[s@tan2s@int]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

I hope you have some reason to drive to Mangalore to get to Goa, else the usual Bangalore-Goa route is shorter and faster.

Take the Shiradi route. Its not raining so much that the roads can get ruined that fast. I last drove about a month back, but till last week i heard that not much has changed

Shiradi is the widest and fastest route(its a NH) and you can make it to Mangalore in 6-6.5 hours.

But if your stop is Udupi, then perhaps you can save a bit of time if you take Charmadi and then belthangadi-karkala-udupi

Hi Raj,

The only reason to drive to Mangalore is to enjoy the scenic coastal drive to Goa & visit few places like Udipi, murudeshwar, etc enroute to Goa. We didn't want to take the same route from Bangalore to Goa and back.

As Ampere, NPV & you suggested, I will take the Shiradi ghat route to Mangalore. if there is a change in the plan to stop at Udipi, will drive through Charmadi ghat.

Thanks a ton again for your suggestion.

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by s@tan2s@int

Hi Raj,
The only reason to drive to Mangalore is to enjoy the scenic coastal drive to Goa & visit few places like Udipi, murudeshwar, etc enroute to Goa. We didn't want to take the same route from Bangalore to Goa and back.

Coastal drive will be scenic for sure, but its a 2 lane road full of truck traffic. Besides, if its just the drive, you can even take Shimoga route and join near Sagar and cover places like Gokarna,Karvar and may be murudeshwar as they are all near to Goa

Udupi,Mangalore etc are further south(udupi is 100+ km south of Murudeshwar) and if you plan to visit to Mangalore/Udupi you should definitely stay and visit the countless number of temples.

When is this trip planned ? June would be begining of monsoon and it pours cats and dogs and it might totally spoil your costal drive

[manim]

Here are the details of my drive to Goa:
Total distance (in eight days) - 2,741 kms.
Driving fully by me (Wife can drive, but never gave my car!).

First the return drive from Candolim to Bangalore via Sawantwadi-Amboli-ghats-Belgaum-Hubli.

09:15 am started
12:48 pm 4-lane at Belgaum
08:30 pm traffic-jam inside Bangalore
09:30 pm destination inside Bangalore.


Onward drive from Tuticorin to Bangalore to Goa Via Hubli-Yellapur-Ankola-Karwar:
07:10 pm start from home
04:24 am NICE road entry
08:30 am Kamat hotel near Ranebennur
12:25 pm Ankola
01:05 pm Goa border!
02:30 pm Colva

I find the onward drive via hubli-ankola better because sawantwadi route had more bad roads and it is not fully 4-lane from Belgaum to Hubli.

The worst part of this entire 2,741 kms drive was getting caught in a traffic-jam inside Bangalore after eleven hours of driving.

The best part was Hubli to Ankola with good road surface and great curves!

The onward 1,245 kms drive for 19+ hours was the longest drive ever in my life.
I may never try this again since I am certainly not getting younger!
Only problem was minor back muscle pain for the next two days.

Bought Sygic-Navigation for my android before leaving.
Excellent guidance inside Goa and the Sawantwadi-Amboli stretch.

Return in mid-noon on the Belgaum-Hubli was at a very hot 39 deg C, but the Civic kept its cool!

FE for the onward journey was 11.6 kmpl for 1,250 kms.
FE for the whole Goa trip - 2,741 kms with 10.9 kmpl.
Poor FE but I had fun

Speed breakers on the 4-lane? (It is the people crossing the road who have to be careful)
I found bikers moving slowly on the fast-lane and will not move even if honked.
And our Indian style of zig-zagging on the 4-lane, overtaking trucks is dangerous to say the least.

Tolls have long queues and wastes a lot of time, hope they find some electronic way to collect the money so there is no stoppage.

Petrol rates comparison:
Rs.69.50 Tamilnadu
Rs.73.20 Karnataka
Rs.54.85 Goa!

Car is Civic-AT, 5 years old, done 1,07,000 kms.

Will try to spend time cataloging the photos I took on the highways this weekend and post some here.

A Big Thanks to team-bhp with this thread and all the travellogues on Goa which helped me plan for this trip.

[s@tan2s@int]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

When is this trip planned ? June would be begining of monsoon and it pours cats and dogs and it might totally spoil your costal drive

Hi Raj,

This trip is planned for the first week of June .1st June to 8th June. Just hoping that the monsoon doesn't arrive that soon and even if it does..it doesn't pour cats n dogs..

And your idea of the drive through Shimoga is perfect and might save us time. Will consider this option for sure..

Thanks

[sureshurs]

Hi

Returned back from Karwar yesterday. I covered the route Karwar-Ankola-Yellapur-Hubli-Bangalore (electronic City) in 8 hrs. Excellent road conditions with diversions between Chitradurga and Tumkur for grade separator construction at Junctions.

Karwar- Hubli : left Karwar at 10.30 am and reached Hubli at 1.10 pm with a 10 min break after Yellapur
Hubli -Ranebennur (BP petrol station/ghar) : left Hubli at 1.25 pm after refueling break and reached by 2.10 pm
Ranebennur - Nelamangala: left at 2:50 pm and reached at 5.45 pm.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by s@tan2s@int

This trip is planned for the first week of June .1st June to 8th June. Just hoping that the monsoon doesn't arrive that soon and even if it does..it doesn't pour cats n dogs..

Hi s@tan2s@int,

There is a good chance you may reach Goa after rains start. As per met department circular last week monsoon is expected to hit Kerala on 1 June, remember last year it came a week earlier on May 4th week. Anyways, it will start raining in Goa in 2-3 days after it does in Kerala.

