[balenoed_]

Can anyone please suggest what is the best possible route to Ashvem Beach (La Cabana resort, to be precise)?

I see quite a lot of suggestions in this thread under present conditions. Not very familiar in this stretch.

[sudeepmehrotra]

Hi all. I am planning my first road trip in my new Creta delivered in Jun this year (thanks to the entire team-BHP community for all the tips and guidance during the buying process).
Since this is my first 500km+ road trip, I am thinking of taking a night stop in between. Also, while its doable in ~12 hours from what I read, I dont want to rush through the road trip and instead cover some touristy spots on the way and spend time there. So I have a few questions in mind:
> Is Gokarna a good stop over? I see some decent hotel options around, plus definitely good beaches in Gokarna, places like Murudeshwar around to explore, etc. I have read Hubli, Karwar as other stop over options. Is there a strong preference for one over the others?
> What's the current state of the new NH17 (now renamed NH66). News reports say its 90%+ completed, but I am looking for some real feedback. If its really nearly done, I suppose this will be a good option driving from Gokarna to Goa and enjoy the scenic route.
> I plan to visit Jog Falls on the way. Any specific route suggestions to follow / strictly avoid on the way from Bangalore to Gokarna?

Thanks all in advance!

[salluks]

We recently did goa-blr on 16th August via anmod-tinai Ghat-Ramnagar-Dharwad-Blr.
can confirm that 8 Kms stretch between anmod-tinai Ghat is in a bad shape and scarped our car(Honda Amaze) once. but this is not an issue for sedans if you are careful. the road otherwise is fine till Bangalore and didn't face any issues while driving at night.

[Osteon206]

Did an impromptu roadtrip to Goa on Independence day 2022. Our close friend Dr. KCK had some official work at Goa and flight tickets were too expensive, so the wife and me decided to get him there by road. We left from Mysore at noon on 15th August after flag hoisting at the respective hospitals we work at.

For the onward journey we took the following route Mysore - Srirangapatna - Pandavpura - Bellur cross - Sira - Davanagere - Hubli - Anmod - Mollem - Vasco da Gama. We had to avoid our favourite route through Madikeri and Mangalore due to unknown road condition between Madikeri and Mangalore off late (KCK is a Coorgi, so we took his advice on this). The roads are ok till Sira, from here to Hubli roads are good. The Anmod ghat road was pathetic, stretches of white topped roads and then stretches of deadly potholes till the Karnataka-Goa border.

For the return route we took an alternative route. Vasco da Gama - Mollem - Anmod - Ramnagar - Haliyal - Khalgatgi - Shiggaon - Haveri - Davangere - Hosadurga - Turuvekere - Bellur cross - Pandavpura - Mysore. The alternative route was much shorter in distance and was a little quicker, on the downside though we did this completely at night time, it's not recommended to do so since there is absolutely nothing on this stretch in terms of restrooms, restaurants, garages, hospitals if need be. The only advantage was negligible traffic. We came across less than 50 vehicles between Davangere to Srirangapatna between 11pm to 4.30am. As for the stretch between Anmod to Shiggaon, the road was very narrow at places with many stretches where there were non metalled roads in between Forrest areas. So it's really not worth trying to bypass Hubli. Though it was about 60km shorter, we hardly saved any time.

PS.: Posted this here since we did the Hubli route this time which will be of use to people coming from Bangalore.
The Taigun managed the bad stretches well, but really felt bad for the sedans especially. We in fact reversed on three instances to let sedans coming from the opposite side get past.

In fact on the onward journey we were stranded in a traffic jam for half hour when two buses were literally stuck negotiating a bad stretch which is like a chicane.

[bdutta]

Folks,

Looking for route suggestion and pit-stops between South-East Bangalore (HSR Lyt) and Central Goa (Dabolim, close to airport).

Our plan is to start super early morning (well before day-break, say around 4am) from HSR Layout, Bangalore on a weekday in last week of August.

We need to reach Dabolim Airport by 6pm same day, to pickup 2 kids flying-in who'd join us there. We'd need a breakfast (T0+4hr appox) and lunch (T0+8~9hrs appox) pit-stops, so need to factor in 70-80mins of non-driving time, so places serving ready-meals and without much wait, would work best. Clean restrooms however are a bigger priority.

