[unleash_thunder]

Travelled to Goa and back during the long weekend last week. While enroute to Goa, we took the Bangalore-Chitradurga-Ranebennuru-Bankapur-Mundgod-Yellapura-Karwar-Dona Paula route. The road is narrow with certain bad patches in the Bankapur-Mundgod-Yellapura stretch. Also, it is difficult to maintain speed owing to several villages; the route however is quite scenic albeit longer for people put up in Panjim/North Goa. We started from Bangalore at ~5 AM and reached our stay in Dona Paula by ~6 PM with two breaks.

While enroute to Bangalore, we took the Ponda-Mollem-Anmod-Ramnagara-Dharwad-Bankapur-Ranebennuru-Chitradurga-Tumkur-NICE Ring Road-Electronic City route. The road condition is fantastic with seldom bad patches. The only spoilsport is the two-three railway crossings between Anmod-Dharwad which slowed us down by ~30 mins. One major irritant are the impatient drivers who won't think twice before overtaking on a blind curve and end up threatening their as well as our lives. We started at 11:30 AM from Goa and were at our home in E City-I by 12:30 AM (with one break).

P.S.: We stopped at Kamat Ranebennuru for breakfast break during our onward journey to Goa. During our return journey, we stopped at Kamat, Varur for late lunch/evening snacks. The general upkeep in both the Kamats was extremely bad; tables were not cleared off on time and washrooms were filthy. Even the kitchen looked shabby. Would advise people to look at alternatives other than the Kamats.

[NPV]

An update from recent trip to Goa:
Onward:
Bangalore-Hubli-Karwar-South Goa
Road conditions are excellent on Bangalore-Hubli stretch for the most part, there are circular patches (not deep enough to be called potholes) where the top layer has peeled off at various spots between Chitradurga and Davanagere (till Apoorva Resorts). A small stretch before the Bankapur toll has new tarmac too.
Hubli-Karwar stretch starts off with speed breakers and a bit rough initially, but then becomes excellent tarmac through the forest, 2 laned road at it's best, loved the drive here. Once you hit the NH 17/66 near Ankola, there is lot of work in progress on the widening and drive gets slow, need to be alert here, avoid late evening/night drives.

This work in progress situation continues all the way up to the Goa border. Once in Goa, the highway becomes an extremely good 2 lane road, with superb lane markings, reflectors and the works, loved driving this stretch.

Breaks
Mysore Cafe beside the Nijalingappa Memorial on the service road near Chitradurga is a good option. Rest rooms and urinals are decent and outside the hotel in the same campus.
I checked with the cashier at the hotel and he mentioned they are open from 7am onwards, but usually even at 6:45am, most items are available. Would recommend this if you can time your drive accordingly.

I had lots of time to kill so drove slowly taking few short breaks, so also stopped at Kamat Ranebennur for coffee. This place though not great, is manageable.

I also stopped to top up fuel at the Bharat Petroleum COCO outlet on Ranebennur bypass about 15Km after Kamat. This campus has a Ghar Dhaba that is average but can be used in case of an emergency, the rest room here was locked, did not bother to even ask!

At Varur, before Hubli VRL Depot (and probably 2 Km after the Reliance bunk + Kamat on right side), there is a newish place called KPH Cult that has an Indian Paratha Company outlet, looks very decent. I did not stop to try this place.
*This place is already marked on Gmaps as “Indian Paratha Company”

We had a late lunch (snacks) break at Shanbhag hotel, Yellapur - decent food, rest rooms average.

Return:
Old Goa-Ponda-Mollem-Londa-Dharwad-Hubli-Bangalore
The NH 748/4a stretch from Panaji to Old Goa is 4 lane and simply superb.
Once you exit Old Goa (ruins/churches to the left), it becomes a good 2 lane road with heavy traffic, several junctions/circles, be cautious when driving here.

Some work in progress sections with diversions near Ponda but otherwise road is superb till the Goa-Karnataka border.

From here, there are sections without lane markings and the SH 34 section till Dharwad had broken edges, speed breakers (large humps that become difficult to spot in the evenings and heavy rain makes matters worse). Then there are 3 railway crossings and last one has an incomplete bridge with the road beside it having large craters. Overall, this is a good route for day time driving. We started late from Old Goa, so it was quite dark when we reached closer to Dharwad and rains made it very challenging to drive. Once this road merges onto Dharwad-Hubli bypass of NH 4/48 (now NH 8 as per Gmaps ?), road conditions improve very much.
Again, there are circular spots with eroded top surface between Davanagere and Chitradurga and this is more pronounced with potholes/craters and rough spots in the section that goes inside Harihar town in the direction towards Bangalore. To compound the problem, there are cars and 2 wheelers driving on wrong side on this stretch especially near the Tunga river bridges, exercise caution. From Chitradurga onwards, the road is pristine, only issue is with Tumkur-Bangalore truck traffic.

Breaks
Stopped at Varur Kamat, just outside Hubli. Food was average, rest rooms were average too, avoidable if you have other options in mind. To save some time, we combined this stop for a fuel break at the Reliance pump attached to the Kamat.

[pramodpk]

Drove from Benaulim to Whitefield yesterday. Started at 6:45 AM and reached at 5:10 AM.Distance 612 KMS. Break time - 50 mins.
Route - Benaulim - Mollem - Anmod - Ramnager - Alnaver - Hubli - Bangalore.
Roads are OK. Anmod ghat is broken at some hair pin bends. The top layer of the road was peeled of at many places between Davangere and Chitradurga. All restaurants en route were crowded.
Did not face much issue at toll booths as we were little early. Fastag was not of much use as the toll booths in Tumkur and the one near elevated road were allowing all vehicles in Fastag lane. Fastag was slower in one toll booth as a truck was stuck there. Avoided the elevated road and Yeshwantpur as Google maps was showing deep red. Took deviation via HMT road.