Had once visited Goa on 5th June few years back, the day we reached was all sunny and we were happy that we beat monsson. But by evening it started raining heavily which didnt stop for next 3 days.

[pareshraheja]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Hubli-NH63-Yellapur-Ankola-Karwar-Madgaon-Panjim-Candolim

Ranjit,

One of the members: sam, posted this link about the shortest route as seen on the google maps.

https://maps.google.co.in/maps?saddr...mra=ls&t=m&z=8

Any idea about the road condition b/w bankapur to yellpaur?

I suppose on this very thread somewhere on page 78, one the members mentioned that the road condition was excellent but, that was in 2009.

Any idea how is it in 2012?

Cheers

Blackbeast aka Stile MJD, Blr

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by pareshraheja

Ranjit,

https://maps.google.co.in/maps?saddr...mra=ls&t=m&z=8

Any idea about the road condition b/w bankapur to yellpaur?

Paresh,there was an update by Arjun who took the Bankapur-Mundgod-Yellapur route in late April this year and he reccomends the route.However there wouldnt be much in terms of time saving as the NH63 is wide and lets you cover the distance between Hubli and Ankola in 1.5hrs.Also I wouldnt reccomend the Bankapur route if you are driving after sundown.

Here is a link to Arjun's post http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post2763915

[manim]

Food/toilet break between Ranebennur and Harihar, A Kamat hotel.

A good chance to stretch the legs between long drives.
A bit off the highway so calm and spacious.

Toilets were very smelly during our return drive though.

Map Coordinates: 14.57339, 75.69072

[ampere]

Originally Posted by manim

Food/toilet break between Ranebennur and Harihar, A Kamat hotel.

Compared to this one the Ankola Kamat is much much better. May be because of the amount of people at Ranebennur due to the busy four lane.
The menu at Ankola is also much better.

[maheshramaling]

Hi all,

Driving down to Goa (Varca) tomorrow morning. After going through these posts and Google maps - I am confused between 2 routes;

1) Bangalore - Chitradurga - Khalghatgi - Haliyal - Ramnagar - Ponda - Margaon - Varca. As per goolgle maps - distance is 613 kms. Shorter route - but not sure about the road conditions after diverting from NH 48, PB Highway.

2) Bangalore - Chitradurga - Haveri - Bankapur - Mundgod - Yellapur - Ankola - Karwar - Margaon - Varca. Distance is 629 kms.

BTW - both these routes does not touch Hubli - so wondering if this is a correct route since almost all posts in TBHP state Hubli as enroute. Pls. help.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by maheshramaling

1) Bangalore - Chitradurga - Khalghatgi - Haliyal - Ramnagar - Ponda - Margaon - Varca. As per goolgle maps - distance is 613 kms. Shorter route - but not sure about the road conditions after diverting from NH 48, PB Highway.

2) Bangalore - Chitradurga - Haveri - Bankapur - Mundgod - Yellapur - Ankola - Karwar - Margaon - Varca. Distance is 629 kms.

None of them. For good wide roads follow the second option all the way to Hubli.
Take the bypass road and after 2km from the Hubli bypass toll, you will see the exit for Ankola. This is the NH63. Take this road. So the route now becomes:

Bangalore - Chitradurga - Haveri - Hubli - Yellapur - Ankola - Karwar - Margaon - Varca. Distance is 629 kms.

[maheshramaling]

Originally Posted by ampere

None of them. For good wide roads follow the second option all the way to Hubli.
Take the bypass road and after 2km from the Hubli bypass toll, you will see the exit for Ankola. This is the NH63. Take this road. So the route now becomes:

Bangalore - Chitradurga - Haveri - Hubli - Yellapur - Ankola - Karwar - Margaon - Varca. Distance is 629 kms.

Thanks ampere. As per the 2nd option which I mentioned earlier - it's 629 kms door to door (sarjapur road to varca) whereas if I route it via hubli - it's coming to 678 kms. So quick query;

1) SH6 between Bankapur and Yellapur - howz the road condition? Since it is a State Highway - it will surely be not like a 4 laned PB Highway. But - is it bad that one will not be able to commute at a decent speed 60 to 80 kmph?
2) How much more time it might take if I go via Hubli instead of Bankapur/ Yellapur SH6 stretch?

Any suggestions?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by maheshramaling

Thanks ampere. As per the 2nd option which I mentioned earlier - it's 629 kms door to door (sarjapur road to varca) whereas if I route it via hubli - it's coming to 678 kms. So quick query;

Its true that the distance is longer by 50 km. But the time you spend in finding the right direction and
the narrow roads would amount to almost the same time. Hubli-Ankola road is one of the best 2-lane
NH that I have seen. You don't even get a feeling that you are on a ghat road at all. Very wide and
very nice. You should take that option.

[Tushargohil]

Originally Posted by reevester

I got it checked from the Service centre and turns out there was a slight alignment issue. Drives like a charm now!

Regarding the second query I had posted, I never noticed that there is a button on the right hand side of the instrument cluster! It blended in so well with the sides!

Loved the drive to office. Everyone is asking to sit inside and about all the features etc etc.

Sorry to hijacke this... how about this route?

Bengaluru, Karnataka to Margaon, Goa - Google Maps


PS:- Last time i took savantvadi > mapusa and candolim around 700km but road was good... although we travel extra 50-60 km... Bengaluru, Karnataka to Margaon, Goa - Google Maps