Kindly suggest suitable route, and possible pitstops. Are there sections to avoid, traffic deviations to be aware of ?

Do the highway and border cops give due credence to Digilocker documents (vehicle RC, pollution check certificate, insurance policy), or paper copies must be carried ?

cheers,
B

[bdutta]

Originally Posted by bdutta

Kindly suggest suitable route, and possible pitstops. Are there sections to avoid, traffic deviations to be aware of ?

Kindly confirm if following is a suitable route?
HSR Lyt > NICE Hwy > NH-48 > Dharwad Byepass towards NH-67/SH-34 (Dharward - Goa Rd) > Ramnagara > NH-748 (Panjim - Belgavi Rd) > Mollem > @ Ponda left towards NH-566 (Margao - Belgaum Bypass Rd) > Dabolim Airport
(above is what GMaps shows by default)

Also, are these reasonable pit stops ?
- Apoorva Resorts, Davangere (around 285kms, or 4h-20mins, so reaching there around 8:30am)
- Mango Moods Restaurant, SH-34 Dharwad-Goa road (around 465kms, or 1:30/2:00pm)

[Osteon206]

Originally Posted by bdutta

Kindly confirm if following is a suitable route?
HSR Lyt > NICE Hwy > NH-48 > Dharwad Byepass towards NH-67/SH-34 (Dharward - Goa Rd) > Ramnagara > NH-748 (Panjim - Belgavi Rd) > Mollem > @ Ponda left towards NH-566 (Margao - Belgaum Bypass Rd) > Dabolim Airport
(above is what GMaps shows by default)

This route is good except for the stretch around Anmod. Also the single carriageway road around Hubli has heavy and fast moving traffic, be cautious here too.

[bdutta]

Originally Posted by Osteon206

This route is good except for the stretch around Anmod. Also the single carriageway road around Hubli has heavy and fast moving traffic, be cautious here too.

Thanks. What are the issues around Anmod ?

Also, what are the usual speed-check spots ? From the past trips, I recollect that there used two be 2 spots near Davangere where the police with speed-check cams used to be stationed.

Also, do the state-border police checks still harass ?

[ajitkommini]

We made a 5-day trip to Goa around Independence day weekend. We were booked into a hotel at Candolim, so decided to take the route via Hubli - Dharwad - Anmod - Ponda - Panjim. The first issue we encountered was the degraded road surface at Tumkur, resulting in a cut sidewall and roadside wheel change. Driving on the space saver at a limited speed of 80 km/h, we managed to find a tyre store that was open in Chitradurga. Rest of the way was smooth until Hubli (although we were on the lookout for stray potholes!)

From Hubli onwards the story was completely different. The road via Anmod ghat was a truly nightmarish experience with intermittent concrete stretches separated by sections where the road had literally been washed away. Nerve-wracking drive until the Goa border where, magically the road changed to a perfect metalled surface.

For the return journey we were determined to avoid this treacherous drive and, after a little reading of the posts on this thread we decided to go via Karwar, Ankola, Yellapur, Bankapura. This was much better in terms of road surface, although we still found a few potholes on the NH 52 stretch (Ankola - Yellapur). The state highway after that was quite narrow (single lane / 1.5 lanes) in parts. After Bankapura we merged onto the NH48 again and made quick progress till the Bangalore city limits.

On a side note, our rear windshield was smashed by a falling coconut while parked at the hotel. Thanks to Hemu of Hemant motors, Mapusa whose team did a fantastic job of replacing it.

The border crossing was pretty smooth with just a cursory look in the boot for alcohol.

[Chinmayd]

Originally Posted by salluks

We recently did goa-blr on 16th August via anmod-tinai Ghat-Ramnagar-Dharwad-Blr.
can confirm that 8 Kms stretch between anmod-tinai Ghat is in a bad shape and scarped our car(Honda Amaze) once. but this is not an issue for sedans if you are careful. the road otherwise is fine till Bangalore and didn't face any issues while driving at night.

Can you please confirm if bulk of the 'bad shape' stretch is between Anmod and Tinai? If yes would it make sense to take the Kittur-Bhimgad route to get to Anmod and avoid Tinai. Anyone tried the Bhimgad route recently?

