[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by ampere

If you are targeting to go to a resort/hotel in south Goa then Hubli/Yellapur/Ankola/Karwar makes sense. For north Goa options Jambotti/Chorla makes sense.

Adding to what you say, if you are driving anywhere around Madgaon, Ramnagar-Mollem makes great sense now and I don't know why one should not take that route if destination is around this.

Roads have got better compared to last year and easily driveable.

Of course, there are no CCDs or swanky restaurants till you reach Dudhsagar Spa Resort just before the Goa Entry toll booth.

Having driven this only 2 weeks before (and exactly one year before this I took the same route), I will surely recommend NH4A and not completely ignore this.

[reignofchaos]

For me personally, no trip to goa is complete without stopping at karwar on the way and having seafood at Hotel Amrut for lunch. Completely worth going via NH63 simply for that reason.

[fahadkhan]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Adding to what you say, if you are driving anywhere around Madgaon, Ramnagar-Mollem makes great sense now and I don't know why one should not take that route if destination is around this.

Roads have got better compared to last year and easily driveable.

Of course, there are no CCDs or swanky restaurants till you reach Dudhsagar Spa Resort just before the Goa Entry toll booth.

Having driven this only 2 weeks before (and exactly one year before this I took the same route), I will surely recommend NH4A and not completely ignore this.

Though I need to head North Goa, I think I will take the Alnavar-Ramnagar-Mollem route considering your experience with the same. @ampere- Jamboti-Chorla I have heard is scenic but I guess it has narrow roads on ghats.
Any tips on a night halt enroute. I was wondering if Hubli would be fine and then I can start early morning from there. Also, suggest places to stay if any.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by fahadkhan

@ampere- Jamboti-Chorla I have heard is scenic but I guess it has narrow roads on ghats.
Any tips on a night halt enroute. I was wondering if Hubli would be fine and then I can start early morning from there. Also, suggest places to stay if any.

No idea about night drives. I wont recommend. Chorla during day is nice. If you want to stay in Hubli you have Clarks Inn. Now there is a Taj Gateway too!

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by fahadkhan

Though I need to head North Goa, I think I will take the Alnavar-Ramnagar-Mollem route considering your experience with the same.

For North Goa, Chorla will indeed make sense. The most preferred option it is.

Jamboti-Chorla I have heard is scenic but I guess it has narrow roads on ghats.

This is something we often get to hear about various ghats on the western circuit. They refer Charmadi Ghats down south as narrow too and recommend other options. Chorla is equally narrow with lesser traffic.

I think when it comes to Ghats, narrow roads come as no surprise most of the times. That said, Chorla should not cause much worry to you as the entire stretch is well done without a single pothole.

Any tips on a night halt enroute. I was wondering if Hubli would be fine and then I can start early morning from there. Also, suggest places to stay if any.

Ampere has answered it rightly. Generally, I am the last person to advice stay options on this circuit as I have never halted for the night during all my drives.

I believe you must be starting late afternoon and hence targeting a night halt at Hubli? Otherwise, There is absolutely no reason why one would halt at Hubli for a journey to Goa which is another 3 hours away! Maximum junta here on the forum do Bangalore-Goa in a day without a halt unless you are really uncomfortable driving 10-11 hours at a stretch or due to any other personal reasons.

And now - If you manage an early morning start from Hubli (Say 6am), you can target Belgaum by 7:30AM and crossing the city to head towards Chorla ghats wont be a time consuming affair.

If you delay your start such that you pass Belgaum between 9-10am, expect an easy 45 minutes to cross the city from one end to another.

If you want to bypass Belgaum altogether and still take Chorla -
Simply take Hubli-Alnavar-Khanapur-Jamboti-Chorla route. The fact is that the 15 kms Khanapur-Jamboti stretch is now fully done and serves as a very good road to reach the Chorla route without touching Belgaum.

