[nitro_xlr8r]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

Thanks for the video. Planning to visit Ponda next week from Bangalore and want to know if this can be done in a sedan with 5 adults. I am a bit concerned about the rough edges around concrete road ends.

What would be the better alternative(if I can't take this)

I was in a Honda City 3rd Gen A/T, 160mm ground clearance, 3 adults, trunk packed like sardines and I scraped the undercarriage quite a few times exiting the concrete sections, potholes and humps. Thankfully, none were really bad, just scrapes, I tried my best to avoid the concrete-asphalt/mud road joints as the drop was ridiculous, 4 inches or more (timestamp 7:30 in the video above). I saw quite a few heavy vehicles, so the road may have worsened now.

This is my usual route to Panjim, and I haven't tried any others in the recent past. Maybe someone can suggest a better alternative for sedans.

[vyasachetan]

Hi, I am no planning Bangalore to South Goa (Varca beach) on 12th august in a low ground clearance car.
Please suggest the best route I can take?

Thanks,
Chetan

[Hells Bells]

Any views to how are the roads holding up during the monsoon for a trip to North Goa (Arpora)? I am planning to travel using my vRS which is lower than usual sedans and I am concerned about the concrete drops I am reading across the posts.

[execve]

I am planning BLR-Goa(Varca) tomorrow morning. Plan is to leave around 3:00/3:30 AM.

Below are the two options of routes that I have considered:

1) Bangalore - Hubbali - Dharwad - Tinai Ghat - Anmod - Goa (Varca)
2) Bangalore - Haveri - Yellapur - Artibail - Karvar - Goa (Varca)

Distance wise - there is not much difference, but option#2 is expected to take around half hour more I suppose. I am tending towards Option#2 giving safety the priority.

Given the monsoon alert and road conditions, could you please suggest in case there are known issues with option#2. Is option#1 better or is there another option that should be considered instead.

Thanks in advance.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by execve

1) Bangalore - Hubbali - Dharwad - Tinai Ghat - Anmod - Goa (Varca)
2) Bangalore - Haveri - Yellapur - Artibail - Karvar - Goa (Varca)

Stick to the standard time and tested Dharwad-Ankola-Karwar-Varca. That would be my suggestion.

[Ragul]

--deleted-- I may have mistaken the Sirsi-Yana-Ankola route for yellapur one. Not relevant.

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by execve

1) Bangalore - Hubbali - Dharwad - Tinai Ghat - Anmod - Goa (Varca)
2) Bangalore - Haveri - Yellapur - Artibail - Karvar - Goa (Varca)

I think either of them work out same for Varca. 2 might be better. I am also planning to drive towards Ponda in the morning(5ish) and so far option 1 is the shortest for me(Option 2 easily an hour or more)

Experts, If option 1 is totally worth avoiding, please let me know

[ashis89]

For a trip to Benaulim, should I stick to the Google suggested route of BLR - Hubbali - Dharwad - Ramnagar - Mollem - Ponda - Benaulim? The recent discussions above suggest so but wanted to double check.


I am targeting Apoorva Resort for breakfast. Any suggestions for lunch options on the above route? Is Hubbali/Dharwad the only options or could I stretch further towards Ramnagar?

I might return via Karwar. Any good lunch options between Mundgod and Karwar would be appreciated.

[chorispao]

Took the KSRTC Airavat to Bangalore via Anmod on Aug 04. The beast was slogging it out on this 8km section. Though this section is manoeuvrable for low level cars, it still needs some back and forth at some places and one needs to be cautious. Still the best route to North Goa and Margao. The Yellapur Karwar route is still recommended for those who are south bound beyond Margao. Rest is all good to go! More on this section on Aug 12 when I get back to Panjim.

[mankuthimma]

Originally Posted by ashis89

I might return via Karwar. Any good lunch options between Mundgod and Karwar would be appreciated.

Last time, while we were coming back from Karwar, had stopped at Ganesh Hotel, Varur for lunch. Very good north karnataka veg meals. Good parking and clean toilets too. There are Shell and Reliance bunks nearby in case you want to topup the fuel.

This is way off from the route you are planning to take, but you can consider this as an option. This would require you to skip Mundgod and Tadas deviation, continue further on Yellapur-Kalghatgi road and join NH48. Timing wise, not much of difference, as the roads were wide and in good condition, can maintain good speeds.

On Mundgod route, I heard that you can get nice noodles, thupka kind of food around Tibetan monastery. No personal experience though.

[rajshenoy]

I took the Ramnagar mollem route today to reach Ponda and rains didn’t really help the cause, especially it was pouring near Tinai to Goa border and was a struggle to judge the depth of the potholes. Also the concrete roads end abruptly and drop/step by half a feet easily as rains have washed away the soil near it. There are at least 3-4 such sections where we need to really stop and assess. I had to get down at couple of places and get a view before planning how to take my sedan through it. Even cabbies on opposite side were just waiting blank to see how others make the move.

Overall, it might be a struggle for a low slung sedan but can be done on a crossover. In my case corolla has long wheelbase and with 5 adults and full luggage, rear suspension did sag and scrap in couple of occasions.

Still the fastest route for Ponda. Started at 5 from Whitefield and I reached my destination by 2pm with 2 breaks.

Watch out for cops with speed guns on a tripod after the first town in goa(is it mollem?) and they catch you for speeds above 60

[vinucv]

Originally Posted by execve

I am planning BLR-Goa(Varca) tomorrow morning. Plan is to leave around 3:00/3:30 AM.

Hope you had a nice trip. Which route did you take finally and how was the experience? Why did you feel option 2 is more safe?

[execve]

Originally Posted by vinucv

Hope you had a nice trip. Which route did you take finally and how was the experience? Why did you feel option 2 is more safe?

Thank you. Yes - we left (couple + 11yo + dog) on the 5th early morning and returned today in the Vento.
I used the route suggested above in response to my query - so basically BLR-Hubli-Yellapur-Ankola-Karwar-Varca.
The reason for choosing Option#2 was the video shared in https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...ml#post5368864 (Bangalore - Goa : Route Queries) which showed big drops several times in the road. I didnt want to get into any challenges with the Vento - and hence had pre-selected option#2 - but then adjusted it as above based on the responses.

The selected route was good overall - and I didnt face any major issues at all.

[Hells Bells]

I ended up taking my Micra rather than my vRS for my Arpora (north Goa) trip and boy was I glad. The broken patch before the Goa border was horrendous and I am sure I would have had heart in my mouth on some of the concrete drops with my sedan. My Micra came through unscathed though after careful navigation and following the lines of cabs leading the way.

Minus this stretch of couple of kms, rest was fairly doable in my vRS too and it is unfortunate that just a couple of kms makes a huge difference to choice of vehicle. I envied an SUV (Fortuner) which I was tailing for the first time! Headed back tomorrow morning to Whitefield via the same route and I can't think of a way that the stretch could have worsened.

P.S: I used the Hubbali-Anmod route.

[ashis89]

Came yesterday via the Hubbali - Ramnagar - Anmod route. The 20-30 kms stretch after Ramnagar is horrible. The road is washed out in a lot of stretches and one has to choose between the lesser of the devils while negotiating the ruts. Even the NWKSRTC and the Fortuner in front of me were judiciously creeping into these ruts. And I saw a Creta and a 5th gen City with dislodged engine guards.

I was driving my Seltos very carefully with 5 people on board and even then had 2-3 instances of just touch-n-go with the ground below.

A friend who was driving his mark 1 Octavia from Hyderabad and took the Chorla route, also faced several instances of scraping the car's underbody.