[vivek95]

Originally Posted by skydiver

Folks,

Please suggest a route from BLR- north goa (near Anjuna/vagator beach). Google maps suggest going via Belgaum-> shinoli (hwy 130). Any inputs on the road conditions via that route?
Also, we'd need to enter MH and then goa. Any issues/precautions to take during these Covid times?

Thnx,

Belgaum--Shinoli--Amboli/Tilari is a circuitous route, now given that Chorla route is off-bounds because of its road conditions. Tilari ghat is not in good shape. Belgaum--Amboli ghat is good but that's a super long route never recommended for those coming from Bangalore side.

Infact, what I would suggest you is also going to be a long detour but ensures good roads for most part. Take Bangalore--Hubli-Dharwad--Kittur--Bidi--Khanapur--Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary--Anmod ghat--Mollem--Ponda--Ribander--Panjim--Porvorim--Anjuna/Vagator. Anmod ghat is very good. Bhimgad WLS route is narrow and decent.

Over to BHPian @Ertigiat for any tweakings in this route.

[goandude]

Came back from a trip to Majorda, Goa. Departed 24th, overnight in Hubli, departed Goa 28th, again spent a night at Hubli and returned to Bangalore yesterday 29th.

From C V Raman Nagar to Chitradurga took 3:20 fabulous roads after Tumkur but getting to Tumkur was tedious due to heavy traffic which reduced somewhat after Nelamangala. C'durga to Hubli turn off took 3:30. The diversions were PAINFUL, some had potholes, some had speed breakers, most had both.

Hubli > Kittur 6 lane super. > Bidi 2 lane good > Karambal (south of Khanapur) okish road. From here I saw this beautiful 4 laned concrete road (748) to Londa which I took for a few kms but it was incomplete and learnt that it was unmotorable further South, so came back and took the normal road via Shiroli, Bhimgad WLS, to Anmod. This road was so good in some stretches and so bad at others with it being narrow, big potholes, and steep shoulders. I would say about 30% good and 70% bad. From Anmod super concrete road till border and then smooth tarmac which is seen throughout Goa all the way to our hotel. Time from hotel in Hubli to hotel in Majorda 5:30 hours with 40 min break, and 10 minute diversion, total distance 182 kms. Except for the BAD patches on the Khanapur Anmod road this would have been a great drive.

Return took the NH 66 to Karwar, and then to Ankola. Superb roads with some construction happening. Very ambitious 4 laning going on here but was able to make good speed. The turn off to Hubli is under a flyover and has no markings, so if it were not for GMaps I would have missed it. This NH 52 is great except for the Artibail Ghat which, as has been reported earlier is in terrible shape with steep gutted trenches in the road. But still the rest of the road is so good that this patch makes up for it. Except after Kalghatgi where the beautiful road deteriorates and keep getting bad to worse as you reach Hubli. We took 2 hours to the Ankola turn (102 km) and another 3:30 for the rest of the 141 kms (including 30 min break.

Hubli back to Bangalore started on a very bad note for me. As I was exiting Hubli, at 5:45, due to blinding lights of oncoming traffic I hit the median and burst my front right tyre. Changed the tyre, and drove to the nearest Maruti dealer where I had the car inspected (fortunately suspension was not damages) and replaced the tyre. My aim of reaching Bangalore by mid day evaporated in the Hubli heat and we started off at 1120 from the service center. Reached home at 2000 after 416 kms. Including a massive traffic jam at one of the diversions where some vehicles wanted to come wrong way, stop for tea for 30 minutes, huge queues at Tumkur, Nelamangala and elevated road tolls and the usual bad traffic in Bangalore.

Worth noting that a lot of car drivers were in race mode and driving very dangerously on the highway and well into Tumkur and Nelamangala. Till the jams of Yeshwantpur put an end to their enthusiasm.

[ka_sieben]

Hello folks, can someone let me know the best (fastest) route from Bangalore to South Goa at present.

[jkrishnakj]

I have a trip planned in 3 weeks and I was thinking I’ll stick to the Nice Exit - Tumkur - Hubli - Karwar - Canacona route.

If there is a better option , it’ll be a delight to know. Thank you.

[Ganapathy]

Hi Folks,

We (a few friends) are planning a trip by car (TUV 300) of about 7 days ( second half of November) from Chennai along the west coast probably to Goa and back. Would be grateful for suggestions on routes, preferred locations to halt and places to visit. Are there any wild life sanctuaries enroute? Are the resorts in Goa open? are their any restrictions still in force?