[Hart-BEAT]

Hello Comrades,

Need one quick help. Some buddies of mine are travelling from Bangalore to Goa today in the evening. They intend to make a night drive to that place (yes yes, I now it is not advisable; but they are hell bent). Now, the route from Bangalore to Hubli will be the same i.e. our good old 6 lane GQ; can members please advise about transit from Hubli to Goa at night time in terms of safety and legal (forest department, police etc.) if any. The usual three contenders: Via Yellapur-Karwar, via Ramnagar-Mollem or via Belgaum-Chorla. I have driven all three of them but in broad daylight but have no idea how they will feel like at night time. Your quick guidance will be deeply appreciated. Thanks!!

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Hart-BEAT

Hello Comrades,

Need one quick help. Some buddies of mine are travelling from Bangalore to Goa today in the evening. They intend to make a night drive to that place (yes yes, I now it is not advisable; but they are hell bent). Now, the route from Bangalore to Hubli will be the same i.e. our good old 6 lane GQ; can members please advise about transit from Hubli to Goa at night time in terms of safety and legal (forest department, police etc.) if any. The usual three contenders: Via Yellapur-Karwar, via Ramnagar-Mollem or via Belgaum-Chorla. I have driven all three of them but in broad daylight but have no idea how they will feel like at night time. Your quick guidance will be deeply appreciated. Thanks!!

Funkykar drove Ramnagar route beyond Midnight while I drove the same route next day. Reported very less to almost zero traffic soon after turn off from NH4.

I am sure the Karwar route will certainly have traffic in comparison to the Ramnagar route.

I have asked him to respond here.

I have driven Chorla but between 9 and 12 and again very less traffic. For me, its easier to drive in Ghats at night as thats my personal preference.

None of routes will have any difficulties when it comes to permission to drive by the Forest authorities.

[funkykar]

Yes, I drove the Ramnagar route pretty late and saw too little traffic. So less that you will feel its your own. Have done Karwar route many times in past and surely would be more traffic. I surely would be recommending Ramnagar route. As Parag says, eateries can be an issue on this route.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by Hart-BEAT

Hello Comrades,

Need one quick help. Some buddies of mine are travelling from Bangalore to Goa today in the evening. They intend to make a night drive to that place (yes yes, I now it is not advisable; but they are hell bent). Now, the route from Bangalore to Hubli will be the same i.e. our good old 6 lane GQ; can members please advise about transit from Hubli to Goa at night time in terms of safety and legal (forest department, police etc.) if any. The usual three contenders: Via Yellapur-Karwar, via Ramnagar-Mollem or via Belgaum-Chorla. I have driven all three of them but in broad daylight but have no idea how they will feel like at night time. Your quick guidance will be deeply appreciated. Thanks!!

The best route would be Yellapura-Karwar which will have heavy bus traffic at night compared with the other two which will be lonely

[karanp23]

I had travelled yesterday from karwar to Bangalore. The shortest route for this route, as everyone knows is Karwar - Ankola - Yellapur - Mundgod - Bankapur - Haveri - Chitradurga - Tumkur - Bangalore. I must tell you the road conditions are fabulous except for 2-3 kms within bankapura town. Ankola - Yellapur is a freshly laid road of the NH 63 Stretch (Hubli - Karwar Road) which is in very good condition including the short ghat section. The Yellapur - Mundgod - Bankapur section of the state highway is also in very good shape though it is a single carriageway. It took almost about 85 minutes to complete this stretch of about 69 odd kms, the drive through the forest roads that is winding, is a pleasure to drive. New roads are being laid inside Bankapura town which forces one to drive on mud roads for about 2-3 kms, but that is worthwhile considering the distance and time saved. We could do this section in about 3 hours and 30 minutes for a distance of 175 kms with a 10 minute break. The Bankpura to Bangalore stretch on NH 4 is a zip, as everyone knows. We could do this in about 5 hours flat that included a 30 minute break for petrol and food. There is a HP Petrol Bunk in Sira which is approachable from the main highway, as it would involve minimum time loss. Strongly recommend this route for those going to Goa especially, south goa based resorts etc.,

[karanp23]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

The best route would be Yellapura-Karwar which will have heavy bus traffic at night compared with the other two which will be lonely

I agree, having travelled on April 1, 2015, the roads on this stretch is silk and smooth which would be a plus while driving in the nights. The traffic is moderate with more trucks whom I always find disciplined in driving.