This used to be my preferred route till the Dharwad-Ramnagar-Anmod road was near-fixed (pre-monsoon times) and was a breeze to drive. Plan to drive from HSR to Panjim in the last week of August and frankly would prefer avoiding the additional 45 KMs via Karwar.

[salluks]

Originally Posted by Chinmayd

Can you please confirm if bulk of the 'bad shape' stretch is between Anmod and Tinai?

Nah, it takes 30 mins max to cross it. Not a problem even if the roads are bad even for sedans.

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by Chinmayd

Can you please confirm if bulk of the 'bad shape' stretch is between Anmod and Tinai?

I took it today, 23rd August in Ertiga. I managed to go through all that mess but not in favour if you have other choices. At one place I got down from the concrete section bit early and car got stuck in loose gravel. Had to ask dad and wife to get off to reduce weight of car. Potholes are filled with muddy water making it impossible to judge the depth. High probability for sedans to get underbelly scrape. Ertiga with 185mm GC managed well without a single issue. Road conditions deteriorating on daily basis. Description provided 2 days ago may become invalid today.

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

I took it today, 23rd August in Ertiga. I managed to go through all that mess but not in favour if you have other choices. At one place I got down from the concrete section bit early and car got stuck in loose gravel. Had to ask dad and wife to get off to reduce weight of car. Potholes are filled with muddy water making it impossible to judge the depth. High probability for sedans to get underbelly scrape. Ertiga with 185mm GC managed well without a single issue. Road conditions deteriorating on daily basis. Description provided 2 days ago may become invalid today.

Here is the detailed report. Did not add here since my trip was Bangalore-Pune-Goa-Bangalore
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...ml#post5386139 (Bangalore - Pune - Mumbai : Route updates & Eateries)

[Osteon206]

Originally Posted by bdutta

Thanks. What are the issues around Anmod ?


Also, do the state-border police checks still harass ?

The Anmod stretch has massive potholes, make sure to take your time to judge which side you want to drive on. If someone wants to overtake let them go ahead and use them as a tracer. Follow local vehicles bearing KA 25 or GA registration since they will be more experienced in that stretch. Try and cross this stretch in daylight. This was challenging at night time with rain for me. But as mentioned by others it’s doable with sedans too. Just be very patient.

As for the border checks, police are quite friendly. No harassment of any sort IMHO. Make sure not to try to get liquor out of Goa though, this will land you in trouble.

[JC_Redstreak]

Hi. This is my first post on T-BHP. This is about my trip BLR-GOA-BLR on my new 2021 Jeep Compass Model S.

Onward trip (18th Aug)- BLR (Marathahalli)-Tumkur-Dharwad (Gabur Toll Plaza)-Kalaghatgi-Yellapur-Karwar-Club Mahindra Emerald Palms
Started at 4 am reached 3.30 pm, had an unfortunate side wall cut about 20 kms ahead of Yellapur, after that progress was slow as I had to be cautious with the space saver spare wheel.

Overall road conditions are okay, with some minor potholes due to tar coming off till Tumkur although not very bothering and then till Hubbali very good roads and progress is fast, made it to Hubbali by 9 am. After Hubbali due to rains and not so good roads I got slowed down. An unfortunate side wall cut and the progress was still slower. After merging to NH66 road conditions improve and one can do decent speeds.

Wasn't difficult to find the replacement tyre at House of Tyres at Goa. Return was on 21st Aug, Route Taken : Emerald Palms- Anmod, Dharwad-Hubbali-Tumkur-Bangalore . Start - 9 am, Reached by 8.30 pm. I regret my decision to take this route, I think the potholes are big enough to cause concerns to T-Fort's and Jeep Wranglers and after the incident during the onward journey I was very careful. It was a crawl for 20 kms, but after that it was alright. Of course Dharwad to Huballi is not a delight either. After Huballi it was good progress, till the heavy rains slowed us down. But the beautiful rainbow post the showers was enchanting, my 7 year old daughter who was seeing this natural occurrence for the first time was thrilled.


On the return route we observed that the top tar surface wear out was repaired in most places, dont know how long will this hold good.
By the time we reached home it was 8.30 pm.