All suggestions and advise welcome.

[ccnarayanan]

Goa Vacation Amidst Covid-19

Completed a Bangalore-Goa-Bangalore road trip in my Honda Jazz VMT (and a vacation in Goa) a few minutes ago. No incidents, no traffic violations, no scratches in the car, 1500+ km. I’m ready for the next long-haul drive after a sleep tonight.

Sat-24-Oct-2020
Left Bangalore at around 06:15. Had breakfast at Kamat, Sira (they don’t take credit card). The place was about 10% occupied while many road travelers were seen having taken parcel and eating next to their cars in paper plates! And the bathrooms were reasonably clean. We had purchased disposable toilet seat cover for my daughter to minimize exposure to any infection. Numerous construction zones and detours between Chitradurga and Hubli. Had snacks and rest stop at CCD, IOC Gollarahatti. Had lunch at McDonalds, Hubli (since family was snacking throughout, I could stretch it to Hubli for lunch). Checked into Fairfield Marriott at around 17:00.

Upon arrival, the hotel disinfected all our bags and let us in after us applying hanitizer and doing a temperature check. They had upgraded us to a higher category room. Upon reaching the room, I did my own session of disinfecting the pillows and mattress as well as wiped commonly touched surfaces with sanitizer wipe. It appeared less than 50% of the rooms were occupied. They had intentionally kept the mini bar empty and there were just a couple of bottles of mineral water – and a card with a QR code to scan and order in-room dining.

We opted for buffet for dinner. They were serving our portions at the buffet table instead of the usual practice of guests doing self-service.

Sun-25-Oct-2020
After a buffet breakfast, we set out at around 09:00 to Taj Exotica, Benaulim via Khanapur, Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary, Anmod, Mollem, and Ponda. There were some bad patches of NH-748 in the beginning but the scenery which followed was very nice. As someone mentioned, one has to be careful on the Karnataka side of the Anmod ghat since there is no shoulder between the concrete pavement and the drainage on the sides (however, the road is wide enough for two wide vehicles); at one point, despite driving at a conservative speed, I had to apply brakes suddenly since some rental car drove recklessly onto my side.

Checked into Taj at around 13:30. They disinfected all our bags and we had the usual temperature check and application of hanitizer. They had given a complementary upgrade from Premium Sea View room to Executive Suite (which is rack-rated 3 times the price of our originally booked room and is at the end of the main building and well isolated). The head of the guest services gave her mobile phone / Whatsapp number and asserted that since we are traveling with a child (11-year-old), she would do whatever it takes to make this trip a memorable one. After lunch (vegetable xacuti and Goa poi bread), we entered our suite which felt as safe as our own home. Every inch of the suite was impeccably clean and sanitized. There were 4 liters of mineral water, a couple of packed surgical masks, and the usual toiletry kit. They had a filled minibar as well as a card with QR code to browse and place order for in-room dining.

My daughter and I hit the beach in the evening and cycled around. The 60-acre resort was full with about 300 guests in 140 of their rooms / suites but did not feel crowded at all. They were also encouraging their guests to come early for breakfast by marketing breakfast rush hour as follows in Sala da Pranzo 24/7 multi-cuisine restaurant. They had placed non-contact hanitizer dispensers at various places in the resort as well as provided separate trash cans for dispensing masks.

My daughter had a lavish bath in the super-sized bathtub with bath bomb (which we had carried from Bangalore). She did that and enjoyed it every day we stayed at Taj.

We had a vegetable biryani with an option of “low spicy” and it couldn’t have been any better.

Mon-26-Oct-2020
A day to chill out at the resort. Started the day on a weird note stepping on “liquid bird dropping” at the balcony in the suite – a wake-up call to slow down in life and enjoy the vacation. The most fulfilling activity of the day was to collect hundreds of shells from the beach. We had a Penne Arabbiata pasta for lunch and burger / poori for dinner. Everything was perfectly done.

Tue-27-Oct-2020
This was the day we had planned to see Goa – Fort Aguada and Fontainhas – and a bit of shopping (Confeitaria 31 De Janeiro and Saukyam Porvorim). It took some time to make the family realize that Goa is a state and not a city (and for me to get convinced as well) – we were staying in South Goa peacefully and driving to North Goa amidst all construction and detours.