[Travelator]

Update:
Did Bangalore to Goa via Hubli- Ramnagar-Mollem-Colva yesterday. Thanks to paragsachania for the confidence building update on this route.
Barely any traffic on this route until one reaches Goa. Covered the stretch maintaining a decent timing of 2.5 hrs with a few short stops at railway crossings (3 of them) and a couple of "baby needs" stops. Road condition is pristine barring around 30 kms before entering Goa border, where speeds beyond 60 might require special steering skills to avoid the sudden potholes. Another notable thing is that you might get rich by selling all the toll tokens between Bangalore and Goa as scrap

[rohittk]

I did Bangalore to Goa again in Jan 2014. I took the following route:

Bangalore - Tumkur - Devangiri - Haveri - Hubli - Ramnagar - Panjim.

I am enclosing below a video on the descent to Goa after crossing Karnataka Border. I hope you like the video and find it informative. I will soon be posting a detailed video on the drive from Hubli to Bangalore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU5VFIsBAbU

[s.prashanth]

Originally Posted by karanp23

I had travelled yesterday from karwar to Bangalore. The shortest route for this route, as everyone knows is Karwar - Ankola - Yellapur - Mundgod - Bankapur - Haveri - Chitradurga - Tumkur - Bangalore. I must tell you the road conditions are fabulous except for 2-3 kms within bankapura town. Ankola - Yellapur is a freshly laid road of the NH 63 Stretch (Hubli - Karwar Road) which is in very good condition including the short ghat section. The Yellapur - Mundgod - Bankapur section of the state highway is also in very good shape though it is a single carriageway. It took almost about 85 minutes to complete this stretch of about 69 odd kms, the drive through the forest roads that is winding, is a pleasure to drive. New roads are being laid inside Bankapura town which forces one to drive on mud roads for about 2-3 kms, but that is worthwhile considering the distance and time saved. We could do this section in about 3 hours and 30 minutes for a distance of 175 kms with a 10 minute break. The Bankpura to Bangalore stretch on NH 4 is a zip, as everyone knows. We could do this in about 5 hours flat that included a 30 minute break for petrol and food. There is a HP Petrol Bunk in Sira which is approachable from the main highway, as it would involve minimum time loss. Strongly recommend this route for those going to Goa especially, south goa based resorts etc.,

Karan thanks for the route info, i wil be driving a Hybrid Camry, is it ok on this route. Last year I did take this route with my elantra and found overtaking was very difficult, as the roads were very narrow

[fast_elegance]

Just returned from a wonderful trip to Goa.

Thanks to mpksuhas, ampere, paragsachania and others for all the help and suggestions.

The route taken was as below for both to and fro journey.
Route: NICE road - NH 4- Hubli - Ramnagar - Mollem - Ponda - Panjim - Candolim

Good roads all the way. The stretch from Ramnagar till the Karnataka border is very rough and patchy. As soon as you cross over to Goa, the road turns smooth and pleasant almost magically.

On the return, took the NH4A bypass from Panjim as I missed the turn towards Ponda. The construction work to build the bypass or road widening is in progress with lot of deviations and most parts are yet to be tarred. The entire bypass was very dusty.

Accommodation in Candolim was excellent, thanks to mpksuhas for providing the details.

Places visited:
1. Candolim beach
2. Aguada Fort
3. Dolphin watch boat ride
4. Baga Beach
5. Saturday night Flea Market
6. DB Road - Mandovi river walk way (opposite Panjim market area)
7. Fontainhas
8. Sinquerim Beach
9. Calangute Beach
10. Local shopping

Bonus: Got to see Rohit Shetty shooting for his next movie Dilwale near the Panjim Market area. A car chase scene with Rohit Shetty himself doing some drifting in a overly done BMW at the square.

Already, thinking of another trip to Goa . I guess you can never have enough of Goa.