[diogo]

All,

Do note that the Goa - Chorla - Khanapur Road is under repairs.

Saw this news report this morning:

http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/Details...&dat=11/3/2013

The road has been blocked for major repairs of an old bridge near Khanapur along the Jat-Jamboti state highway linking Goa. Commuters will have to travel an additional distance of 40 kms via Peeranwadi to reach Khanapur and beyond.

[werfish]

Originally Posted by diogo

All,

Do note that the Goa - Chorla - Khanapur Road is under repairs.

The road has been blocked for major repairs of an old bridge near Khanapur along the Jat-Jamboti state highway linking Goa. Commuters will have to travel an additional distance of 40 kms via Peeranwadi to reach Khanapur and beyond.

I took this route on 01-Nov-2013, took a left turn at Kittur after a petrol bunk and went via some village roads to Khanapur,Jamboti,Chorla. The roads were bad for about 10 Kms,else it was all smooth.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by werfish

I took this route on 01-Nov-2013, took a left turn at Kittur after a petrol bunk and went via some village roads to Khanapur,Jamboti,Chorla. The roads were bad for about 10 Kms,else it was all smooth.

You dont need to exit at Khanapur for the Chorla part. The route via Belgaum is just 15 km more and has much better roads.

May be the only positive part, people need not search for the route to Chorla in Belgaum. Some get lost in that process.

[mpksuhas]

Did Bangalore - Goa (Candolim)- Bangalore over last weekend.
Route followed was Hubli- Molem - Ponda both ways, here is the link

Road condition is good all way till Hubli bye pass turn off. From then till Tavergatti ongoing road work slows you down considerably. Completed parts of road are in good condition.
From Ramanagar to Mollem road condition is real bad with huge potholes where you have to stop think and navigate.
From Mollem onwards road condition is good though traffic is huge. Did the trip in an Innova taxi. Onward journey was at 05.15 AM from Slikboard and reached Candolim at around 06.00 PM with 3 breaks in between (all together around 2.5 hours). Since it was a taxi, we lost around 1 hour in getting permit near Mollem due to rush.

Had lunch at DoodhSagar resort food was average at best. However we were forced to have food from same place on way back also since there are no good food options all way till Hubli.

Roads in Goa is over run by cows and beaches by dogs, had an unpleasant experience when a stray dog chased a kid in our group. Luckily it did not attack.

On way back started from Old Goa from (Basilica of Bom Jesus ) around 12PM and reached HSR at 11.30 PM. Took 3 stops on way (~2 hours) . Was stuck in a traffic jam for around 20 mins before Chitradurga due to accident. Two cars had hit buffalo's roaming on the road, both the cars had suffered serious damage and two buffalo's had died. Not sure of any injury to car passengers.

[rajivtelang]

Hi,

Visiting south Goa on November 23rd. Considering all inputs here there are three possible routes.

1. Bangalore-Hubli-Ankola-Karwar-Goa (longest route)
2. Bangalore-Dharwad-Anmod-Mollem (shortest route)
3. Bangalore-Shimoga-Honnavar-Goa (somewhere middle of these two)

Option 2 is the shortest of all but recent post says the roads are bad between Ramnagar and Mollem. Has anybody tried option 3 i.e. via Jog falls recently? I had taken that route last year during monsoon and was not in (it was never ) good condition.

Could anybody please recommend the best route since I will have my very young kid with me and will be travelling in Estilo/Santro.

[misguidedmisile]

Hello Folks!

Planning to Travel from Chennai to Goa(Candolim) on Friday, Nov.15th. Chennai start at 12 Noon with a night halt at Chitradurga.

Can anyone recommend some Hotel enroute, where I could stop for having dinner? Also, can you roughly tell me what time I might reach Chitradurga (12 Noon start from Chennai)? We're just two guys in the car, with no plans to stop other than for Tea, Dinner and re-fueling the car.

Thanks!
Varun

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

Hi,

Visiting south Goa on November 23rd. Considering all inputs here there are three possible routes.
1. Bangalore-Hubli-Ankola-Karwar-Goa (longest route)
Could anybody please recommend the best route since I will have my very young kid with me and will be travelling in Estilo/Santro.