Fort Aguada ticketing was completely online and non-contact – one has to scan a QR code, make the payment online (VISA / Mastercard credit or debit card), generate a QR coded ticket to be produced at the entry gate as well as the entrance to the fort area. The staff was wearing mask and there was hanitizer kept at the entrance to the fort area.

We had lunch at Davide’s Pizzeria – authentic Italian pizzas and desserts. The dinner was room service – yet another dose of vegetable biryani (we forgot to instruct “low spicy” and it was still great albeit a bit uncomfortable).

Wed-28-Oct-2020
Yet another day planned to be at the resort. We played a lot of our own indoor games and had all the meals served as room service. My daughter asked for marshmallow and Taj gave some chocolates. Every food item was perfect – pasta, pizza, burger, and Bebinca (some of these items were out of “syllabus” and never mentioned in their menu). In the evening, we visited the beach and cycled around once again – this day was primarily to re-condition the family that we need to go back to Bangalore and that we can always come back.

Thu-29-Oct-2020
Left Taj at around 09:00 with mixed feelings (reluctant to relinquish the suite while eager to get out of the Goa humidity). After entering Karnataka, we were stopped briefly by the Karnataka police asking if we are carrying any Goa liquor and looking at my wife and daughter, they didn’t bother to check anything. Before the journey, I had conditioned my wife and daughter a fundamental rule of sustainable tourism: leave no trails, take nothing. We tried to visit INS Warship Museum at Karwar but it was not open (or we felt so). The first stop was a snack and rest stop at CCD, Ankola (since the family was munching, nobody was hungry). Our next stop was CCD, Trasi / Kundapura for a light lunch (burger) for me. We reached Taj Gateway, Mangalore at around 17:00.

Taj Gateway, Mangalore is undergoing some renovation since Jan-2020 and is expected to be completed by Mar-2021. The waiter there was concerned that they are reducing staff. In fact, the hotel had just one front office person, one waiter (perhaps for dine-in as well as room service). The hotel was run down and somehow renovating to get re-certified to be a 4-star hotel by Dec-2021. The waiter was saying only about 15 out of the total 90 rooms (of which 60 are undergoing renovation) are being occupied. They had a humble menu (we ordered ala carte for room service – tomato soup and vegetable noodles) and had buffet breakfast.

Despite low occupancy, there was no compromise on the quality of offerings (customer service, food, room, bathroom amenities, plumbing, electric supply etc.).

Fri-30-Oct-2020
We left Taj, Mangalore at around 08:30. Having read some reviews from team-bhp, I decided to take the route via Madikeri, Channarayapattana, Kunigal, and Nelamangala. Had a very late lunch at Kamat, Kunigal (since the family was continuously snacking). We reached our Bangalore home at around 19:00 (of course, the last leg of the drive toward Bangalore is the most demanding (in terms of re-acclimatizing to the traffic), feeling back “home” with the best possible broadband Internet at dirt cheap price, and weirdly depressing as well as happy).

Some Take-Aways

• India is resilient (no matter who the government or opposition is) and has moved on beyond Covid-19 albeit some adjustments. The primary economy of this country is probably never documented or tracked in our GDP – it is the rural and informal economy. That part of the economy is intrinsically resilient and refuses to fall sick – in spite of demonetization, GST, and Covid-19. No government can improve or demolish this resilient economy.

• Technology (particularly mobile technology) is the future. Google map is the savior even in seemingly difficult direction-seeking situations while driving. When my wife can vouch for it while navigating successfully through Goa, I must listen to her. Fastag worked in most toll booths in national highways (whenever it didn’t work on a couple of occasions, the guy had a scanner which opened the turnpike and deducted the toll digitally – it is an amazing system).

• Overall, it was a meaningful and fulfilling vacation. Nobody can force one to enjoy or stop enjoying a vacation. Nowadays, city kids and many need to learn to relate to their own inner selves and understand that the absolutely reliable trump card for one’s own happiness and fulfillment in life resides completely in one’s own self-defined attitude in the now moment – and one’s own willingness to manage uncertainties in life. All plans are subject to change with no prior notice. Nothing is certain in life except one’s own self-defined attitude. Sometimes, the most peaceful moments in life are achieved while managing life’s uncertainties seeking meaning for self and others – that is, being true and there no matter what (seeking perfect end user experience in every life situation may be the key to our own success and fulfillment). In driving situation, it could be as simple as manually over-riding the perfect direction suggested by Google map.

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

I have a trip planned in 3 weeks and I was thinking I’ll stick to the Nice Exit - Tumkur - Hubli - Karwar - Canacona route.

