I have to travel to Mangalore from Mumbai in last week of 2025. It will be a single stretch drive. We will be leaving Mumbai at 9 PM, drive through the night and the next day, to reach mangalore as early as possible. What is currently the best route to take?

Google suggests the route following NH66 right from Mumbai with ~18 hours/915kms. It also show another route following NH48 (Pune, Kolhapur), leaving at Kittur before Hubali, and joining NH66 near Gokarna. Google shows it would take 18:30 hrs and 916 kms.
Which one is better as of now? Is there any other better option?

[suryaj1990]

Originally Posted by MadTitan47

I have to travel to Mangalore from Mumbai in last week of 2025. It will be a single stretch drive. We will be leaving Mumbai at 9 PM, drive through the night and the next day, to reach mangalore as early as possible. What is currently the best route to take?

Google suggests the route following NH66 right from Mumbai with ~18 hours/915kms. It also show another route following NH48 (Pune, Kolhapur), leaving at Kittur before Hubali, and joining NH66 near Gokarna. Google shows it would take 18:30 hrs and 916 kms.
Which one is better as of now? Is there any other better option?

there are diversions and oncoming traffic on NH66 but its shorter and less traffic. If you have good lights and can tackle bad patches, this is your goto road. just make sure to plan your trip as per directions given in this post.

NH 48 is a no brainer. its got some good highways, hotels and food joints throughout the stretch. But post Karad, a lot of diversions as highway is under construction and traffic in Pune, Karan and Kolhapur is eye watering at times. Many speed cams here too

[pranavt]

Will be heading to Goa some time next month. Since I haven't used NH66 to go beyond Chiplun in the last couple of years, I'd like to confirm if the route I've picked is correct or not. I've gone through the posts on the last few pages, so I've taken all those inputs when deciding the route.

Mumbai -> Navi Mumbai -> Pali -> Nizampur -> Mangaon -> Mahad -> Poladpur -> Khed -> Chiplun -> Sangameshwar -> Devrukh -> Sakharpa -> Watul -> Rajapur -> Goa.

Mumbai - Pali



Pali - Khed



Khed - Rajapur



Rajapur -> Goa


Would appreciate any pointers that you folks might share. Thanks!

[RM Motorsports]

The Mumbai Goa Highway NH66 project in Maharashtra is set to be completed by May-June 2025.

However when I travelled in 2nd week of December 2024, it felt at least another year to be fully completed. Hopefully no further delays this time.


https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/.../117729690.cms

[Circuit10]

Originally Posted by pranavt

Will be heading to Goa some time next month.

Hi
Did you do the journey? Can you please advise the road conditions? I am planning a road trip to goa during the Holi break and need some clarity regarding the route to be taken.
Thanks!

[sahil624]

Hi all, I am traveling from Mumbai to Goa this weekend. While returning, I would like to stay at somewhere near of halfway mark. Can anyone suggest a decent place to stay.
Thanks.

[pranavt]

Originally Posted by Circuit10

Hi
Did you do the journey? Can you please advise the road conditions? I am planning a road trip to goa during the Holi break and need some clarity regarding the route to be taken.
Thanks!

I did.

Here are the checkpoints I took: Malad -> Atal Setu -> Pen -> Kolad -> Mahad -> Poladpur -> Chiplun -> Sakharpa -> Rajapur -> Banda -> Goa. Google maps will suggest the same route by default anyway (except Atal Setu in my case, I had to change that bit). Return was the same route. I could have driven through Nizampur, but didn't bother. I have driven via that road before while heading to Mumbai and while it is better than the alternative (via Indapur), parts of it are completely deserted. And since I was travelling with my kid, I didn't want to take any risks.

The Nagothane - Indapur - Mangaon stretch is pretty shoddy, with constant diversions/contraflows, badly built roads, and is an absolute pain at night (unmarked/unlit diversion signs, extremely bright headlights, the usual Indian BS). The speed bumps are massive, unmarked, and have been placed without any rhyme or reason (only common thing I could pick amongst all of them was that they were right before Dhabas). Night driving is something I wouldn't recommend via that route unless you have extensive experience; it is genuinely dangerous. I saw multiple cars getting air. In hindsight, I should have taken the Nizampur (Mangaon -> Nizampur -> Pali -> Khalapur -> ...) route on the return journey.