I guess since you are travelling to South Goa and also since travelling with kid it will be best to take Karwar route. As per other forum members who had traveled on this route road condition is good. Also please do note that there are no descent food options once you leave Hubli bye-pass on Mollem route.

Originally Posted by misguidedmisile

Hello Folks!

Can anyone recommend some Hotel enroute, where I could stop for having dinner? Also, can you roughly tell me what time I might reach Chitradurga (12 Noon start from Chennai)? We're just two guys in the car, with no plans to stop other than for Tea, Dinner and re-fueling the car.

Bangalore - Chennai usually takes ~ 5.5 hours, hope you will be taking NICE road to bye- pass Bangalore city. I am not mentioning about any food / fuel options before Bangalore hoping you may be aware of the same. Do let know if you need any inputs.
Once you cross Bangalore for food and fuel you can stop at HP COCO/ Kamat located together here

Further down there is a Coffee day next to HP bunk (no idea of fuel quality)

Further ahead at Sira on opposite side there is another Kamat and BP COCO next to the same . There is a extension of this COCO bunk on left side of the road also, food at this Kamat is average though.

Just before you reach Chitradurga there is hotel in VRL compound, road is bit high from the hotel hence it is easy to miss this. Just keep a lookout on your left few KM's after the toll booth. Another landmark is that there is a Barath Benz showroom opposite to this hotel. Fuel bunk here is not functional, however hotel is sufficiently clean with clean restrooms. Location

Around 80 KM's after Chitradurga there is again a Kamat before Ranebannur , this is inside a non functional Reliance petrol bunk.

Further down soon after Ranebannur there is a BP COCO and a small hotel next to the same.

Once you cross Hubli there are no descent hotels or petrol bunks till you reach Goa.

Since you are going to Candolim I would suggest you take the Ponda route, I just returned from Candolim yesterday night via that route. Roads are not in good condition after Hubli on KA side though.

It takes around 2.30 hours from NICE road Tumkur road entry till Chitradurga (200 KM's), however since you will be crossing in evening factor bit more time due to chocked up toll booths.

Be on look out for cattle roaming around the road as you near Hubli.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by misguidedmisile

Hello Folks!

Planning to Travel from Chennai to Goa(Candolim) on Friday, Nov.15th. Chennai start at 12 Noon with a night halt at Chitradurga.

Any reasons for starting by noon ? Because if you can start by morning, you should be able to pull up to Hubli. You get much options for stay rather than Chitradurga.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

Hi,

Visiting south Goa on November 23rd. Considering all inputs here there are three possible routes.

1. Bangalore-Hubli-Ankola-Karwar-Goa (longest route)
2. Bangalore-Dharwad-Anmod-Mollem (shortest route)
3. Bangalore-Shimoga-Honnavar-Goa (somewhere middle of these two)

Could anybody please recommend the best route since I will have my very young kid with me and will be travelling in Estilo/Santro.

In my recent trip a month ago, I took Option 3 for onward and Option 2 for return.

Option 2:

- More 4 lanes(till Dharwad) and less 2 lanes
- Bad roads between Ramnagar and Mollem with huge potholes(about 15km)
- No eating options between Hubli and Mollem

Option 3:

- After you turn-off at Tumkur, it's a 2-laned highway all the way
- Very minimal bad sections(Before Tarikere, Jog-Honnavar: totally about 5km)
- Very few decent eating options(CCD at Arsikere, Shimoga, plenty of dhabas enroute, Karwar)

Both options have their share of ghat sections to negotiate(Ramnagar-Mollem/Jog-Honnavar).

Now Option 1 will give you good roads all the way, but you travel those extra kms!. The choice is yours now!

Lemme know if I can be of any help-

[misguidedmisile]

Originally Posted by ampere

Any reasons for starting by noon ? Because if you can start by morning, you should be able to pull up to Hubli. You get much options for stay rather than Chitradurga.