If there is a better option , it’ll be a delight to know. Thank you.

Try the Shimoga, Jog, Honnavara, Karwar, Goa route. It's about 40kms more, but you pay less in tolls. Also the roads are in excellent condition barring few speedbreakers and couple of kms before Hosadurga.
Roads from Shimoga to Honnavara are beautiful, well laid, and amidst beautiful greenery and forest.

[jkrishnakj]

Thank you SpeedMiester.

For Bangalore - Shimoga , would it be Tumkur - Gubbi - Arsikere -Kadur - Tarikere be the recommended route please ?

[NPV]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

For Bangalore - Shimoga , would it be Tumkur - Gubbi - Arsikere -Kadur - Tarikere be the recommended route please ?

I think the better route that most take now is Bangalore-Hiriyur-Hosadurga-Tarikere (just before Tarikere, joins back onto NH 206 the road from Tumkur-Arsikere)-Shimoga via the Bhadravathi bypass and tumkur ring road, ideal if you're headed towards Sagar/Honnavara since this bypasses the crowded central sections of Shimoga town.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by NPV

I think the better route that most take now is Bangalore-Hiriyur-Hosadurga-Tarikere (just before Tarikere, joins back onto NH 206 the road from Tumkur-Arsikere)-Shimoga via the Bhadravathi bypass and tumkur ring road, ideal if you're headed towards Sagar/Honnavara since this bypasses the crowded central sections of Shimoga town.

How would taking Tumkur Gubbi Arasikere over Hiriyur Tarikere route help bypass Shimoga town any differently?

For the routes above, after Tarikere the road is going to be the same anyway.

If one is leaving very early, both routes would he ideal. However, as the day progresses, the Arasikere Kadur Birur Tarikere section gets busier and can slow you down. This is not the case with Hosadurga Ajjampura stretch because it's not loaded with traffic.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

How would taking Tumkur Gubbi Arasikere over Hiriyur Tarikere route help bypass Shimoga town any differently?

For the routes above, after Tarikere the road is going to be the same anyway

True and I didn't mean to say that in comparing those 2 routes
Just saying it will avoid the central sections that one encounters when taking the chitradurga route and hence this is good if one is proceeding towards Sagar side, that's all.

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Thank you SpeedMiester.

For Bangalore - Shimoga , would it be Tumkur - Gubbi - Arsikere -Kadur - Tarikere be the recommended route please ?

Better option is Bangalore-Hiriyur-Hosadurga-Tarikere-Shimoga.
In this route, Bangalore-Hiriyur is NH with 6lane post Tumkur.
Hiriyur-Tarikere is about 95Kms. Hiriyur-Hosadurga is two lane which has few speedbreakers and a 2km section which is undergoing new road works just before Hosadurga. Post Hosadurga till Tarikere it's two lane beautiful road where good avg speeds can be achieved.
Road within Tarikere is little bad and post that it's in good condition till Shimoga.

The other route is two lane for most part and gets busy and road conditions are not great.

[ankan.m.blr]

A fortnight ago, I travelled via Bangalore Hiriyur Hosadurga Shivamogga Sagar Honnavar Gokarna. And returned via Honnavar Sagar Shivamogga Arasikere Channayanaptana Tumkur Bangalore. The first route is in better shape.

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by vivek95

Belgaum--Shinoli--Amboli/Tilari is a circuitous route, now given that Chorla route is off-bounds because of its road conditions. Tilari ghat is not in good shape. Belgaum--Amboli ghat is good but that's a super long route never recommended for those coming from Bangalore side.

I am traveling to Goa in another 3 weeks and based on these discussions here I am going with Hiriyur-Hosadurga-Tarikere-Shimoga-Honnavar route. Had traveled on that road more than a decade ago.

However I need to travel to Mumbai from South Goa. Do you think Sawantwadi-Amboli-Ajara-Sankeswar-Kolhapur-Mumbai will be a good option for that or do I have to reach Belgaum and then hit NH-4(48)?

Google maps show Anmod route to reach Belgaum and that seems to be the shortest and fastest route. Any recommendations please.

[trahul4]

Hi Friends,
I did a South Goa trip from Bangalore last week and took the following route both ways. I was with my family (Wife and two kids) in my Polo GT Tsi.

Bangalore - Tumkur - Chitradurga - Bankapura Toll plaza - Mundgod - Yellapur - Ankola - Karwar - South Goa ( Benaulim)

Onward - 24th Oct

An early 4 AM start helped me beating traffic and the drive till Tumkur was a breeze with not much pile up in Toll booths. I was expecting worse considering the long weekend but leaving early helped.