[a_myth]

Originally Posted by smnrock

Thank you. Just yesterday we crossed and our 20 seater van guy collected 9K from us saying entry fee We were too tired that moment and didn't bother to check it. I will ask for a receipt today.

Entry toll has been abolished by the Goa Govt after the implementation of the GST.
However what your driver may have collected is the fees towards the permit for tourist vehicle. The same are not applicable for private vehicles.

[originalamit]

Thanks for this.. which route do you recommend one should take and how much time did both the routes take you? I plan to drive to South goa from Bangalore in December..

Thanks so much!

Amit

Originally Posted by NPV

An update from recent trip to Goa:
Onward:
Bangalore-Hubli-Karwar-South Goa
Road conditions are excellent on Bangalore-Hubli stretch for the most part, there are circular patches (not deep enough to be called potholes) where the top layer has peeled off at various spots between Chitradurga and Davanagere (till Apoorva Resorts). A small stretch before the Bankapur toll has new tarmac too.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by originalamit

Thanks for this.. which route do you recommend one should take and how much time did both the routes take you? I plan to drive to South Goa from Bangalore in December..

If your destination is South Goa (Agonda/Palolem/Patnem, etc) and you start early from Bangalore, you can take the Hubli-Karwar route or the Bankapur-Mundgod route (narrower roads and can be skipped if you don't plan to visit places en route like the Tibetan monastery at Mundgod). Should take you 9-10 hours.
If you plan to visit Old Goa (the churches, museum, ruins, etc), then return via Ponda-Ramnagar-Dharwad-Hubli-Bangalore (merges onto the Hubli-Dharwad bypass)

[fahadkhan]

Hi friends,

Planning a visit to South Goa in the first weekend of December. I wish to visit Jog Falls on the way and have decided on the below route. Hope this route is fine in terms of tarmac quality across the sections. Plan on leaving at around 1 am from Bangalore on Saturday.
Bangalore - Tumkur - Chitradurga - Shivamoga - Sagar - Jog Falls - Honnavar - Kumta - Karwar - Palolem.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by fahadkhan

Plan on leaving at around 1 am from Bangalore on Saturday.
Bangalore - Tumkur - Chitradurga - Shivamoga - Sagar - Jog Falls - Honnavar - Kumta - Karwar - Palolem.

Route is fine. Chitradurga-shimoga road widening work is almost complete as per earlier updates here. Between Kumta-Karwar-Goa border there is road widening work with diversions but manageable, be alert and keep to lower speeds.
After you enter Goa, the NH 66/17 makes an almost perpendicular turn to the right and here you need to go straight towards Palolem (I think this road is Goa MDR 10 or 49, check this on gmaps).

[Fauji]

Originally Posted by fahadkhan

Hi friends,

Planning a visit to South Goa in the first weekend of December.

Originally Posted by NPV

Route is fine. Chitradurga-shimoga road widening work is almost complete as per earlier updates here. Between Kumta-Karwar-Goa border there is road widening work with diversions but manageable, be alert and keep to lower speeds.
After you enter Goa, the NH 66/17 makes an almost perpendicular turn to the right and here you need to go straight towards Palolem (I think this road is Goa MDR 10 or 49, check this on gmaps).

NPV is right. Road widening is happening between Honnavar - Karwar. But is a non issue as roads are broad. If you are driving at night be alert for diversions.

Once you reach Canacona town in Goa, continue for a KM on the highway and turn left at a Y junction for Palolem. You will find a signage for Palolem at this Y junction.

Stop over and enjoy lovely vistas on Kali River bridge at Karwar, Lovely sea views when you climb the ghat at Ankola. If you have time, you can spend half an hour to visit the Warship Museum dot on the highway in Karwar.

Between Jog falls and Honnavar, enjoy the drive through forest. Stop over at the Sharavathy Valley view point and enjoy the beautiful scene of Sharavathi valley. You will find a prominent structure for view point and can not miss it.

[FamilyTraveller]

Planning a trip to Bogmallo Goa during Christmas. We want to start in the evening around 6 pm and looking for suggestion for night stay. Apurva resort in Davangere is sold out. Any other suggestion?

[NPV]

Originally Posted by FamilyTraveller

We want to start in the evening around 6 pm and looking for suggestion for night stay. Apurva resort in Davangere is sold out. Any other suggestion?

Try:
Clarks Inn, Hubli or
Sankama The Boutique Hotel, Davanagere.

This thread will have more details, look for posts by Parag and Klub Klass.
Link

[FamilyTraveller]

Any suggestion on the route? Google maps is suggesting hubali - Dharwad - Honapur - Alnavar -Anmod -Bogmallo. Anyone has taken this route recently? How are the road conditions?

[kannan666]

Originally Posted by FamilyTraveller

Planning a trip to Bogmallo Goa during Christmas. We want to start in the evening around 6 pm and looking for suggestion for night stay. Apurva resort in Davangere is sold out. Any other suggestion?

You can also try this resort - http://genesis-retreatdvg.in

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by kannan666

You can also try this resort - http://genesis-retreatdvg.in

This one has been there since a while and recently it also got XTEME SPORTS BAR attached to it.

Overall feedback and quite consistent one from many about stay here has been anything but good. So Its been a while since anyone started to refer to this place. Food quality too had deteriorated.

Same holds good for Apoorva Resorts as well - They were good initially but now not worth spending even for a night's stay.

[FamilyTraveller]

Thanks NPV, kannan and Parag for the suggestions. Booked Southern Star convention hotel in Davangere. Appears to be a new hotel. Any experience with this hotel?