Hi Ampere,

Friday is technically a working day for me, so I need to be in office atleast half day. I will definitely try and use your option to leave early, if possible! Thanks!

@ Mpksuhas - thanks so much for your detailed inputs! Its going to make my journey most comfortable and relaxed.

Thankyou,
Varun

[zulfi hansi]

Originally Posted by misguidedmisile

Friday is technically a working day for me, so I need to be in office atleast half day. I will definitely try and use your option to leave early, if possible!

If you leave at least by 12 noon you can still make it to Hubli. I too suggest you try doing that, that way you will reach Goa much fresher and earlier. If 12 hours of drive in one day is ok for your family then try doing this.

[condor]

Agree with ZH & Ampere there.

Even if leaving BLR by 12, it means that you'll be in city traffic at least an hour. So you can reach Hubli by evening. 7 pm even if you are late a bit at start / enroute.

Start from Hubli early, and you can reach Goa for brunch.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by condor

Agree with ZH & Ampere there.

Even if leaving BLR by 12, it means that you'll be in city traffic at least an hour. So you can reach Hubli by evening. 7 pm even if you are late a bit at start / enroute.

He is leaving Chennai by 12PM and hence planned to hole out at Chitradurga for the night. Thats why I was suggesting if he can start early he can make it to Hubli evening. @Zulfi says if he can manage 12 hours of drive, still he can make it to Hubli late night.

@Zulfi That would be difficult esp driving 12 hours after half day's work. Way too tiring I would say. From that point of view Chitradurga makes a better stop. For Davanagere, he need to go quite deep into the town.

[condor]

Oops- I thought he was starting from BLR.

[anugrahlall]

Hi Folks
This is my first post on Team BHP of hopefully many more to come.

We traveled from Bangalore to Goa on the 31st of October, 2013 and returned on the 3rd of November, 2013. The route we took was as follows

Bangalore-> Hubli -> Dharwad -> Ramnagar -> Anmod-> Mollem -> Ponda -> Calangute.

We chose this route as it was the shortest, and since we were going to North Goa. We decided not to go to Belgaum as it was adding another 100 km to the overall distance.

I was travelling with my wife and 3 year old son in my trusted Hyundai Santro. My friends, however, took the flight.

Started from Bangalore at 5 AM and checked in to the hotel at 2.30 PM in Goa. (Before my friends who were travelling by air).

Roads are excellent till Dharwad, being NH4.
Breakfast options are plenty thanks to the Kamat's. We stopped at Rannebennur.
Once you take a left onto the Dharwad-Panaji road off NH4, the construction work does slow you down. However, after about 2-3 kms, the road is smooth till Ramnagar. From Ramnagar till the Goa border, the road has potholes. So you need to be careful. Thankfully, there wasn't much traffic on this route at the time we traveled.
Once you enter Goa, the roads become extremely smooth and the ghat roads and the view are fantastic. It is a downhill ride while going to Goa. So if you are lucky to not get stuck behind some truck traffic, you should be able to do this pretty quick. We did the stretch from Dharward to Calangute in 3 hours.
I was skeptical about the ghat section, but it was an easy drive and not at all tricky.

On the way back on the 3rd of November, we started from the hotel at 10 AM and reached home in Bangalore , Whitefield at 7.30 PM with 2 refueling stops and a lunch break at Varur, near Hubli.
Those with a higher tank capacity might want to fill their tanks to the full in Goa as petrol was priced at Rs. 58 per litre (Yes, almost Rs. 20 less per litre than Bangalore)

Roads were great again. Traffic was a little bit on the higher side after Tumkur. However, the only real problem was the Nagawara junction in Bangalore. Being Diwali night, the other roads were quite empty.
My friends made it before us on the return trip

Overall, an excellent road trip of 1300 km. I would highly recommend the route from Dharwad to Goa. Barring a few bad stretches, the road is good. I felt it is not worth adding an extra 100km to the trip for about 15 km of bad roads.

Hopefully, this helps those who are planning to go there in the festival season.

Cheers
Anugrah