Stopped at BP Sira for a 10 min refueling break and was off on the highway again. Reached Apporva resorts Davangere around 8 AM for breakfast. Took a 30 min break here. The washrooms are clean and the breakfast is decent. Stick to standard South Indian fare for breakfast and it is quite decent.
I was still not sure of the route that I wanted to take. While I was decided on taking the Dharwad/Anmod route the previous night, I decided to give a try for Bankapur Mundgod again. Last time I had felt desolate on this route, but decided to give it a try again considering sunny weather and it was good daylight at that time. If it were raining, I would have stuck to the Anmod route.
Left Apoorva resorts after breakfast around 8:35 AM and was pleasantly surprised to see the triple lane work happening on most flyovers and the stretch till Banakapur was quite a breeze. Took left after the Bankapura toll gate and hit the Mundgod road. I wanted to finish this stretch till Yellapur at one go without stopping.
The route from Bankapura to Yellapur via Mundgod is still good but is a single lane. The traffic is less and you can see locals on motorbikes mostly. The Shidalgundi bridgework is done and the bridge is open. The diversion is no more there. There are some patches that have gravel and are muddy. But otherwise, this route is good mostly till Yellapur. It is still desolate in parts, so if you are with family do it at a stretch. But overall, it is good for now.
After Yellapur, the road till Ankola is wider with considerable truck traffic, but still, you can cover this 60 odd KM stretch quickly. The roads in Arbail ghat are bad and there are big potholes especially at curves. You have to drive carefully if you are in a hatchback. After the ghat, the road is good mostly till Ankola. The drivers on this stretch are in race mode and I could see much smaller cars like Celerio, Alto, i10, etc driving 120K+ speeds. There are some speed breakers that are unmarked so drive carefully and have control of your vehicle. I would suggest to not cross 100 on this stretch.
We stopped just before the Ankola right turn for a quick roadside tea break and the rest of the journey till Karwar was quite uneventful. The 4 laning work is in progress and there is a toll booth that has come up. After Karwar, the roads are fantastic till the Goa border with sparse traffic. Upon entering Goa, there is a 4 lane road in the Canacona area which is a breeze. Post this the Karmali Ghat road till Chinchinim is good and we took left from there to hit Benaulim via Orlim and Varca. We reached our destination at around 2:40 PM. Overall, it was about 9:45/10 hours of driving.

Return – Nov 1
We started late around 8 AM. Wanted to start early to beat the Tumkur – Neelamangala traffic but couldn’t do it. As we started late, I dropped the idea of trying out the Tadas – Kalghatgi route to save the 20 mins. Had breakfast at Udupi Café in Karwar and early lunch at Basaveshwar Khanavi at Mundgod. This place turned out to be a little gem and served fresh North Karnataka meals. Took a long break at Purohit Hotel Sira in the evening around 5 PM and was back home at 9 PM (JP Nagar) around in the evening. The traffic from Tumkur was horrible and I don’t know what happens to everyone on this stretch. It is like entering another planet. I would seriously advise avoiding reaching Tumkur in the evenings on the last day of the long weekend. People in their newly acquired SUV’s drive crazily and just have no road sense. Plan your return so that you reach Tumkur early before 2-3 PM or reach the next day.

Some observations
1. The diversions between Chitradurga and Banakapura are more while returning towards Bangalore. The work onward is mostly completed. The onward stretch can be covered quickly compared to the return journey.
2. Banakapura Mundgod route is just fine for now. It is a single lane and I don’t think it will be a good route in Monsoons. I am still not convinced about safety though, but do it at one stretch without stopping.
3. I saw the restaurants on the way were full and people had no sense about social distancing, wearing masks, etc. There is absolutely no sign on COVID on the highways.
4. Locals in Goa were wearing masks all the time.
5. Avoid long weekends – this is the Golden rule for having stress free drive. If you have to do it, then start early from Bangalore at about 4 AM and reach earlier before 2-3 PM or after midnight
6. Diversions on highway post-Chitradurga are still a pain and be careful if you are in a hatchback
7. The driving sense on highways is mostly gone for a toss and you can’t afford to lose even a bit of concentration. Overtaking from left has become a norm.
8. Arbail ghat is in bad condition – so account that if you are taking the Yellapur Ankola route if you are in a hatchback with low GC.