With the negative out of the way, the rest of the route is a joy to drive on. It still has some of the typical Indian traits (random unmarked speed humps before small villages, cows, brain-dead bikers, autorickshaws and cars coming from the wrong side, etc), but traffic is basically non-existent for long stretches, and roads are generally very very good. There were regular stretches of 8-10 kms where I would come across maybe 5-6 total vehicles. The traffic on the ghats was well behaved and light. The trucks/buses were well behaved and driving in the left lane. It ended up taking around 11 hours (with two 1hr breaks), which is what it usually took me via the other route as well (Mumbai -> Pune -> Kolhapur -> Goa), but it was much less tiring physically and mentally. The one other fly in the ointment would be the lack of good restaurants along the way. On the return leg, we stopped at Neelam's Countryside (Kankavali) for lunch, and it was good. They even had a couple of EV charging points. But apart from that one hotel, I did not feel there were any others that were worth stopping for (IMO). If anyone has any recommendations on those, please post them here.

Will definitely be making a lot more road trips to Goa. While my post might be bordering on the critical side, the experience is night and day compared to the alternative route.

[sumeethaldankar]

As per a Youtuber who frequently travels on this route the Sangameshwar to Lanja route is just manageable somehow with work going on in full swing. My last trip was in Oct and it was absolutely horrible. Can someone confirm if they have been on this route recently and whether the route is okish or still we should use the Sangameshwar -Devrukh etc route?

Thanks.

[SRM]

Originally Posted by pranavt

Here are the checkpoints I took: Malad -> Atal Setu -> Pen -> Kolad -> Mahad -> Poladpur -> Chiplun -> Sakharpa -> Rajapur -> Banda -> Goa. Google maps will suggest the same route by default anyway (except Atal Setu in my case, I had to change that bit). Return was the same route.

It ended up taking around 11 hours (with two 1hr breaks), which is what it usually took me via the other route as well (Mumbai -> Pune -> Kolhapur -> Goa), but it was much less tiring physically and mentally.

The one other fly in the ointment would be the lack of good restaurants along the way. On the return leg, we stopped at Neelam's Countryside (Kankavali) for lunch, and it was good.

Hey, thanks a lot for all the information. It was quite helpful as I am also planning to drive next month to Goa with my family including 2 kids, will be starting from Andheri. Had a few questions on the above?

1. Google maps also suggests me the same route as mentioned by you above but via Vashi creek. Any specific reason for taking Atal Setu as going via that is showing 25 mins more for me

2. Great that you could complete in 11 hrs including 2hr breaks. Was this both side and what time did you start both ways?

3. Any suggestions for lunch place on the onward journey? Know a couple of places in Chiplun but that may be a little early for lunch as planning to start early in the morning. Any good places that you came across after Chiplun?

4. Overall, would you recommend this route over the Mumbai-Pune-Kolhapur-Goa route?

[pranavt]

Originally Posted by SRM

Hey, thanks a lot for all the information. It was quite helpful as I am also planning to drive next month to Goa with my family including 2 kids, will be starting from Andheri. Had a few questions on the above?

1. Google maps also suggests me the same route as mentioned by you above but via Vashi creek. Any specific reason for taking Atal Setu as going via that is showing 25 mins more for me

2. Great that you could complete in 11 hrs including 2hr breaks. Was this both side and what time did you start both ways?

3. Any suggestions for lunch place on the onward journey? Know a couple of places in Chiplun but that may be a little early for lunch as planning to start early in the morning. Any good places that you came across after Chiplun?

4. Overall, would you recommend this route over the Mumbai-Pune-Kolhapur-Goa route?

1) I picked Atal Setu just because I wanted to drive on a piece of road without any nuisance, as simple as that. It didn’t take any longer than it would’ve via Vashi.

2) Yes, 11hrs both ways. We left from Mumbai at 5:30am and reached our Airbnb stay at 4:30pm. And we left from Goa at 12:30pm and reached home at 11:30pm.

3) I didn’t, like I said. Even I would have appreciated some better restaurants along the way. Hotel Abhishek in Chiplun used to be a safe bet but the new one has shut down on account of the new highway being built through Chiplun and I am not keen on detours during road trips, so I didn’t bother heading to the old one. There will definitely be other restaurants along the way post Chiplun, but I have no idea about them.

4) Like I said, the difference is night and day. For anyone in Mumbai, travelling via the Pune-Kolhapur route would be a mistake.

[Circuit10]

Originally Posted by pranavt

Will be heading to Goa some time next month

Hi did you travel the earmarked route? How was the journey? And where did you stop for food breaks?

[pranavt]

Originally Posted by Circuit10

Hi did you travel the earmarked route? How was the journey? And where did you stop for food breaks?

I have already posted about my experience above: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...ml#post5922442 (Mumbai - Goa NH 66 | Latest info & updates on the brand-new (WIP) highway)